BREW TO BREW 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 8th)

The second annual Brew to Brew 5K in Osage Beach on Saturday.  The course was an out-and-back between two breweries on Osage Beach Parkway--Lake of the Ozarks Brewing Co. on the west end of the city, and The Sanctuary Brewery near city hall.

Thanks in part to better weather, there was a substantial increase in participation from last year's inaugural race.  There were 34 competitors in the drinking division this year--nearly three times as many as last year-- and 25 non-drinkers, up from just four last year.  Forty percent of the total field were from outside the Lake area.

In the drinking division, Xavier Robinson of Columbia and local runner Natasha Boettcher were the top male and female finishers, in 25:26 and 26:50, respectively.  Natasha was also last year's female winner, winning in 28:01.

The non-drinking winners were both from Camdenton.  Brandon Goring won the men's race in 24:34, and Millie Cowgill was the top woman, finishing in 27:23.

The complete results can be found here.

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GO GIRL RUN COLUMBIA HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted June 8th)

Three local runners traveled to Columbia for Saturday's women-only Go Girl Run Half Marathon & 5K.  

Osage High School cross country runner Rosie Falter returned to compete in the half marathon, after prior appearances in 2023 and 2024. She was the overall race winner in 2024, with a finish time of 1:43:24.  Despite running 13 seconds faster this year, it was only good for 4th overall.  Still, it was good enough for Rosie to win the women's 15-19 age group, over 13 others.

Here are the results for our local runners. 

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation was up 22% over last year, to the highest level since the Covid pandemic. Here are the total number of finishers, by distance, since 2016. 

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RUN FINLEY FARMS (posted June 8th)

The eight-race Bass Pro Fitness Series resumed on Saturday at Johnny Morris' historic Finley Farm in Ozark. The sold-out Run Finley Farms 4.17- and 9.63-mile races attracted a total of 445 runners, including two from the Lake area.

Sasha Rhea of Lake Ozark ran the 4.17-mile race in 43:35, placing 8th (of 35) in the women's 35-39 age group.

In the newly-added 9.63-mile race, Marlisa Nolan of Osage Beach finished 6th (of 8) in the women's 50-59 age group with a time of 1:51:56.

Complete results can be found here.

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FOLKY FISH RUN (posted June 2nd)

The Folky Fish Festival in St. James added running races to this year's festivities, including a 5K, 10K and half marathon. A total of 294 runners and walkers turned out for the races, including three from the Lake area. Here are their results.

There were 172, 83 and 39 finishers of the 5K, 10K, and half marathon, respectively.  

Complete race results can be found here.

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JAYNA SLADE, REST IN PEACE

Jayna Slade was one of the four founders--the others being Kari Salsman, Holly Thomas and Jennifer Wrye--of the Ta-Ta Trot 5K, a race organized in memory of Betty White, an Eldon teacher who had passed away from breast cancer. The race was held in Eldon for seven years, from 2012 to 2018, and the inaugural race was notable because there were 277 runners and walkers registered for it, making it the largest local race ever held up until that time.  

Besides being a race organizer, Jayna was a 5K walker, who eventually became a runner and went on to complete several half marathons. Beyond that, though, Jayna was a wonderful woman. I always enjoyed seeing and talking to her at our races in Eldon.

Sadly, Jayna passed away at the age of 46 last week in Columbia, where she lived for about the last six years. You can read her obituary and information about a celebration of life service being held at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park this coming Sunday (June 7th) here. 

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LAZARUS LAKE COMPLETES TRANSCONTINENTAL HIKE (MAY 22, 2026)

Congratulations, Lazarus Lake!: Lazarus Lake (real name: Gary Cantrell) will finish his transcontinental hike by dipping his toes in the Pacific Ocean near in San Francisco on Saturday morning. Th hike started last year--you may recall he hiked through Lebanon--and stopped in Oklahoma, with plans to do the Oklahoma-to-California segment this year.

He's been chronicling the trip with daily posts, including lots of photos, on his Facebook page. It's been fascinating to follow his trek online these last few months, and quite educational as well. He's had to overcome lots of problems with his feet and fatigue (among other things), but he managed to make progress every single day. My hat's off to him--and the support crew that helped make it possible. It takes an exceptionally rare person to be able to do what he's done, and doing it while he's in his seventies is nothing short of remarkable.

His Facebook page is here.

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RUN FOR THE HORSES 5K RUN/WALK (posted May 20th)

Registration is open for the Missouri Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue & Sanctuary's (Facebook page) 14th annual Run for the Horses 5K.  The race will be held on Saturday, June 13th at the Linn Creek City Park. The race starts at 7:30 a.m., with race-day registration opening at 6:30.

The entry fee is $25 for those who pre-register by June 1st, and $30 after that.  For children under age 12, the entry fee is $10.  A virtual race option, which includes a t-shirt, is also available.  To guarantee a t-shirt on race day, you must pre-register by June 1st.

A mail-in registration form can be downloaded here.

Online registration is available at this link. 

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

A new local race, The Great American 5K (Facebook), will make its debut on Saturday, July 4th in Linn Creek.  The race willl start at 7:04 a.m. at Mo's Special T's, located at 828 Business Park Rd. (Google map).  

Online registration will be open until 11:59 p.m. on July 1st.  The entry fee is $40, or $32 for military and veterans.

T-shirts can only be guaranteed to those who pre-register by June 15th. 

Click here for more information, and to register online.  

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

The City of Eldon's Firecracker 5K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, 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 26th.   After that date, the fee is $25. T-shirts will only be provided to those who pre-register by June 26th. 

Click here for more information, and to register online.   I don't see a mail-in registration form available.

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