Almost Heaven 4th Annual Leprechaun Race

For the fourth year in a row, the Leprechaun Chase was met with perfect Irish weather – cold and damp.  As you can see from the pictures, runners were greeted with freezing rain at the start on a blustery St. Patrick’s Day.

Nearly 50 runners braved the elements and the mud to complete the challenging 5k course at the St. Albans City Park.  The trail run was made even more daunting with the steady rain that fell throughout the early morning.  All the runners were able to successfully navigate the trail which included 397 feet of elevation gain and 427 feet of elevation loss throughout the 3.1 mile course.

The overall winner was Sam LeRose, a student at Cabell Midland High School.  His time was 22:35.  He was followed by Eddie Neel in 24:21 and Trace LeRose at 25:38.  The female winner was Nicole Michaelis in 35:29 followed by Callie Harmon (36:04) and Rebecca Whitenton (40:13).

Jay Fazzolari was this year’s Leprechaun and 15 runners were able to cross the finish line in front of the speedy race guide.

The race benefited the Almost Heaven Scholarship Fund which provides financial assistance to West Virginia high school graduates who will be attending a college or university in West Virginia.  More information and an application may be found on this website.

Thanks to all who braved the elements to complete the 2018 Leprechaun Chase.  Be watching this site for more information about the Almost Heaven 7 on July 21 and the 2019 edition of the Leprechaun Chase which is scheduled for Saturday, March 16.  Race information is also available at www.aptiming.com.

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