Published: October 06, 2007 11:48 pm         

Half-Marathon a success again

With more than 300 runners competing Saturday, the 10th Beckley Half-Marathon, presented by the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, Mountain State University and Verizon, was the largest ever.

Race director Jim Phillips was excited by the turnout for the event, which for the first time ever was blessed with perfect weather.

“I’m really happy,” he said. “We’ve got a great turnout. The weather has been super great and I’m real excited about it.”

Phillips has been with the event from the beginning and has enjoyed watching it grow over the past decade. Phillips has competed in both the 5-K and the half-marathon events.

“There was one year that I wasn’t able to come because I was in South Africa that day,” he said. “Other than that, I’ve been here every year.”

So where does the event go from here?

“I don’t know,” Phillips said. “With what we’ve got, it’s really great for this community. I can’t thank our sponsors enough. The facility here at Mountain State University and what they provide and do. Then, you take a look at the sponsorship, like Verizon. Verizon is a major cash sponsor. They’re out here early in the morning. They put up flags and banners. They have their trucks here. They’ve got aid stations. I can’t thank them enough. Also, we’ve got people, a lot of the community around here, the banks and the companies — $500 donations here and there. It’s a good community effort. That’s the reason this thing is going as well as it is. I think it’s a good testimony every year. When they finish, they look back at how well they were treated here. They’re treated first-class. Every runner I’ve ever talked to has said it was a great, great event.”

Saturday, Phillips ran in the 5-K, winning the ages 55-59 title with a time of 27 minutes, 45.10 seconds.

“I did well,” he said. “I did the 5-K. I’ve been traveling a lot and my training is down, but I did the 5-K and I did OK. The only problem is I keep having birthdays.”

There was a bit of crowing from the Callaway family during the awards ceremony for the 5-K Run.

While daughter Chelsea finished second overall in the women’s division, mother Sheila won the 40-44 age group. After receiving her first-place trophy, Mom made sure to point out that her trophy had first place written on it, while Chelsea’s had second.

“Maybe not gloating,” Sheila Callaway said. “Just a little pride.

“It’s fun. It’s great to watch your daughter do well and to think that you’re never too old to get out there and move.”

In a bit of a turnaround, Sheila got started running through her daughter, who competes in cross country for Shady Spring High School.

“It started with my daughter Chelsea running,” Sheila Callaway said. “She motivated me to give it a try last year. I kept it up all winter and this summer. It’s just a great feeling to get out there and do it.”

Chelsea was equally proud.

“I still beat her time,” the younger Callaway said.

Running is also a family affair for the Gillettes, a husband-wife duo that traveled from Michigan to compete in both the 5-K Run and the half-marathon.

“This gives my wife and I a nice weekend together,” Justin Gillette said after winning the 5-K Run. “We’ll run here and then (today) we’ll go to Pennsylvania and run. I’m going to do a marathon. It just gives us a good weekend out. If we make a little extra money, it’s kind of fun.”

Melissa Gillette finished fifth in the half-marathon and has been running since 2000. She enjoys the travel that goes with running in events around the country.

“We came two years ago,” Melissa said. “We liked it and we decided to come back and try it again.

“It’s been fun to travel around and see different things. It’s been good quality time together on the road.”

Alan Horton, who placed third in the half-marathon, and Emily Chaney, who completed the event in fourth in the final women’s rundown, are former high school classmates from Knoxville, Tenn.

“We went to high school together,” Chaney said. “We’ve been good friends ever since.”

Horton, who still lives in Knoxville, is training for the Olympic trials in November in New York City.

“I needed a prep marathon to get ready for (trials),” he said. “This was probably the closest one and the right time of the year. I’ve got four weeks left until the Olympic trials, so it was a good prep race.”

Chaney, who resides in Oak Hill now, enjoyed running the course for the first time.

“I really enjoyed it,” Chaney said. “I liked the (Rails-to-Trails section). I had never been on it before. It was different. It was pretty scenic.”

— E-mail:

rjett@register-herald.com