CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — More than 1200 racers are expected for Saturday’s 20th annual Cecil Jarvis Greater Clarksburg 10K in Harrison County.
Race director Carl Hatfield said the race was successful in the beginning because of a smaller group of very dedicated and well-known runners.
“Our race became like an instant success on the road racing circuit here in the United States,” Hatfield said on the MetroNews-affiliated “Thursday Morning Conference Call” on the AJR News Network. “Our 10K, even though we didn’t have the huge numbers of like the big city races for 10 kilometers, we did rank in the top 10 races in the country.”
Hatfield credited Larry Mazza of MVB Bank as one of the driving forces behind the 10K and it’s impact on public health.
“He wanted to put on a community event that would improve the fitness of citizens of Harrison County and North Central West Virginia who came to participate in our event,” he said.
Jeff Galloway, better known as “America’s Running Coach,” has praised 10K’s for how they influence people in the community’s and towns they take place in. Hatfield said the influence is exponential.
“For every runner that enters or walker that enters the Clarksburg 10K or the two-mile, they influence as much as 20 other people to better themselves, to take better care of their health,” Hatfield said.
“Over the years, we have influenced a lot of people to change their physical activities, to change their eating habits. It’s just an event that the community has bought into.”
Hatfield said an increase in teams and relay runners was noticeable in 2016.
“We have a lot more teams this year than we’ve had in the first two years that we started the relay,” Hatfield said. “Each runner runs five kilometers.”
The race was named for Cecil Jarvis, who ran the race ten times, after he passed away in 2007.
The 10K begins at 8:30 Saturday morning. The two-mile race begins at 10 a.m. The Kids K begins at 10:30 a.m.
Late entrants can still sign up for the race on Friday at the Clarksburg fire house on Main Street.