Evonek Wins Women’s 5K Walk
Trending
WHEELING - Stefanie Evonek of Bellaire set the pace in the annual Ogden 5K Walk presented by WVU Medicine Children's and took the win among women in the competition.
With a time of 35 minutes and 21 seconds, Evonek claimed victory Saturday in her event debut in Wheeling by more than four minutes ahead of her competition in the category.
"This is my first Ogden 5K," she said. "I’ve done 5Ks before. I used to run all of the time, but my knees got bad, and I had both knees replaced. So I started power walking and doing some 5Ks."
Evonek, 51, said she had always intended to run the Ogden race, but had to shift gears to a walking pace because of health factors.
"I’ve wanted to do the Ogden for over 30 years, but I wanted to do the half marathon and run," she said. "Because of my knees and some other health issues, I couldn’t. But after 30 some years of hoping I could be in the Ogden, I’m finally in it. It’s exciting."
Evonek maintained the lead for the entire walk and stepped to victory. She said her training on hilly terrain truly helped her tackle the relatively flat 5K course. She noted that there was a pretty steady grade up to Jacob Street, but otherwise there are really no hills with which 5K runners and walkers have to contend.
"Where I practice at home, it has a lot of hills," she said. "I like walking up hills, and I think that contributes to stamina and strength when you’re walking."