Race to Cure
Fourth annual race benefits American Cancer Society
HARRISON KEELY Sentinel Writer

Harrison Keely/ Sentinel Photo Young and old alike came out Saturday, June 2 to support the American Cancer Society by running in the Race to Cure 5K.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For video with this article, go to www.smokymountainsentinel. com.

About sixty runners showed up for the fourth annual Race to Cure 5K run/walk which zipped through Konaheeta Park in Murphy Saturday, June 2. The race, which benefited the American Cancer Society (ACS)with its proceeds, began at 3 p.m. and was followed by a "Tot Trot" for children ages eight and under at 3:45.

"This is our fourth year and we've had to switch locations several times," Glenda Jones, the team captain and an employee of United Community Bank, the race's sponsor, said. "We were at Hanging Dog last year and then the past two years before that we were at the [Cherokee Hills] golf course. With all of the traffic and such out there we just decided to do it closer.

Jones spoke highly of the bank's involvement with the ACS. "We've done a beauty pageant this year....and we do bake sales on Fridays. This is actually our fourth event this year. We scheduled it for after the relay because we thought it would bring in more people. Last year it rained terribly. It was a trail-like run and everybody had mud all over them.... this is a lot better."

Two runners pace each other along the flat course in Konaheeta Park in Murphy, NC.

She forecasted this year's event to bring in approximately $7,000 for cancer research. This year's race had a larger turnout than the previous three, according to Jones, who said she had to pay a fee to include the race on the "Run and See Georgia" tour. "That's what brings a lot of people in," she said.

Jones worked to organize the race with the help of her husband Terry, who presided over the awards ceremony afterward.

With an overall time of 16:57, 37 year old Rob Hartman from Blairsville, Georgia triumphed, leading the remainder of the contestants by a wide margin.

The second male overall was 14 year old Creighton Boxberger. The overall female winner was Jennifer Bell and the second female was Kayla Retterson. The Master's award for the male went to Chris Adkins and the Master's award for the female was presented to Brenda McGovern from Alabama.

The overall winner of Saturday's race was 37 year old Rob Hartman, a resident of Blairsville, GA. His time for the 5k course was 16:57.

To comment on this article, email Harrison at hkeely@gmail.com

Runners sprint to the finish line in hopes of escaping the afternoon heat. A large group of runners assembled on Saturday, June 2 to run. Here, the start of the race canbe seen, as runners speedily pass by.