Photo by Eric Ayres Veteran runner and walker Carl Kondrach of Barnesville took first place in the 47th annual Ogden Half Marathon Classic Walk on Saturday.

WHEELING – Carl Kondrach of Barnesville led the pack out of the gate in the 47th annual Ogden Half Marathon Classic Walk and stayed in front to claim victory once again.

It was not the first time Kondrach, 53, won the event, completing the course Saturday with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 48 seconds.

“This is my 35th Ogden overall,” he said. “As a walker, this is my 10th or 11th walk, and I think this is the fourth time that I’ve won it.”

Kondrach is a regular runner and walker, and he is very active in the regional race community, serving as a race director in his hometown.

“I still run a lot of races,” he said. “I do 100 races a year, and two-thirds of them are running. But this is the one I like to walk in. I’ve been doing it a long time.”

Before Saturday, Kondrach was the winner of the Ogden Half Marathon Classic Walk in 2023 and claimed victory several years in a row before that. However, he finished second in last year’s walk.

“I won today only because my buddy, Lee Stough, who won it last year – who is younger and faster, I can’t keep up with him anymore – he was injured,” Kondrach said. “He took today off, so he let me slip in there for the victory.”

According to Kondrach, Stough won by a good margin ahead of him in 2024.

“Last year I was second to Lee, and he beat me pretty handily,” he said. “We used to be even. But he is younger, stronger and trains a little bit better than I do walking. I race too much, which is part of the problem. I’m not always fresh. But he took a week off and let me win.”

Keeping ahead of the lead pack is not always Kondrach’s game plan, but it was the approach he took Saturday to step to victory.

“My strategy was different than it normally is,” he said. “Today, I thought – I’m going to hit it head on hard and fast early to see what kind of a lead I’d get. I knew once I hit the other side of Chicken Neck Hill, I’d start to feel a little tight.”

He said that at about the 11 mile mark, his pace slowed slightly, but he hung in there and never gave up the lead.

After crossing the finish line, there was an emotional hug amongst friends – many of whom were running in memory of Don Slusser of Monroeville, Pa. – a high-profile figure in the regional racing community who died in an accident last month. Kondrach and others wore T-shirts in Slusser’s memory, and a moment of silence was held before the race in his honor, as well.

“He was a staple in the running and walking community,” Kondrach said. “He was an elite runner back in his day. He finished ninth in Boston one year and was a mentor to a lot of runners and walkers. He was a race director, too. He always had a nice word to say about everybody – just an all around great guy. Tragically last month, he was taken too soon from us in a kayak accident.

“But this was always one of his favorite races.”