West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners

RUN A MILE - WALK A MILE at BELINGTON’S 1 MILE ROAD RACE

In coordination with the Belington Fall Festival at the:

Belington Clinic
210 N. Sturmer St.

Katie Wolpert, Race Director

More Details and Entry

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Location: Valley Falls State Park - Fairmont, West Virginia
Once the site of a lumber and grist mill community, the scenic treasure of Valley Falls State Park is located only a short drive from Fairmont and Grafton. This 1,145 acre day use park hosts a variety of outdoor recreation including fishing, picnicking, whitewater rafting, and 18 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Visit their website at www.valleyfallsstatepark.com.

The Reason:
This run serves as a fund-raiser for the Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF), a national non-profit health organization dedicated to improving the diagnosis and treatment of primary immune deficiency diseases through research and education.

There are as many as 50,000 people, including my daughter Amanda, who have a primary immune deficiency disease in the United States. These individuals live throughout the country and often find it difficult to receive specialized health care, and proper diagnosis and treatment. Individuals affected by primary immune deficiency (PID) disorders also experience difficulties financing their health care, finding educational materials on the disease, and locating others with whom to share their experiences. The goal of IDF is to help individuals overcome these difficulties and live a healthy and productive life. Visit www.primaryimmune.org to learn more about IDF and primary immunodeficiencies. Continue Reading »

Perhaps only a bit on the warm side, September 14th was once again, a perfectly gorgeous day in Helvetia, WV. Seven kids lined up for the kids race, which, for the first time in recent memory did not include Lara Lehmann who dominated the race until she graduated from kid’s race status last year. The title spot was left open and one of these cute kids won it, but we don’t keep track because we don’t want them getting overly competitive about this running stuff until they’re at least a year or two older.

The short race complete, and prize balloons handed out (and several promptly popped), 60+ runners prepared for the main event of the day: the 10K Mountain Run. At the gun, a couple of young newcomers burst to the front. 14 year-old Andrew Shaffer (no relation to Charlie) and 13 year-old Jordan Work found themselves leading the race through the first mile in 5:30. Right on their heels were Randy Young, Mike Dolin & Lew McGrath. 30 seconds back new mother Heather Parks led the women’s field, followed at a distance by Katie Wolpert.

Continue Reading »

The summer sun set on August 22 and with it the inaugural running of the CMMM 50. A total of 84 hearty souls toed the line for the 9:00 p.m. start deep in the mountains of West Virginia; ready to run into the uncertainty of darkness.

The course starts and finishes from the cozy and historic Camp Pioneer in Beverly. Delivering a mix of roads, fire roads, and some of the most scenic and remote single track around, the course follows the undulations of Cheat Mountain for 50 miles and 6,300 feet of elevation gain and loss. Continue Reading »

So Gregg Holst and I headed over to West Virginia for this inaugural 50 mile race.  He ran it, and I volunteered.  I guess I’ll let Gregg give his opinion on the course as a whole.  But I thought the race was very nice.  It started at 9 PM and went overnight, with a 13 hour limit (10 AM).  The course started with a big uphill as you run up the mountain, then was rolling for the middle 30 or so, then went back downhill to return to the start.  The beginning and end were the same,but there were a couple loops in the middle.  It was mostly single-track forest road, with a little asphalt in the first/last mile and some substantial trail sections in the first two thirds. Continue Reading »