Thursday, November 26, 1998 -- Beckley
22nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Run

[Coverage/Recap w/Pics] [Results] Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4]

Starting Thanksgiving with a 5-mile run

Over 100 participants came to the Beckley YMCA on Thanksgiving morning to work up an appetite. (Maybe some folks just wanted to feel a little less guilty when they sat down to feast on turkey and all the fixings later in the day.) The work that they had waiting was a 5-mile run. The weather was partly cloudy and a little chilly, but not unseasonable for late November.

The 5-mile course consisted of two out and back legs. The first was a rolling route, that began downhill, and took the runners out for almost two miles before turning around and heading back to the start/finish. When they crossed the start/finish they headed out in the opposite direction for the second leg. This section constisted of a mostly downhill route for just over a half-mile before the runners turned around for an uphill finish.

Kathy Lencio didn't have a lot of female competition to run from

The racing was dominated by James Kneeland who quickly jumped out to the front. He never looked back as he built a lead of over a minute and a half to finish first overall with at time of 27:01. Determining the second place finisher took a little longer. Duane Dombek spent the frist two miles in third place on the heels of Brent Jarrell. who was running second. Dombek moved ahead of Jarrell with about three miles left. Jarrell, who runs his best at the shorter 5K (3.1 mile) distance, couldn't maintain Dombek's pace over the late stages of the race. Dombek took second overall in a time of 28:41 with Jarrell taking third in 28:58.

Teka (1st Canine) leads Robin Young to the finish

The fastest female for the day was Kathy Lencio who finished eighth overall with a time of 31:23. Her running proved to be in a class above the rest of the competition. The second female didn't see the finish for nore than another seven minutes. Taking second and third was Donna Akers (38:39) and Amanda Elam (39:42), respectively.

There was a little something for everyone as the day's events also included a 5-mile walk and a 1-mile fun run. The hard work of the race organizers and the volunteers made for a great start to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.