Friday, July 4, 2003 -- Morgantown, WV
Spirit & Breath Challenge 10K (MAGP #4) (iPO Event Id#: 5585) Story and photos by Tara Struyk

[Details] [Coverage]
[Overall Results] [Results by Class]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7]
Past Coverage: [1999] [2000] [2001] [2002]

What goes down will come up at the Spirit & Breath

Fourth-of-July celebrations began bright and early in Morgantown with the Spirit and Breath Challenge 10K and 5K. Over two hundred local runners and walkers came out in red, white and blue to run Morgantown's oldest - and often hottest - road race.

The race started and finished in White Park, where by the 9:00 a.m. start time, the summer heat and humidity were already making the rolling hills of the course a grim prospect indeed.

The runners set out towards Marilla Park and wound their way back with Ed Frohnapfel, 47, of Morgantown leading the way in the men's race with a time of 36:59.03. Although Frohnapfel took third last year in 35:57.24, this year he scored a solid win over Kent McBride, 28, of Morgantown who finished a full 3 minutes behind in 40:10.93. Mark Malagadi, 40, was third in 41:19.81.

Climbing the hills

In the women's 10K race, Kelly Holipsky, 37, improved her time from 2002 by nearly 3 minutes and was the first woman to cross the line in 44:57.41. Rhonda McDaniel, 35, of Mt. Morris, PA was second in 45:40.38, followed by Julie Warner, 35, in 46:06.39.

In the 5K race, it was the young runners who took home most of the trophies. In the men's race, 16-year-old Pat Reagan of Masontown, PA, took the lead from the start and held a quick pace to clock a finishing time of 17:21.51. His competitor, Travis Mersing, 15, of Aurora was not seen for a full two minutes when he finished in a time of 19:14.64. Greg Redeker, 50, of Fairmont was third in 19:59.62.

Heather McDaniel, 19, of Grafton swept the women's race, finishing well ahead of the field in 20:49.54. Amanda Maxwell, 18, of Tunnelton was second in 22:53.55 followed by Morgantown's own Hannah Vernon, 12, in 23:44.98.

Thinking about the watermelon at the finish?

In the 5K walk, Terry Horn, 45, took the win in 26:13.42. The first female finisher was Teresa Ray, 38, of Fairmont who finished in 36:44.07.

The morning's races were capped off by a one-mile fun run. Eleven-year-old Miles Helmick was first in 7:12.58 followed by Kyle and Jared Matthews in 7:14.31 and 7:22.04 respectively.

With all the races finished, it was only 11:00 a.m., and the runners headed home with plenty of weekend left to enjoy a well-deserved holiday.