About this collection:

First called the Wheeling Distance Race, later renamed the Elby’s 20k Race, and now known as the Ogden Half Marathon, this annual Wheeling running event has attracted thousands of runners since the late 1970s. Race founder and director Hugh Stobbs hosted the first annual Wheeling Distance Race in May of 1977, with sponsors from First National Bank and the Boury Brothers, and had a total of 682 entrants sign up in its first year. The race hosted notable runners, such as Bill Rodgers, and challenged entrants to run a harsh, hilly course that loops around Wheeling, West Virginia. Originally a 20k, the Race's total distance was changed in 2011 to a full half-marathon due to declining entrants.

The collection consists of memorabilia and document material belonging to Hugh Stobbs relating to the Wheeling Distance Race/Ogden Half Marathon from 1977-2001. The collection contains photographs, memorabilia, personal correspondence, advertisements, magazines, official documents, media papers, and race results.  Memorabilia includes race official ribbons, race bibs, pins, and branded folders from the 1980s to the 2000s. Personal correspondence includes letters addressed to Hugh Stobbs, along with letters from Hugh Stobbs spanning between 1977-1999, and notably includes a letter from Bill Rodgers to Hugh Stobbs.

Advertisements include flyers, posters, and sign-up coupons between 1977 and 1995. Magazines include four issues of the Elby’s Family News Magazine from 1978-1980 and 1983, along with an issue of Runners’ World and an issue of The Ohio Runner. Media papers include press releases, press attendance sheets, and invitations for a press party, spanning from 1978 to 1986. Photographs include three folders of photographs relating to the race, its promotional events and ceremonies, and Hugh Stobbs, between 1977 and 1996. Race results include documented results from the inaugural race in 1977, along with results from 1995-1997, but do not include results from any other year.

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