Pride of Kinston's
2007 Run for the River
Comes Off Without a Hitch

The weather was superb.

The runners were pumped.

The volunteers were exuberant.

The lead runner set a torrid pace...running the 4.97 mile 8K race under 26 minutes (25:58).

And the Kinston Public Safety Department and the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department had all the course logistics for the One Mile and 8K races in hand.

All in all, it could not have been a better day for the Kinston 8000: Run for the River held Saturday, Mar. 24, 2007.

"This was a great event for Kinston and Kinston should be proud of the way it was organized. It was a great race." This comment came early Monday from Deborah Sutton, a member of the Lenoir Community College staff.

"Thank you and everyone else for all the hard work on the run Saturday. I really enjoyed it. I look forward to it next year. My daughters even said they want to volunteer next year." This observation was made by Christie Wilkins, a runner and a member of the Wallace Morris Barwick Landis & Stroud law firm, a sponsor of the race.

Some 152 runners participated. The first place overall male winner was 24-year-old Greenville teacher Michael Earle, native of Toronto, Canada and graduate of Campbell University. For complete race results go to www.runnc.com.

Earle was followed closely behind by Jonathan Yanez of Tarawa Terrace, just outside Jacksonville, NC and third place overall male runner was Jose Reyna of Fort Bragg, NC.

The fastest overall female runner was Kari Burger of Emerald Isle who ran the 4.97 miles in 32 minutes, 38 seconds. Second place went to Diana Doherty of Goldsboro, and third place female runner overall was Erin Putnam of Jacksonville, NC.

Leader of the pack in the One Mile Fun Run was Vance Wade, followed closely behind by Michael Deaver and Jeremy Cavanaugh.

Pride director Adrian King commended the approximately 80 volunteers who assisted Pride's Outdoor Events Team in producing the problem-free race. King also paid high compliments to Tim Knobeloch and his colleagues at the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department and to Commander Ronnie Ingram and colleagues in the Kinston Public Safety Department for their assistance "and shared devotion to make this a quality event in which the whole community can be proud."

Local enthusiasm for the race was evident at the "Welcome to the Race" party held Friday night at the Hampton Inn when more than 75 prospective volunteers showed up for a briefing. "It was evident then that a large segment of Kinston's residents have embraced the Run for the River as something to get involved in," King said. The volunteers, sponsors and runners were treated to a pasta buffet at the party before hearing an inspired story by Wilmington, NC Ironman triathlete Scott Johnson who related how he overcame the effects of a double lung transplant in the fight against cystic fibrosis to compete in grueling race events in the US and New Zealand.

It was noted that a special initiatives task force convened by Pride in June 2005 had identified the Neuse River and using sporting events to draw people to Kinston's downtown as major priorities for the downtown revitalization organization.

"The Kinston 8000: Run for the River--the 2006 installment and the just completed 2007 race--is a perfect marriage of the two top priorities envisioned by our 2005 advisors. The Kinston Waterfront - Now! Task Force and Pride's Outdoor Events Team to produce the 2006 and 2007 Runs for the River, are direct outgrowths of the June 2005 recommendations," King noted in messages to race co-sponsors the City of Kinston and the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department.

Members of the Outdoor Events Team are: Sean Anglin, Dick Archie, Edwin Jones, Tim Knobeloch, Lucy Marston, Jim Perry, John Shimer III, Chris Tutak, Dr. Lyn Turner, Rick Vernon, Michelle Weatherdon, Robert Van Meir and Kevin Zoltek.

Sponsors of the race, through Mar. 20, 2007, include: Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority; Rotary Club of Kinston; Comprehensive Wound Care; Kinston Medical Specialists; Lenoir Memorial Hospital; Kinston Radiological Associates; Minges Bottling Group; Hurricane Kayaks; Coastal Connections; Lenox China; BB&T; Johnson & Perry Family Dentistry; Kinston Head & Neck Physicians and Surgeons; Tands/Bojangles; the little bank; Wallace, Morris, Barwick, Landis & Stroud; White & Allen; Rakesh T. Anand; Frank Sutton; Corporate Resources; Hampton Inn; Fred Antonowich; Kinston Surgical Associates; Davis Wholesale Tire Company; and Anonymous.

Persons interested in additional information can go to Pride of Kinston's website at www.downtownkinston.com, and click on the Things to Do button.