Saturday, October 25, 2008 -- Morgantown, WV / Caperton Rail Trail, Star City
3rd Annual Alpha Phi Race for Your Heart 10K/5K-MAGP Endurance #8 (iPO Event Id#: 10824)

[Details] [Coverage] [Photos] [Overall Results] [Results by Class] [2007 Results]

Story and photos by Don Parks

Even with a little rain Ron Hamric gives it two thumbs up

The third year was not a charm for the Alpha Phi Race for Your Heart where cool temperatures and a constant rain set in for Saturday morning. It made for a crowded scene under the pavilion at Star City Park on the Monongahela River. But once the racing got started the cool weather was rather welcome while the rain was only a bit of an annoyance.

In the 10K event David McCollam didn't seem to mind the wet weather as he blazed the flat rail-trail course in 32:12 with nobody close behind. His closest competitor was Heather Parks (35:47) who finished second overall and easily took first female honors.

Coincidentally, McCollam and Parks both became first time parents earlier this year and are both training for the Philadelphia Marathon to be held in November. While Parks was rather pleased with her time she pointed out that an average of three runners' GPS systems had the course a little short at 6.04 miles rather than the 6.2 equivalent of a 10K.

If she thought that she enjoyed a slight boost from a an early finish line Calvin Fenton must have thought he was in a dream. The 16 year old easily won the "5K" race in a world class time of 13:53. But as it turns out the race organizers embarrassingly admitted that they miss-marked the course and it was actual just 2.3 rather than 3.1 miles. They did make a sincere promise not to make the same mistake in the future.

Fall colors and a big smile

Regardless of the distance it was impressive to see Sean Sober cross the finish line for second place. His time of 15:31 for the shortened course wasn't that surprising, but the fact that he was pushing his son in a stroller the whole way certainly was.

Finishing third overall in the "5K" was Shelley Ralston (15:47) who helped prove that the ladies were not fair weather competitors.

Keeping the ladies on the podium in all the races was Denise Kerns who finished the "5K" walk second overall with a time of 30:37. Handily winning the walk overall was Keith Bailey with a time of 25:05.

The ladies of Alpha Phi thank all those that came out and helped support the national Alpha Phi Foundation and Monongalia General Hospital women's education program. They apologize again for getting the "5K" racers out of the rain a little too quickly, and there is nothing they could do about the weather, but kudos to them for having an amazing abundance of food and drinks after the race. This was only the second time the WVU women of Alpha Phi have organized the race and we're betting their third try is going to be a charm.