INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND EVENTS -- JULY 4 - 5

We have the luxury of two Lake-area races this coming holiday weekend.  You'll have to choose between them, though, as both are happening nearly concurrently. 

The inaugural The Great American 5K starts at 7:04 a.m. at Mo's Special T's in the Linn Creek industrial park (and NOT the city park). 

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 both events mentioned above 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, Saturday (free; no frills)

Columbia:

Parley Pratt Freedom Run (5K & 1-mile), Saturday

Hannibal:

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

Carthage:

Red, White and Boom 5K Run, Saturday

Springfield:

The 1/4th Run (1, 3 and 4-mile options), Saturday (hot, grilled steak at the finish line)

Branson:

Firecracker 5000 (5K/10K), Saturday

Clinton:

Olde Glory Days 5K, Friday evening

Kansas City and vicinity:

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

St. Louis and vicinity:

Chesterfield Stars & Stripes 5K/10K, Saturday
O'Fallon Firecracker Run (5K/10K), Saturday
Rockin' Riverfest 5K/10K & Half Marathon, St. Charles, Saturday

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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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CONCRETEMAN TRIATHLON (posted June 22nd)

Two triathletes representing the Lake area competed at the ConcreteMan Triathlon in Rogersville on Saturday. 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 third year in a row, Jim McDermott won the 70-and-over age group (by default, this year). Jim did the sprint distiance race, completing the 500-meter swim, 14-mile bike and 5K run in 1:23:59, about one minute faster than last year.  Here are Jim's splits:

Swim:        14:40 
T-1:             2:44
Bike:          35:03  (19.7 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:48
Run:          29:47  (9:36 per mile) 
Finish:    1:23:59

In the Olympic distance race (1,500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run), Mike Korst took second (of two) in the men's 65-69 age group, completing the course in 3:20:28.  Here are MIke's splits:

Swim:        47:41 
T-1:             2:45
Bike:       1:19:54  (17.3 miles per hour)
T-2:              1:34
Run:        1:08:36  (11:04 per mile) 
Finish:     3:20:28

Full results can be found here.

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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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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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