SMITH: Market Street a fitting finish line for News and Sentinel Half Marathon

Jul 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 morning of Aug. 19, the vast expanse of concrete is filled with a fast expanse of runners and walkers. First to leave are the half marathons. They leave and go straight up Juliana Street. From the start line you can watch them head up the hill before they disappear into the trees of the Julia-Anne Historical District.

As soon as the half departs, the Two-Mile racers will begin lining up. Starting 10 minutes after the half, they will get a quick view of the fastest half marathon runners as they head up on the on-ramp for the Juliana Street Bridge. Once the Two-Mile race starts it makes a quick turn onto Fourth Street as it starts a giant rectangle that will bring it back across the starting line just a few minutes into the race. Once across the starting line they will start their own trip up Juliana Street. Many will pass the slowest of the half marathons as they share Juliana Street until 13th Street. Here the half goes left and the two-mile goes right. The races converge again on a short section of Avery Street where the slowest Two-Mile racers may see the fastest half marathon traveling the opposite direction.

The races will not converge until they are both on Market Street. Normally the Two-Mile Race is completely done before the winner of the half marathon appears. I have a co-worker that was particularly slow in the Two-Mile race one year. He thought the crowd was cheering for him as he approached the finish line. They were actually cheering for Julius Kogo, who won the half marathon eight times.

The fact that the race finishes on Market Street is fitting for Parkersburg. The historic street has long been one of the most important streets in town. Home to the area’s centers center of government, the historic Blennerhassett Hotel and historic homes. The headquarters for Highmark West Virginia is located less than a block from the finish.

Streetscaping in the past year has given the street a fresher look. The buildings along the road have seen a lot of uses over the year and several of them contain some exciting new things, Discovery World at 900 Market St. Opened in the last year offering some existing opportunities for area families.

The race ends at the intersection of Market and Sixth streets. Each year volunteers give the finish line a fresh coat of paint. The finish line is there year-round. Remind the entire town they are crossing the finish line of the News and Sentinel Half Marathon, even if they are doing it in a Honda.

It then passes under one of the 46 spans of the Sixth Street Rail Bridge that connect West Virginia and Ohio. First opened in 1871. The steel portion of the bridge was replaced in the early 1900s. When built it was the longest of its type in the world.

Workers that built the bridge also constructed nearby St. Xavier Catholic Church. Racers have their first chance to sit down in a rest area directly in front of the church.

Long before malls and online shopping the Dils directly across the street once housed a huge department store.

Juliana and Market streets are important and historical streets in the history of Parkersburg. On the third Saturday in August every they are also important racing venues.

Art Smith is co-director of the News and Sentinel Races. You can reach him at [email protected]

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