7th Deckers Creek Trail Half Marathon
Saturday, June 2, 2007
9 a.m.

FAST TIMES ON NATIONAL TRAILS DAY


Lucky number seven produced a hot summer day for the 232 runners that
participated in the 7th annual Deckers Creek Trail Half-Marathon.  This
celebration of local trails has brought state and national attention to the
Mon River Trails Conservancy with its unique mostly downhill 13.1 mile
course from Masontown to Morgantown.  This year’s race attracted runners
from a record fourteen states and the Washington D.C. area and from as far
away as including Arizona, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New York,
Illinois and Georgia. Crossing the finish line, participants ranged in age
from 14 to 77.

Runners were treated to beautiful mountain views and the rushing waterfalls
of the adjacent Deckers Creek as they descended approximately 800 feet on
the Deckers Creek Trail.  Ron Weist, of Fairmont, West Virginia was awarded
first in the overall male division, crossing the finish line in 1:13:12.
First place in the women’s overall and coming in 8th was Heather Parks of
Bruceton Mills with a time of 1:28:05. The Deckers Creek Trail
Half-Marathon is part of the Morgantown Area Grand Prix endurance series.
A complete list of race times and photographs can be found at iplayoutside.com

The Deckers Creek Trail Half-marathon celebrates National Trails Day,
America’s largest celebration of trails and the outdoors, held each year on
the first Saturday in June.  All proceeds from the event help us manage and
maintain the Mon River and Deckers Creek Trails.  This year’s event raised
over $8,000 for the rail-trails.

MRTC would like to thank the sponsors of the race: West Virginia University
Hospitals for the bus shuttle to the race start, Morgantown Roadrunners for
the race timing, refreshments from Casa D’Amici, Clif Bar, Maxwell’s
Restaurant, Panera Bread, Pepsi Bottling Company, and Waterfront Place
Hotel. With funding from Adventure’s Edge, Boston Beanery, Francis
Engineering, Mountain People’s Co-Op, Paula Hunt and Tim Warner, Pat
Wildeman, Wamsley’s Cycles, WesBanco, and the city of Morgantown.  We also
thank the many volunteers, EMS, city and county law enforcement, and the
running community for making this a successful event!