HUNTINGTON -- An upcoming event continues to dismiss the notion of Huntington being labeled among the nation's more out-of-shape towns.

Registration for the June 19 West Virginia 5K Championship ideally will feature as many as 600-plus runners. This season's largest Mountain State run totaled 643 participants at a Charleston-based event. Current registration for Huntington run is 480, ahead of last year's pace at this time, and race director Pat Riley would "hope to do better" than the Charleston numbers, although he'd be content with exceeding last year's total of 517.

Bottom line, the event continues to contradict Huntington's less-than-flattering fitness reputation. That notion somewhat was offset by the nationally-televised "Jamie Oliver Food Revolution" program, featuring the noted chef aiding altered eating habits in Huntington.

That series served as a one-time event. Running, however, long has been prevalent in Huntington. Ritter Park often is littered with walkers and runners, and the June 19 5K, arguably ranks as the Tri-State's premiere long-distance event.

"We coined the term 'Run West Virginia,' last year," Riley said. "West Virginia has a great running community."

The event begins at 8 a.m. and circles downtown Huntington. Veteran's Memorial Boulevard serves as both the start and finish lines. The race course will close at 9 a.m. at which time runners still on the course will be asked to move off the road pavement and onto the sidewalks.

The start will take the runners west on Veteran's Memorial Blvd. approximately 0.6 miles before turning left on 1st St. where they will head south for two blocks before turning left again on 5th Avenue. They will travel almost 1.5 miles down 5th Ave. before turning left on Hal Greer Blvd. Two blocks on Hal Greer then the runners will turn left on 3rd Ave. where they are a little more than half of a mile away from the finish line. The runners will run on 3rd Ave. while going onto Veteran's Memorial Blvd. where there is a slight downhill to the finish line.

This annual summer run is runner-friendly, featuring a flat course conducive to top times from runners of all levels.

"It's a fast course and we want great times, "Riley said. "We want to have runners have personal best (times).

"A lot of the more challenging courses scare runners off. This is more flat and runners love the course."

Still, Riley and race officials treat the West Virginia 5K Championship as just that.

"We consider this a championship," he said. "This is a great event for the entire city."

Ravenswood's Andrew Benford and Star City's Jen Davis serve as defending champions. For information, visit http://www.tristateracer.com/wv5k/.

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