Runner

Liz Orndorff is first runner-up in the Heritage Festival Playwriting Contest. Her one-act play is titled "Taking the Cure. " Orndorff says, "It is essentially a conversation between a white woman and the young black nurse who is tending to her at the hospital. " "The older woman is cranky and crabby and prides herself on speaking her mind. When she and the nurse start talking about different races, the older woman is proud of the fact that she 'was in the forefront of integration' back in the 1950s in Lexington, Kentucky.

Terri Cooley of Danville finished second at the Women's Kentucky Open State Championship at Bowlarma Lanes in Danville over the weekend. The top bowlers were: 1. Melanie Fairchild, Nicholasville, $750, 5437, 214.04 2. Terri Cooley, Danville, $450, 5176, 208.17 3. Melinda Johnson, Lexington, $225, 5154, 206.00 4. Alisia Kellow, Louisville, $200, 5053, 203.04 5. Cheryl Wilkinson, Louisville, $160, 4958, 199.08 ...

Danville graduate Jared Smith finished runner-up Sunday in the second race of a double header weekend in the Formula First Challange Cup at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Sunday's race day started with Smith qualifying in the fifth spot but also during the session Smith went off track after a suspension part failure. "We had to hustle to get the car ready after the off. We had about three hours to get everything put back and get the car cleaned up. " In the race, Smith moved into third in the opening laps, battling with Doug Siem of Cincinnati for second.

Did you ever see the episode of "Friends" in which Rachel and Phoebe decide to take up running? It's pretty funny, and years after its original air date now makes me laugh for entirely new reasons. At the beginning of their first jog through Central Park, uptight Rachel is appalled when free spirit Phoebe flails her legs about in different directions, her arms also swinging at random, uncoordinated speeds. Rachel is appalled. People stare. Phoebe doesn't notice. The reason I bring up an episode of "Friends" in a Sports column is because it's been brought to my attention that I'm a lot like Phoebe in the sprinting department.

Corey Gardner shot an even-par 72 and finished second in a playoff Saturday to lead Boyle County to a runner-up finish in the Old Bridge Invitational at Old Bridge Golf Club. Gardner finished in a four-way playoff for medalist honors. The playoff went three holes, and Gardner finished behind Clay County's Todd McDaniel. Boyle finished with a 306, seven strokes behind champion Russell County. Brandon Gardner shot 76 for Boyle, followed by Cody Pollard at 78, J.T. Ross at 80 and Grant Blevins at 82.

Members of the West Jessamine track team sulked in the back of the bus before heading home after the state track meet at Paul Dunbar High School on Saturday. Junior Nathan Liversedge ? who battled strep throat since last week's regional meet and wasn't at his strongest ? said, "I am definitely disappointed because it was so close, only two points (from runner up). But, we gave it all we got. We had to battle up. Overall we worked as hard as we could have, so we couldn't have done anything more.

The Lincoln County High School track and field teams walked away from Admiral Stadium in Danville with an extra jingle in their pockets Saturday, garnering 14 medals in the 12th annual E. G. Plummer Invitational. Zack Hill brought home Lincoln's top placement, with his third straight win in the high jump field event. Hill cleared 6-00 under windy conditions to earn first place. "Since I've been going up (heights), I take jumping more serious now," said the Lincoln freshman.

It was a little over a year ago that Clay Jackson ran his first 5K race. Since that venture in the 2008 Run for the Brass, The Advocate-Messenger photographer has become an avid runner - and healthier overall person. Jackson, 36, weighed about 190 pounds a year ago. Today he weighs 155. He's gone from running in his first 3.1-mile race to finishing a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in a little over two hours and joining 55,000 other runners in a recent 10K (6.2-mile) race. Jackson, a regular on the high school sports scene and one of the state's premier sports photographers, shared these insights into his running accomplishments during the last 14 months.

The times, they are a-changin'. That's what runners at the UPS Heart of Kentucky 5K said Saturday as they welcomed a young runner, encouraged a growing racer and said goodbye to a local legend. Hogan Gagle, 9, started his running career last year when he joined the Boyle County cross country team. While's he's known to most runners as "Mr. Gagle," Gagle's legs are young and waiting for many more miles. Gagle said he has two goals for the upcoming fall season. "All I want to do is beat Taylor Jameson in any race, or win the race at least," said Gagle.