SMITH: Market Street a fitting end

July 29, 2023

Half marathon concludes in the historic center of Parkersburg If you run either the News and Sentinel Half Marathon or Two-Mile Race you will start and end at two locations that have been used for decades to begin and conclude the races. The races both start near the intersection of Third and Juliana streets. A white line is painted across the street to mark where runners will line up the morning of Aug. 19. Normally traffic flows into the area from the off ramp for Route 50, from up the section of Juliana Street that connects with Second Street, and from Third Street. On the ...

BENNETT: Good night for a run

July 27, 2023

Saturday night’s Kicks for Kids 5K here in Parkersburg might not have had the biggest field, but it appears both runners and walkers are coming back to the sport. Following the event and prior to the awards ceremony, race co-director Sharon Marks thanked everyone who participated. Money raised from the event should turn into around 100 pairs of shoes for students in Wood and Washington Counties. “Sharon does a great job putting on the race and everyone that helps her,” admitted men’s run champion Scott Burnham, who said his next race will be the News and Sentinel Half ...

SMITH: Rucking category adds additional challenge to race

July 22, 2023

We all know that running and walking is a great way to burn calories while getting fit. Some people chose to make it even more challenging by adding weight to their workout. This is called rucking, and there is a whole group of walkers that have been adding to their weekly workout by carrying a few extra pounds in a backpack before heading out. Rucking allows a person to do strength training during which one would normally be in the gym lifting weights, while at the same time doing the endurance training that one normally equates with running and walking. We have had people rucking ...

MORRISON: Reds have sped up their rebuilding process

July 15, 2023

For this die-hard Cincinnati Reds fan of nearly 50 years, the 2022 season was just about as brutal of a season as I can remember. First off a labor dispute delayed the season and the offseason and the minute the dispute was settled and things were back to normal, the Reds continued a rebuild that had started the previous season by trading popular players such as Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez before the season began. Some ill-advised comments by the son of Reds owner Bob Castellini on opening day added to the frustration as did the fact the 2022 Reds began the season ...

HOLLAND: Reds doing their best Etta Express impression

June 23, 2023

Entering the 2023 NCAA Division III Super Regionals against visiting Misericordia, Marietta College baseball coach Brian Brewer noted that the Cougars played a similar style of baseball as the Pioneers. “They bunt, steal and try to wreak a lot of havoc on the bases, which we try to do as ...

BENNETT: Bye bye to the 1-and-1

June 8, 2023

The final three days of last week were pretty crazy on several levels. Thursday was an extremely long one due to the all-state baseball meeting and covering Tyler Consolidated’s first game at the state tournament. On Friday, I had the honor of taking in another Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis Football Classic game at St. Marys. At one point prior to kickoff, I was having a conversation with someone and they told me how they always enjoyed my columns when I would write about summer vacation. I don’t have any exploits for vacation yet, but I was able to take this past Saturday ...