Oak Ridge Today

Secret City Half Marathon, 5K is Saturday

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The Secret City Half Marathon and 5K has grown into one of the largest athletic events in Oak Ridge. A field of an estimated 700 runners and walkers will participate when the race celebrates its seventh anniversary on Saturday, November 21.

“This year we have totally revamped the event, and we think participants are going to really enjoy the changes,” says Lisa Kendall, race director for the half marathon and 5K races and event sales manager for the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In the past, the event was held over two days but that is down to one day with both races starting just 15 minutes apart. The previous “double loop” half marathon route is gone, replaced with a route that starts and finishes on the Melton Lake peninsula and includes Union Valley Road, home to the Rogers Group, which is the presenting sponsor of this year’s event.

“We are thrilled that the Roger’s Group gave us permission to route the race down their private road and by their quarry,” Kendall said. “It’s a very scenic route that will be new to many Oak Ridgers as well.” [Read more…]

Discount offered for Secret City 5k, Half Marathon

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Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau-logo

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau is offering a limited-time discount to the next 100 runners who register for either the Secret City 5k or the Secret City Half Marathon to be held November 29 and 30. With a few weeks left before the race, runners and walkers are encouraged to lace up their running shoes and sign up soon to participate in one of these great family-friendly athletic events in Oak Ridge.

Runners who take advantage of this discount are eligible for $10 off the Half Marathon using coupon code SPY10 or $5 off the 5k using coupon code SPY5. This discount expires on or before November 15. [Read more…]

Van Druff, McGhee finish No. 4, No. 8 in state cross country meet

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Jordan Van Druff

Jordan Van Druff, an eighth-grade student at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, finished fourth in a state cross country meet in Knoxville on Saturday. (Photo by Nicholas Rhodes)

 

KNOXVILLE—It wasn’t the result that Jordan Van Druff wanted.

He trained diligently at the beginning of the season for this state cross country meet, hoping to finish first. Van Druff also put in extra miles, running up to 25 to 30 miles per week at his peak.

On Saturday, the eighth-grader at Jefferson Middle School led all runners near the one-mile mark in a two-mile boys race during the Tennessee Middle School State Cross Country Championships at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville. But then, one by one, three runners passed him.

“I didn’t get what I wanted,” said Van Druff, who was undefeated in all of Jefferson’s regular season races during his three-year middle school career. “I wanted to finish first.”

Still, it was an improvement from his fifth-place finish last year and a sixth-place finish the year before, said his mother, Reneé Van Druff.

Van Druff, who finished with a two-mile time of 11:42.55, was one of two Oak Ridge runners who made All State during the state cross country championships on Saturday. The other was Faith McGhee, a fourth-grade student at Woodland Elementary School. She finished eighth in the one-mile girls race during the Tennessee Elementary School State Cross Country Championships. McGhee had a time of 6:19.50. [Read more…]

JMS cross country teams sweep city championships

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2014 JMS Boys Cross Country Team

The 2014 Jefferson Middle Schools boys cross country team is pictured above. The JMS boys and girls cross country teams were city champions this year. (Submitted photos)

 

Jordan Van Druff

Jordan Van Druff of Jefferson Middle School, the boys city champion. Van Druff was undefeated in all of Jefferson’s regular season races during his three-year career.

By Steve Reddick

Both Oak Ridge middle school cross country teams wrapped up their seasons at the City Championship meet held Tuesday, September 29, on the Jefferson Middle School campus.

Battling hard against determined Ram and Lady Ram teams, the JMS Eagle and Lady Eagle cross country teams emerged as City Champions in the meet.

Led by standout runner Jordan Van Druff, the Eagles captured 18 of the first 20 places in the boys race, including the top five positions, to finish the race with a perfect score of 15 points.

Robertsville Middle School’s top runner, seventh-grader Christopher Van Hook, placed sixth overall. [Read more…]

Railroad tracks removed from South Illinois, Emory Valley

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South Illinois Avenue Railroad Track Removal

A work crew from Rogers Group removes unused railroad tracks from South Illinois Avenue just south of Lafayette Drive and Scarboro Road on Saturday night. After the tracks were removed, the railroad crossing was repaved, and the road reopened on Sunday.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:30 p.m.

Unused railroad tracks that crossed Briarcliff Avenue, Emory Valley Road, and South Illinois Avenue were removed on Thursday and Saturday night.

Railroad company CSX split the traffic control costs with the city and paid to remove the tracks, Oak Ridge Public Works Director Gary Cinder said. In exchange, the city agreed to repave the roadways as part of street maintenance. The crossing lights were removed as well so that commercial vehicles, including school buses, no longer have to stop at the abandoned crossings and, in the case of school buses and other vehicles that carry children, open and close their doors before proceeding.

The project has been in the works for two years.

“We’re thrilled to finally get to this stage,” Cinder said last week. “It’s been a long time coming.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge boys’ cross country team finishes sixth in state championship

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Oak Ridge Cross Country Wesley Robinson

Junior Wesley Robinson had the top finish for the Oak Ridge Boys Cross Country team at the state championship in Nashville on Saturday. Robinson finished 29th overall, and Oak Ridge placed sixth. (Photos courtesy of Karen Fitchpatrick)

The Oak Ridge boys’ cross country team finished sixth in the state championship in Nashville on Saturday.

It was the Wildcats’ best finish since 2009, when Oak Ridge placed second, Coach Allen Etheridge said.

“It’s a really solid step for us,” Etheridge said.

He said the young team ran okay on the Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course in Nashville, but it wasn’t Oak Ridge’s best race. Etheridge said the five-kilometer (3.1-mile) course and the intensity of the competition and other factors might have surprised the boys a bit. [Read more…]

Pictures: Neon Vibe 5K

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Neon Vibe 5K

About 1,600 runners and walkers participated in the Neon Vibe 5K in Oak Ridge on Sept. 21.

There were also about 800 volunteers and spectators, for a total of roughly 2,400 people, according to the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helped organize the event, the first-ever in Tennessee.

“It was hugely successful,” ORCVB President Katy Brown said.

[Read more…]