‘Best ticket in town’

By SCOTT POWELLLedger Staff Writerspowell@gaffneyledger.comMud-slinging, road races wrap up Peach Festival schedule

Ledger photos by SCOTT BAUGHMAN A total of 136 runners showed up for the 2005 South Carolina Peach Festival Peach Road Race on Saturday morning at Limestone College. Joseph Gibson of Greenville finished the 5K course in 14:54. Eric Ashton of Columbia was second at 14:59. The race was the fastest in the state this year. Mud-slinging was the biggest draw of this year’s South Carolina Peach Festival.

An estimated crowd of 10,000 attended the mud bog on Saturday evening. A total of 80 participants attempted to drive modified 4-wheel-drive trucks through a 250-foot-long mud pit at the festival’s Orchard Park site.

The crowd roared with approval as trucks slipped and slid through the soupy mud. With few drivers making it through, heavy equipment operators were kept busy all evening hauling participants out of the pit.

Participants competed in Street Stock, Modified Stock and Modified 4-wheel Drive Truck classes.

The festival charged entry fees ranging from $35 for modified trucks to $25 for the Street Stock class. A prize purse of $5,000 was distributed among the winners.

The festival had to use its overflow parking lots to accommodate the large crowd. The event was making its first appearance since a crowd of 3,000 attended the 1999 mud bog.

South Carolina Peach Festival Board Chairman Dennis Fowler attributed this year’s large crowd for the mud bog to several factors.

“People wanted to see their friends run through the mud. The $5 ticket price made it cheap entertainment for Saturday night. It was the best ticket in town,” Fowler said. “The festival will certainly look at the popularity of the mud bog when we begin making plans for next year’s event. Overall, I thought it was a great festival. We were blessed with great weather and provided a wide variety of entertainment over the past couple of weekends.”

Actual attendance and profit estimates on this year’s festival won’t be available for several weeks until the festival finishes paying expenses and collecting outstanding revenue from sponsors.

The festival’s final weekend was devoted to sporting events.

After holding a golf tournament Friday afternoon, the festival saw 190 runners participate in day and evening road races Saturday at Limestone College. The traditional 1K and 5K races attracted the top runners from Georgia, North Carolina and the top five runners in South Carolina.

The big surprise was the large number of participants in the 10K night race sponsored by Upstate Carolina Medical Center.

Originally expecting 30 runners, race organizer Carlton Bridges said a total of 44 runners participated in the night race.

“We are going to continue the night race next year. We are going to have the course certified so runners can earn points towards the state championship,” Bridges said. “The South Carolina Runners Club told me this was the highest caliber race they have seen this year. We may never become the biggest race, but we are going to be the best.”

The festival concluded Sunday afternoon with the annual Hill Fall event. About 30 drivers steered nonmotorized go-karts with a No. 2 washtub attached down a 1-mile course created last year behind the Limestone College quarry.