A fellow beginner runner asked me if I would like to run this race, and since I survived the GRTM half-marathon, I said, sure, why not! Friends of mine who … MORE
A fellow beginner runner asked me if I would like to run this race, and since I survived the GRTM half-marathon, I said, sure, why not! Friends of mine who ran the old 20K here warned me ahead of time about the hills, 29th St in particular, so I prepped here in Chas. on some of the CDR course. The Ogden half was one of the toughest challenges I have faced in life (and that includes childbirth and a brain tumor!), but I met that beast, ran those hills, & beat my first half marathon’s time by 10 minutes! The community support was amazing with a lot of prep work & water stations. There were some areas that were not clearly marked, and that was disconcerting, but overall, this was an amazing adventure!!!
Please login to reply to this review.
Tough challenge for this Mountaineer!
A fellow beginner runner asked me if I would like to run this race, and since I survived the GRTM half-marathon, I said, sure, why not! Friends of mine who … MORE
A fellow beginner runner asked me if I would like to run this race, and since I survived the GRTM half-marathon, I said, sure, why not! Friends of mine who ran the old 20K here warned me ahead of time about the hills, 29th St in particular, so I prepped here in Chas. on some of the CDR course. The Ogden half was one of the toughest challenges I have faced in life (and that includes childbirth and a brain tumor!), but I met that beast, ran those hills, & beat my first half marathon’s time by 10 minutes! The community support was amazing with a lot of prep work & water stations. There were some areas that were not clearly marked, and that was disconcerting, but overall, this was an amazing adventure!!!
A family tradition ... for over 30 years
Our family has been participating for three decades. It started when my daughters (who are not runners) and I would run the 1-mile downhill race on the evening before my … MORE
Our family has been participating for three decades. It started when my daughters (who are not runners) and I would run the 1-mile downhill race on the evening before my half marathon. One year, my daughter won a cash prize of $150 in the race! When the Friday race was discontinued a few years ago, I said nothing about that year’s race to my daughters, didn’t want them to have the pressure of making the long trip to West Virginia just to see me run the half marathon. I was surprised to see that my daughter and her husband drove in the middle of the night just so that they could see me run the half marathon on Saturday morning! The weekend has become that special to my family! The 2-mile straight uphill in the half at the 3.5 mile marker is a killer, but not so bad when you know where it is and how long it will be. The reward is the 2-mile straight downhill that follows. By then you are delirious and it feels like you are flying! Have never experienced anything like it in any other race. A few more rolling hills, the toughest is a half-mile hill that comes right before the final mile, which is straight downhill (the site of the former Friday night race), and a finish in downtown Wheeling. Tough, challenging, and special. Our family would not start our summer without this race! Participation has dropped in recent years, but I hope the race can continue to be run until I no longer can.
Tough Event
Hills, many hills...this was the third time I participated in this event. For change the weather was cool. The support on course was very good.. There were water stations every … MORE
Hills, many hills…this was the third time I participated in this event. For change the weather was cool. The support on course was very good.. There were water stations every mile or so. The swag is nothing special, just a shirt. At end of race you get a nice medal and towel. It is my hometown race, so I support it. It is also the toughest 1/2 marathon I have ever entered by far. If you are looking for a WV race to add to your list of races this is definitely one to consider.
Great challenge!
This is a TOUGH one!! But great course support along the way! It was fun to wind through the town and see a new place plus the challenge of the … MORE
This is a TOUGH one!! But great course support along the way! It was fun to wind through the town and see a new place plus the challenge of the hills. They have real bathrooms to use before and after which is nice. Well organized and well done. I would defintely do it again just for the challenge. Nice medal as well! I really enjoyed it and feel like it showcased the terrain of WV well.
Tough Course
This course has a reputation of being tough and it is. Normally I can run, between 1:50 and 2:00. I have run twice and can't come close to breaking two … MORE
This course has a reputation of being tough and it is. Normally I can run, between 1:50 and 2:00. I have run twice and can’t come close to breaking two hours. Between the heat (Memorial Day Weekend) and the elevation changes you will be challenged. Support for the race is great. I will be back again to finally break my barrier. Wish they held it during a cooler time of year, otherwise a great race to try.
Yes, it really is one of the toughest
The combination of heat, humidity and hills made this one of my slowest half marathons ever. I realized early on that this was not going to be a fast race … MORE
The combination of heat, humidity and hills made this one of my slowest half marathons ever. I realized early on that this was not going to be a fast race for me, so I concentrated on enjoying what I could. There was surprisingly excellent course support, and lots and lots of water and Gatorade on such a hot, humid day. Did I mention it was hot?
HILLS! & in 2010, this race was a 20K
2010 was the last year that this race was run as a 20K. It is a sister race to the Parkersburg News & Sentinel Half Marathon. Both races are held … MORE
2010 was the last year that this race was run as a 20K. It is a sister race to the Parkersburg News & Sentinel Half Marathon. Both races are held in WV.
Ogden is held in Wheeling, WV at the end of May.
Parkersburg is held in Parkersburg, WV in August.
If a person runs both races in the same calendar year, they receive a special t-shirt. Having run Parkersburg many times, I decided that I wanted to run Ogden so that I could earn that extra shirt. So, I registered for the 2010 race. Ogden ended up being the most DIFFICULT race I have ever run (and I have run over 60 half marathons!!) There is a KILLER hill. It keeps going for over 2 miles, and gains 650′ elevation!! It is located in the first few miles of the race!! This Hill (which others may describe more like a mountain) demands respect.
By the way, the race organizers changed this race to a Half Marathon in 2011, and it has been a Half Marathon since. But the Hill remains a challenge on the course!