THE GREAT AMERICAN 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 6th)

With a sold-out field of 200 registrants and 195 actual finishers, The Great American 5K held in Linn Creek on Saturday set what I believe is a new record for the Lake area--the largest turnout for an inaugural 5K-only race.  Another record is the number of states represented (13), plus runners from Puerto Rico and Iceland.  (The two runners from Iceland, where daily highs this time of year are in the 50s, must have thought they were running in hell, what with a temperature of 75° and relative humidity of 96% at the start of the race.)

As an aside, the race will always be remembered for two other things: (1) it was held on the momentous 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and founding of the United States; and (2) was followed seven hours later by the worst summer storm to hit the Lake of the Ozarks in modern times, on the very day that tourism reaches its annual peak.

Local legend Tucker Seise easily won the men's race in 17:35, a 5:40 per-mile pace.  Sixteen year-old Boston Bennett from Littleton, Colorado took second, finishing about 2-1/2 minutes back.  Former Camdenton Laker cross country runner Blake Roettgen hung with Boston for much of the race, and finished 30 seconds later to take third place.

The women's race was won by Katherine Zinkan of Lenexa, Kansas in 23:09.  A fellow Kansan, Jenna Foiles, finished second, in 23:22, followed two seconds later by Morgan Phelps of Edwardsville, Illinois.  Katherine ran a smart race, letting Jenna and Morgan hold on to small leads through the first half of the race before eventually reeling them in.

Complete race results can be found here.

I have about 1,300 race photos to go through, and probably won't be able to edit and post the "keepers" until sometime next week. I'll post a note at the top of this column once they're done.

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THE SUNGLASSES RUN 5K/10K (posted June 29th)

Add cheap sunglasses to the list of Kansas City favorites.  Thousands of pairs of sunglasses have been handed out to participants of The Sunglasses Run since its inception in 2020, including a record of about 550 pairs at Sunday's race.

This year, the race added a 10K option, and former Camdenton High School cross country runner Blake Roettgen took fourth overall (of 83 competitors).  Blake finished in 45:01, and won the men's 20-29 age group over three others.  Check out Blake's post-race photo here.

Complete results can be found here.

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THE MACKLIND MILE (posted June 27th)

The Macklind Mile was held in St. Louis on Saturday. (The race's logo tilts downward to the right--a reminder that the one-mile course has an 80-foot net drop from start to finish.) This year's race was also the Road Runners Club of America national championship, although most of the competitors were from the St. Louis area. 

The fastest elite man and woman finished in 3:57 and 4:38, respectively.  The top canine finisher crossed in 4:46.

There were about 1,300 total participants in this year's race.

Complete results can be found here.

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 12th)

The Tri-County YMCA's ninth annual Christmas in July 5K Run/Walk will be held at the YMCA in Osage Beach on Saturday, July 25th. To beat the 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.

Online registration and more information is available here. A mail-in registration form can be downloaded here.

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