Photo by Alex Meyer Children line up at the starting line for the Ogden Fun Run, a 1-mile event open to kids age 12 and under.

WHEELING — Children age 12 and under took to the streets of downtown Wheeling on Saturday for the annual Ogden Fun Run.

Youth runners began lining up at the starting line around 8:20 a.m. Then, the 1-mile race began and the kids took off down 14th Street, some at a near-sprint and others taking it slow.

The course wrapped around Eoff Street, north toward 11th Street and eventually back down Water Street near Heritage Port. The run was a non-competitive event, and many parents ran alongside their children.

Micah Kramer, a sixth-grader at The Linsly School, was the first runner to make it through the Water Street finish line, escorted by a Wheeling Police Department cruiser, blaring its siren.

Kramer, who runs track and field at Linsly, said he’s done the Fun Run for a couple years now, and he ran it with his friend Colby this year. He came in at 6:17.

“I really liked it,” he said.

The first girls to finish were Wrya Pratt and Zoey Baird of Moundsville Middle School.

“It was OK, I could’ve done better,” Baird said, with Pratt concurring.

The two said they had fun, though, and that they enjoy running.

“I’ve been running since I was, like, 6,” Pratt said.

“I’ve been running for a while, but I hadn’t done a mile or a 5K,” Baird added.

Kids came through the finish line at varying paces, but all appeared to be having fun. All runners were given a medal and dubbed “winners.”

After the run, the participants were able to grab a water bottle and a Budget Saver pop from a cart on site from the Ziegenfelder Co.