There will be a 24th Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon in August 2010.
And it will again be the national championship race for the Road Runners Club of America when it takes to the streets of downtown and south Parkersburg during Homecoming weekend activities.
However, whether or not that distinction continues beyond the next 12 months won’t be decided until later this year, according to RRCA Executive Director Jean Knaack.
The Arlington, Va. native was in town over the weekend to witness the way in which the race was managed and actually participated in the 13.1-mile race on Saturday.
“This really is one of my favorite races,” said Knaack, who has served in her position for the past four years.
“The two things that really stick out when you look at this event is the way it is organized and the amount of community support it receives.”
If that’s the case, then race director Chip Allman and his all-volunteer committee earned an ‘A’ for this past weekend’s events.
But even those efforts could be for naught should the RRCA’s selection committee—headed by former Olympian Don Kardong—elect to move the event to another site for the first time since 2005.
“When I return on Monday, I will begin the application process,” added Knaack. “We will take bids until sometime in December and then turn them over to the committee for a selection.”
A selection Allman and his committee believe will be one that will return the distinction to Parkersburg in 2011.
“We are confident that we are doing a good job,” Allman explained. “The bidding process is one you have to go through every year, but so far we’ve proven hard to beat.”
It would be hard to fathom any city having the number of volunteers which turn over yearly for the News and Sentinel race. Add to that a pasta dinner the night before which is second-to-none and an all-you-can-eat pizza luncheon following the race and you have the ingredients for a successful race.
Contact Jim Butta at jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
