4 FORE 30 INFINITY BACKYARD ULTRA (updated December 6th)

Cody Eubanks was simply not going to be denied.   After being the last competitor to drop out (at 37 hours, or 154.2 miles) and concede victory to Chris Boyle at last year's 4 Fore 30 Infinity Backyard Ultra, he was not going home empty-handed this year.  

Cody outlasted 60 other competitors this weekend, winning this year's 4 Fore 30 in 30 hours, or 125 miles.  Garett Carolus of Leesburg, Indiana, was Cody's last remaining contender.  Cody decided age advantage (he's 38; Garett is 56) and sheer determination to win were apparently too much for Garett to overcome.

The complete race results can be found here.

You can find Rick Mayo's (of Mile 90 Photography) photos here.

Below is a chart showing this year's rate of attrition, with prior years' shown by comparison. The sharpest dropoff this year occurred right after the 8th hour (33.36 miles), when 12 competitors chose not to continue. Half the field was gone by the 12th hour (50 miles).

Twenty of the 61 competitors in this year's field were from the Lake area. Here are their results, plus those for a few others:

Notable results:

To the best of my knowledge, Aaron Koeppen, Tucker Seise, Ellie Webb, Blake Roettgen, Charlie Boyle, Georgi Carolus, Payten Luaders, Jim McDermott and Connor Boyle all set personal distance records.  (Send any additions or corrections here.)  Aaron Koeppen topped his previous record of 70.8 miles (set last year at this race) by a whopping 30 miles.  The youngest competitors at this year's race, Charlie Boyle, age 12, and Connor Boyle, age 10, beat their 2020 records by 8.3 and 4.2 miles, respectively. 

The field of 61 completed an average of 52.2 miles.  That was up from last year's 47.4, 2019's 44.2, and 2018's 39.4.

Expressed in terms of conventional race distances, the biggest percentage of the field (about 41%) ended up running between a 50K and 100K, as shown below:

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LAKER TURKEY TROT 5K (updated November 27th)

Despite the chilliest race-day weather in years, the Laker Turkey Trot 5K drew its largest crowd (of 149 finishers) since 2016, and the fourth-largest in the race's 12-year history.  It was also one of just four turkey trots among the twenty that were held across the state that reported higher participation this year than in the pre-COVID year of 2019. 

Since the very first race in 2010, the Laker Turkey Trot has always been dominated by current and former high school and collegiate cross country runners. Of this year's top 10 finishers, at least nine fell into one of those categories, including five current or former Camdenton High School runners (Jake Thoenen, Michael Vitelli, Clare Holmes, Ellie Webb and Georgi Carolus), Charlie and Tad Gray from St. Louis University High School (the fourth-ranked team at this month's Class 5 state championships), and Caleb Phillips, a Class 1 state championship qualifier for Macks Creek.

Persistence finally paid off for Jake Thoenen.  After finishing second overall (twice to both Jeremy Ryan and Tucker Seise) in each of the last four years, he finally claimed an overall victory, winning in 17:17.  Last year's winner, Tucker Seise, held the lead for the first mile, but Jake overtook him by mile 2 and held on for the win.  Jake's winning time was the third-fastest in race history, surpassed only by Jeremy Ryan's record of 16:57 set in 2019 and Tucker's 17:15 finish last year.

The women's race was won by now three-time winner Clare Holmes, a former Laker cross country runner currently running for Missouri S&T.   (She's now tied with four other Turkey Trot competitors--Jeremy Ryan, David Prather, Chelsey Van Hook and Heather Oddo--with three overall victories.) Clare crossed the line in 20:42--her fastest winning time--with an 8-second margin of victory over Ellie Webb, a Laker junior cross country runner who ran in the state championships earlier this month.

   
Overall winners Jake Thoenen and Clare Holmes.

The complete race results can be found here.

   

Many more photos can be found here.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACES  (posted November 23rd)

The biggest race day of the year in the United States is going to be a lot bigger this year than last, with every race that was cancelled or which went virtual last year due to COVID returning to in-person status this year, with one, notable exception--Springfield's Turkey Trot 5K--normally the largest turkey trot in the state. 

Locally, the 12th annual Laker Turkey Trot 5K starts at 9:00 a.m. at Camdenton High School.  Complete information can be found further down this column under "Upcoming Events".

The following table shows what races are being held across the state.

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JINGLE BELL 5K (posted November 5th)

The Camdenton High School Pride of the Lake Marching Band (Facebook page) is holding its second annual Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, December 11th. The run/walk starts at 8:00 a.m. at Bob Shore Stadium.

The entry fee is $25 through December 10th, and $30 on the day of the event.  Race-day registration opens at 7:30 a.m.  Only those who pre-register by November 28th will be guaranteed a t-shirt on race day.

Visit the event's RunSignup.com page for more information and to register.

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WHOBILATION 5K RUN/WALK (posted November 8th)

The Tri-County YMCA will hold its fourth annual Whobilation 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, March 5th, at the YMCA's facility on Airport Rd. in Osage Beach.  The Dr. Suess-themed race will start at 9:00 a.m., with race-day registration opening at 7:30 a.m.  Proceeds from the event will go to support the YMCA's childcare program.

The entry fee is $30 until February 28th, and $35 after. To be guaranteed a t-shirt on race day, you need to register by February 18th.

A mail-in registration form can be downloaded here.  Online registration isn't available at this time.

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BRIDGE AND DAM 25K, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted October 27th)

Registration is now open for the 2022 Bridge and Dam 25K, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K (Facebook page).  It will be held on Saturday, March 26th, in Lake Ozark.  The race starts at 7:30 a.m.

The 25K option is new for 2022.  (The Double Down and All-In Challenges have been dropped.) 

The event is organized by the Lake of the Ozarks chapter of the non-profit Missouri Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

Online registration is available through Wednesday, March 23rd.  Refer to the race website for much more information.

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TRAIL OF FOUR WINDS ENDURANCE RUNS (posted May 15th)

The Trail of Four Winds 25K is expanding in 2022.  The expanded event, to be known as the Trail of Four Winds Endurance Runs (Facebook), will include the traditional 25K trail race, and a newly-added ultra distance race called the LOZ Traverse. The new race includes two running segments--totaling 33 miles--on two trails in the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. The running segments are separated by a four-mile (round-trip) paddling segment   between the trails.  (Participants must provide their own kayak/canoe/paddleboard.) 

The event will take place on Saturday, May 7th. 

Please visit the race's UltraSignup page for complete information, and to register. 

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LAKE AREA MAGICAL ADVENTURE (posted November 5th)

Many of the details have yet to be worked out, but a new endurance race is coming to the Lake of the Ozarks next October.

The Lake Area Magical Adventure (Facebook page)--LLAMA, for short--is a 200-mile team relay race planned for October 22-23. Teams of up to 12 runners will race with a 36-hour time limit to complete the course.

Registration isn't yet open.

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Ultramarathons, Marathons & Half Marathons
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