Clinton’s Chuck Engle leads the pack of runners over the Old Mississippi River Bridge at the start of the Over the River Run on Saturday. Engle, 33, defeated 383 other runners to win the race. (Jon GiffinThe Vicksburg Post)

[8/30/04]For Chuck Engle and Amy Paine, Saturday’s Over the River Run was a trial for future events and new equipment.

For the rest of the participants in the 5-mile run and 5-mile racewalk, it was just a trial.

Engle, a 33-year-old Clinton resident and former Mississippi College cross country coach, overcame a field of 383 other runners and crushing heat and humidity to win his first OTRR title. He crossed the finish line in 28 minutes, 47 seconds, more than a minute ahead of second-place finisher Rob Oates.

Paine, a 23-year-old Baton Rouge resident, won the women’s title in 31:20. Vicksburg’s Debbie Cheney won the racewalk with a time of 47:01. Kirby Hendrix, a 57-year-old from Rayville, La., won the men’s title in 49:54.

William Kazery, an 11-year-old from Jackson, won the 1-mile fun run with a time of 5:55. Nearly 750 people participated in the three races, roughly 140 more than last year.

Engle hadn’t participated in the OTRR since winning it for the second straight time in 1997. Lately, he has spent most of his time running marathons and used Saturday’s race as a tuneup for a 26-miler next week in Tupelo.

He broke from the pack about a mile into the race and never looked back. He beat Oates, one of his old runners at MC and the winner of March’s Run Thru History, by 1 minute, 11 seconds.

“I hung out with those guys for the first mile and then decided I was going to that hard second mile,” Engle said. “My goal was to hit 5:15 for the second and third mile, and I was under 5 minutes for both of them.”

Engle made the most of his return to Vicksburg, but certainly picked a bad day for it.

Temperatures at the start of the 8 a.m. race approached 80 degrees and the humidity was near 100 percent. The blazing morning sun was only magnified by the heat and the haze, leaving runners gasping for air and gulping whatever water they could find.

Some walkers staggered across the line looking like zombies, while others gathered in the shade of the Mississippi Track Club truck after finishing. Runners vomited and complained of a lack of water on the course. Many participants reported slower times than usual.

“The heat was terrible. It’s as bad as it’s been since I’ve been coming here,” said Hendrix, who won his third straight men’s racewalk title and finished second overall. “I’ve been fortunate. I’ve practiced all summer in the heat, so it wasn’t a factor. But a lot of runners and walkers are slowing down.”

One of the few who didn’t slow down was Paine. A former cross country star at Rhodes College, she finished fifth overall and was nearly four minutes faster than Vicksburg’s Kristi Walski, who took second in the women’s division in 35:04.

Paine pulled away at the halfway point, when the heat began to take its toll on the pack, and cruised to the best overall finish by a woman in the 16-year history of the OTRR.

“I’ve never run 5 miles, which is kind of a strange distance. You don’t know how to pace yourself so you just run,” said Paine, who pointed to her Baton Rouge training ground in shrugging off the heat. “I’m from Baton Rouge. I’m used to (heat).”

Paine entered the race to help a friend field-test a new invention.

Vicksburg resident Sam Thompson, who ran the Appalachian Trail last summer, created a new brand of non-chafing running shorts. The women’s version of the shorts is a skirt, which helped convince Paine to try them out on Saturday.

“I’ve always wanted to play tennis just so I could wear a skirt. I think they’re cute,” Paine said with a laugh. “This is so wonderful. I’m so excited.”

Cheney continued her dominance in the racewalk, but wasn’t excited about her time. Despite winning her third straight OTRR title and her fourth consecutive women’s championship she was about two minutes behind last year’s pace.

It was hard to tell, however, since she still beat Hendrix by nearly three minutes. The 41-year-old Cheney was keeping pace with a pack of runners for a while, but eventually dropped back and cruised to victory in her own event.

“This is still my favorite race. I can’t say I didn’t have a good time. I live in Vicksburg and work for River Region, so this is great,” said Cheney, who works for race sponsor River Region Health System. Ameristar Casino also sponsored the event.

The OTRR was the 11th for Cheney. In her first Over the River Run, in 1993, she didn’t even win her own age group. Now, she’s the reigning queen of race walking in Mississippi.

“Back then, I got third in my age group and I was so happy. I can’t believe where I am today,” Cheney said. “I wanted to start running, but I can’t give up race walking. I have such a good time walking. Winning is nice, but I also have a wonderful group of friends. They’re like family.”