INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND EVENTS -- JULY 4 - 6

We have a local race this coming holiday weekend.  The City of Eldon's Firecracker 5K Run/Walk starts at 7:30 a.m. on Friday at the Public Safety Building on S. Oak Street. Race-day registration opens at 7:00 a.m.   More information about the event can be found near the bottom of this column under "Upcoming Events".

The Tour de France starts Saturday. TV coverage in the U.S. will be provided by NBC Sports and/or its Peacock streaming service.

Jefferson City:

4th of July Firecracker Mile, Friday (free; no frills)

Columbia:

Parley Pratt Freedom Run (4-mile & 1-mile), Friday

Rolla:

Firecracker 5K, Friday

Hannibal:

Hannibal Cannibal 5K/10K/15K, Saturday

Carthage:

Red, White and Boom 5K Run, Friday

Springfield:

No races

Branson:

Firecracker 5000 (5K/10K), Friday

Kansas City and vicinity:

Stars & Stripes 5K, Friday
Lenexa Freedom Run (5K/10K), Friday
Ward Parkway Four on the Fourth (4-mile/4K), Friday

St. Louis and vicinity:

Chesterfield Stars & Stripes 5K/10K, Friday
O'Fallon Firecracker Run (5K/10K), Friday
All-American 4 & 8 Mile, St. Peters, Sunday

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Macklind Mile results: The Macklind Mile was held in St. Louis on Saturday. It's always interesting to see how fast some of the state's fastest runners can complete the straight, downhill, one-mile course. The fastest elite man and woman finished in 3:57 and 4:34, respectively. (The second- and third-place men finished in 3:58 and 3:59). In the competitive race, the top man and woman crossed the line in 4:18 and 4:50. The top canine finisher crossed in 4:26. Complete results can be found here.

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CONCRETEMAN TRIATHLON (posted June 30th)

Two Camdentonians represented the Lake area at Saturday's ConcreteMan Triathlon in Springfield, and one of them may be a first-time triathlon finisher. ConcreteMan dates back to 1982, making it the oldest triathlon in Missouri, and probably among the oldest in the country, since In the sport of triathlon didn't originate until the early 1970s.

For the second year in a row, Jim McDermott won the 70-and-over age group (over one other, this year). Jim did the sprint distiance race, completing the 500-meter swim, 14-mile bike and 5K run in 1:24:27, three minutes faster than last year.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        16:58 
T-1:             1:53
Bike:          34:09  (20.2 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:46
Run:          30:03  (9:42 per mile) 
Finish:    1:24:47

I've never spotted her name in any triathlon results over the years, so this could very well have been Heather Miller's very first triathlon.  Here are her splits:

Swim:        17:29 
T-1:             1:59
Bike:          52:35  (13.1 miles per hour)
T-2:             0:49
Run:          34:34  (11:09 per mile) 
Finish:    1:47:24

Heather placed second (of three) in the women's 40-44 age group.

Full results can be found here.

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RUN FOR THE HORSES 5K RUN/WALK (updated June 30th)

A record 63 runners and walkers turned out in Linn Creek on Saturday for the 13th annual Run for the Horses 5K, benefiting the Missouri Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue and Sanctuary.  That was about double the average turnout for all previous races. 

Ryan Winter, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa was the top men's finisher, winning in 25:50, or about three minutes ahead of the second-place male finisher, Jim McDermott. Ryan is no stranger to the Lake--he ran the Bridge & Dam 10K in April. 

Local runner Kalise Lischwe was the overall women's winner in her debut at Run for the Horses.  Kalise won in 26:07, less than a minute ahead of Natasha Boettcher.  I think this was Kalise's first overall local race victory. 

Results from Saturday's race can be found at these links:

Overall results, by finish order

Top three finishers in each division

Many more race photos can be found here.

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CITY OF ELDON FIRECRACKER 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 10th)

The City of Eldon's Firecracker 5K Run/Walk will be held on Friday, July 4th.  The race willl start at 7:30 a.m. at the Public Safety Building at 111 S. Oak St.   Race-day registration opens at 6:45 a.m.

The entry fee is $20 if you register by the pre-registration deadline of June 27th.   After that date, the fee is $25. T-shirts will only be provided to those who pre-register by June 27th. 

Click here for more information, and to register online. A mail-in registration form can be downloaded here.

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY 5K RUN/WALK (posted May 19th)

The Tri-County YMCA's eighth annual Christmas in July 5K Run/Walk will be held at the YMCA in Osage Beach on Saturday, July 26th. To beat the July heat, the race will start at 7:00 a.m., with race-day registration opening at 5:30 a.m.

The entry fee is $30 through June 30th, and $35 thereafter. T-shirts can only be guaranteed to those who register by June 30th.

The link to online registration isn't yet working.

Click for a mail-in registration form with additional race details.

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