Saturday, May 19, 2012 -- Charleston, WV / Kanawha State Forest
Dirty Dog 15K Trail Run
2012: [Details] [Coverage] [Photos] [Overall Results] [Results by Class]
[2006] [2007] [2008] [2009] [2010] [2011]
Biggest WVMTR Race Ever
Story and photos by Don Parks.
The weather cooperated with no rain but the previous week's rain left the course still a little muddy and the warming air a bit humid. The course through Kanawha State Forest is challenging and more than one runner returned sporting scratches, brusies, and/or a little blood (and in at least one case more than a little).
Seeming to come out unscathed was Huntington's Robert Smith
who won after leading most of the race. His finishing time of 1:08:09
was over a minute faster than his runner-up time of last year.
The real racing was going on behind Smith.
Warner was also the first finisher escorted by a dog. This gave Macy, a German Shorthair Pointer, a repeat victory as the "Top Dog."
On the women's side, first time runner Maria Dalzot, of Morgantown, not only won but shattered the course record, set in 2006, by over eight minutes. Her winning time of 1:13:02 was good enough for a sixth overall finish.
Rounding out the women's top three were Bethany Williams (1:23:42) and Krystle Bailey (1:26:08).
Afterwards there was plenty of food and beverages for all runners of both the two and four legged variety.
If you, and maybe your faithful companion, are looking forward to giving the 2013 Dirty Dog a go, just note that a limit will be set on the number of registrants. It is also likely that there will be no race day registration.