Barnesville Hosts 19th Annual Rails-to-Trails 5K Race
The annual Rails-to-Trails 5K Race was held Saturday and featured 155 contestants. There were four categories of participants, and that included those who ran, walked, a heavyweight group and people who brought their dog(s) to walk.
The race starting point was the Barnesville Dairy Queen at the top of East Main Street Hill with the finish line at the B&O Railroad Depot.
Of the four categories, the first contestant to cross the finish line was Kreg Robinson of Clarington. Robinson has competed along with his friends in the in this 5K run before.
“I did Boston a few weeks ago with my buddy, Thomas, and he beat me there,” Robinson said. “And so it’s nice to get that on him this time around.”
Robinson started running competitive races in different parts of the States as a 19- and 20-year-old.
“I started coaching soccer at Caldwell,” Robinson said. “I wanted to be able to run with the kids, so that’s where it kind of started.”
Robinson has raced in not only the Rails-to-Trails 5K, but other local races including the Pumpkin Festival 5K Run & Walk, Santa’s Spirit Spring and the Rotary Lake 5K Trail Race.
“In fact, it’s probably been about four or five years,” Robinson said. “It’s long enough to have enough of those trophies that he (Carl Kondrach) throws out to people.”
Robinson was the first-place overall winner in the race, and other contestants took first in their respective categories.
Robinson was first in the 5K run with a time of 19:03.58, Brent Stark of New Albany, Ohio was first in the 5K walk with a time of 27:43.81 and Sarah Donley and her dog came in first in the canine walk with a time of 38:24.66.
Lastly, competing in the heavyweight category, Desiree Stewart of Shadyside, Ohio took first place with a time of 33:25.89.
Regarding the history of the race, the current organizer of it, Carl Kondrach, provided some insight about its origins.
“It was started by Dale Landefeld as a pre-Bicentennial (Barnesville) run in 2007,” Kondrach said.
Kondrach and Landefeld worked together as organizers of it and the Pumpkin Festival 5K Run & Walk. Landefeld, who now lives in Alabama, moved away, and Kondrach took over as the primary organizer of both races.
Over time, Kondrach established the “Barnesville Grand Prix Series” that includes all of the previously mentioned races.
©Barnesville Area News Company Photos
The official results of the race are accessible here.
The next race that will occur in Barnesville this year is the Pumpkin Festival Run & Walk slated for the morning of Saturday, September 26.
Barnesville Area News Needs Your Support!
We're dedicated to providing coverage of the local happenings in Barnesville and the neighboring communities.
As a non-profit entity, we rely on the donations of readers like you.
Make a donation today and you'll be helping keep local news alive in the Barnesville area.