Logan Arnold celebrates as he crosses the finish line at Saturday's Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon. Arnold placed first in the men's division with a time of 10:40. Photo by Kerry Patrick
PARKERSBURG - Logan Arnold's gametime decision proved to be the right decision.
The 2015 Parkersburg Catholic High School graduate had the intention to participate in the News and Sentinel Half Marathon, but wavered between competing in the half-marathon and the two-mile.
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Logan Arnold celebrates as he crosses the finish line at Saturday’s Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon. Arnold placed first in the men’s division with a time of 10:40. Photo by Kerry Patrick
On Thursday, he checked out the weather forecast and based his answer on the temperatures suggested for race day. He opted for the two-mile and at the age of 25 he reached a goal he always dreamed of accomplishing earlier in his running career.
Arnold crossed the finish line in a winning time of 10 minutes, 40 seconds - nine seconds faster than runner-up Jack Mills, who represented a slew of runners from the Parkersburg High School cross country team.
"I've run the race in the past two or three times when I was younger - I always improved every year," said Arnold, who grew up in Marietta and currently resides in Morgantown. "I didn't take running too seriously in high school, but started training a lot more once I got out of school.
"I will be honest, back in high school I dreamed of winning but didn't think I would be good enough to do so. I am obviously thrilled today, but I really surprised myself."
Of the top seven placewinners, six represented high school cross country teams - including five from PHS. Daniel Martin placed third (11:18), while Connor George (11:35), Anthony Herrera (11:38) and Ricardo Salazar (11:38) occupied the positions five through seven. Parkersburg South's Walker Jones wedged his way into fourth place (11:27).
The 14-year-old George turned in the fastest time for the 10-14 age group, which consisted of 45 entries.
By the halfway mark, Arnold had pulled away from the lead pack and basically ran solo the remainder of the course with no one in front as he approached the finish line. He admitted peering over his shoulder once or twice just to check of any possible late challengers.
"I started off with a pack of what were high school runners, and I figured they would be running fast," Arnold said. "After a quarter mile, there were two guys ahead of me, and picked one of them off at about the half mile. I picked off the other guy about a mile in. From then on, it was just me.
"I could hear the second-place runner behind, but I couldn't really gauge how far he was behind me, so I took a peek a couple of times just to see."
Arnold's mother, Susan, practically ran alongside her son on the adjacent sidewalk as he reached the final block on Market Street. Logan wanted to keep the accomplishment under wraps and tell his friends and the rest of the family first-hand. However, his mother had already spread the word.
"My mom was yelling my name as I was making my way to the finish - she is not a runner, but I saw her running from where she was standing to greet me at the finish line," Arnold said.
Arnold's next quest is the Chicago Marathon in October. He also has participated in the Boston Marathon. He was on the fence about entering the half marathon portion of yesterday's races, and when he did decide on the two-mile he looked at the opportunity as a chance to have some run with the sport.
"I run marathons now and so I was thinking about doing the half, which I have done in the past," Arnold said. "As everyone knows, it's a pretty brutal course and this time of year it's not the best time to run half-marathons. I knew I was coming back for one of the two races. I took a closer look at the forecast, and thought two miles sounds way more fun."
Additional male winners from the two-mile included Parkersburg's Ben Kuhlman in the Master division (age 40-49); Eric Reeves (14:47) of Mineral Wells in the Grad Master division (50-59); and Fred Jones (12:49) from Scottown, Ohio, in the Senior Grand Master division (60-over). The youngest male competitor was 6-year-old Monroe Giardina (25:07) from Greenville, Pa., while Bob Cole (33:47) from Buckhannon was the oldest at the age of 87.
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com