Iron Horse Half Marathon, in sixth year, is bigger and better than ever

Video story by Kelly Brightmore
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications


Iron Horse Half Marathon 2015 from Al Cross on Vimeo.

Runners show varied looks, from pain to pleasure, on Weisenberger Mill Road, the last leg of the race.

Photos by Adrian Rudd, University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications
Story by Midway Messenger Staff

As dawn neared, the crowd began to gather under "the Tin Man," the old water tower.

Midway's population more than doubled Sunday, Oct. 11, as nearly 1,400 runners and probably even more companions came to the area for the Sixth Annual Iron Horse Marathon.

Organizers of the race estimated that for every two runners, three more people attended, making the estimated total crowd about 3,500.

The race is organized by John's Run/Walk Shop of Lexington. It makes a major donation to the Woodford Humane Society, which provides most of the volunteers who help along the route, and smaller donations to the Shop With a Cop program, the City of Midway and the Midway Ministerial Association.

Motorcylist Walt Leaumont and bicyclists George Vanmeter III and Alan Siebenthaler led the pack.
Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, third from right, thanked the attendees and blew an air horn to start the race.

Runners gathered under the tower, preparing to start the 13.1-mile race at 8 a.m. It was 45 degrees.

The race started at Dudley and Brand streets, going up Brand Street to Stephens Street.

Alex Payne of Franklin, Tenn., in red shirt at left, led at the start and ended the race as the winner.

Daniel Rouse (1372) and John-Michael Riegger (1340) of Lexington lead a group down Stephens Street as the pack returned from Spring Station. Rouse placed 30th overall and fourth in the 20-24 age group; Reigger was eighth in that group and 64th overall. Behind them are Kevin Bryant of Versailles, who placed 61st overall and eighth in the 40-44 age group, and Heidi Olson of Lexington, who finished 42nd overall, third among women and second in the 20-24 group.

Another view looking east on Stephens Street illustrates the large number of runners; 1,375 finished.

Two women seemed to be supporting each other as they headed up Weisenberger Mill Road toward the finish line.

Later in the race, some stragglers set a slower pace in front of Midway University on East Stephens Street.

At the finish line on Brand Street, Jarred Brewster finished first in the 20-24 group and fifth overall.

Zaan Janse of Lexington finished third overall
and second in the 25-29 age group.

Overall winner Alex Payne after the race.
His time was 1:17:49.61. He is 27 years old.

David Florence of Lexington finished 130th, but eighth in the 45-49 group, and he was happy.

Emily Frith of Eastern Kentucky University
was the women's overall winner, in 1:23:10.40.

Jon Terry of Springfield, Va., who placed 49th overall,
put his medallion on his daughter after the race.

Denise Pfefferle of Lexington placed first in the 30-34 age group and 48th overall.

Justin Strickland of Lexington smiled as he finished the race.
He placed 84th overall and 10th in the 20-24 age group.

Nathan York checked his time (1:31:37.63),
which placed him 25th overall and fourth in
the 35-39 age group.

Midway Christian Church wins Midway University's first Community Spirit Award

The church's current building on Bruen Street was erected in 1895.

Midway Christian Church is the first recipient of Midway University's Community Spirit Award, "in recognition of the congregation's spirit of vision, encouragement and giving," the university said in a press release Oct. 8.

"Midway University and Midway Christian Church have shared a strong bond since their earliest days," President John P. Marsden said. "In fact, Midway University is a result of the generosity and support of the church. Without the encouragement of his elders at Midway Christian, Dr. L.L. Pinkerton would not have founded the Kentucky Female Orphan School which has evolved to become Midway University. In its 180-year history, Midway Christian Church has gone on to support so many other people and causes in this community. That's why we could think of no more fitting recipient to honor with the Community Spirit Award."

The church dates to 1830s, when the Disciples of Christ denomination was founded. Its members participate in:
• Food collection for the food pantry in Versailles
• Providing space for weekly meetings of Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous
• Purchasing Christmas gifts for children whose parents are serving time at the prison in Lexington
• Many projects with Northside Elementary, including the Christmas Shoe Box Project, Loads of Love, and the Win-Win Tutoring program
• Supporting the Hope Center in Lexington, and administering the Midway Ministerial Fund which is supported by numerous churches in the community
• Running a weekly clothing closet where price is no barrier for those in need
• Hosting monthly community dinners that provide hot meals to citizens on fixed incomes and allow attendees to engage in social activities.

From left: Dr. John P. Marsden, Anita Wilson, Jack Morgan, Gloria Batts, the former
Megan Reynolds, the Rev. Heather McColl, Sharon Burchell, Etta Manor, Bobbie Dare,
Jeanne Clark, Ray Clark, Shirley Eckels, Joni Burchett, Pat Wilson and Phill Burchell

"When you look at the many ways the church and its members serve the community of Midway, Woodford County and the region, it is obvious that their community spirit is strong," Marsden said.

The Community Spirit Award was presented Oct.1 at the university's "Day for Midway," held each fall to celebrate the long-standing relationship between the institution and Woodford County.

Iron Horse Half Marathon, making its sixth run on Sunday morning, tries to keep the community happy

This is the latest in a rotating series of stories about the Iron Horse Half Marathon. 

By Nick Jones
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecoimmunications

The annual Iron Horse Half Marathon is returning to Midway and the race will again be run with the community in mind.

On Sunday, Oct. 11, Midway will welcome about 1,450 runners who will have the opportunity to see 13.1 miles of some of the finest horse farms and pastoral beauty Kentucky has to offer. Race organizer Chuck Griffis of John’s Run/Walk Shop met with the Midway Messenger staff to preview the sixth event.

Race organizer Chuck Griffis discusses the route of the race.

“We really have to credit the city of Midway and the community and the surroundings with the success of this race,” Griffis said. “We want to make sure it is a good experience for the participants and we also want to be a reasonable impact on the community.”

With the Iron Horse Half Marathon being held on Sunday morning, though, it presents a potential traffic interruption for local churchgoers.

The route of the race, mainly Spring Station Road and Weisenberger Mill Road, will be closed from 7:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Sunday, limiting access to parts of the town during certain hours. But with the Iron Horse Half Marathon having such a positive impact on the community each year, two churches in Midway have adapted to get involved with the event. 

“The Midway Christian Church has their church service at 7:30 in the morning and then opens the community portion of the church at 8 a.m. and hosts a pancake breakfast for the families of the people who are there for the race and it helps them raise money for the Midway Ministerial Association,” Griffis said.

This year for the first time, the Midway Baptist Church will also have an 8 a.m. breakfast, canceling its early morning service and having one service at 10:45 a.m.

Other organizations benefit from the race, too. Proceeds go to several local charities that help make the event so special. The Woodford Humane Society, a non-profit animal adoption center in Versailles, is the main beneficiary. Griffis praised the organization for providing hundreds of exceptional volunteers over the years to help make sure the race is run smoothly.

As suggested by Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, other donations will go not only to the city but other charitable organizations chosen by race organizers: the Midway Area Ministerial Association will get a donation as a result of the race, and the Versailles Police Department and the Woodford County Sherriff’s Department will receive an increased contribution to support funding for their “Shop With a Cop” program that provides Christmas gifts for poor children.

Both of those charities can expect a donation of around $1,500, Griffis said.

Midway is a town that historically boasts a reputation of being an attractive tourist destination, and the Iron Horse Half Marathon will only add to that. Nearly a third of the participants come from outside the state and about half from outside Central Kentucky, Griffis said.

“We feel strongly that we bring a number of people into the community, expose them to the business community of Midway – to the downtown, to the restaurants, to the shops – and hopefully at some point they’ll return,” Griffis said.

Running USA estimates that for every racer in a half marathon, 1.5 guests join them in support of the race. This means the population of Midway will more than double on Sunday, something Griffis said is not universally welcomed by local residents.

“To say that everyone in the community would welcome us, that would be pretty optimistic and pretty unrealistic on our part,” Griffis said. “But we do want them to know that in return for accommodating us, we will try to do everything we can to make it less of an inconvenience for them.”

Council votes 4-2 for $25,000 easement for Columbia Gas to put pump station near South Winter Street

By Brittany Forte', Laura Shrake and Amanda Colvin
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The Midway City Council voted 4-2 Monday evening to give Columbia Gas an easement to build a new regulator station at the old voting booth site near the Midway School Apartments in return for $25,000.

Columbia says the second regulator is needed to meet demand for gas in the area. Finding a location for their regulation station was not easy. Columbia says its trucks must be able to access the station in the winter and any kind of weather.

The decision came down to two locations within about 30 feet of each other, according to Mayor Grayson Vandegrift. The other location was the cistern by the basketball courts in the park area at the south end of Gratz Street. (Google map)

The council discussed the options at length. Some worried that using the lot bordering South Winter Street would devalue property in the city. For Council Member Libby Warfield, that option wasn’t about the value of the property itself, but the prospect of what the lots could be used for instead—like developing up to five townhouses.

“I was pretty much against anything on those two lots,” said Warfield, who was on a council committee that voted 2-1 to recommend the location. “And it wasn’t a matter of money, but only the potential that lot could afford someone in the future. And maybe not the near future, but sooner or later there just won’t be any land to build anything on.”

Ultimately, Warfield said, finding a place for the regulator is not just about meeting Columbia Gas’s needs, but “our needs. Anyone that uses Columbia Gas’s product in this town is going to get cold if the regulator station they have operating now fails.”

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said, “There is no good spot for a regulator station. It has no value to us once it’s put in, but Columbia Gas’s customers are our residents, so I think we have to weigh those things.” He said he thought it would be unlikely that a developer would want to build townhouses on the site.

Warfield and Council Member Dan Roller wanted to put the regulator on top of the old cistern in the area, farther from Winter Street, but James Tipton of Columbia Gas said the cistern would have to be filled, at extra cost, and the existing concrete slab would not be ideal for running gas lines underground and into the regulator stations. “The cistern is not a very good option, if at all, for us,” he said. That raised the possibility that the company’s offer of $25,000 for an easement for the station might not be good for the cistern site.

Hicks, chair of the Cemetery and City Property Committee, said the property is “our park area. And even though we lease it to Midway University, we retain it as a park for children to play in. I feel that maintaining the boundaries of the park for public use is a really important goal.”

Council Member Daniel Roller, one of two dissenters, said the cistern site is a better fit because a dumpster is nearby. “What better place to put it than by the dumpster?” he asked. “The dumpster has an odor and there’s a lot of noise from people moving things in and out of it.”

Tipton assured Roller that odor and noise would not be an issue. He said the existing regulator “has a bypass and once it gets full it releases out a little gas, but it’s harmless.”He said new regulators no longer use that system, so nothing would be released into the air. As far as noise, he said, “You almost have to be inside the building to hear anything and that would be the gas flowing through the pipes.”

Roller still said the cistern would be best fit. “It would not be next to any property owners,” he said.

Columbia Gas earlier agreed to construct a building around the regulator station rather than the usual chain-link fence. Construction will likely not begin until after the start of the year.

Other business

Halloween: The council also approved the date and time for this year’s trick-or-treat: Saturday, October 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. Some cities in the Bluegrass have discussed moving trick-or-treat from Halloween this year because that is the last day of the Breeders’ Cup and the date of the Kentucky-Tennessee football game at Commonwealth Stadium, the time of which has not been set. Vandegrift said no cities have made the switch and he did not think Friday night would be safer.

Political money: The council passed a resolution from five elderly women calling themselves the Midway Elders, with a petition bearing 108 names, supporting a federal constitutional amendment to reverse court cases “that gave corporations rights of humans and declared money is speech.”

Sara Porter spoke on behalf of the group, which also included Ann Ortenburger, Neisje Spragens, Pat Wilson and Anita Wilson. “Money has corrupted our government more today than it ever has in the past,” Porter said. “In 2014, $1.7 billion was spent on elections.”

The petition included the signatures of council members Kaye Nita Gallagher, Bruce Southworth, Warfield and Hicks, who is Spragens’ daughter. The remaining council members, Steven Craig and Dan Roller, made and seconded the motion to support the resolution. Other petition signers included former council members Aaron Hamilton and Sharon Turner.

Mayor goes from licensee to regulator: The council also voted unanimously to make Vandegrift the city’s alcoholic beverage administrator. Current Administrator and Versailles Police Chief John Wilhoit will retire at the end of October, leaving the position open. Vandegrift recently closed his 815 Prime restaurant, which would have caused a conflict of interest if he had succeeded the previous mayor, Tom Bozarth, as administrator.

Blighted Property Committee to meet at 2 p.m. Thur.

The Blighted Property Committee of the Midway City Council will meet Thursday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting notice says no action will be taken. All council and committee meetings are open to the public.

Iron Horse Half Marathon has largest sign-up; 1,450 runners, even more companions expected Oct. 11

This is the first of a series of rotating stories by Midway Messenger reporters about the Iron Horse Half Marathon.

By Mackenzie Clark
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Too many people, not enough space.

That is an apprehension the Midway community is facing as the sixth annual Iron Horse Half Marathon is returning Sunday, Oct. 11, larger than ever. About 1,450 participants are expected and there are questions about where to put everybody. Some people are thrilled about the growth, while others are a little skeptical.

Runners U.S.A. estimates that each runner is accompanied by 1.5 other people, so the Iron Horse race will, temporarily, more than double Midway’s population.

This year's sign-up is the biggest ever. Some in Midway are thrilled about the growth of the race, while others are a little skeptical.

One of the biggest concerns about the race has been having it on a Sunday because it gets in the way of local churchgoers. However, “in general, Sunday morning has a lower impact on the community,” said race coordinator Chuck Griffis, from John’s Run/Walk Shop in Lexington.

The route was switched after the second year, Griffis said, so that the first half of the race, on Spring Station Road, will be cleared before church starts. Griffis said this would ensure that everybody is “out of their way in time for their services.”

The adjustment has “helped us win over the community,” Griffis said. Midway Christian Church, which is in the east half of downtown, concluded, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Griffis said. The church will have an earlier service and then opens its doors for a pancake breakfast.

This is the largest sign-up the race has ever had, which brings another concern: parking. Griffis said the race is always on Midway University’s fall break weekend, which allows more parking spaces. “We can only bring so many people into the community on Sunday morning,” he said.

Chuck Griffis points out route for Midway Messenger reporters.

The Iron Horse can be a “win-win” for Midway, Griffis said, because the great location should make some people want to return after the half-marathon.

This will be a first time in Midway for some. Griffis said about half of the participants come from outside Central Kentucky, and about a third are out of state.

Griffis said the race owes a lot to Midway; “We really have to credit the city of Midway, and the community and the surroundings with the success of this race.” Three years ago, Runners World Magazine named it one of the top 28 half-marathons in the country, and Griffis said that had a lot to do with the “desirable location.”

The first half of the route runs through horse farms, which makes the run more enjoyable. Griffis said runners are a “little less worried about time and competition,” and more focused on taking in the scenery and capturing pictures. He said the atmosphere is very “picturesque,” especially right when the sun is rising at the start of the race. Griffis said he wants this to be a quality experience for the runners and the people of Midway.

The race begins at 8 a.m. Sunday. Griffis said all runners should be finished by 12:30 p.m.

The race will benefit the Woodford Humane Society, which will provide perhaps more than 100 volunteers for it. The City of Midway has received $3,000 in proceeds in each of the last few years, but Mayor Grayson Vandegrift suggested that it make donations to local charities this year instead.