More than 50 runners were welcomed by sunny skies and pleasant temperatures on Saturday for the annual Loy Memorial Road Races in East Canton.
The races are in honor and remembrance of both the late Ben Loy and Steve Loy, brothers, avid runners, former educators and graduates of East Canton.
The one-mile race for kids 14 and under kicked off the morning's competition as a pair of 11-year-olds won their respective races.
Erik Loy won the boys' event with a time of 7:08 as he used a strong kick to pull away from eight-year-old Josh Conrad and 10-year-old Matthew Gothard, as they were timed in 7:15 and 7:18 respectively.
The first girl was Megan Gothard, as the 11-year-old crossed the finish line in 7:33. Eight-year-old Taylor Cassidy was second with an 8:31 while 10-year-old Kourtney Hill ran 8:41 for third place among the girls.
The 5-kilometer race for the "big kids" had a repeat winner and a sentimental favorite as victors in each division.
The women's race was won by Meredith Loy, daughter of the late Steve Loy, and a current junior at Lake High School. Loy's time of 23:04 was 22 seconds ahead of Angie Parker of East Canton. Melissa Kandel of East Canton was third with a 24:43.
For the men, 21-year- old Perry grad Alex Stern repeated his win from 2006, as his time of 17:07 was more than two minutes clear of the field on the tough 3.1-mile course. Alex Loy was second as the senior from Lake High School clocked 19:20. East Canton and Mount Union College alum Ben Parker was third with a time of 20:19.
The master's division (over 40 years of age) was won by Tim Stern for the men and Pearl Gailey for the women. This is significant as Stern was a close friend with both Ben and Steve Loy, while Gailey was the race director in 1986 and changed the name of the race to the Ben Loy Memorial upon the death of Ben earlier that year. Steve passed away in 2004 and the event was renamed the Loy Memorial at that time.
Hoops for Healing sponsors the races. The group promotes organ donation and educate on liver disease and digestive disorders.