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Rain doesn’t scare the walking duo

WHEELING — Matt Hennings danced to the beat of the music as rain fell around him near the start/finish line of the Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic on Saturday morning. It was not a rain dance, but a simple expression of his enthusiasm for what he and his friend Tiffany Franckhauser were about to do.

The couple, avid walkers every day, were about to step off to walk in the half-marathon walk. Despite a thunderstorm and heavy rain prior to the start of the walk, the Steubenville couple said they wouldn’t miss the event.

As the music blared from the loudspeakers, Franckhauser joined Hennings in a quick little dance.

“This doesn’t scare me. We walk every day, rain and even in snow. We’re the toughest walkers around,” said Hennings, who works a warehouse job in Imperial, Pa.

Franckhauser was all smiles as well. She said they walk all the time around their neighborhood. Franckhauser, who works at Country Club Retirement Center, said everyone there is very supportive of her walking in the marathon.

The enthusiastic couple said they wouldn’t bother with umbrellas or heavy coats, but they still dressed appropriately for the cool, wet conditions.

Hennings said they sit out in the rain to watch football games and even attend fairs in the rain, so Saturday’s precipitation was no concern to them.

“The temperature is perfect. Anyone who complains about this today, just wait until July,” he said as he and Franckhauser headed out to complete their walk. They were smiling through the raindrops as they left.

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