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Runners brave cold for 5K race
Runners compete in a 5K race as part of the Huntington Winter Series of road races on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, at Barboursville Community Park.
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BARBOURSVILLE -- Last week, area runner John Davis took first place in a half marathon in Clearwater, Fla.
He's not in hot, sunny Clearwater anymore.
With a good four inches of snow on the ground and temperatures below freezing, Davis was one of 130 brave souls who ran a 5K race that began and ended Sunday at Barboursville Park.
This is the second of the three-race Huntington Winter Series that is sponsored by the WV 5K Race Committee and The Herald Dispatch.
The last race -- a 10K or 6.2-mile race at Barboursville Park -- is set for Sunday, Feb. 28.
Davis placed second in the first race of the series, the Jingle Bell race in downtown Huntington. He said he was happy to see so many other runners -- and their families -- at the park.
"For a cold day, more than one person is a good turnout," said Davis, who finished in second place, two seconds behind Cabell Midland High School running phenom, freshman Jacob Burcham, who set national records in the 800 and 1,600 meters this school year. "It's nice to see so many family support the people who do this."
Wearing a pink running suit and her daddy's number 365 from his last race, 3-year-old Olivia Seasor came out with her mom, Brittni Bush of Ashland, and her 8-month-old baby sister, Sydney Seasor, to cheer on their dad, Paul Seasor, a veteran runner.
Huntington Winter Series organizer Pat Riley pumped up the pack of runners that gathered at the edge of the nearly frozen Lake William to start the race.
"It was 8 degrees this morning, but it didn't scare a single one of you," Riley said into a bullhorn.
Riley said he wasn't surprised to see such a good turnout.
He's been running at Barboursville Park during the week and often seeing a dozen or more runners out in the cold as well.
"I'm ecstatic about what is going on," Riley said of the uptick in the numbers of runners and walkers in the parks. "It's proving that people took the designation of the fattest city in America serious, and they've been doing something about it."
Originally, this second race was to have been a five-mile race, but Riley said there was no way to get the snow cleared from around the track that loops Lake William in time. So, the race was dialed back to a 5K, or about 3.125 miles.
Although the lake track was covered, parks roads were completely clear after crews came in and salted the roads after Friday night's snow.
"How about the Village of Barboursville?" Riley said. "There were out here at 8 this morning, and they didn't have to be."
Riley said the idea behind the Winter Series was to encourage more people to run in all seasons, and also to help folks build up to running a 10-mile race.
Riley said folks running in winter need to dress in three layers to be comfortable, a set of Under Armor or equivalent synthetic long-johns, a wicking layer and some type of windbreaker as well.
Thirtysomething neighbors Mike Riddle and Stephan Looney, who live in the Enslow Park neighborhood in Huntington, did the Turkey Trot race, and both decided to do this one as well.
They both shaved a minute or so off their last 5K run, in spite of the cold.
"I like the challenge of it," Riddle said of running outside. "I like the colder weather and being out in the elements. They had a benefit race out here, and it was blowing cold and raining, and I just loved it. Call me crazy, but it was fun."
Find out everyone's times from Sunday's race, as well as other upcoming races, online at www.tristateracer.com.
