
THE BONK HARD CHILL (updated March 15th)
Those participating in Saturday's Bonk Hard Chill adventure race once again had nothing but rave reviews for it, as they have for all five years of the event. They all seemed to have a great time, despite having to endure chilly temperatures that ranged between 39 and 43 degrees, and sometimes misty and breezy weather. The full results (with splits) have been posted.
Here's how our locals did:
Gary Thompson, on the Mid Rivers Adventure team with Emily Korsch of St. Louis, finished in third in the two-person coed division with a finish time of 9:17.
Dan Dougan, Steven Hermann and Jim Jackson, along with teammate Josh Shrock, on the Potholes team (pictured below at the finish line), finished second in the four-person open division. Their finish time was 10:41.

Dave Goldberg and Chris Orr, on the Oz Cycles and Kayaks two-person male team, had some frustrations in finding checkpoints on the final trekking section, but hung in there and gave it their best shot nonetheless.
Congratulations to all who toed the starting line. Adventure racing is actually much tougher than it may look, especially on the brutally hilly course of the Bonk Hard Chill.
Click here to view some photos taken at the event. The video footage will take some time to edit.
The full version of the 2009 Bonk Hard Chill video has been posted on the Videos page. It runs 36 minutes and contains course graphics and other niceties not found in the three-minute preview version posted last February.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated March 15th)
A total of 55 runners and walkers participated in Saturday morning's St. Patrick's Day 5K Run/Walk in Eldon put on by the city's Parks & Recreation Department. The male and female runners were led by Steve Scott (19:04) and Meghan Crisman (23:02). Walkers were led by Bill Heberle (36:57) and Lynn Struemph (36:55). Full results can be viewed by clicking here.
Eldon Parks & Recreation's next 5K will be on July 3rd.
RUN FOR THE BEACH 5K/1K RUN/WALK (posted January 15th)

The Kiwanis Club of Ozark Coast will be holding its 5th annual Run for the Beach event on Saturday, April 10th, at Mills Elementary School on Bagnell Dam Blvd. in Lake Ozark. Early registration costs $15; race day registration is $20. Children until 12 participate for free. Registration opens at 8:00 a.m. on race day, with the 5K starting at 9:00 a.m. and the 1K at 9:30. More information is available here.
GO! ST. LOUIS MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated February 25th)
The HALF marathon field reached its limit of 12,500, and is now closed to entry. The additional 2,500 slots that went on sale on February 19th sold out within days. Openings still remain for the marathon and marathon relay.
The GO! St. Louis Marathon and Half Marathon will start in downtown St. Louis on Sunday, April 11th, with the largest field in its history. Website: www.gostlouis.org. Here's a list of Lake-area participants registered as of February 25th:
| Finish Time | Division Place | |||
| HALF MARATHON: | ||||
| Brett Bachelier | 26 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Theresa Christensen | 38 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Lisa Marie Dehner | 40 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Jim Finn | 45 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Janet Graham | 46 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Jolene Kellogg | 46 |
Roach | ||
| Sonia Luster | 36 |
Linn Creek | ||
| Levi McDonald | 17 |
Linn Creek | ||
| Patricia McSpadden | 56 |
Sunrise Beach | ||
| Anna Michelle Morgan | 16 |
Camdenton | ||
| Traci Neal | 36 |
Kaiser | ||
| Jen Nolawski | 39 |
Versailles | ||
| Victoria Robinson | 14 |
Roach | ||
| Steve Scott | 25 |
Eldon | ||
| Kristi Schrimpf | 28 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Matthew Schrimpf | 31 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Clare Sheehan | 26 |
Lake Ozark | ||
| Catherine Standley | 16 |
Osage Beach | ||
| Dawn Standley | 44 |
Osage Beach | ||
| Kristin Sutton | 25 |
Camdenton | ||
| Patty Rapp Thome | 49 |
Camdenton | ||
| Shelby Rapp Thome | 18 |
Camdenton | ||
| Victoria Lynn Waiter | 38 |
Camdenton | ||
| Mamie Wahlbrink | 47 |
Eldon | ||
| Deborah Wiles | 46 |
Linn Creek | ||
| MARATHON : | ||||
| Tina Cordia | 31 |
Linn Creek | ||
| Jim Glickert | 55 |
Osage Beach | ||
| Shelly Leffingwell | 38 |
Camdenton | ||
DOGWOOD FESTIVAL 5K RUN/WALK(posted March 3rd)
The third annual Dogwood Festival 5K Run/Walk is scheduled for Saturday, April17th, in the Linn Creek Industrial Park. Starting time is 7:00 a.m., with registration opening at 6:00 a.m. Proceeds benefit the Camden County Child Advocacy Council. The cost is $15 prior to April 9th, and $20 after. Click here for a registration form and more details.
THIRD ANNUAL LAKE REGIONAL FUN RUN/WALK (updated March 15th)

The Lake Regional Fun Run/Walk, benefiting Lake Regional's Cardiopulmonary Rehab Department, will be held on Saturday, May 1st. The 5K Run starts at 7:30 a.m., with registration opening at 7:00 a.m. Early registration (through April 23rd) is $15, and $25 thereafter. All who raise or donate $15 or more will receive a t-shirt. The run course will again include some of the Sycamore Creek Golf Course paths. The Fun Walk starts at 7:45 a.m., with registration opening at 7:00 a.m. Here's a link for registration forms and more information.
POLAR BEAR STRUT (updated March 4th)
A record turnout of 171 runners and walkers participated in the Polar Bear Strut on February 27th and raised a total of $13,435 for Special Olympics Missouri. The weather was a bit chilly at first, but it soon warmed up and turned out to be a beautiful day. Too bad, though, that that didn't make the course any easier. This is one of the toughest 5K courses you'll find anywhere. A huge thanks goes to Pete Leyva and his crew for their hard work in putting on a great event, as they've now done for nine years.
Congratulations to all who finished, but especially to Levi McDonald and Victoria Robinson, the top male and female runners who finished in 20:02 and 23:17, respectively. Levi and Victoria are Camdenton cross country runners, and will be racing the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon on April 11th.

Levi McDonald and Victoria Robinson

Levi McDonald and Pete Leyva
The list of the top ten male and female runners that appeared in the media is available here. The full results are now available.
TWO DAM DAYS PADDLE RACE (updated March 3rd)
Dan Dougan's mention on KRMS (see below) of a dam-to-dam paddling race intrigued me, and led me to do a bit of investigative work. Knowing that any such event on the Lake requires a regatta permit from the Missouri State Water Patrol, I checked the MSWP's website to see if a permit has been issued. Indeed, one has. There is a two-day permit (each day running from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) for Saturday-Sunday, September 25-26, for the "Two Dam Days Paddle Race". The race location is listed as "Drake Harbor to Iguana Sports", and the permit is for up to 300 boats. Drake Harbor and Recreation Area is located in Warsaw, Missouri, at the 91-mile mark of the Lake. Iguana Watersports, which rents boats and PWCs, is located near Bagnell Dam. Click on the image below to see it full-size.
Update: Due to the distance of the race, I didn't think it would stop at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, and then resume at 7:00 a.m. Sunday, as the regatta listing showed. However, I've heard that there are plans to have a stopping point on Saturday at Captain Ron's at the 34-mile mark.
DAN DOUGAN ON KRMS-1150 AM (posted February 21st)
Dan Dougan, owner of Ozark Outdoors & Cyclery, appeared on KRMS yesterday afternoon. He and show host JR talked about a lot of things, but mostly about kayaking in the Lake area. One particularly interesting thing Dan mentioned is the possibility of a Truman Dam to Bagnell Dam paddling race this September.
Here's the audio (43:30; 25MB; mp3 format). The audio begins just a few seconds after the start of the program.
KB: SUPER PLUNGER (posted February 12th)
A new video has been posted on the Videos page. Local KRMS radio personality and all-round great guy "KB" joined nine others in plunging 24 times in 24 hours into the ice-cold water of the lake last February to raise a bunch of money for Special Olympics Missouri. The Polar Plunge returns on February 27th, so the video is a fitting reminder of why slightly more sane people choose to do the Strut (see below) instead.
DENNIS DORMAN'S BICYCLE RIDE ACROSS AMERICA (posted January 30th)
The 3,200-mile bicycle ride across America that Dennis Dorman of Sunrise Beach announced last November is scheduled to begin on March 1st in San Diego. Dennis hopes to finish in St. Augustine, Florida, in early May.
The ride is a fundraiser for Rotary International (Dennis is a member of the Laurie-Sunrise Beach Rotary Club) to support its continuing efforts to eradicate polio around the world. His goal is to raise $100,000.
A front-page article about Dennis and the ride appeared in the Lake Sun on January 28th. Click here to read it (.pdf format; 2.2 MB).
Dennis was interviewed on KRMS-1150AM on January 25th. It was similar to an 18-minute interview given last November 16th, which you can listen to by clicking here (MP3 format; 10.1 MB).
THE TOUR OF ST. LOUIS (posted January 25th)
Big Shark Bicycle Company is one of the largest bike shops in the St. Louis area, and does more to support Missouri bike events than just about anyone. Owner Mike Weiss is also heavily involved in organizing the Tour of Missouri.
Big Shark has announced three events coming up on the weekend of April 24-25 that are part of what it calls "The Tour of St. Louis":
Saturday morning, April 24th: The Delmarvelous Criterium, a 0.8-mile criterium around the near north side of St. Louis.
Saturday afternoon, April 24th: The Big Bottom Time Trial, a 9-mile out-and-back course on the flat Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in north St. Louis County.
Sunday, April 25th: The Carondelicious Circuit Race, a 1.3-mile circuit course in Carondelet Park in south St. Louis City.
For more information about these events, click here.
THE VINO FONDO (posted January 25th)
Big Shark Bicycle Company is bringing the European cycling tradition of the Grand Fondo to Missouri's wine country on Saturday, May 1st. Dubbed The Vino Fondo, this is a fully supported, timed road ride with three distance options, all of which are very hilly (which is commonly a part of the Grand Fondo challenge):
The Mini Fondo: 25 miles, 2,500 feet of climbing
The Midi Fondo: 75 miles, 5,600 feet of climbing
The Mondo Fondo: 132 miles and 12,000+ feet of climbing
The rides start in Augusta, and Washington, New Haven and Hermann are among the cities on the route.
(Personal note: The Mondo Fondo looks downright scary. 132 miles with 12,000 feet of climbing is insanely hard, and doing it early in the season is for ultramasochists only.)
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JEFFERSON CITY:
Jefferson City Road Runners
COLUMBIA:
Columbia Track Club
SPRINGFIELD/BRANSON:
Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners
Springfield Bicycle Club
ST. LOUIS:
SwimBikeRunStLouis.com
Fleet Feet St. Louis
STLBiking.com
St. Louis Track Club
KANSAS CITY:
KC Multisport
TriKC
STATEWIDE:
TriFind.com
Runners World