[3/01/03]When he was just a 14-year-old high school freshman, Jason Lackey’s father dared him to enter the Run Thru History.

It was the first time Lackey had ever run against competition, and he doesn’t remember doing too well.

“It was the most grueling race I’ve ever done,” Lackey said with a laugh.

Other than a serious case of fatigue, Lackey took home a first-place trophy for his age group that day and a newfound love of running.

It turned into a decade-long love affair with the sport that led to state championships in track and cross country at perennial state power Pearl High School and Rebul Academy, and a successful track and field career at Samford University.

On Saturday, the 25-year-old Lackey returned to Vicksburg for another shot at conquering the Vicksburg Military Park course and ended up coming full circle.

He dominated the rest of the field to win his first RTH title in 33 minutes, 28 seconds, more than two minutes faster than his nearest competitor, Jeff Hathorn, who crossed the line in 35:45.

“It’s probably the most special race of any I do, being my first race ever. I was finally able to win it after a half-dozen times,” said Lackey, who has finished second or third in the RTH several times.

He started the race at a moderate pace, but quickly pulled away from the pack. By the midway point, he was only competing against himself in his quest to win his favorite race.

“I kind of went out pretty easy the first half-mile and saw I was going to be by myself, and then I just had to push myself,” said Lackey, who drove from Birmingham, Ala., for the race. “It was one of those things where you just hope you don’t get a cramp or something. As long as I didn’t pass out, I knew I could finish.”

Ashley Carrillo, a 12-year-old Raymond resident, won her second straight RTH women’s title, while Vicksburg’s Debbie Cheney won the overall title in the 5K racewalk for the second straight year and Grenada’s Barry Worrell won the men’s racewalk title. Joshua Hamilton, 12, from Jackson, won the Blue/Gray 1-mile fun run with a time of 6:27.

Carrillo took the lead at the start and led for much of the race. She slowed her pace toward the middle of the race, but had to pick it up again when Suzy Seeber, a 42-year-old from West Monroe, La., closed in.

Carrillo was able to hold off Seeber’s charge with a late sprint and won with a time of 44:33. Seeber finished in 44:50.

“I had to sprint that last mile. That girl caught up to me, so I had to sprint to keep my distance,” Carrillo said.

Carrillo said the Military Park course was her favorite, and she knew “the whole trail by heart.” Moments after winning on Saturday, she had already begun thinking about a three-peat.

“Scared,” she said when asked how it felt to repeat as RTH champion. “I’m going to have to win it next year to keep my title.”

Cheney was also dominant in the racewalk, pulling away early and finishing more than two minutes ahead of Worrell for the overall title. Cheney crossed the line in 27:31, but wasn’t happy with her time.

She said it was slower than what she had completed the course in the last two years, and called her effort “disappointing.”

“I was disappointed. Last year it was 27:20 and the year before that it was 27:55, so I was disappointed. I was slower than I wanted,” Cheney said. “It was slippery, and I didn’t feel like I had it today. I really didn’t.”

Even with the slower time, the 39-year-old Cheney said it was nice to win her hometown race.

“It’s wonderful. I’ve lived here for six years, and it’s nice to win in your hometown,” she said.

Worrell put in some extra work on the hills near his home in Grenada, and it paid off. He edged defending men’s champion Bennett Randman of Jackson by 10 seconds to win the RTH in his first attempt. Worrell finished the course in 29:34.

“We just knew about a lot of steep hills. It wasn’t too bad,” said Worrell, 45. “You do a little hill work, and it comes in handy.”