The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving Day Run

Thanksgiving run a success ... again

By Gary Fauber

Ron Cantley had his Thanksgiving plans all laid out.

“What I planned to do was run until I couldn’t run anymore, eat till I can’t eat anymore and sleep till I can’t sleep anymore,” Cantley said Thursday morning after competing in the 33rd annual YMCA Thanksgiving Day Run in Beckley.

He completed the first leg with no problem. Enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner and some holiday slumber later in the day was well deserved.

Cantley, the assistant administrator for Raleigh County’s special education department, was one of over 200 people to converge on the YMCA Youth Sports Complex on a cold Thanksgiving morning. Competitors took part in either a five- or one-mile run or one-mile walk, and a one-mile fun run started the day.

The race drew folks from all over, including West Liberty cross country runner Kallen Weaver. She competed with her nephew, Beckley resident Tanner Buchanan.

Weaver, a four-time All-West Virginia Conference competitor for the Hilltoppers, has taken part in the event for 10 years.

“I’m just running the mile with my nephew,” she said. “I love it. It’s like a tradition. I’ve been doing it for years.”

Competitors ranged from young to veteran. Carl Bou-Abboud, a junior at Mountain State Academy, ran in the event for the second time.

“It was a good experience,” Bou-Abboud said of last year’s event. “I ran with my brother then. We pretty much finished together, and I placed third. I really enjoyed it. That’s why I came back this year.”

The course for the race was modified somewhat to present a greater challenge.

“Instead of going down to the (Convention Center) parking lot, we’re actually going to be headed out to Eisenhower Drive and take the final left, then there is actually a steep hill to get you back out on to Grey Flats Road,” said Jay Rist of the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA. “You go back out on the bypass and go up to Brookshire (Lane), then you turn around and go back into the complex and finish where you start.

“Wherein years past there has been more flat terrain, this year it’s a little more rolling hills and more challenging for the runners. We think they will enjoy it.”

“What I like the best is, I like the fellowship with the people who come out,” Beckley resident Ashlyn Perkins said. “It’s a great way to start a great Thanksgiving Day. I exercise most days of the week in a variety of different ways. This is a great way of getting exercise on Thanksgiving Day.”

Beckley native Anthony Hancock won the race in 30:56. The Woodrow Wilson graduate recently completed his first season with the cross country team at Davis & Elkins.

“I haven’t run in about a week,” he confessed with a smile. “It hurt, but I just started off faster than usual so it would make up toward the end.”

“(The course) was all right,” he added. “It was more hilly than I thought it would be. But that makes it good.”

Everyone seemed in agreement that Beckley is a good place for a Thanksgiving race. Rist believed the turnout to be the event’s biggest ever.

“Beckley’s a great place,” said Tim Weaver, Kallen’s dad and the cross country coach at West Liberty. “We’re going to keep coming until we can’t come anymore.”

— E-mail:

gfauber@register-herald.com

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