Whippet 5K features new course
By CHUCK RIDENOUR Daily Globe Sports Editor
The annual Whippet 5K Run will feature a new course for 2022.
The 3.1 mile race, which has started and finished for years in front of Central Gym on High School Avenue, will now begin and end at the Shelby YMCA on West Smiley Avenue this summer.
The race will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, July 9, during the Shelby Bicycle Days Festival. Also on tap will be a one mile fun run at 8:15 a.m. which will also be the start time for walkers in the 5K race.
Registration will take place from 7:30 a.m. until 8:15 a.m. in front of the Shelby YMCA. T-shirts will go to the first 100 entries.
The entry fee is $16 if pre-registered by Friday, July 8. The race fee is $20 the day of the race. There is also a family rate for three-plus runners at $14 per person if they are pre-registered. The fun run is free of charge, or the entry fee cost if a t-shirt is desired. Checks should be made payable to the Shelby Athletic Boosters.
Age groups are 12-under, 13-15, 16-18, 19-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70-over.
The top three female and male finishers in the race will receive plaques. Awards will go three deep in each age bracket and there will be ribbons for all finishers. There will also be door prize drawings.
The course is a residential/rural square loop on the city’s northwest side.
Caleb Brown, Shelby High’s most-decorated distance runner and a student-athlete at the University of Oregon, is the reigning race champion. He posted a course-record time of 14:04 which crushed his 2019 mark of 14:47.
The race is sponsored by Brian Carson State Farm Insurance and the Shelby High School track and cross country programs.
Entry forms for the race are available at Shelby High School, Shelby Middle School Shelby YMCA and Cain Graphics.
For additional information, contact race director Bob Delauder at 419- 347-5921 or 419-631-5659.