Runners and walkers tackle the vaunted Louisiana hill, the first major hill on the Run Thru History course, during the 25th annual installment of the race at the National Military Park on Saturday. (Jenny Sevcik The Vicksburg Post)

[3/7/04]Age and experience were no match for a pair of strong young legs Saturday at the 25th annual Run Thru History.

Rob Oates, 25, of Jackson, beat 46-year-olds Jim George and Jeff Hathorn in a three-man sprint over the last mile to win the 10K run. Oates claimed the RTH title in his first attempt at the race, conquering the Vicksburg Military Park course in 36 minutes, 30 seconds.

George was 10 seconds behind, in 36:40, and Hathorn crossed the line in 36:42. It was the closest RTH finish since 2000, when Shan Lewis beat Hathorn by eight seconds, and the seventh time that the race has been decided by 10 seconds or less.

“We didn’t have it at the end and he did. That’s youth. Youth can prevail,” said George, a Jackson resident who also was competing in his first RTH.

Oates credited his cross country coach at Mississippi College, Chuck Engle, with helping him to the win. Engle won the 1999 RTH, and not only coached Oates in college, but also gave him some pointers for the RTH course.

“He’s the reason I win all these races,” Oates said. “He told me a little bit about it. About the hills, and it’s a rolling course.”

Oates needed all the help he could get to hold off George and Hathorn. The three runners separated from the pack around the 2-mile mark, and pushed each other all the way to the end.

George and Hathorn threw every trick they could think of at Oates as the race wore on. The veterans tried drafting each other to cut wind resistance, paced each other, and took turns leading the way up and down hills, all with little success.

“With a younger guy, I knew if we didn’t get ahead of him he was going to win,” said Hathorn, who won the RTH title in 1995 and 1996, and has finished no worse than seventh every year since. “Once we got to the 5-mile marker, I knew he was too strong. He answered every move we made.”

Oates said having George and Hathorn nipping at his heels kept him moving.

“I kicked it in a little bit,” Oates said. “They really pushed me through it.”

Another RTH rookie, Cathie Koss, won the women’s title. Koss, a 37-year-old from Lutcher, La., pulled away with about a mile to go and beat second-place finisher Suzy Seeber of West Monroe, La., by 40 seconds. It was the fourth straight year, and the fifth time overall, that Seeber finished in the top three. She has never won the RTH.

Seeber beat a pack of runners for second place. Vicksburg’s Kristi Walski was third in 44:43, and Jackson’s Yolanda Brown was fourth at 44:55.

Koss had never run the Military Park course before. She was unfazed by its treacherous hills, but really never considered herself a contender until she caught sight of the leaders about halfway through the race.

“I was nice and relaxed through the first loop, and when we came under the freeway I saw the other two up ahead,” Koss said. “I didn’t really think about winning until three or four miles in. I was enjoying the view until then.”

Although she ran conservatively through the early phases of the race, Koss kicked it in once she saw the opportunity to win.

“I just ran hard,” she said. “I guess I just put my head down and decided to go. I never planned to run hard today, it just happened that way.”

There was considerably less drama in the 5K racewalk, where Vicksburg’s Debbie Cheney blew past the field to win her third straight RTH title in 26:56, more than two minutes faster than second-place finisher Barry Worrell.

Worrell, who won his second straight men’s title, crossed the finish line in 29:01. Flowood’s Amy Macon nearly caught Worrell for second, but settled for third place in 29:05.

“I stayed with her for about a mile and a half, then I had to take a break and she didn’t. She never let up,” said Worrell, who improved his time by 33 seconds over last year’s effort. “Not bad at all. I’m not complaining. I got a little bit better start this year.”

Cheney was simply too fast for anyone to catch. She posted the best time of her three RTH wins, and improved on last year’s effort by 35 seconds.

It was the first time since 2000 that she broke the 27-minute mark in the RTH.

“This is the fastest I’ve been in three years. I was very excited. I’ve been training hard on the hills, and it paid off,” Cheney said, adding that she never even saw Worrell in her rearview mirror. “I don’t care who’s in front or who’s behind. I just want to see how well I can do.”

Vicksburg’s Ben Rowland, 15, won the Blue/Gray 1-miler with a time of 5:52. Hannah Register, a 9-year-old Vicksburg resident, won the girls 1-miler with a time of 7:32.

A total of 925 people registered for the 10K run, 5K walk, and 1-mile fun run.

That was slightly fewer than the 1,000 race organizers had hoped for, but they were still happy with the turnout.

“That’s more than we had last year, and anytime we can stay around 900 or 1,000 that’s a pretty good crowd. That’s a manageable crowd,” RTH registration chairman Hays Latham said.