Behind the scenes of the Half Marathon

PARKERSBURG -- There's a lot of work that goes into making the 13.1 mile course of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon, and the Two-Mile Race, a reality.

Numerous volunteers and staff from the News and Sentinel are needed to get things off the ground and moving but, a lot of help also comes from the City of Parkersburg. The sanitation, electric, street cleaning and even the sign departments come out in force to lend a hand.

"The street cleaning, that's my primary guys," said J.D. Karcher, street cleaning, snow removal and sign shop superintendent for the City of Parkersburg. "There's eight guys in that shop and they work all weekend. They do the majority of the prep work for the maintenance of the route, they do all the sweeping of the entire route, which is 13.1 miles, and they sweep the whole thing, they also freshen the footprints yearly, and we're up to 120 of those footprints now."

Karcher said last year they used a more expensive acetone based paint that he hopes will lessen the work the crew has to do this year but they will still have to repaint the ones that might have been covered due to regular street repairs, or those that may have faded.

"The Parkersburg Street Department has been an incredible group to work with," race director Art Smith said. "Not only making sure the running surface is in good shape, but they also put out cones and mark the course with over 100 footprints."

The work doesn't begin and end with just sweeping and painting, either. Karcher said they also print the mile marker signs with each year's sponsors for the race, they set up protective barricades and put up cones marking the route of the course.

"We use all of our closure stuff, and we use all of our cones," Karcher said. "We have two different types. We have the three-foot man cones, or the 30 inch, smaller man cones, and we have the grabber cones which are the four-foot cones. We use everything we have."

Karcher said most of the guys on the crew have been working for the city for at least ten years, and that he has some who have been there for over 20. He said they all work hard leading up to the race, on the day of and even afterwards as they have to transition into the Parkersburg Homecoming Parade that takes place after the race.

"There's a lot of work that goes into it and the city dedicates quite a bit," Karcher said. "We're fortunate the mayor is good with that."

Karcher said they also get a lot of assistance from the local and state police departments. Parkersburg Police Chief Matthew Board said their whole department is involved in some capacity. He said on top of their normal duties they also have 50 officers who go out and direct traffic, keep the runners and spectators safe and just enjoy the day and interact with members of the community.

"I'm proud of the work the guys put in that day," Board said. "There's a lot of manpower and effort that goes into it but everything always seems to run smoothly."

Board said the Wood County Sheriff's Office and West Virginia State Police, along with many of the area volunteer fire departments, also do their part to make sure it's a fun and safe environment for all involved. "Most races don't have this phenomenal level of cooperation," Smith said. "But in our case, it's just another example of how the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon is truly a community event."

The Half Marathon will begin at 8 a.m. Aug. 19 with the Two-Mile Race beginning at 8:10 a.m. Awards for the Half Marathon will take place at noon at St. Francis Xavier Parish Hall with the awards for the Two-Mile Race taking place at 10:30 a.m. at Bicentennial Park.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com