Saturday, September 19, 1998 -- Huntington
American Cancer Society 5 Mile Run

[Results]
Pictures: [3 Mile Mark] [Finish Set 1] [Finish Set 2]

Scott Clark, 1st Overall, didn't take long to set a winning pace

Huntington's annual Chili Fest got started on Saturday morning, September 19th, with a 5 mile run to benefit the American Cancer Society. A great crowd of runners turned out despite the constant threat of rain showers. The precipitation held off for the race, and the participants all enjoyed great running conditions with mild temperatures and a flat course through the downtown streets of Huntington.

As the race started a group of four runners, Scott Clark, Dan Bailey, Aaron Kaylor and Higernier Eril, moved to the front of the field. But, before the end of the first mile, Clark surged ahead and set a pace that no one else could maintain. Clark extended his lead all the way to the finish to win with a time of 27:41, over a full minute ahead of the rest of the day's competition.

Mindy Patrick, 1st Overall Female, was humble in her victory

Racing for second, Bailey, Kaylor and Eril stayed close for the first half of the race. Around mile 3, Bailey began to pull away from his two rivals. He took the advantage to the finish line for second place in a time of 28:56. Not far behind, in third, was Kaylor (29:09) who was able to gain an edge on Eril (29:21), who finished in fourth.

The battle to round out the top five, was a duel between Chris Bartholomew (30:16) and Thomas Szumita (30:27). They traded positions frequently throughout most of the race with Bartholomew finally moving ahead for good in the final stretches.

Kelley Millen sports her new, oversized, race T-shirt at the finish

The race for the honor of fastest female was won by Mindy Patrick in a time of 35:24. Patrick was able to lead the women runners from the start and when asked about her win, she stated that "The fast women must not have been here today."

Starting a little slower was Jacquelyn Cyrus. She moved into the second position just after the one mile mark and crossed the line 22 seconds behind Patrick with a time of 35:46. Another female that paced herself in the early stages of the race was Jan Radar. Radar used a strong second half run to pass Caroline Haddox (37:50) and take third at 36:57.

After the racing was done, the stage that was erected for Chile Fest '98 made a great platform for the awards ceremony complete with plenty of door prizes. All the volunteers and sponsors were thanked for their hard work and all the runners were thanked for helping to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.