Rain nor shoes deter runners

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 6, 2008 4:38 AM

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A little rain may have kept some casual runners indoors Saturday morning, but not the over 200 die-hard distance striders that participated in the 30th annual Greater Goldsboro Road Run.

Even with wet weather gripping most of the event, Kiwanis member and race organizer Farris Duncan was pleased with how many runners came to support the group in their largest fundraising effort of the year.

"We had 160 pre-registered participants, and several more that decided to come out and run this morning," Duncan said. "This event had 250 people last year, and to come close to that again is terrific."

The day of running featured 10-kilometer, 5-kilometer and one-mile events.

Richard Stotlar won the longest of the races with a time of 40 minutes, 15 seconds, and the 66 year-old showed no signs of slowing down.

"It was nice today, because I don't mind a little rain as long as it isn't too hard," said Stotlar, who hails from Oriental. "This is my first time running this event, and I was happy with the course."

A seasoned veteran of distance running throughout the mid-atlantic region, Stotlar decided to come to Goldsboro as a follow-up to a marathon he ran two weeks ago in Virginia Beach; and an 8K event in Kinston last weekend.

The second-place finisher in the 10K run, Josh Lewis of Greenville, echoed Stotlar's sentiments about the race and the conditions.

"The weather definately didn't help my time, but it wasn't that bad," said Lewis, who ran against Stotlar a week ago. "I ran a half marathon a few weeks back, and it was hailing and raining with 50-mile per hour winds, so today just felt like a sprinkle."

Women's 10k winner Charley McCullen provided the story of the morning. Not only did she finish first in 41:10, but did so with her soaked shoes in her left hand as she crossed the finish line.

"My sister told me this morning that she had forgot my shoes in her locker, so I was forced to wear hers, and they're a size to small," McCullen said. "They were really chafing my feet. I thought I could take it at first, but with the rain and everything I had to take them off."

"I passed a lady in the middle and she asked how long I had been without shoes, and when I said practically the whole race she warned me to be careful and not get heel bruises.

"We got to a rough spot in the road and I thought I might cry, but once you start you can't stop."

Door prizes and awards were handed out after all of the competitors finished the course, with Duncan presiding over ceremonies.

"With this being our biggest fund raiser, we are pleased to have so many people turn out," Duncan said. "I don't have an exact number yet, but we hoped to raise approximately $8,000 with today's event."