Mill Run 4-miler, 8 May 2004

Ward Captures Race, Deer Captures Hearts

Bobby Ward, track and cross-country coach at Liberty High School, came with no runners but himself to the Mill Run Four Miler on May 8 and cruised to a nearly one minute win over a field of thirteen runners, one dog, and one surprise guest at the finish line.

Ward grabbed the early lead in the up portion of the out-and-back course, and by the time he passed the one mile mark in 6:15, he had established a ten second lead over Alan Pobletts and James Moreland, with Bob Leatherman and Tina McCubbin another twenty seconds behind.

When he made the turn at the two mile mark, Ward increased his pace down the shaded course, soon becoming lost from view of his pursuers down the twisting road. When he finished in 24:55, his margin over Pobletts, the first masters runner, and Moreland, the first veteran runner, was roughly a minute. Leatherman stayed ahead of McCubbin to capture fourth.

McCubbin's first mile, covered in 7:10, ended any doubt about the winner of the female section of the race, as she cruised to a winning margin of over seven minutes. Liuda Galinaitis, who finished as the first masters female, caught Janet Kucharski on the downhill portion of the course to finish second.

During the many years that Joe Loveland has directed this race, he has purchased a variety of flowers and plants to serve as prizes for this race, which has often been held on Mother's Day weekend.

Normally the prizes are given to male and female runners, who plant them outside or leave them inside and try to remember to water them. This year's ceremony was a little different, however, as a surprisinly tame female whitetail deer came out of the woods to greet everyone. Since Bobby Ward got the biggest prize, it only made sense that the deer tried to eat part of his plant, and when Ward escaped with plant in hand, the deer proceeded to socialize with the rest of the field, both on the road and in the area of their cars. Since no one wanted to take it home as a random prize, the deer was finally left alone near the finish line as the last runners drove away.