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Last man standing.
The 38th running of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon and Two-Mile Road Race came to a close Saturday in downtown Parkersburg.
Of the countless number of entries, one familiar name kept his streak intact as Steve Browning crossed the finish line for the half marathon portion of the event - making the Mineral Wells resident the only individual to compete in every race since its inception.
"I never thought of this that way," said Browning, who has also volunteered on the race committee since 1993. "It's something that is helping me stay healthy. It's helping me stay in shape. I'll keep going as long as I can. As long as I can, and the race is still here."
Many moons ago at the 15th edition of the half marathon, the awards ceremony at the Smoot Theater recognized the seven individuals who had participated every year. Several years ago, the number had dwindled to three - Browning, Randy Cole and George Harris. All three from Wood County.
Last year, Browning carried the honor solo.
"I haven't had any major injuries, but there have been two or three years with minor injuries.," Browning said. "This would have been in the 1990s, I injured my back in a church softball game like a week before the race. I had to go to the doctor like four times just to patch myself together to get through it that year."
Another close call occurred nearly a decade ago and wasn't even run-related. Several minutes before the playing of the National Anthem and the start of the race, he checked into a port a john. He notices a Yellowjacket resting on his chest. Allergic to bee stings, Browning was helpless and did not move - not knowing what his options were other than to wait it out.
He heard the National Anthem playing. Eventually, the Yellowjacket flew away and no harm done.
"I know the race is going to start in about three or four minutes," Browning said. "I can laugh about it now, but at the moment I'm thinking what to do."
Long gone are the days when Brown flirted with times in the hour and a half neighborhood. However, at the age of 65, he still has the passion to fight the incline of Fort Boreman Park at mile seven - or what used to be the anguish trying to manage the hill at 13th Street.
"Runners World magazine had an article on certain people that had long streaks of races," Browning mentioned. "One guy at the end of the article said, 'Do I have the streak or does the streak have me?'
"And that's the kind of the way I feel."
As a youth, Browning never considered himself a runner. Baseball was his passion even while he was a student at Parkersburg High School. While attending Mount Vernon College, he decided to get in better shape.
"During my junior year at college, I ran two miles one day - and I pretty much stuck with it ever since," Browning said. "That was the spring of '82."
The half marathon in Parkersburg is not a one-time rodeo for Browning. He begins his racing schedule as soon as the calendar turns with an event in Fairmont in January. He is also part of the field for Wheeling and a distance race in Charleston that covers 15 miles.
"The race in Wheeling is 10 years older than Parkersburg and there are people who have done that more than 40 years," Browning said.
Speaking of 40, Browning and a group of runners ran the Parkersburg half marathon course even when the event was canceled for two years due to COVID.
"There have been a lot of days where you realize part way through that the weather is your biggest enemy that day," Browning said. "It does get people and you know that sometimes just to survive, to get to the finish line you have to back it off a little bit."
For Browning, the beauty of the Parkersburg half marathon ... the plusses outweigh the negatives. He remarked how many water stops are located along the course. More than runners might find on some full marathon courses.
Similar to Parkersburg's event, other races have the spaghetti dinners and post-race meals - but at a cost. At Parkersburg, bloth are at no cost to the runner.
At last week's race, Browning received a special surprise when his daughter Emily, who was in the middle of her shift as a Wood County Sheriff timed it perfectly and had a selfie taken with her father as he reached Pike Street.
Browning and his wife, Tracy, have an older daughter (Stacy Barnhart) who owns a photography department. The family is integrated in the running festivities on the weekend. His wife assists with the awards presentation for the two-mile event, while one his grandchildren participated at the River City Kids Classic Sunday at Parkersburg High School's Memorial Stadium.
As for a timetable on keeping active with the Parkersburg half marathon, none exists.
"There are people out there running at 85 years old - It would be great if I'm still out there in 20 years," said Browning.
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com