Erick Sexton/Clarendon Citizen
Area runners/walkers had lots of fun at the SBF Run
Clarendon County Controller Lynden Anthony crossed the finish line wearing a collared shirt, tie and dress pants.
No he didn’t just get off work without time to change. And no he wasn’t going for the Coolest Outfit award either (although he did receive it with honors).
He simply just wanted to make this race fun. Anthony had a half-Ironman distance triathlon the following weekend, and being a competitive athlete, he needed a constant reminder to take it easy on the festival race date.
“I didn’t want to take this race too seriously,” he said.
Another Manning resident, Steve Glaser, shared Anthony’s thoughts. A finisher of 10 marathons, Glaser said he did the race for fun, and to enjoy the Striped Bass Festival activities afterwards.
The Striped Bass Festival Run/Walk, held on Saturday, April 24, attracted 130 runners, and was a success according to Travis Pruden, director of The Zone Health and Wellness Center.
“We nearly doubled in number of participants, from last year’s 76,” Pruden said.
Forty 10K (6.2 mile) participants crossed the start line at Manning Primary School. They ran past the City Park, made a left at Weldon Auditorium and ran down to Pocotaligo Swamp. They then came up North Brooks Street, made a right before First Palmetto Savings Bank, and did the loop one more time. On the second loop, they ran all the way to the Courthouse, for the finish line. The 54 5K (3.1 mile) participants came next, running one loop on the course.
The field in this year’s 10K event was faster, according to Pruden. The top four spots in the 10K were taken by out-of-towners, with the winner beating the previous year’s time by 11 minutes. The winner of this year’s 10K was Degraw Arthur, 30, from Florence. Overall female finisher was Claudia Garcia, 26, from Columbia, In the 5K, Manning native David Bradham, 15, took first and Karen Canup, 36, from Campobello, S.C. was the first female finisher.
Canup’s son, 10-year-old Raleigh, was the second youngest participant in the 5K race, finishing 11th overall.
Raleigh’s grandfather, Mac Geddings of Manning, 63, crossed the finish line five minutes later. The Gedding/Canup trio decided it would be fun to make the race a family affair.
“We’ve always been a close family,” said Geddings. “My daughter and grandson ran in the festival last year, and I decided to join them this year.”
Another local family, the Cobbs, swept the age group awards for the 5K race. Cathy Cobb, 44, of Manning won the female 40-49 age group, while Matthew Cobb, 12, took first in the 2-19 male age group category. Sarah Cobb, 14, won the female 2-19 age group.
Geddings said that he had only started running in February and that this was his first race.
“It’s good exercise, it’s something we can all try: walking, jogging, running,” he said.
Pruden thanked IGA for providing refreshments and water, and Substation II for free lunch coupons.
The next run planned in Manning will be a 5K Run/Walk and 1-mile fun run on May 22. The course will be exactly the same as the Striped Bass Festival Run. Proceeds will benefit the Lung Cancer Alliance. For more information contact Leigh Maynard at 460-4811, Casey Morris at 225-0154, or The Zone at 435-5200. Registration flyers are available at The Zone at the Cypress Center in Manning.
