More evidence that the Greater Clarksburg 10K Run is a great race that's getting better all the time: The defending Clarksburg women's champion, Catherine Ndereba, won the women's division of the Boston Marathon on Monday.
Anyone who runs -- and even a lot of people who don't -- know the Boston Marathon is the Holy Grail of distance running.
Tens of thousands of the best distance runners from across the world lined up at the start, and Ndereba was the best of the best.
She's an elite athlete, and it's pretty amazing to think that just nine months ago she took time to participate in our 6.2-mile run. She came here when she could have raced just about anywhere else in the country.
Wow!
Anyone who finished last year's Greater Clarksburg 10K Run now can proudly say that he or she once crossed the same finish line as a Boston Marathon winner. That's pretty neat.
And as we intimated, this is more evidence that the organizers of the Greater Clarksburg 10K are doing a great job.
We look for the event to continue to grow in popularity, both with elite athletes like Ndereba and recreational runners from West Virginia and bordering states.
So far, Greater Clarksburg 10K Run organizers have made all the right moves, and North Central West Virginians have helped out in a big way with ample support.
We applaud those efforts and urge continued vigilance in the efforts to maintain -- even improve -- the integrity of the event as it enters its fourth year.
Can our event one day have the kind of success of the Boston Marathon? That kind of conjecture would be hyperbole of the worst sort, akin to former Gov. Gaston Caperton once comparing a fledgling West Virginia bicycle race to the Kentucky Derby.
The Boston Marathon, after all, is one of the top sporting events in the country, a niche carved out of 104 years of tradition and helped immeasurably by its location in one of the most historic cities of our country.
But we do know this: As a regional event, the Greater Clarksburg 10K Run is already a smashing success.
And in a state where it seems like we're often running last or next to last, that's good news.
Godspeed and don't look back Greater Clarksburg 10K Run organizers and North Central West Virginians.
Let's run our best race all the way to the finish.
Today's editorial is a reflection of the opinion of the Exponent editorial board, which is comprised of James G. Logue, Kevin S. Courtney, Patrick M. Martin, Matt Harvey and J. Cecil Jarvis.