Mallery, Sober win Conquer the Dam 5K titles

May 7, 2016

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12-year-old runs to overall win
Masters elite tops female field despite injury

* Results – OverallAward winners (updated)
* Video – start line is a “go!”
* Photos – More than 600 images by Addy Mallery (download for free!)
* Permanent event page (prior years’ results)
* Facebook page – Aging and Family Services of Mineral County

ELK GARDEN, W.Va. —It’s amazing what a little competition will do.

In 2015, 11-year-old Colby Mallery placed sixth in the fourth annual Conquer the Dam 5K run at Jennings-Randolph Lake in Elk Garden, W.Va., in a time of 23 minutes and 4.4 seconds. His closest competitor was 21.2 seconds behind.

Photo by Addy Mallery Runners launch from the start line at the beginning of the 5th annual Conquer the Dam 5K at Jennings-Randolph Lake on Saturday in Elk Garden, W.Va.

Runners launch from the start line at the beginning of the 5th annual Conquer the Dam 5K at Jennings-Randolph Lake on Saturday in Elk Garden, W.Va.

On Saturday in the fifth annual contest, the Mount Savage, Md., resident had the hot breath of 30-year-old David Redman, of Keyser, W.Va., on his shoulder as the two navigated the second half of the out-and-back course — and arguably the most difficult portion of the uphill section. As the two were some 100 meters from the finish line, Redman gestured to Mallery and directed his eyes to the finish line: There it is, Redman said. The seventh-grader from Calvary Christian Academy knew what to do.

Mallery bolted, moving up five spots from his 2015 finish and shaving off nearly two full minutes to stop the clock this year in 21:22.7 and first among an event-record field of 140 official finishers. Redman was second in 21:23.7 while Kevin Cuozzo, 41, of McHenry, Md., earned third place overall and men’s masters champion in 21:58.3.

McHenry resident Jen Sober, 43, led the women’s field with a time of 22:32, good for fourth-place overall. Krystal Stair, 29, of Cumberland, Md., finished second for the second consecutive year. This time she finished in 25:00.7, nearly a full minute ahead of her 2015 performance (26:00.2). Faith Butts, 18, of Keyser, W.Va., edged Brenna Earnest, 42, also of Keyser, for third place by five seconds (26:24.2 to 26:29.2, respectively).

The event experienced a record-high this year in the number of pre-registered runners (113), registered runners (154) and official finishers (141).

Proceeds from this event, directed by Scott Mallery and Lou Kitzmiller, support the Meals on Wheels program of Mineral County.

The Meals on Wheels Program of Mineral County assists people who are homebound by providing a hot, nutritious meal each week day. Designed to help prevent unnecessary institutionalization, this program helps the frail elderly maintain independence and avoid social isolation.

Staff who deliver meals to homebound older persons often spend some time with the elderly, helping to decrease their feelings of isolation. These volunteers and staff also check on the welfare of the homebound elderly and are encouraged to report any health or other problems that they may note during their visits.

In addition to providing nutrition and nutrition-related services, the Elderly Nutrition Program provides an important link to other needed supportive in- home and community-based services such as homemaker-home health aide services, transportation, and even physical activity programs.

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