The third annual Andrea Gattens’  5K Memorial Run and Walk was recently held in Barton.
The run was started by Andrea’s Mother, Kim and father, Fred Gattens, with help from Andrea’s older brother, Butch and younger sister Sarah Llewellyn in honor of Andrea.
Andrea sadly passed away in December 2005.
Andrea was a 1998 graduate of Westmar High School, Lonaconing, where she was the Editor of the school newspaper, and she was captain of the volleyball, basketball, and softball teams. She was honored with the Female Athlete of the Year Award in her senior year. She graduated from Allegany College where she also played volleyball.
She graduated in 2002 from Fairmont State University with a degree in Journalism and English, and was a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority. Her hobbies included running, working out at the gym, and shopping.
She attended Barton United Methodist Church, and she was an account executive for the West Virginia Publishing Company, Charleston, W.Va.
She also worked at Fox News as an intern and  at the Froggy radio station in Clarksburg.
“Andrea was a very avid runner and participated in many races—she loved to run.” said Kim.
The memorial run was held on Saturday, August 16 and drew a crowd of 200 people from seven states.
“It was a gorgeous day for the race it was sunny and 55 degrees,” said Kim.
Proceeds from race registration will fund $2,000 in scholarships, in journalism and athletics for students at Mountain ridge High School.
Top female finisher was Paula Bridges of Cumberland and top male finisher was David Metz of Cumberland.  Top overall master female winner was Tammy Rice of Brookpark, Ohio. Top overall master male winner was Tom Ruckert of Grantsville, Maryland. 
Both finishers and masters won a $50 prize, top male and female finishers in each age category where given a plaque, handcrafted by Fred.  Age categories were as follows 14,15-19,20-29,30-39,40-49,50-59,60+. Awards were also give to the top five male and female finishers of the Walk.
 T-shirts were given to those who pre-registered and after the race all participants were treated to ice cream, fruit and drinks. Around 15 door prizes were also given away after the race. 
“We received a lot of community support for this race—we hand 19 cooperate sponsors and we couldn’t have done it without help from the community and from the Queen City Striders—we are very thankful to them all,”said Kim.
The next  Andrea Gattens’ Memorial Run and Walk will be held the third Saturday of August 2009.
For more information and pictures on the memorial race and walk view the website at www.qcstriders.org/.