Course

Fast and flat course goes through town past St. Francis Church, continue on to St. Albans High School, turns left through residential street, back to main street of town and back to starting line.

Entry Fees

$15 pre-registration $20 day of race

Age Groups

13-under 14-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-Over

Awards

Trophies for 1st place in each category, medals for 2nd place. Awards are given immediately after race at Gateway Church parking lot (across from post office) Nice T-shirts to First 125 entries, Race day on a first come basis! *post race refreshments/Fruit & drinks

Charity Information

More Information

Article from the Herald Dispatch On Friday night, Nov. 4, Winfield High School junior Jeremy Huff got up from the golf cart he had ridden from the visiting team's locker room and walked to the middle of the Winfield football field. There, he was announced as honorary captain of the Winfield High School football team. A thunderous roar went up from both sides of the bleachers. From the Winfield side of the stadium, the definite sound of "Huff, Huff, Huff" came through loud and clear. No one would have believed the gutsy 16-year-old would have made it to the game that night. After all, he had just had surgery on his brain only five days earlier. It all started a few weeks ago, when two young men on the Winfield High School football team were diagnosed with viral meningitis and were hospitalized. Parents of team members were warned to take their children to the doctor if they experienced similar symptoms. Jeremy Huff, No. 57, or "Big Huff" as he is sometimes called, had also been suffering from headaches and generally not feeling well. Knowing about the other two students' illnesses, his mother, Mary, took him to the pediatrician. "(The doctor) didn't think he had meningitis; she thought he had an (another form of) entero virus," Mary said. "He stayed home all week. She told us if he didn't feel better or started throwing up to give her a call." On Friday, Oct. 28, Jeremy called his mother at work and told her he was hungry. She told him if he felt like it, he could go get himself something to eat. He went to a local fast food restaurant and later became sick to his stomach. His mother believed he became sick because he had eaten too much, but called the pediatrician anyway. She's thankful she did, because that call might have saved his life. The pediatrician directed them to Women's and Children's Hospital for some tests. Instead of hearing that her son might have meningitis, as she would have expected, the results of a CT scan were even more sinister. "The doctor had said, 'I need to see you in another room, and then we'll come back and talk to Jeremy,'" Mary said. "When she said that, my heart sank. I knew it wasn't good news. The doctor said, 'He has two masses on his brain. One is a four, and the other a two.' I hit the floor, screaming and praying." Realizing her son could hear her frantic reaction, she tried to calm herself while the doctor called her husband, who was at work. When neither of them could reach him, she called a friend, Teresa Morris, who was finally able to get ahold of Matt Huff. Jeremy had heard his mom and knew something was wrong. However, his reaction was different. He cried, but it was because he knew he wouldn't get to finish the football season. Over a short space of time, the Huffs had gone from believing their son had a virus to making plans to travel that night to an Ohio hospital. "The neurologist suggested Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They set up everything," Mary said. With Teresa's dad leading the way in his car, Teresa followed, driving the three Huffs to the Cincinnati hospital. Fortunately, Jeremy's brothers, Andrew and Jacob, were staying with friends. Looking back, Mary said the events of those first couple of days aren't very clear. "So much of that whole weekend was a total blur," she said An MRI at the Cincinnati hospital confirmed the existence of the two masses. "It was awful, one in back and the smaller one in the center of the brain," she said. The neurologist said something else that stuck with Mary. A kind of "God thing." "He said, normally a CT scan isn't done that soon. He wouldn't have done one for several months," Mary said. "Can you imagine what we would have done had they not done that CT scan at Women's and Children's?" Mary added. Still, they were in shock. Jeremy was never sick. "Jeremy has played the whole football season. He has had some headaches, off and on, but we attributed it to being banged up (from football)," she said. Mary said at that point, the stress-inducing events of the past 24 hours caught up with her, and she became very nervous. But, her son's attitude suddenly calmed her. "Jeremy said, 'God's got this.' A peace came over me. I know He does," she said. On Sunday, Oct. 30, about 36 hours after they arrived at the Cincinnati hospital, the larger mass in the back of his brain was removed, and a biopsy was performed. The diagnosis was medulloblastoma, a highly malignant primary brain tumor that originates in the cerebellum, according to Ask.com. Still, there was also some good news. "The back tumor -- they got all of it. He has a very good prognosis," his mother said. On Thursday, Nov. 10, the Huffs returned to the Ohio hospital for preadmission. They will meet with the oncologist, who will discuss Jeremy's treatment, and he will get another MRI. In addition, they will take some stem cells and freeze them to reuse after the chemo treatment. Next week, Jeremy will go to Westchester, Ohio, to begin radiation treatment, which is five days a week for six weeks with the weekends off. On completion of the radiation therapy, he will get a month off and then begin chemo, which will be done in the hospital. He will have four rounds of chemo, with each round lasting three weeks. What is amazing is that Jeremy has done so well in the few days since his surgery. In fact, he was allowed to come home Thursday, Nov. 3, just four days after the operation. The first place he wanted to go was to watch the Winfield Generals play Spring Valley. They didn't tell anyone they were coming home except Don Covert, who hid Jeremy in the locker room before the team came in after their pre-game warm-up. Covert gave a quick speech about facing adversity, and then Jeremy entered the room. "Those boys cried and cried," Mary said. Then, Jeremy was brought out onto the field as the honorary captain for the coin toss. Jeremy especially wanted to be present for a couple of important events for the football team. Andy Ellington set the state record for the most field goals in a season, and David Gaydosz got his 1,000-yard rushing mark, the first for Winfield since the 1980s. He also attended a midget league basketball game and church on Sunday at Gateway Christian Church in St. Albans, where a special prayer was said for him. "They prayed for him, and after we sat down he sent me a note. 'I know they see this, but it will be gone,'" referring to the tumor that doctors expect to see on the next MRI. The Huffs don't think everything that has happened has been a coincidence. Andy Ellington's hospitalization caused the Huffs to take Jeremy to the doctor. Getting sick after eating a little too much caused Mary to call the pediatrician, which caused a further investigation of Jeremy's symptoms. Also, having a CT scan when he first came into the ER didn't usually happen so soon, according to the Cincinnati neurologist. "God has this" is what Jeremy would say. "The faith my son has, the deeper faith I have. The support and love people have shown -- it is unreal. We couldn't get through this without them. People we don't even know are posting on his prayer page. Someone sent flowers and balloons," she said. She has no idea who could have sent the arrangement. The card was signed V.S.S., and was sent from Phoenix, Ariz. "I tried to call the florist. All they know was what was on the card," she said. He also has hundreds of prayers coming across Facebook. On one status update during and after the surgery, at least 15 churches were listed as praying for him. The Huffs are astounded at the tremendous outpouring of love for their family, and especially for Jeremy. "We want to thank everybody. How do you thank people for everything they've done? I have never in my life been at a loss for words until all of this happened," Mary said. "I guess we want people to know how thankful we are for the love and prayers and support. Everything they have done to help us. This community is unreal. We are so proud to be a part of it." Mary said they have all grown stronger through this adversity. Especially Jeremy, who has cleaned his room and made his bed since he got home. His mother said he believes he will be healed and hopes that God will use him to speak to other teenagers. "He won't let it beat him," she said. Directions to race: St. Albans WV off route 60 go through underpass to stop light at corner of 6th avenue. At light, turn right and go to intersection by Fire Department. Race begins accross from fire department All proceeds from the race will help the family of Jeremy Huff with medical expenses. Race is being Sponsored by Saint Francis Youth Group!

Sponsors