Jenny Brewer wins back-to-back titles for female division

PARKERSBURG — Jenny Brewer never considered herself a serious runner until her senior year in high school. More than a decade later, she once again left her mark on the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon.

On Saturday morning, the 30-year-old runner from St. Marys successfully defended her title in the half-marathon after turning in a time of 1 hour, 24 minutes and 27 seconds. Mackenzie Best from Columbus, who attended Jackson Middle School through her eighth grade year before leaving the Mid-Ohio Valley, placed runner-up with a time of 1:30.52.
“I started cross country my senior year at St. Marys High School and I would never have imagined any of this – it’s a cool experience,” said Brewer, who continued her racing career at Alderson-Broaddus University. “ I went to (physical therapy) school at WVU so I ran a little around there, got into marathons and trail racing, and here we are.”
Brewer was one second shy of matching last year’s winning effort. She touched on the humidity, but felt the race progressed similar to a year ago.

“Nothing really gave me trouble today,” Brewer said. “The crowd support was really good this year. I was surprised so many people came out around the course because the humidity was so brutal.”

Since Brewer works at Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg, the familiarity of the course gives her a subtle advantage
“I run these streets every day, so this is as much of a hometown race as I can have,” Brewer said.
Another 30-year-old female followed Brewer across the finish line for second place. Best challenged the half-marathon course in Parkersburg for the first time.
“The race was pretty tough,” Best said. “It was definitely hard. I live in Columbus and we don’t have the same kind of hills to train on, so the course itself was really hard. And the weather was pretty warm and humid, so that was tough, too.
“I knew the girl who won it last year was out there. She was pretty fast so I let her go from the beginning. I was kind of looking over my shoulder the whole time to make sure no one was coming up from behind me. I never did see anyone. I’m happy with second place.”
The final four miles or so were quite the grind. Best used the half-marathon as part of her training cycle to prepare for a marathon in Sacramento, Calif., in December.
“I was very grateful to see the finish line,” Best said. “My legs were pretty dead probably from about mile nine on. And that last hill at 11 ½ miles was brutal. I was able to keep going knowing the finish line was around the corner.”
Also placing in the money in third place in the female division for the second consecutive year was 41-year-old Abbie Choleva from Marietta.
“This race went better because I knew there was a big hill on the 11th mile – I didn’t know that the first time, so at least I kept a little in reserve for it,” Choleva laughed. “I would like to keep up with those other girls, but they are so fast. The two in front of me, I didn’t know where they were in the race.
“It’s nice to have a local race and we are not driving to Columbus, driving to Cleveland. It’s fun to have something close.”
Walkers Division
Katie Mader has made the transition to walking half-marathons with flying colors.
The 39-year-old from Vienna won the walking portion of the female division during Saturday’s Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon by finishing in a time of 2:31.51.
“The humidity was out of this world, but otherwise my race went pretty good,” Katie said. “I usually start to break down around mile 10. For me, it’s get through the rest of the race. When I saw the finish line, I thought ‘Relief. It’s almost over.’
“I was thinking about my dog (Teddy) because he died last year around this time ’I just wanted to do it for him.”
Mader’s background at the half-marathon began as a run in 2015. Six years later, she turned to walking.
“I had some nagging injuries and found walking was easier on my body,” Mader said. “The training takes a lot longer so that kind of frustrates me. Otherwise, it’s basically the same plan that I followed with running.”
Katie Mader and her husband, Jason, both compete in the walking division of the half-marathon. Katie edged Jason by three-plus seconds and finished fourth overall, but it’s her husband who provides instruction and techniques to assist with her wife’s endeavors.
“Jason helps me a lot,” Katie said. “He has me watching videos, analyzing my walk to help me maximize my times.”
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com