News and Sentinel races undergo leadership change
Trending
PARKERSBURG -- The Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon, one of the premiere community events in the local area, is undergoing a leadership change.
Art Smith, co-director for the News and Sentinel races, is stepping back from his leadership role after being heavily involved with the event since 2002.
Smith, 65, plans on working less in the near future as he phases into retirement.
"An event in August takes a lot of time and energy," said Smith, who is also the online manager at the News and Sentinel and Marietta Times. "I thought it'd be better for the race to have someone who can devote more time and energy to it."
Co-director Steve Browning is staying on in the same role, while Eric Anderson and Nancy Goff are joining Browning as co-directors.
"I'm confident those three people will do a great job," Smith said. "They'll bring new energy to the race. Steve's run more miles in the News and Sentinel Half Marathon than any other human on Earth. Nancy runs races all the time, a very big racewalker. Eric is also in charge of the Wellness Weekend and the Tough as Nails Urban Challenge competition in Wheeling, so he brings a lot of race organization as well. The three of them combined have really a wide variety of experience, and the race is really fortunate to have that level of experience leading."
Browning has worked alongside Smith in the organization and planning of the races and has witnessed Smith's impact firsthand.
"The race exists today because Art Smith has been doing what he's doing," Browning said. "He has been the lynchpin at the newspaper. He's been holding things together for 20-plus years now."
Parkersburg News and Sentinel publisher Jim Spanner echoed that sentiment.
"The News and Sentinel Half Marathon races are important to both the community and to our newspapers," Spanner said. "We are fortunate to have dedicated people like Art Smith to lead us with this community event. We are thankful for the time, dedication, and expertise he gave it through the years. Art has set the bar high, so that's why having veteran race people like Steve, Nancy, and Eric step up is so important as we move forward."
The half marathon saw an increase in participation from 2025 to 2026, going from 356 runners to 400 and 30 walkers to 44. The two-mile run also saw an increase from 368 to 399. Thirty-three states were represented at this year's races.
"Above all, the News and Sentinel Half Marathon is a community event," Smith said. "It was run for 17 years without us being part of it, and to be part of it and continue the legacy of a race that is, frankly, older now than a lot of the participants, it's fulfilling to be part of something that people look at as being a quality event. The newspaper industry is an industry that starts over every day printing a new newspaper, and a race is a year-long project. It's been kind of fulfilling to work on something that is outside the realm of what we do. Twenty-two years -- that's a lot of races. I've always been excited to be part of it, I've always been proud of what we've accomplished, and I think as an organization, the race will continue to be proud of what they do every year, whether I'm associated with it or not."
While Goff's title is new, her involvement in the News and Sentinel races is not.
"I've always loved this race, and over the years I've had the opportunity to be involved as both a participant and a volunteer," Goff said. "To now have the chance to serve as a co-director is something I'm very thankful for. I'm looking forward to working with our experienced directors and volunteers to continue making this a great event for our community."
Browning added, "Nancy has a lot of experience with races. She helped us organize it for several years, mainly in the registration area, and has attended committee meetings for several years. She'll step right in and do just fine."
Goff, who has been a competitive racewalker for more than 13 years, has completed 45 half marathons, including the News and Sentinel Half Marathon, as well as six marathons.
"Every year, we welcome participants from all over the country," Goff said. "They support our local hotels, restaurants, and businesses while they're here. The race also wouldn't be possible without the support of our sponsors, the City of Parkersburg, and our local police departments, who help make sure the event is safe and successful.
"What stands out to me the most is the people. We have so many dedicated volunteers who give their time to help throughout race weekend, and participants always tell us how welcomed and encouraged they feel. Whether it's volunteers at packet pickup, water stations, or spectators cheering along the course, it really shows what kind of community we have."
Anderson is the newest member of the race committee, but he is a veteran of many road races, having completed more than 100 total races, including the News and Sentinel Half Marathon twice in the past. Anderson is also a 31-year employee within the Ogden Newspapers chain.
"I'm sort of the liaison between the race committee and the newspaper," Anderson said. "I'm very excited to be involved with the event. I feel races are good for a community. It brings people into a community, and they spend money there and often come back. The event promotes health and wellness, and I'm a firm believer in that for people of any age."
Anderson is excited to serve in a pivotal role for the News and Sentinel races.
"It has a real hometown flavor to it," he said. "The participants are treated well by the volunteers, the people who serve the meals. We often hear folks who come from out of town say it's one of the great things about this race. The community support is great from both businesses and individuals."
A significant change coming to the half marathon is an earlier start time to combat the August heat. In 2027, the half, which used to start at 8 a.m., will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the two-mile following at 7:40.
"A new start time is something we've wanted to do for a while," Browning said. "Heat is our worst enemy. The earlier you can start, the better. Most of the big West Virginia races in the summertime start between 7 and 7:30."
The course itself underwent major modifications this year, which received positive feedback. Due to construction on the Juliana Street bridge, there will be some minor tweaks to the course in 2027.
"The changes we made this year were popular," Browning said. "At the luncheon after the half, we asked people what they thought of the new course, and thumbs went up all over the room."
Smith added, "It was very fulfilling watching the participants use the new race course going up Fort Boreman Hill, which is a beautiful venue to have people run in. We got very positive feedback from people about how they enjoyed it. It's easy to design a course on paper until people actually run it in a competitive atmosphere."
For Browning, Goff, Anderson and everyone involved in the News and Sentinel races, seeing an uptick in participation in 2026 served as motivation. They're eager to keep that trend going.
"COVID really knocked the socks off of most races," Browning said of the pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the races in 2020 and 2021. "Numbers were down across the board, but that has slowly come back. It's not back to where we were 30 years ago, but it's trending in the right direction.
"It's always a great community event. It has brought Parkersburg publicity over the years. I've been on both the east coast and west coast, and when I wear my Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon shirt, I'll get people coming up to me saying, 'Hey, I've heard of that.' It brings attention to Parkersburg far beyond what people expect."
Though Smith is taking a step back in a leadership capacity, he didn't close the door on potentially helping out in a pinch.
"I'll be there to help in the future if they need me, but I'm OK if they don't," he laughed.
Registration for the Aug. 21, 2027 half marathon and two-mile race is now open at Newsandsentinelhalfmarathon.com.
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.