Photo by Derek Redd From left, Joe Lovell, special events coordinator for The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register; Jamie Bordas, managing partner of Bordas & Bordas; and Brian Clutter, operations manager for The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register discuss the upcoming Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine. Bordas & Bordas is sponsoring the weekend's 5K races, the Ogden Fun Run and the Tiny Tot Trot.

Jamie Bordas – for much of his life and especially his career as an attorney – has been a strong supporter of both family and fitness. That has come from his tenure as president of the Wheeling YMCA board of directors, his time coaching youth sports and him and wife Stacy shuttling their six children to countless practices and games.

So for him, it was an easy decision for the Bordas & Bordas law firm, of which he is managing partner, to sponsor two of the most family-oriented events of the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine. The firm this year is sponsoring both the 5K runs and walks, as well as the children’s events – the Ogden Fun Run and Tiny Tot Trot.

Registration for those events, as well as all the other events of the weekend scheduled for May 23-24, can be found at ogdenwellnessweekend.com.

Bordas credited his parents, his mother Linda and late father Jim, for instilling those values in him.

“My mom and dad, as they got more successful in their careers, looked for ways to give back,” he said. “One of the reasons they moved here and continued to live here was because it’s a good place for families. So they looked for ways to continue to make it a good place for families. And events like this are a big part of that.”

The 5K races, Fun Run and Tot Trot are all big parts of the weekend. The men’s and women’s 5K runs begin at 7:40 a.m. May 23, with the 5K men’s and women’s walks following at 7:50 a.m. Prizes will be awarded in the open divisions of both the run and the walk for both men and women. First place is $75, with second place $50 and third place $40.

Race towels, bottled water and fresh fruit will be available to participants. Participants will receive one food voucher, pre-registered participants are guaranteed a shirt and all 5K participants will receive a race medal.

The Fun Run, which starts at 8:15 a.m. May 23, is a noncompetitive event for children ages 12 and younger. All pre-registered participants in the one-mile race are guaranteed a T-shirt. The race will begin at the start/finish line on 14th Street and head up 14th to Chapline Street, where it will turn right and travel south on Chapline to 16th Street, where it will turn left and travel one block to Eoff Street, where it will turn left onto Eoff Street and travel north on Eoff to 11th Street before descending the small hill by the YWCA and then turning left back onto Chapline Street and traveling south on Chapline back to 14th Street, where it will turn right onto 14th and travel back to the finish line.

The Tiny Tot Trot, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will have two heats, one for children ages 4 and 5 and one for children ages 3 and younger. The run will happen on Water Street near Heritage Port and all children who participate will receive a ribbon.

The history of the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine goes back decades. Bordas said he wants the firm to be an integral part of that lineage.

“It’s really a staple in Wheeling, the Ohio Valley and beyond,” Bordas said. “So when you look at that and see that it’s been so important to so many people for so long, and that the races we’re sponsoring are a way that young kids and the entire family can be incorporated, I think it just makes it a natural fit for us.”

James Spanner, general manager for The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, agrees with Bordas that his firm is a natural fit as a partner for the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine.

“Bordas & Bordas has been an integral part of the Ohio Valley for years and years,” Spanner said. “We’re very fortunate that they have agreed to sponsor our 5K races and children’s runs. Their support will help reinforce this weekend as a premier event for the entire family, and we hope to see folks from every age out here with us, having fun and getting fit.”