Published: July 04, 2009 10:34 pm      

Big turnout energizes Tazewell race

TAZEWELL, Va. — Tabatha Robins was tired, surprised and happy at the end of Saturday’s YoungLife Heritage Classic footrace through the hilly streets of Tazewell — and she had good reason on every count.

Robins, a North Tazewell resident, won the 10-kilometer division of the 34th annual race, on her first try, with a time of 54:13.

“I’ve never felt more proud — and more determined to continue running races,” she said as the morning sunlight streamed across the flag-decked Main Street. “This was a great way to start the Fourth of July.”

The 2006 graduate of Tazewell High School said she just started running cross-country last year at Bluefield College.

“I ride horses,” she added, “and I do competitive speed events for horses.” Now, she said, “I know what they feel like at the end of a race.”

Winning Saturday’s event was not her goal. “I just focused on getting through the six miles,” she said. “I just wanted to finish the race.”

She said she got moral support during the race from other competitors, including an unidentified man. “He kept telling me, ‘C’mon, c’mon, you can do it.’ He encouraged me to keep going, she said. “I was glad the way I finished. I didn’t quit.”

The race tied the record for number of participants, with 105 runners, said race director Brad Pyott.

For the fourth straight year, Doug Fender of Marion, Va., crossed the line first among males running the 10K. “I hope I’ll be able to keep that streak alive for awhile,” he said.

His time of 45:21 “might be” his best ever in the Tazewell race, he said. Asked about the hardest part of the competition, he said, “Other than getting up at 6 a.m., (it would be) the hills.”

“It’s really pretty up here,” he said. “I was saying as we were coming over here, hopefully, no matter where I go in life, I can come back here on the Fourth of July.”

Justin Belcher of Tazewell also won his fourth consecutive race, coming in first in the 5K with a time of 20:14, one minute and 10 seconds ahead of the second-place male.

Belcher said, “At the beginning, I had one person (who) started up front, but a little less than halfway through, I came out in the lead pretty well. Then, once we got to that back down hill, I made (my lead) even bigger.”

His winning secret, he said, was “working at it, pretty much every day. I stay in shape the best I can. It’s a big advantage that I live here. That’s how I know this course. ...

“Always, even when I’m practicing, doing my training runs, I always finish hard. When I’m working out on this, I just run this hill, and work on sprints up (the hill), just to get ready for the end right here.”

He is a 2007 Tazewell High graduate and a business marketing major at Radford University.

“I’d love to win this five times in a row,” he said. “I’m going to try to keep getting my time better.”

He said his time was slightly slower than his usual performance, “but I’ll take it, definitely. I’ll take a win any day.”

The male in second place for the 5K was rising Tazewell High School senior Taylor “Rooster” Monk, 17. It was his first YoungLife race, too.

“I run a lot of 5Ks. I run all the time, but I’ve never run this one,” he said. “I was with one of my former runners on the Tazewell cross-country team, Justin Belcher. I was going to try to take off with him and just run my race with him to see what happens.

“Obviously, that just got blown out of the water,” Monk said, “At the start, I was doing great. I just blew myself out. I got to about a mile-and-a half, two miles, and I didn’t have anything left.”

“I’ll take it,” he said. “I just wish I had (done) a little better.”

The second person to cross the finish line Saturday was the 5K’s top female finisher, Dena Spickard of Marion, with a time of 21:19.

“I kept picking off a couple of guys,” she said. “It was good. I just kept thinking, ‘When is this going to end?’ ”

“It’s pretty hard,” she said of the course. “This was my first time running it. I actually hadn’t even been on the course. ... I was surprised at how difficult it was.”

She said she ran for James Madison University for five years, but described herself Saturday as “a retired runner, now.” Fender, her boyfriend, encouraged her to enter the 5K. The two posed for family photos on the scenic Main Street after the award presentation.

A sizable contingent of employees of TruPoint Bank ran the race as part of their ongoing fitness regimen, said Scott Butcher of Richlands, the firm’s chief financial officer.

“We eat a little healthier, we exercise a little more,” he said. “Where’s the downside in that?”

“We’ve had some people make some life-changing decisions,” he said.

The bank’s executive vice president and chief lending officer, Cameron Forrester, talked about his “racing team.”

“They talk about it the week before the race, and they talk about it the week after,” he said. “On race day, they pump each other up. ... It’s great for the morale. We run races from Johnson City, to Grundy, to Tazewell. We have a great time.”

Pyott, the Tazewell race director, said, “It’s a great turnout for us. The weather definitely didn’t hurt. ...

Pyott praised the efforts of the race volunteers and sponsors. “We’re out here, roughly until 12, one o’clock in the morning the night before, getting things ready. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible.” His wife and father are among the helpers.

“Dennis Lee and his wife Susan help with getting supplies and drinks. The Lutz family is always a big help. They helped us line the course, last night.”

“It’s for a great cause,” he said. “YoungLife is a non-denominational, Christian outreach ministry to middle-school and high-school teens. It basically makes Christ fun for kids.”

YoungLife, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been in Tazewell County for 13 years, he said. “It’s a growing ministry, it’s a great ministry for the young folks ... and we want to keep it going. And this race is a big part of it. ...

“It’s a great ministry. You talk to anyone, the teachers and principals in the Tazewell middle and high school systems. It definitely works, and it’s a great influence for young folks here in town.”

Asked about the race itself, he said, “It’s unique anymore, since a lot of the races have started to die off. You don’t see as many of the 5K and 10K runs. So, not only is it for a great cause, it’s a great opportunity for a lot of young kids (to run).”

He said at least two of the runners were age 7.

“It’s just a great way to start off a great holiday, a celebration of our country’s birthday, and be a kickoff to a great weekend.”

— Contact Tom Bone at

tbone@bdtonline.com