Saturday, September 19, 1998 -- Williamstown
Little Run Farm Invitational 5K

[More Pictures] [Results]

The racers head out across the farm

The inaugural Little Run Farm Invitational was held Saturday, September 19th, just north of Parkersburg, WV, in Williamstown. The site of this 5K XC run is also the site for the WV State High School XC Championships for the next two years. After the mornings open run, many high school teams from around the area were competing in a meet allowing them to get familiar with the new course.

The morning's open run got underway with humid overcast conditions and temperatures in the 70s. The course consisted of small rolling hills through open fields and forest trails as it turned and curved around the Little Run Farm.

Larry Taylor raced to a first place finish over Chris Parsons

The competition included two 37-year-old race winners from the previous weekend. Chris Parsons raced in Huntington on September 12th at the Health Heart 5K with a winning time of 16:17. Meanwhile, Larry Taylor had raced in the Nicholas County Potato Festival 5K coming out on top with a winning time of 16:06.

Once the XC 5K began, it was Taylor who quickly jumped out to lead the field. The course must have been more to his liking as Parsons could not match his strong pace. At the finish, Taylor was able to match his time from a week ago, winning in 16:06. Parsons, who had enjoyed the flat streets of Huntington the week before, finished a half-minute back in second with a time of 16:37.

Tim Waybright, the youngest competitor, flashes a big smile

A sparse field of women also made it out to the Farm to take on the off-road course at the open event. Lori Gardner was able to come through with a comfortable win in 21:08. Taking second, almost one and a half minutes off Garnder's time, was Delores Thompson finishing with a time of 22:37.

Additional kudos go out to Tim Waybright, who at 11-years-old, was easily the youngest competitor. However, racing against many more seasoned runners, he tackled the course with great enthusiasm and a nice time of 24:40.