WV half marathons will make for a great summer of running

West Virginia half marathoners can take part in a full marathon of sorts this summer – and they can take all summer to do it.

On May 28 the streets of Wheeling will be taken over by hundreds of runners and walkers who will take part in the Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic. The race traditionally had been a 20K event. This year the organizers of the race changed the distance to the half marathon length. The change means West Virginia now has one great half marathon at the start of the summer and one at the end.

The switch means racers will run  and walk 13.1 miles instead of the 12.8 miles that is a 20K. Organizers believe the longer distance will attract more runners and walkers to the event.

For racers in The News and Sentinel Half Marathon it will allow runners and walkers to, in effect, compete with themselves by racing in the Memorial Day weekend race at the start of the summer and the Parkersburg event at the end. Beating your Wheeling time is certain to be the goal of many of the 1,000-plus runners and walkers who will take part in the Parkersburg event.

Remember, racers in both races get a special shirt in August to commemorate taking part in both events.

You can sign up for the Wheeling race by visiting its website at: www.ogdenhalfmarathonclassic.com