WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF)–The 45th Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend is happening this memorial weekend in the Friendly City.

The races kicked off bright an early Saturday morning with the 5K and half-marathon walkers.  

Racers both young and old joined in on the fun.

The iconic Ogden Ironmen made their way through the course.

These men have run every single race since the event started.  

The Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend not only brings our community together, but it also welcomes new faces as athletes travel from all over the county to the hills of West Virginia. 

Carl Kondrach from Barnesville, OH was your half-marathon walk winner and his time was 2:10.13. 

Kelley Murdock from Washington, PA secured the win in the 5K with a time of 32:58. 

In the run, Casey Hancock from Wheeling, WV ran a 17.28. He’s your 5K champ.  

For the half-marathon run, Aidan Konhaus from Elkins, WV was first overall out of 335 runners.  

It was his first time running the Ogden, but he says the hills of Elkins helped prepare him.  

“I was running on fumes. Before when I was going over my race plan, I knew I wanted to close the last miles as hard as possible. I knew it was downhill, so I just really wanted to open up and make sure I left nothing I the tank when I finished. That’s pretty much what I did so it hurt.”  

Aidan Konhaus, Half-marathon champion

He ran a 1:12.58 with a pace of 5:35.  

Laurel Jefferson from Springfield Virginia was the first female finisher of the half-marathon. 

She ran an impressive time of 1:25:07 at a pace of 6:30 but even Jefferson said it wasn’t a walk in the park.  

I feel awesome because that course was really really difficult. So I run like a lot of half marathons, so I didn’t really know…I read that this one was tough but there was a point where I was like I don’t know if l’m going to make it up this hill. I’m feeling pretty elated right now…This is the hardest one I’ve done. Definitely.”

Laurel Jefferson, 1st female half-marathon finisher

Jefferson finished 16th overall. 

For those who can’t get enough, elite athletes test their endurance and take on the Ultra Urban Challenge. 

Where you do the Ogden Half, the Heritage Bike Tour, and the Tough as Nails. 

The event picks back up on Sunday with the Tough as Nails Urban Challenge at Noon.