Unbelievable

Ok, this is one of those things I just have to point out. I plan on sending a "nice" e-mail later today to the Roanoke Times to thank them for their wonderful coverage of Saturday's Festival 5k/10k. What, you didn't see the coverage? Oh, maybe that's because it was non-existent. Yes, completely missing. Not even a mention. Pathetic! This race has always been pretty much the biggest running event in the area both in terms of the number of participants it draws and the excitement it generates in the running community. Competition isn't what it used to be back in the days when Steve Taylor and Steve Spence dueled it out for the win in the 10k, but David Angell and Tim Smith both put up some impressive performances this year, running 15:35 in the 5k and 31:59 in the 10k respectively. Both won their events for the second year in a row, and it was Dave's 5th title overall in the 5k, all things worthy of mention and coverage. The fact that a 49 year old ran 16:34 was very impressive too, and I believe that is one of the faster times in the nation this year for that age bracket.

Anyway, the races used to get great coverage by the paper complete with pics, interviews, etc. There was also television coverage with race footage (I remember them riding alongside me going over one of the bridges on Jefferson Street one year then broadcasting that on the news that evening), more interviews, etc. The coverage has dwindled down over the years, with the television coverage disappearing altogether, but up until this year the newspaper has continued to at least have an article, results, and a couple pics. Granted the articles have been more human interest stories than actual race coverage, but at least there was something.

In any event, take time to express your displeasure to the Roanoke Times over failing to cover this event. If our sport is to ever grow and get more people interested (young and old alike), there has to be coverage. I know the Roanoke Times gets more excited when Billy Bob catches a nice bass (you get pics and a story for that), but I'm sure they can spare at least a little space amongst that, the Hokie hype, golf coverage, etc. for an article on running.

Speaking of good coverage, here's a great example. Granted it was a marathon, but that's how you do it. That said, congrats to former Rockbridge star, John Crews, on being 4-for-4 in marathons now, laying down back-to-back 2:17's in his last two races. Nice!