
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990                   TAG: 9007120086
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: JEFF MOTLEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

HOSPITAL'S RUN FOR HEALTH SATURDAY

Ten years ago, Lee McCormick and Cam McLaughlin met to decide how the Montgomery Regional Hospital should celebrate its 10th anniversary. McLaughlin, was a runner, so he suggested a road race. The idea was a success and Saturday morning, the 10th annual Montgomery Regional Hospital Run for Health will get under way at Lane Stadium.

"This was my inception 10 years ago," McLaughlin said. "I thought it would be a good idea for a race, and it seemed to work."

But things have changed since that first race.

"We probably had about 200 runners and it was more like a cross-country race," McLaughlin said. "I mean we ran on the gravel roads, through the fields and through the dairy barns."

In 1984, the course was changed to its present route around the Virginia Tech campus and parts of Blacksburg. The 10K course has also been certified by national running organizations.

The 1982 race, which included author and marathoner Dr. George Sheehan, attracted nearly 750 people, and since then there have been between 600 and 650 runners annually. Only 130 had registered as of Tuesday for this year's race, and that projects to about 400 on race day. One possible reason for the low turnout is the departure of McCormick. She left a couple of months ago to pursue a new career. She had done all the publicity, and McLaughlin handled the race itself.

"I think the low turnout could be attributed to the PR that Lee did," McLaughlin said. "I probably haven't gotten the chance to do it like she did. . . . In the past I was just the race director. This is the first time I've had to do the public relations as well."

Another factor that could be keeping numbers down is the heat of recent weeks. "It is miserable out there right now and there is a lot of concern about the heat," McLaughlin said. "There is plenty of water on the course and even though it starts at eight in the morning, if it is anything like these past few days it could be very uncomfortable."

For those who outduel the heat, awards will be given to male and female overall winners in the 10K and 5K. There will be awards for the top finish in each age group in both races. There will also be a one-mile, non-competitive run-walk.

by CNB