Talk about a tough family … Lieutenant Ricky Barrett, 46, of the Clarendon County Fire Department, ran with an oxygen tank strapped to his firefighter jacket in the first-ever Spooky Sprint 5K (3.1 mile) race held in Summerton on Saturday, Oct. 29. His son, Camrien Barrett, 16, ran in two races that day. Camrien, a member of Manning High School’s cross country team, ran in the 2A Boys Lower State Qualifying Meet that morning in Columbia (where the Monarchs qualified for the state meet), and came back to Summerton to win his age group in the Spooky Sprint that afternoon.
In fact there were several Clarendon County residents that made it a fun, challenging and sweaty event.
Clarendon County Council Chairman Dwight Stewart, participated in the race, as well as Stewart’s daughter, Kate Lincoln, of Columbia. Lincoln, 33, won her age group of 30-39 and was the overall female winner with a time of 24:10.
Stewart said that he hadn’t ran a race since the 2007 Santee Dam Run, and that he was glad to be out running again.
“I really enjoyed the course, and it was a great event for Summerton,” he said.
Another Summerton family, the Cogdills, also had a fun running adventure.
Chris Cogdill, 52, and his two sons, Blake, 21, and Brent, 25, ran in the race as well. Cogdill said that he used to run the Cooper River Bridge Run (an annual 6.2 mile run in Charleston that attracts 30,000 people), and a good friend from Summerton got him back into running three months ago.
“I enjoyed it; it was a lot of fun,” said Cogdill.
He said that when he told his sons that he was running, they hopped on as well. Cogdill ran strong and finished ahead of his sons.
Seven members of the Clarendon County Fire Department participated in the run, with several running in full gear. Josh Jordan, 23, of Turbeville, was one of these firefighters.
“We work in our gear, and we should be able to perform well in our gear when it comes to physical fitness,” he said. “We want to be in the top physical fitness when we show up for our duties.”
When Travis Pruden, director of Clarendon Health System’s the Zone Health and Wellness Center, organized the Clarendon Cup race series, he wanted to make sure that each of the county’s municipalities benefited from the races.
In Summerton, the Education Friendly Community was that organization. Education Friendly Community has encouraged community members to get involved in Summerton schools, has helped bring together private and public school students and has created a computer lab with Internet technology for Summerton residents.
“The funds will help strengthen our program, as well as help with our computer lab costs,” said Sherry Stewart, EFC’s president.
Pruden said that he is satisfied with the first year of the Clarendon Cup, which included the Puddin Swamp Festival 5K run/walk in Turbeville, Striped Bass Festival 10K/5K run and 5K walk in Manning, Run For Your Lungs 5K run/walk in Manning, and the Hot Dam 10K/5K run and 5K walk. All of the races also included a one-mile fun walk.
