Runners
Shawn Evans ( #12) of Kinston and Beth Green (#15) of Swansboro, eventual
1st place winners in the Male and Female Divisions of The Kinston 8000:
Run for the River, set a winning pace in the first laps of the 4.97 mile
run. The 8k race, sponsored by Pride of Kinston with cooperation from
the Kinston-Lenoir Parks and Recreation Department and City of Kinston,
attracted 150 runners for its first outing, with 55% of the racers from
outside Kinston.
Pride’s Outdoor Events Team has set a date for next year’s race at Mar. 24, 2007 exactly one year to the day from the successful inaugural race.
Evans ran the race in 28minutes and 48 seconds and Ms. Green finished the course in 28 minutes and 56 seconds.
Jackson Perry, shown beaming with his winning medal, ran the one mile
Fun Run in 6 minutes, 52 seconds to finish first.
1,200 Cyclists to Bike Through Kinston
Kinston is the last stop on a week long trek across North Carolina. The bikers began pedaling across the Tar Heel State in Banner Elk, NC on Sept. 30. They spend Thursday night in Smithfield before heading to Kinston early Friday morning, according to the Cycle 06 North Carolina program agenda.
Pride of Kinston, the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department and Lucy Marston, director of Lenoir County Tourism have banded together to help welcome the riders to town. A party for the bikers will be held at Neuseway Nature Center where many of the riders will camp Friday night. A band, food and circulating buses connecting the park with area hotels and restaurants will provide access to Kinston hospitality, according to Marston.
Kinston area bikers who want to join the riders for the last Kinston-to-Emerald Isle leg of the trip can sign up with Cycle North Carolina officials at Neuseway Nature Center. Cost is $45 per biker for the final push, according to material issued by Ragan Williams of Cycle North Carolina.
Fifty percent of the bikers are from outside North Carolina, according
to Cycle NC stats. They come from 43 states and three foreign countries.