Despite the cold winds and dark clouds, about 120 runners gathered yesterday for the 14th Knights of Columbus 5K Race to benefit the Schlow Memorial Library children's department and the Tom Kleban Recovery Fund.

"It just gives people something nice to do on a Sunday afternoon," said the race's co-director Marty Mazur.

The race, which began at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 850 Stratford Drive, wound through surrounding residential streets and finished back at the hall.

Mazur, a member of the Nittany Valley Running Club, which organized the race, said the course was good for beginning runners because it is a relatively flat area.

Bellefonte resident and beginning runner Christine Rice agreed it was a good race to start with.

"It's not too bad," she said. "And it's not like a race you have to win. It's not a competitive type of thing."

But for those who were trying to compete, awards were given in a variety of categories including kids, adults and teams.

State College resident Joe Niebel, who was watching his son compete, said the race had a good turnout and was unique because of its categories, which also included the Clydesdale/Athena category for heavier runners.

"It's kind of neat with all the different age groups and different abilities," he said. "There's a place for each person."

The top three finishers for the overall women's category were Sarah Pabian (gradute-wildlife ecology) at 20:26, State College resident and Penn State graduate Meira Minard at 22:04 and Maria Emelianenko (graduate-mathematics) at 22:14.

Although she went home with a first place trophy, Pabian said it was the first race in which she had ever competed.

"I've been running for a long time, but I just hate racing," she said. "I'll probably do more races now."

The overall men's category top finishers were Patrick Murphy (junior-architectural engineering) at 15:48, Mike Fudeman (freshman-business) at 16:08 and Ben Niebel (junior-information, sciences and technology) at 16:09.

Murphy, who is a member of both the Penn State men's cross country and track and field teams, said the course was nice because it was quiet and there wasn't a lot of traffic.

"It was actually a really comfortable day to run a race -- great temperature and great competition," he said. "It was a good tune up for us for our national meet next weekend."

Harry Groves, the Penn State men's track and field coach, said he brought 15 of his runners not only to get a workout, but also to contribute to the charities.

Groves said Kleban was a member of the track and field team in the 1980s, but was involved in a swimming accident in 1989 that left him paralyzed.

"They run to contribute something to Tom," he said.

Kleban, who watched the race from the sidelines, said he uses the money for a variety of things, including medical supplies and exercise equipment.

"[The race] is fantastic," he said.