A Look Back at 2012

I thought it might be worth closing the book on 2012 by taking a look back at the year for Lake-area athletes and events.

It was a busy year--certainly the biggest we've ever had, by just about every measure.  We had more local events than ever before, including twenty 5Ks, our first-ever half marathon, and an assortment of paddling, adventure racing, and other events.  We had big turnouts at many of these events, and raised a lot of money for various charitable causes. 

TOP STORIES

Here, in no particular order, would be my own top "stories" of 2012:

Popularity of half marathons.  We had an astonishing number of local athletes run a half marathon, reflecting the popularity of that distance at races all around the country.  I counted at least 113 Lake-area athletes who ran a half marathon in 2012.  At the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon alone, we had 29 runners from the Lake area participate.  Two years earlier, there were only 18, and it wasn't too many years prior to that that the number could probably have been counted on one hand.

Ta-Ta Trot 5K sets a new local record.  In March 2012, I traded a few e-mails with Jayna Gray regarding a 5K that she, Kari Salsman, Holly Thomas and Jennifer Wrye were planning to hold in Eldon in May.  With all of the other 5Ks being held in the Spring, and this being a first-time event, I was worried that they'd get a disappointing turnout.  They proved me terribly wrong by going out and registering the largest-ever number of runners and walkers (277) for a Lake-area 5K--and selling hundreds more t-shirts to non-participants.  The event itself, which was held in memory of Betty White, an Eldon teacher and breast cancer victim, was also one of the most inspiring and heart-warming as well.

First-time marathoner finishers.  We had five local runners take on their very first marathon in 2012.  It's great to see people take on new, tougher challenges, and prove to themselves that, through discipline and determination, they can achieve bigger things--sometimes things that they never thought possible.  You don't have to run a marathon to be considered a real runner, but crossing the finish line of a marathon is a moment that you'll proudly remember for the rest of your life.  Here are our local first-time finishers in 2012:

• Andy Goessmann (GO! St. Louis Marathon, Chicago Marathon, and White River Marathon)
• Ashley Pryor (Mother Road Marathon, Bass Pro Shops Marathon)
• Todd Raney (Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon)
• Jesse Shields (Run for the Ranch Marathon)
• Debi White (Chicago Marathon)

(I've probably missed some 2012 first-time marathon finishers.  Please let me know who should be added to this list.)

Moonshine Half Marathon.  Race directors try not to make their courses needlessly difficult, for fear of turning off lots of potential participants.  Then, there are the rare events for which the difficulty of the course is part of the event's allure.  The 2012 inaugural Moonshine Half Marathon--the Lake area's first-ever half marathon--falls into this second category.

Race director Mike Duncan gave us one of the toughest and most challenging half marathons anywhere.  Everyone knew in advance that the course consisted of nothing but hills, and that the mile-long climb up D Road after the turnaround would be especially brutal.  But, about a mile from the finish line, when runners turned into the Ozark Meadows subdivision (how hard can it be running through a subdivision with a name like "Ozark Meadows"?), they were greeted with a couple of the steepest (though thankfully short) hills on any course in the Lake area.  This course is destined to be legendary among runners.  

Despite the course difficulty, Heather Kuhlmann took the overall victory in an absolutely amazing 1:30:54.  In fact, Heather's finish time was the fastest for any Lake-area female at any half marathon in 2012, and quite possibly the fastest ever run by a local female.

Andy Goessmann.  Andy was new to our local sports scene this year, and he had a phenomenal year.  His season's goal was to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time of 3:05:00.  In April, he had a bad day at the GO! St. Louis Marathon--his very first marathon--and finished in a disappointing 4:29:13.  He continued training like a maniac, often running 50+ miles a week, even through one of the hottest summers we've ever had.  At the Chicago Marathon in October, he finished in 3:21:43--much closer, but still well short of a Boston qualifying time.  He took another shot at it at the White River Marathon in Arkansas a month later, and finished in 3:05:43--a measly 43 seconds over the Boston limit.  While that might have crushed most of us, Andy took it in stride, and just planned to keep at it and run a qualifying time in 2013.  His determination and perseverance are remarkable, and rarely seen.

FASTEST FINISHERS

Here are the fastest finishes for Lake-area athletes in 2012:

Marathon

Male:  Andy Goessmann (White River Marathon; 3:05:43)Female:  Ashley Pryor (Mother Road Marathon; 4:00:27)

Half Marathon

Male:   Austin Duncan (Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis; 1:24:21)
Female:  Heather Kuhlmann (Moonshine Half Marathon; 1:30:54)

There are many events for which I don't have results, but these are believed to have been the fastest finishes at Lake-area 5Ks in 2012:

Male:  Casey O'Connor (Independence Day 5K, Eldon; 17:09)Female:  Jill Durnin (St. Pat's Day 5K, Eldon; 20:33)

At out-of-town 5Ks, the fastest finishes most likely belong to our local high school runners at the Missouri State Cross Country Championships:

Male:  Tristan Hensley (Osage High School; 16:43)
Female:  Tessa Weber (Camdenton High School; 19:22)

2012 AWARDS

They may not be as prestigious as the Emmys or ESPYs, and they may not come with a prize (or even a crystal award like that pictured above), but here are my awards for 2012, in no particular order:

The Ageless Athlete Award goes to Jim McDermott, who completed three marathons, seven half marathons, four sprint triathlons and fourteen 5K/10Ks this year.  Not only that, but he did well at all of them.  He even set personal bests in the marathon (4:04:39 at Bass Pro), half marathon (1:44:37 at the Highline Run for Scouting) and 5K (22:59).  If you young punks don't think that's outstanding, you'll think differently when you're 59.  He's absolutely amazing!

The How Does She Do It? Award goes to Tammara Vitelli. How a mother of six small children is able to find the time and energy to train and race, and even do well at it (witness her top 20% age group finish at the Bass Pro Shops Half Marathon), is completely mind-boggling.

The Fastest Husband/Wife Award goes to Pete and Anita Leyva.  Don't expect that to change anytime soon, because they're both still getting faster.  They each knocked five to seven minutes off their previous year's finish time at the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon.

The Most Ironic Race Award goes to Lake Regional for its 5K Fun Run/Walk that benefits its Cardiac Rehab Department.  Their new 5K course at Tan-Tar-A is so hilly that it makes you wonder whether the 5K was designed to generate new cardiac rehab patients, or to raise funds to aid existing ones.

The OUCH! Award goes to Denny Gillen, who, just weeks before going for his second iron-distance triathlon finish, crashed at a high rate of speed on a bike training ride and sustained multiple broken ribs and severe road rash.  I declined back then to show the gruesome injuries, but, to show his worthiness for the award, here's a photo he sent.

If that isn't gross enough, second place in that category goes to yours truly, for massive blisters and swelling from the Redman Triathlon, leaving me barely able to walk for three days afterward.  The heel areas were blistered as well.  It was an absolute nightmare.

The Tough Man Award goes to Brian Brooks of Eldon, for not only completing the Missouri River 340 (again), but finishing second in the men's solo division.  Paddling 340 miles with minimal rest over nearly 48 hours, in the hottest part of our summer, on a muddy river--with all of the attendant dangers--has to be one of the toughest events--both mentally and physically--around.

The Consolation Award goes to Nigher Alfaro.  After winning an unprecedented five local 5Ks in 2011, Nigher had the misfortune of seeing a new crop of younger runners (e.g. Andy Goessmann) show up and steal the glory.  He was the overall winner at just two 5Ks in 2012.

The Best Idea of the Year Award goes to Scott Page, for bringing local runners together via the Lake Area Runners group Facebook page that he created in June.  It's really neat to see how that has helped foster friendships and a sense of "community" among local athletes. Despite our growing numbers, athletes are still a relatively small--and minimally organized--group in the Lake area.  Hopefully, Scott's efforts will help change that.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

We had a number of locals participate in "mud runs" (e.g. Tough Mudder, Epic Mud Run, Warrior Dash) in 2012.  These events have become wildly popular in recent years.  (Indeed, one will be held at the Lake in March  2013.)  It's going to be interesting to see if this is a fad that will fade away in the future.  Adventure racing, for example, grew rapidly in the mid 2000s, but, while it still seems to be popular, interest in it appears to have peaked.

In 2012, we bid farewell to Rodney Wright, who moved to North Carolina in May.  Rodney is a great guy, and one of our "regulars" at Lake-area 5Ks going back to the early to mid 2000s--years before they become much more common in the area.  We'll miss him.  

* * * * * *

REVOLUTION3 BRANSON TRIATHLON (posted December 31st)

There's big, welcome news for triathletes in Missouri.

Two months after the cancellation of Ironman 70.3 Branson, a very worthy replacement has been announced. The highly-regarded and popular Revolution3 Triathlon race series, which includes about a dozen events around the country, will be coming to Branson on September 22, 2013.

The event will include half-iron (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run) and Olympic  (0.9-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike and 6.2-mile run) distances. 

The event has been officially announced, but some of the details about it are still to come.  Registration opens on January 1st.  You can get a discount of about 15% by registering before January 8th.

RUN FOR THE RANCH MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated December 31st)

Lake-area runners represented us extremely well at Sunday's (December 30th) 13th Annual Run for the Ranch Marathon and Half Marathon in Springfield.  Nearly all of our eight runners finished in the top half of their respective age groups.  What makes it all the more impressive is that both races had some seriously competitive runners--nearly half of the 137 marathoners finished in under 4:10, while half of the 274 half-marathoners finished in about 2:05 or less.

Congratulations to Jesse Shields for finishing his first marathon, in a time of 3:58:42, placing him second (of 6) in his age group.

Congratulations also to Denny Gillen for taking home the overall grandmasters (60 and over) championship in the half marathon, with a finish time of 1:45:48.

   
Denny Gillen before the race, and the trophy he took home afterward. (Click on a photo for a larger image.)

Click here to view race photos of Lake-area runners posted on the race photographer's Smugmug pages.

Here are the results for the Lake-area participants:

Here's a link to the full results.

Here's an interesting postscript to last weekend's Run for the Ranch Marathon & Half Marathon.

Gary Krugger
(photo by Fun Memories Photography)

The marathon was won by Gary Krugger, a 27 year-old from Flagstaff, Arizona, in a time of 2:50:05. Gary's running background is extraordinary. He started running in 2006, and ran his first marathon in October of that year, finishing in 4:30:06. Since then, he's run 190 marathons, and 11 ultramarathons. He's run a sub 3-hour marathon in all 50 states--an exceedingly rare achievement indeed. 

In 2012 alone, he ran 42 marathons and one ultra.  Amazingly, he finished first overall at 16 of those marathons, and either second or third at 11 others. 

You can find a list of his running results and more at the website marathonmaniacs.com, which is the hangout for, well, marathon maniacs. (Those of you who were at Run for the Ranch may have noticed a number of runners wearing yellow "Marathon Maniacs" jerseys.)  Gary's page at marathonmaniacs.com can be found here.  (Note that he calls himself Gary "Cougar Bait" Krugger.)  It's interesting to read his comments about races he's done and the problems he's encountered during them.  Doing so many races in so many places, he's certainly had his share of bad days, injuries, and poorly-organized races over the years.  I don't know if it's the competitiveness that drives him to do this, or whether he's just chasing numbers (in my humble opinion, the worst reason to race), but it doesn't look like much fun to do what he does.  Just the hassle from all the traveling would be a huge turnoff. 

He had good things to say about this year's Run for the Ranch, though. 

"Had way too much fun at this one. Can't wait for another one when I get to hang out with the same group. It was kinda a crappy race for me. And by that I mean that I shat 4 times during it.  It happens. As dull as a loop course is, you do get to see your friends a lot more during which was a lot of fun."

For the record, this was Gary's second time at Run for the Ranch. He finished 6th overall in 2009 with a finish time of 3:16:50.

KANSAS CITY TRIATHLON  (posted December 17th)

The Kansas City Triathlon is changing locations for 2013.  It will be now be held in Lawrence, Kansas, on Sunday, May 19th.  

The event actually includes two triathlons: Ironman 5150 Kansas (1.5K swim, a 40K bike, and 10K run) and a sprint distance triathlon (500-yard swim, a 13-mile bike and 2.5-mile run).

Click here for more information and/or to register.

GO GIRL RUN HALF MARATHON & 5K  (posted December 15th)

Building on the successful Go Girl Run Half Marathon & 5K in Columbia this past May, Ultramax Events will be adding two more identical events in Springfield and Kansas City in 2013. The event in Springfield will be on May 11th, and Kansas City on May 18th. (Columbia will be on May 25th.)

The events do not yet appear on Ultramax's website. Here are links to register for Springfield and Kansas City.

ST. JUDE MEMPHIS MARATHON  (posted December 12th)

A belated congratulations to Sherrie Hamner of Camdenton, who finished the St. Jude Memphis Marathon on December 1st.   Sherrie finished in 5:31:12, placing her 214th (of 261) in the female 35-39 age group.  This was Sherrie's second St. Jude Marathon (her first was in 2010) and her second marathon in 2012 (she finished the Little Rock Marathon on March 4th in 5:54:47).

Click here to check out a page of Sherrie's race photos taken by the official race photographers. Sherrie ran and finished the marathon with Shandi Brinkman of West Plains, Missouri.  Shandi appears in many of Sherrie's photos--note their matching "TEAM LASH BRINK" t-shirts.

OSAGE RIVER BOTTOM ROWDY RUN  (posted December 9th)

For you mud-loving, hard-core athletes, a new event is coming to the Lake of the Ozarks in March. The Osage River Bottom Rowdy Run is a five-mile foot race through natural and man-made obstacles at the River Bottom MX park at the end of D Road in Osage Beach.  The event is scheduled for Saturday, March 30th.  The race will offer both solo and four-person team divisions.

An easier, one-mile Wee Rowdy Race for kids aged 6 to 15 will be held on Friday, March 29th.

The event will benefit the Wounded Warriors Foundation, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Offroad Riders Matter Association.

Check out the event's Facebook page, and a brief video promo on YouTube.

Registration is now open. Click here for the registration page. 

THE OZARK GRAVEL ROAD EXPEDITION (OGRE)  (posted December 9th)

The inaugural Ozark Gravel Road Expedition (OGRE), a 150-mile mountain bike race at the Lake of the Ozarks scheduled for April 20, 2013, has generated lots of interest and looks to be an immediate sell-out when registration opens in January. Bonk Hard Racing, which is putting on the Oz Cycles-sponsored event, has reached the limit of 300 responses to its invitation to register for the race. A waiting list is available to take spots not claimed when the seven-day registration window closes in January.

JINGLE BELL 5K RUN/WALK FOR ARTHRITIS  (updated December 8th)

Congratulations to our two Lake-area runners participating in Saturday's Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk in Columbia.  Andrea Anderson and Jen Wiethop finished together in 33:12, placing Andrea 32nd (of 83) in the female 40-49 age group, and Jen 60th (of 118) among the 30-39 females. 

The results couldn't be searched by city, so there may be some local runners whom I missed.  If so, let me know.  (I reported several days ago that Joan Wolf would be running, but didn't see any results for her.  I assume Jen took her place.) 

ELDON'S ROCK ISLAND TRAIL REPORT (updated December 8th)

About 15 volunteers helped on Saturday (December 8th) to pick up trash along the walking/running/biking trail being developed on the abandoned Rock Island railroad line in Eldon. While it's still in its infancy, this ambitious trail project, which is being spearheaded by Mac McNally of the Lake of the Ozarks Council of Local Governments, has come a long way, and has a much longer way to go.  Hopefully, with a lot of continuing community and financial support, it can eventually turn out be what everyone hopes it will be, and become a great asset to the area. 

BICYCLES FOR KIDS FOR CHRISTMAS (posted December 6th)

For the second year in a row, the Linn Creek Police Department, Advantage Metals, the Kiwanis Club of Ozark Coast, EZ Disposal, The Landing on Main Street, and other area businesses will be distributing bicycles to those in need of Christmas presents for kids.

First, they are looking for used bicycles. So, if you or someone you know has one that's only gathering dust, they'll take it, even if it needs some work.

Second, if you don't have a bicycle to donate, but have recyclable metal items around the house, they'll accept those as well. Advantage Metals will recycle the metal, and use the proceeds to buy new bicycles.

Finally, if you don't have any used bikes or recyclable metal items around the house, considering making a cash or gift card contribution.

You can read more about the program in an article published in the December 5th edition of the Lake Sun.

Here are the places and times to donate the bikes and recyclable metals: 

• Smaller recyclable metal items such as rusty bikes, pots and pans and anything made out of steel, aluminum, brass, copper and tin will be collected at Linn Creek City Hall on Dec. 14-16.
  
  
• Large metal items such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, engines, washers, dryers, lawnmowers, ploughs and roofing beams can be taken directly to Advantage Metals located at 242 State Highway Y in Linn Creek.
  
  
• New and gently used bikes can be dropped off at Linn Creek City Hall, Big Surf Water Park and Advantage Metals at any time up until Christmas day.

ROCK 'N' ROLL LAS VEGAS MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated December 2nd)

Congratulations to all of our Lake-area finishers of the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon, and especially to Todd Raney who, after having run six half marathons thus far in 2012 (GO! St. Louis, Kansas Half, Hospital Hill, Moonshine Half, Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis and the Gobbler Grind), took on and finished his very first marathon.

For what it's worth, the women's marathon winner, Nuta Olaru, also won the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon this past October. Her margin of victory in Las Vegas was just two seconds.

CASTLEWOOD 8-HOUR ADVENTURE RACE (updated December 2nd)

Congratulations to the Lake area's "Two Hiking Hillbillies" team of Tony and Renee Slack, who finished Saturday's (December 1) Castlewood 8-Hour Adventure Race at Castlewood State Park west of St. Louis. They finished in 8:13:37, placing them fifth (of five) in the two-person co-ed division. You can find the full results here.

LAKER 5K TURKEY TROT  (updated December 3rd)

Congratulations to David Prather and Chelsey Vanhook, overall male and female winners of the third annual Laker 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.  David finished in 19:42, knocking over a minute off his fifth-place overall finish time from last year, and beating Nigher Alfaro by just eight seconds.  Chelsey won handily for the second year in a row, despite finishing five seconds slower than last year, in 22:05.

The event was a big success, with 151 runners and walkers participating, and over $1,200 raised for local food banks.  Thanks go to Camdenton cross country coach Dave Weber and his crew for another great event.

Click here for the full results.

THANKSGIVING DAY RUN RESULTS  (updated December 2nd)

Denny and Kevin Gillen at the TreesGreenville 8K

Here are some results for our locals at Thanksgiving Day runs (excluding the Laker 5K Turkey Trot) around the state and beyond:

I've probably missed a bunch of others, so let me know if I missed you.

WHITE RIVER MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated November 18th)

I've been waiting for the official results of Saturday's (November 17th) White River Marathon in Cotter, Arkansas, to be posted, but there's no reason to hold off any further on some terribly disappointing news.  Andy Goessmann was hoping this, his third attempt in 2012 to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time of 3:05:00, came up short by a mere 43 seconds.  To have trained as hard as Andy did this year to meet that goal, and to have missed it by such a slim margin--less than 2 seconds per mile!--must be personally crushing.  We should all be proud of Andy for showing such determination and discipline this year in pursuing his goal, despite the outcome.

It's always tough to see others experience deep disappointment.  In endurance sports, though, it happens often.  If you've done a lot of endurance events and have never experienced a huge disappointment somewhere along the way, you are either incredibly lucky, or you've never set a lofty goal for yourself. 

GOBBLER GRIND MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 3rd)

Three of our best Lake-area runners represented us well at Sunday's (November 18th) 16th Annual Gobbler Grind Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K in Overland Park, Kansas.  All three competed in the half marathon race.

Alysia Maschino of Linn Creek did exceptionally well, finishing in 1:46:08, and placing third (of 83) in the female 35-39 age group.  It looks like Alysia has learned how tough it is to get faster once you're in the 1:45:00-2:00:00 finish range--she finished the Hospital Hill Half in June in 1:47:01, and the Roots 'n' Blues Half in September in 1:46:06.

Scott Page of Lake Ozark finished in 1:50:09, placing him 11th (of 45) in the male 40-44 age group.  Todd Raney of Camdenton finished just behind Scott in 1:52:54, good for 13th in that age group.  Next up for Todd is the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon on December 2nd.   

Not surprisingly, this year's scheduling of the North Face Endurance Challenge, which attracted about 2,100 participants, to the very same weekend as the Gobbler Grind hurt the latter's attendance.  Here are the Gobbler Grind finisher totals for 2011 and 2012.

NORTH FACE ENDURANCE CHALLENGE (updated November 18th)

Congratulations to our two Lake-area finishers at Saturday's (November 17th) North Face Endurance Challenge in Kansas City.  Andrea Anderson and Joan Wolf finished the half marathon together in 2:03:51, placing them in a tie for 28th (of 117) in the female 36-45 age group.  (If I missed anyone, please let me know.)  Full results can be found here.

The event included a distance for everyone--50K, marathon, marathon relay, half marathon, 10K, 5K and kids' race.  Here are the total number of finishers, by race:

50K .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  218
Marathon .  .  .  .  .  .  .  255
Marathon relay .  .  .  .  14 teams
Half marathon   .  .  .  .  841
10K .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  435
5K .   .  .   .   .   .   .  .  .   339

THE SUSAN G. KOMEN 3-DAY  (posted November 10th)

Jayna Gray passed along some photos of the We Bleed Pink team taken at the Susan G. Komen 3-Day (60-mile walk) event held from Friday through Sunday (November 2-4) in Dallas/Fort Worth.  As you may recall, Jayna and Kari Salsman, Holly Thomas and Jennifer Wrye organized the Ta-Ta Trot 5K Run/Walk in Eldon this past May to raise funds toward their participation in this event.  They also made a bit of history by registering a total of 277 runners and walkers--the largest 5K event ever held in the Lake area.

It's great to see that they finished, although I think I spot some bandages on their feet in the photo taken on day three. Click on any photo for a larger image, or to start a slideshow of all the photos.

     

     

     

  

ROUTE 66 ROTARY RUN/WALK  (posted November 6th)

The Rotary Club of Lebanon, in conjunction with the Lebanon R-3 School District, is putting on its first annual Route 66 Rotary Run/Walk this coming Saturday, November 10th. The event is a benefit for "Koats for Kids of Laclede County", which provides coats to students in need, as determined by school teachers and counselors. The cost is $20 for the 5K ($15 for students K-12), and $10 for the 1-mile walk. The run/walk starts at 10:00 a.m. at the Mills Center, adjacent to the Cowan Civic Center (map).  Race-day registration is from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Click here for full details and a registration form.

BASS PRO SHOPS OUTDOOR FITNESS FESTIVAL MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K  (updated November 5th)

The Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fitness Festival in Springfield concluded today (November 4th) with the Bass Pro Shops Conservation Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon and Greenways 5K.  The event was a big success, with all of the races having sold out.  In all, there were 2,899 solo finishers, and 70 marathon relay teams crossing the finish line.  Here's the breakdown among the solo finishers:

Marathon . . . . . . . 432
Half Marathon . . 1,446
5K . . . . . . . . . . . 1,021

Congratulations to our twenty Lake-area runners who ran in one of today's events. Notable performances were turned in by:

• The age-defying Jim McDermott, who finished the marathon in 4:04:37, placing him 7th (of 14) in the male 55-59 age group.  (Note:  When someone in that age group runs a 4:04 and only finishes in the middle of the pack, you know there are some pretty outstanding runners ahead of him.)
• Amy Manes, who finished the half marathon in 1:47:20, placing 6th (of 151) in the largest age group--male or female--in the race, and one of the most competitive.
• Karen Bowen, Karrie Denbow, Angela Martin and Tammara Vitelli all finished in the top 20% of their respective age groups

~~~~~~Healing vibes~~~~~and congratulations to Ashley Pryor, who fell hard at mile 8 of the marathon, and very painfully continued on to cross the finish line in 5:14:06--just three weeks after completing her very first marathon in Joplin at the Mother Road Marathon.

Four of our local finishers (left to right): Karen Bowen, Tammara Vitelli, Amy Manes and Vicki Hodges. Vicki set a new personal-best half marathon finish by ten minutes.  Tammara is holding her newest (of six) children, Vincent. For nine months, Vincent had been a member of the ladies' running group (he had no say in the matter), and it was only fitting for him to appear in the post-finish photo.  (Thanks to Amy Manes for supplying the photo.)

Complete race results can be found here.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners:

If I've missed any Lake-area runners or made a mistake, please let me know.

Some of the marathon relay team names added a bit of levity to perusing the race results, including:

Achy Breaky Knees
Spongebob Slowpants
Moves Like Stagger
TGIF--Thank God I Finished
Butt, Sweat and Tears
4 Jacks and a Jill
4 Jills and a Jack

GIVE 'EM THE BIRD 5K RUN/1-MILE WALK (updated November 6th)

The overall winners at Saturday's Give 'Em the Bird 5K Run/1-Mile Walk, organized by Versailles Total Fitness, were Joe Frazier and Lynzi Doke, in 18:23 and 19:59, respectively. 

Apparently, full results won't be posted at the Ready Set Results website as had been hoped.  Cub reporter Scott Page says that Andy Goessmann finished second in his age group (and fourth overall), and Ryan Page ran 24:28 to win his.

Check out the race photo of the guy dressed in the frog suit standing behind the overall winners.   

MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (updated November 3rd)

Congratulations to our six Lake-area high school runners who competed in Saturday's (November 3rd) state cross country championships at the Oak Hills Golf Club in Jefferson City.

Exceptional performances were turned in by Tristan Hensley, an Osage junior, who finished in 16:43.01, placing him third among 170 competitors in the Class 3 boys race.  Tessa Weber, only a freshman at Camdenton, placed 14th (of 164) in the Class 4 girls division with a 19:22.89 finish.

Here are the full results:

IRONMAN 70.3 BRANSON (posted November 1st)

After a three-year run, Ironman 70.3 Branson has been discontinued.  This was a highly regarded race on a very tough course.  No official reason was given for its cancellation, but most Ironman-brand event cancellations are due to not attracting enough participants. 

It certainly didn't help that this year's Ironman Branson was scheduled for the same weekend as Oklahoma City's popular Redman Triathlon, which attracted over 850 participants.

There are rumors that Columbia-based Ultramax Events will take over the event, but the Ironman brand name (and entry slots to the Ironman 70.3 World Championship) will be removed.  Ultramax organizes the Branson Sprint Triathlon that has been held simultaneously with Ironman 70.3 Branson.

It's sad that Missouri can't seem to keep a half ironman or longer distance triathlon in existence for more than a few years despite the fact that numerous such races have sprung up around the country in the past decade.

THE SUSAN G. KOMEN 3-DAY  (posted October 30th)

Good luck to Jayna Gray, Kari Salsman, Holly Thomas and Jennifer Wrye, who will be participating in The Susan G. Komen 3-Day event that begins on Friday (November 2nd) in Dallas/Fort Worth. It's a 60-mile walk over three days, and benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Jayna, Kari, Holly and Jennifer organized the Ta-Ta Trot 5K Run/Walk in Eldon this past May to raise funds toward their participation in this event, and made local history by registering a total of 277 runners and walkers--the largest 5K event in Lake-area history. 

OZARK TRAIL 100-MILE ENDURANCE RUN  (posted October 30th)

If a marathon isn't hard-core enough for you, the Ozark Trail 100-Mile Endurance Run this Saturday, November 3rd, on the Ozark Trail in the Mark Twain National Forest in south-central Missouri may be your cup of tea.

The race course is actually 103 miles long, with a estimated 12,000-15,000 feet of climbing.  Only about half of those who start will likely finish, with the winner crossing the line in about 20 hours.  Most finishers require 25 to 30 hours. 

The race currently has 103 registered participants, and a field limit of 150 participants.  Not surprisingly, about half the participants are from out-of-state.  Please note that on the registration page, participants are limited to those between the ages of 18 and 115.  

THE ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON  (updated November 2nd)

We want to wish safe travels and the best of luck to John Tucker, publisher of the Lake Sun (and a marathon and Ironman finisher), as he travels east this week to run in this coming Sunday's (November 4th) ING New York City Marathon.

Update:  The marathon was cancelled Friday (11/2) afternoon as a result of problems caused by Hurricane Sandy. Unfortunately, the cancellation comes just two days before the race--after many or most of the race's 20,000 out-of-town participants had already arrived in the city.  Here's the official announcement from the race website:

"The City of New York and New York Road Runners announce that the 2012 ING NYC Marathon has been canceled. While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event -- even one as meaningful as this -- to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to help New York City recover from the storm. New York Road Runners will have additional information in the days ahead and we thank you for your dedication to the spirit of this race. The Expo will remain open tomorrow."

IMPACT MEDICAL MISSIONS 5K/10K RUN/WALK  (updated October 28th)

Approximately fifty runners and walkers turned out Saturday (October 27th) for the second annual Impact Medical Missions 5K/10K Run/Walk, raising $700 for the worthwhile cause of a medical mission trip.   A big "thanks" goes to Dr. Angela Clay and her able assistants and volunteers for a wonderful event, and to the Linn Creek Police Department for keeping us safe.

The overall male and female winners for the 5K were Andy Goessmann (19:58; in red jacket in above photo) and Darci Brown (25:33). The respective 10K winners were Lawson Barclay (59:20) and Brooke McKay (60:02).

Click here for more results.

ROCK 'N' ROLL ST. LOUIS MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated October 22nd)

Congratulations to our twenty-three Lake-area runners who participated in Sunday's (October 21) Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon.  The weather was absolutely perfect, just as it was at last year's inaugural race.  (How come the long races I do always seem to have major weather issues, but the ones I attend as a spectator have perfect weather?)

I'd like to thank some of our local runners for taking a few moments to gather for a last-minute group photo. Seeing familiar faces at out-of-town events always adds to the fun. (The group photo shown below will be submitted to the Lake Sun for publication.)

For some additional photos taken at the race, click here. I was shooting mostly video, instead of still photos, and hope to edit the footage and put together something soon.

We had a number of outstanding performances among our locals, including:

Austin Duncan, who finished in an extraordinary 1:24:21--perhaps the fastest-ever half marathon finish of any Lake-area runner.  Austin finished ninth (of 185) in his male 20-24 age group.

Pete Leyva's race was no less extraordinary.  Pete finished in 1:36:54, knocking over seven minutes off of last year's finish time of 1:44:08.  (That's particularly noteworthy, since it gets exponentially harder to improve your finish time below 1:45:00-2:00:00).  Pete placed eighth (of 351) among the 50-54 year-old males.

Not to let Pete take home all the glory in the household, Anita Leyva did exceptionally well, too.  She finished in 1:47:40, over five minutes faster than last year's 1:53:03, and placed 20th in one of the biggest age groups in the race, with 927 competitors in the 40-44 female age group.

We had three other runners finish in the top ten percent of their respective age groups, including Kimberly Hale (1:52:20), Rona Schaefer (1:56:27--twelve minutes faster than last year), and Erin Vogel (1:49:33).

Congratulations to everyone who toed the starting line.  You did yourselves and the Lake area proud!

Results for our local runners appear below.  If I missed anyone or to report any corrections, please let me know.

WADDELL & REED KANSAS CITY MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated October 27th)

The Lake area had three participants at Saturday's (October 20th) Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 5K and (1.2-mile) Kids Marathon.  Strangely enough, all of them were from Camdenton, and all were over the age of 60.

Cathi Cook finished the half marathon in 1:56:06, placing her second (of 32) in the female 60-64 age group.  A sub two-hour half marathon by a 60+ female is really remarkable.

In the 5K, Susan Carey won the female 65-69 age group over seven others, with a 31:57 finish time.  Ray Carey placed 11th (of 13) with a 51:59 in the male 65-69 age group.

Miki Schroeder, a Platte City (Missouri) resident who often visits the Lake and participates in some of our local events--including most recently the Moonshine Half Marathon--finished the half marathon in 2:05:35, placing her 91st (of 341) in the female 40-44 age group.

MOTHER ROAD MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated October 15th)

(Updated to indicate that Ryan Pryor and Allison Walters were also first-time marathon finishers.)

Add three more names to the list of marathon finishers in the Lake area.  Ashley Pryor, her husband Ryan Pryor, and Allison Walters, all from Laurie, crossed a marathon finish line for the first time at Sunday's (October 14th) Mother Road Marathon in Joplin.

Ryan finished in 5:16:08, placing him third (of five) in his male 25-29 age group.  Allison crossed the line in 5:27:17, placing tenth (of fifteen) in her female 25-29 age group.

The most notable finish belonged to Ashley.  She not only finished in an outstanding 4:00:27 in her first marathon, she beat fourteen others to win her female 25-29 age group. That alone is a major accomplishment. While Ashley has done well at three half marathons this year (Sedalia, Go Girl Run, and Moonshine), a marathon is not just two half marathons run consecutively.  It's a much different animal, and mastering it in your very first attempt is rare indeed.

Congratulations, Ashley, Ryan and Allison!

You can find complete race results here.

PREDICT YOUR TIME 5K (updated October 14th)

Congratulations to Reagan Page, who won Sunday's (October 14th) Predict Your Time 5K held at the Horseshoe Bend Brewing Company. In this race, the goal was to finish closest to your predicted 5K time, and Reagan came within 45 seconds, beating six other competitors.  It was a surprisingly close race, with all seven competitors finishing between 45 and 69 seconds (faster or slower) than predicted.  Also of note is that this may be the first time that Jim McDermott's name ever appeared at the very bottom in the results for a race--proving again that this race wasn't about speed.

The full results:

THE PERFECT 10 ROGAINE (updated October 14th)

The first of Bonk Hard Racing's new Performance Series, single-discipline events, The Perfect 10 Rogaine, was held on Saturday (October 13th) at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park.  The Perfect 10 is an orienteering race, with teams and solo participants racing to find all checkpoints, or as many checkpoints as possible, within the 10-hour time limit. 

We had two local teams competing.  The Oz Cycles & Kayaks team of Dan Dougan and Jim Jackson gathered enough points to finish fifth, but they were penalized for returning to headquarters 25 minutes past the 10-hour time limit, dropping them to tenth place (of a total of 32 team and solo competitors).  The Two Hiking Hillbillies--Tony and Renee Slack of Lake Ozark--finished in 24th place. 

Complete results can be found here. 

MAKE THE BREAK 5K FUN RUN/WALK (updated October 14th)

The second annual Citizens Against Domestic Violence / Victim Outreach Center (CADV) Make the Break 5K Run/Fun Walk was a big success. Participation was about double last year's total, and the funds raised will furnish two rooms at CADV's new shelter under construction in Camdenton.

The overall male and female winners were Andy Goessmann (fresh off a 3:21:43 Chicago Marathon finish six days earlier) and Kellee Halverson in 20:07 and 22:45, respectively.

Oops. Sorry if the results and photo links below didn't work for you. I forgot to upload the linked pages to the web host's server. That's been remedied, and the links now work.

The results for the top age-group finishers can be found here.  (Complete results should be posted at the CADV website; I'll post a link when they're available.)

Click here to view lots of photos taken at the event.

BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON (updated October 14th)

Congratulations to the Lake area's Debi White and Andy Goessmann for finishing today's (October 7th) Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Debi crossed the finish line in 6:15:57, for her very first marathon finish.  Debi was lacking a little bit of confidence going into the race, but she crossed the finish line, and that's all that matters.  Her finisher's medal shines just as much as the race winner's.  We're proud of you, Debi, for challenging yourself to take on a marathon, and finishing it. 

Andy Goessmann finished in an exceptionally fast 3:21:43.  I don't know for certain, but I'd wager that Andy's finish time is the fastest for any Lake-area marathon finisher in history.  For those of you who don't know, Andy trained like a mad man this year, putting in lots of miles each week (typically 50-75 miles), even through our extremely hot summer.  He had a goal of running a Boston Marathon-qualifying time (3:05 for his age group) at this race.  He may have come up short of that goal, but that shouldn't diminish what he achieved today and this year.  We're all proud of you, too, Andy!

By the way, here are Andy's splits.  Note the steadiness of his pace through the first 30K. 

BLUES N BREWS 10-MILER & 5K (posted October 2nd)

The Lake area was represented by six runners and walkers at Sunday's (September 30th) Blues N Brews 10-Miler and 5K in Kansas City, and five came from the Taylor family alone. The most notable performances were turned in by Miriam Taylor, who won her female 16-19 age group, and Brooke Taylor, who finished 3rd (of 16), both in the 5K. Here are the full results:

If I missed anyone, please let me know.

TURKEY TROT/GOBBLE WOBBLE 5K RUN/WALK (updated October 8th)

The results for the Eldon Turkey Trot/Gobble Wobble held on September 29th were posted today.  The overall male and female winners were Shawn Wood (19:50) and Terry Atteberry (24:19).  Click here for the full results.

MOONSHINE HALF MARATHON & 10K (updated September 29th)

If you were among the 46 runners who participated in the inaugural Moonshine Half Marathon & 10K (Facebook page) today (September 29th), you deserve a huge pat on the back. That was an exceptionally tough race. Most running courses are designed to be as easy as possible so as to attract a large number of participants. Not so with this course. This course was hard, and everyone at this race knew they were in for a challenging run. If anything, the course was tougher than expected. It's the kind of course and race that become legendary, attracting runners looking to see how good they are or what they're made of. It's also the kind of course that other courses are measured against in terms of difficulty.   There are probably few, if any, half marathon courses in this state that are as tough. Congratulations to everyone simply for toeing the starting line. You have instant street cred as a runner if you can say you ran the very first Moonshine Half Marathon.

Mike Duncan, his staff, and volunteers deserve a sincere thanks. They gave us a challenging event with lots of support and encouragement. Putting on a race is a big undertaking, with lots of hard work and risks involved. It takes a special person to step up and on an event like this.

Thanks also go to Bootlegger's Sports Book & Grill for their hospitality, and the Osage Beach Police Department and Miller County Sheriff's Department for monitoring the course.  It was also pretty cool seeing all the biker dudes handing out water and pointing us in the right direction on the course.  I have a feeling they were impressed by what they saw.

The overall female and male winners were Heather Kuhlmann (finish time of 1:30:54) of Lake Ozark and Andy Goessmann (1:32:54) of Osage Beach. 

It looks as though a bit of history was set today.  Heather was the first runner to cross the finish line, making this apparently the first overall win for a female at a Lake-area running race.  Also, if I'm not mistaken, Heather may have run the fastest-ever half marathon for a Lake-area runner--male or female.  Doing so on this course is nothing short of amazing. Congratulations, Heather!

Click here to view some photos taken at the event.

Click here to find the race results. (Try here if that link doesn't work.)

VERSAILLES OLD TYME APPLE FESTIVAL 5K RUN/WALK (updated October 2nd)

The Versailles Old Tyme Apple Festival 5K Run/Walk is scheduled for Saturday, October 6th.  Click here for full details--including a registration form--provided by the Versailles Chamber of Commerce.

WARRIOR DASH (posted October 1st)

Last Saturday's (September 29th) Warrior Dash in Old Monroe, Missouri, had an incredible 6,463 finishers. The list of finishers was far too long for me to look for Lake-area participants. If you participated, or know of some locals who did, I'll be happy to mention it here.

TWO DAM DAYS PADDLE MARATHON (posted October 1st)

The Two Dam Days Paddle Marathon was held this past weekend (September 29-30).   The main "Unlimited" race had five solo and six two-person team participants, which is about the same as in the race's first two years. Six others participated in two shorter races.

The full results can be found here. Click for a Lakenewsonline.com article about the race.

IRONMAN 70.3 BRANSON 70.3 (posted September 25th)

Congratulations to Jennifer and Trevor Dowdney for finishing Sunday's (September 23rd) Ironman 70.3 Branson Triathlon (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run) in Branson.  For Jennifer and Trevor--like many of us this past summer--the horrible heat and other things led to less training than had been hoped. 

Jennifer finished in 8:30:41, compared to last year's 8:00:07.  Her splits for this year:

Swim:       52:46 (2:43 per 100 meters)
T-1:            7:18
Bike:     4:42:37 (11.9 mph)
T-2:             2:49
Run:       2:45:11 (12:36/mile)
Finish:   8:30:41

Her finish time place Jen 38th (of 41) in the female 35-39 age group.

Trevor, finished in 6:03:32, four minutes slower than last year's 5:59:34.  His splits:

Swim:       31:43 (1:38/100 meters)
T-1:             3:44 
Bike:     3:29:25 (16.0 mph)
T-2:             1:56 
Run:      1:56:44 (8:54/mile)
Finish:  6:03:32

Trevor placed 26th (of 79) in the male 45-49 age group.

"GET WELL" WISHES TO DENNY GILLEN (updated September 25th)

Regular visitors to this website either know or have heard of Denny Gillen.  Denny is an outstanding athlete and a great guy who was training for the iron-distance (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run) Beach to Battleship Triathlon in North Carolina on October 20th.  Denny was using his participation in the event to raise funds for Brittany's Hope Foundation, which helps families adopt special needs, older and sibling children--children who often face low prospects for being adopted.  To date, donations on Denny's behalf totaled about $9,000.  Denny set a goal of $25,000, after quickly blowing through his initial goal of $2,500.

On Friday, September 21st, Denny was out on a long training ride on his bicycle and fell when a sudden gust from a crosswind caused him to lose control during a high-speed descent.  He was taken to Lake Regional Hospital, where doctors found that four ribs had been broken.  One of the ribs was displaced.  This caused particular concern, and kept him in the hospital overnight.  Denny sustained considerable "road rash" from the fall as well.   He returned home on Sunday.

In an instant, Denny's participation in the upcoming triathlon was over.  The pain from all the injuries is bad enough.  I'm sure having to give up plans to do the triathlon--just four weeks before it was to happen and after months of training and preparation--must be heart-breaking to Denny.  He'll bounce back, but there's not much consolation in that.  Get well, Denny.

Denny sent me photos of his road rash, but I won't post them.  They're too graphic and gruesome.  If you're a cyclist, please be careful.  Danger is ever-present.

ROOTS N BLUES N BBQ HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted September 23rd)

Eighteen runners from the Lake area participated in Saturday's (September 22nd) Roots n Blues n BBQ Festival Half Marathon & 10K in Columbia, Missouri.

Notable top-ten performances in their respective age groups were turned in by Alysia Maschino and Jim McDermott in the half marathon, and by Jason Coulter in the 10K. 

Congratulations to Scott Poest, who--in his first half marathon--finished in 2:02:35, after setting a goal of "just finishing". 

You can find the full result here.

LETTER TO CAMDEN COUNTY AMBULANCE DISTRICT (updated September 17th)

Update:  There's some good news to report.  The ambulance district's operations manager called today and said that they would do what they can to provide medical support for 5K events in Linn Creek.  Depending on availability, they may be able to have an ambulance on-site.  At the least, they'll be on stand-by status.

It will be up to the individual 5K race directors to determine the need for medical support for their event, and to make any request directly to the ambulance district. 

To the best of my knowledge, we've never had a medical emergency at a Lake-area run/walk event. When you think of all the races we've had and all of the people who have participated in them over the years, we've been very, very fortunate. I've read of too many deaths and serious medical emergencies at athletic events around the country these past few years, and I don't ever want to see one occur here. I hope our luck never runs out, but we can't just leave it all to chance.

All of the events in Eldon, Lake Ozark, Osage Beach and Camdenton have ambulances and/or medical personnel either onsite or very close by. That's very reassuring.  The events in Linn Creek, however, have not had such coverage.

It wasn't too many years ago that Linn Creek had just one 5K (i.e. the Abs & Glutes 5K Run/Walk) a year. This year, there have already been two, and there are four more on the calendar. In my mind, it's become a serious concern.

I felt that this situation in Linn Creek needs to be addressed, so I sent a letter to the Camden County Ambulance District today, asking that they consider stationing an ambulance and/or emergency medical personnel at all 5K events held in Linn Creek. You can read the letter by clicking on the above image of it.

The District's board meets on Tuesday, September 18th. Due to time constraints, I can't attend the meeting to make the request in person. Hopefully, they'll give the request due consideration.

I'll let you know whatever response I receive. I also welcome any comments you may have.

CHS PROJECT GRADUATION 5K RUN/WALK (posted August 14th)

A 5K run/walk benefiting the Camdenton High School Project Graduation will be held on the evening of Saturday, September 22nd, at the Linn Creek City Park (map).  Project Graduation is an all-night, chaperoned, substance-free celebration for the school's graduating seniors.

The run/walk starts at 6:00 p.m., with race-day registration opening at 5:00 p.m.  If you pre-register on or before September 7th, the entry fee is $20 for individuals and $40 per family.  After the deadline, the entry fees are $25 and $50, respectively. The entry fee for high school seniors is a minimum $10 sponsorship.

Goody bags and t-shirts will be provided to all pre-registered participants, and as supplies last for those registering after the pre-registration deadline.  (High school seniors must raise at least $20 to receive a t-shirt.)

Awards will be given to overall and age-group winners, and the senior raising the most sponsorships will win a $50 gas card.

Click for the event flyer and a registration form.

FLOYD SANDERS MEMORIAL 5K RUN/WALK (updated August 31st)

Floyd Sanders was a Camdenton police officer (and a Camden County sheriff's deputy prior to that) who passed away on February 11, 2010, at the age of 56, following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The third annual Floyd Sanders Memorial 5K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, September 22nd, at 9:00 a.m. (race-day registration opens at 8:00 a.m.) at the Linn Creek City Park (map). (Those times are one hour later from what was originally reported.)  All proceeds from the event will go to The Lustgarten Foundation, which supports pancreatic cancer research.

The cost is $50 for individuals and teams.  T-shirts will be distributed to those who pre-register by September 7th. 

This is a family-friendly event (strollers welcome), with face-painting and games for kids.

(The registration page isn't yet up on the Lustgarten website.  You should be able to find it at this link once it is.)

CROCKER 5K FUN RUN & 11K CHALLENGE (posted September 4th)

The Crocker High School Athletic Department is putting on a 5K Fun Run and an 11K Challenge on Saturday, September 22nd. The run/walk starts at 8:00 a.m., with race-day registration opening at 7:00 a.m.  Click for a flyer and registration form.  Pre-registration is available online through active.com. 

Crocker is about 20 miles southeast of Osage Beach, or about 10 miles north of St. Robert/Fort Leonard Wood. Take Highway 42 east to Highway 17, then turn south on 17 to go to Crocker.

CHELSEA'S EPILEPSY 5K RUN/WALK FOR SUDEP AWARENESS (posted September 11th)

A new 5K run/walk is coming to the Lake area this month. The first annual Chelsea's Epilepsy 5K Run/Walk for SUDEP Awareness will be held on Sunday, September 23rd, at the Eldon Air Park Pavilion on North Franklin Street near the aquatics center.  The run/walk starts at 9:00 a.m.  Please note that this will not be a timed event.  The cost is $30 for adults (13 and over) and $20 for children (7 to 12).  Snacks will be served.  Please go to this page for more information and to register.

This event is one of four being held around the country that day to benefit The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation.  Chelsea died in her sleep of an epileptic seizure in April 2009 at the age of 16.  SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) was ruled the cause of Chelsea's death, and takes up to 50,000 lives a year.  Epilepsy affects over three million Americans of all ages. 

These run/walks are being held to raise awareness of epilepsy and SUDEP, and to raise funds mainly to provide trained seizure-response dogs who can help detect when someone may be having a seizure, and then provide warnings and/or assistance in the situation.  (It's truly amazing that dogs can indeed be trained to do this.) 

The Eldon event is being organized by a local resident whose granddaughter has epilepsy. 

HEART OF AMERICAN MARATHON (updated September 4th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott, who finished yesterday's (Labor Day) Heart of America Marathon in Columbia on a warm, humid day. Jim finished in 4:30:00.1 (I hope he wasn't hoping to break 4:30), placing him fifth (of 13) in the male 55-59 age group. A total of 212 runners crossed the finish line this year in what is one of the oldest marathon events around--the first race in 1960 had just two finishers.

EPIC MUD RUN (updated September 3rd)

Congratulations to all of our locals who played in the mud and finished the Epic Mud Run today (September 2nd) in Columbia.  Notable performances were turned in by Rob Kucsik and Scott Page, who finished seconds apart and took third and fourth place, respectively, in their male 40-44 age group.  The results for all Lake-area participants are shown below. 

If any of you have photos you'd like to share, I'll be happy to post or link to them.  Here's a link to a Facebook page of photos taken of Scott, Reagan and Ryan Page, and Rob and Ethan Kucsik.  (You'll need to login to Facebook to be able to view them.)

HY-VEE 5150 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP TRIATHLON (updated September 2nd)

Congratulations to Denny Gillen, who raced today (September 2nd) at the prestigious Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa. A mechanical problem on the bike slowed his bike split, but Denny still managed to average an excellent 19.2 mph.  Here are his splits:

Swim (1500 meters):    36:44
T-1:                                 3:20
Bike (40K):                 1:18:08
T-2:                                 2:23
Run (10K):                    49:27
Finish                        2:49:59

Denny's finish time placed him 13th (of 17) in the male 60-64 age group.

UNDERWEAR RUN IN LAKE OZARK (updated August 18th)

Be sure to check out the story in the Lake Sun's online edition about a proposed underwear run on the Bagnell Dam Strip. It's the first I've heard of it, though it's doubtful whether the run is going to happen.

Actually, underwear runs, the World Naked Bike Ride, and even crazier events (naked 5Ks) are relatively common these days.

SHOOTOUT STREET PARTY (posted August 22nd)

It's always nice to run into some of our local athletes, even in completely non-athletic situations. While busily recording some video at the Shootout Street Party tonight, I suddenly heard "Go Jim!" hollered behind me by Larry Estes early in the evening, and by Baub Eis a little later. Partying along with Baub were Mike and Jordan Hammerstone (riding a tandem) and Dave Goldberg, whom I managed to catch on video.

By the way, it turns out that the results page for the mountain biking competition at the 2012 Show-Me State Games website was incomplete.  That's why I missed reporting that Larry Estes finished eighth (of 16) in the Cat-3 Men's 40+ division.  The United Federation of Dirt website has complete results for the race.

RUN FOR THE FALLEN (updated August 18th)

The Lake of the Ozarks' participation in the national Run for the Fallen event was held at Camdenton Middle School on Saturday (August 18th).  Similar run/walks were held this month in cities throughout the United States and in several foreign countries to honor those soldiers--including 143 from Missouri--who have given their lives for our country in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.  Participants in the run/walk are asked to walk at least one mile in memory of a fallen soldier.

We had 162 participants at this year's event, and they ran or walked a total of 372.5 miles.  Trish Creach at the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce did another wonderful job putting this event together.  Thanks to all who came out with us.  Here are a few photos (click to enlarge, or to start a slideshow).

     

   

 

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S RUN (posted August 12th)

He was hoping for an even faster finish, but Brian Webb of Lake Ozark still ran a fast 5K at Saturday's (August 11th) A MidSummer Night's Run, benefiting Central Baptist Hospital, in Lexington, Kentucky.  Brian finished in 22:07 (7:08 per mile pace), placing him 24th (of 276) in the male 35-39 age group. That's a huge improvement for Brian, who finished last October's Make the Break 5K in Linn Creek in 25:37.

REPUBLIC TIGER TRIATHLON (posted August 11th)

Congratulations to our two locals who competed--and placed high in their respective age groups--at Saturday's (August 11th) Republic Tiger Triathlon in Republic, Missouri.

Denny Gillen placed third (of nine) in the male 60-64 age group, with a finish time of 1:14:20.  Just a little behind Denny was Jim McDermott, who finished in 1:16:30, placing him fourth (of 15) in the male 55-59 age group.  Their splits are shown below.  (Full race results can be found here.)

MPACT FIT CHALLENGE (posted August 14th)

Local health club Mpact Fitness (Facebook page) is putting on the Mpact Fit Challenge this coming Saturday, August 18th, to benefit the School of the Osage's Buddy Pack program.  The cost is $20 per person. 

Participants will rotate through twelve stations in one-minute intervals.  Awards will be given to the strongest male and female participants, and to the participant raising the most for the program. Participants of all ages are welcome.

Pre-registration is required.  To register, call Mpact Fitness at 573-693-9449 or stop in at the club at 4184 Osage Beach Parkway, just east of the Osage Beach Walmart.

FAREWELL AND GOOD LUCK, RODNEY WRIGHT (posted August 6th)

Rodney Wright, at the Duck Drop 5K on August 4, 2012.

I'm sorry to report that one of our most dedicated, popular and best local runners is moving away from the Lake area.  Rodney Wright, who's probably participated in more local 5Ks than anyone else, is leaving for South Carolina. 

Rodney still has family in Missouri, and expects to join us whenever he visits the Lake area.  He's hoping to be here for the Thanksgiving Day 5K in Camdenton.

Rodney's always been a great competitor and friend, and we wish him nothing but the best.

THE GREAT BAGNELL DAM DUCK DROP FAMILY FUN RUN AND WADDLE WALK (posted July 5th)

Click on photo to view a larger image

About 35 runners turned out for the hottest (and I do mean that literally) local race of the year this morning (August 4th) at The Great Bagnell Dam Duck Drop 5K Run/Walk.  While the 74-degree air temperature may not sound too bad, the 77% relative humidity (partly the result of a 5:30 a.m. thunderstorm) and the near absence of any air movement made for brutal weather conditions in which to run.  (My rough rule of thumb: Any time the air temperature and relative humidity add up to more than 130, running is going to be extra hard.  When it's 151 like this morning, it's insane to be out running.) 

Congratulations to all who made it up the infamous hill on Valley Road without walking.  That hill is perhaps the toughest of any hill on a local 5K course.

Click here for a bunch of photos from the event. 

Casey O'Connor was the overall winner, in 17:11.  Despite the heat and humidity, that was just two seconds off Casey's fastest local 5K finish this year, a 17:09 overall victory at last month's Independence Day Run in Eldon.

Thanks go to all the members of the Kiwanis Club of Ozark Coast who came out and helped put on another great event, and for the Lake Ozark Police Department's watchful eyes for our safety.

THE MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER 340 (updated August 1st)

Congratulations to Brian Brooks for his outstanding second-place finish in the men's solo division of the Missouri American Water 340 340-mile paddling race from Kansas City to St. Charles on the Missouri River.  Brian finished the 340-mile course in 47 hours and 53 minutes--more than seven hours faster than last year (in which he finished in fourth place), and only 1 hour and 38 minutes behind the division winner, Joe Zellner of Grand Marais, Minnesota.   

There were 142 solo men at the start of the race, and 82 (57%) completed the course within the 88-hour time limit.

The Living Waters team, consisting of Jared Jellison of Gravois Mills, Jim Stevens of Edgerton, Kansas, and Ed Cowel of Gardner, Kansas, finished 13th (of 14) in the 3-4 person team division, in a time of 77 hours and 51 minutes.  Jared competed solo in the 2008 race (finishing in 62 hours, 12 minutes) and on a four-person Lake-area team that DNF'd in 2009.

Full 2012 results can be found here.

TOUGH MUDDER (posted July 11th)

The Tough Mudder is an international race series on hardcore, 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.   The races benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.  Races are being offered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on both Saturday and Sunday, October 13th and 14th. (Poplar Bluff is about three hours south of St. Louis.)  Here's a link specific to the Missouri race.

Scott Page has put out an offer to all interested mud-loving athletes to join a local team that's planning to participate.  You can let Scott know through the Lake Area Runners Facebook page, or contact me and I'll pass along your e-mail address to him. 

SHOW-ME STATE GAMES (updated July 30th)

RESULTS

5K/10K Run (July 28):

In the 5K, Nigher Alfaro won in 20:50 over his two competitors in the male 40-44 age group.  Harold Selby, who hails from Pacific, Missouri, but who often joins us in running at the Lake, ran the 10K and beat his only rival in the male 55-59 age group, in a finish time of 50:40.  Full results can be found here.

Triathlon (July 22):

Jennifer Dowdney finished the 1/2-mile swim, 15-mile bike and 3-mile run in 1:48:36, knocking over three minutes off last year's finish time of 1:51:58.  (Last year's SMSG triathlon was Jen's very first triathlon.)  That placed Jen third (of 6) in the female 35-39 age group.

Trevor Dowdney scored a fourth-place finish (of 12), in the male 45-49 age group, with a time of 1:23:09.  That was nearly three minutes slower than last year's 1:20:30.  Adding insult to injury, Trev's main rival,Tom Tomicki of Columbia, took third place, in 1:21:00.

Jim McDermott finished in 1:39:39, placing him fourth (of 7) in the male 55-59 age group.

Complete triathlon results can be found here.  (This has to be a mistake, but the results show a 1:38:20 finisher/winner of the male 90-94 age group.  Any 90+ year-old guy who can beat Jim McDermott surely can't be human.) 

MIGHTY MAX KIDS TRIATHLON (updated July 21st)

Congratulations to Reagan Page, our newest Lake-area triathlete!  Reagan competed in her very first triathlon at today's (July 21st) Mighty Max Kids Triathlon in Columbia, and her proud parents say she had a blast doing so.  Here are Reagan's splits for the 100-yard swim, 3-mile bike and 1-mile run:

        Swim:           3:13
        T-1:              1:31
        Bike:           15:12 (11.8 mph)
        T-2:               0:24
        Run:           10:48
        Finish:        31:08

Her finish time placed Reagan eighth (of ten) in the female 11-14 age group.   

I perused the complete results, but didn't find any other Lake-area finishers among the 134 who competed.  If I missed anyone, please let me know.

LAKE SUN ARTICLE ABOUT DENNY GILLEN'S GOAL TO RAISE $25,000 FOR CHARITY (updated September  9th)

Be sure to check out the July 6-7 weekend edition of the Lake Sun for an article about Denny Gillen's plan to do the iron-distance Beach 2 Battleship Triathlon in North Carolina on October 20th.  Denny is also using his participation as a way to raise funds for Britanny's Hope Foundation (Facebook page) through the Team Orphans group of athletes.  Here's a description of Brittany's Hope Foundation's mission, excerpted from their website:

"We resolve to facilitate adoptions of special needs, older and sibling children by providing financial grants for special waiting children; to actively seek out healthy and happy families who can offer love and support to special needs children; to raise public awareness of the need for healthy homes for special needs, older and sibling children and to raise public awareness of the unique joys of parenting a special child.

We dedicate our work to improving the quality of life for all God's children, especially those who wait in institutions or orphanages, live in extreme poverty or under the duress of slavery, abuse or war; and we seek, create and support humanitarian programs which accomplish these goals and extend all efforts to champion and campaign for children's rights regardless of race, religion, or country of origin."

Denny's goal is to raise $25,000 for Team Orphans and Brittany's Hope.  You can read more about what inspired him to do so at his blog.  To make a contribution toward the goal, please go to this page.  As of September 9th, donations have reached $8,345, with another $1,500 coming once Denny crosses the finish line.

Be sure to check out the new Team Orphans gear by clicking on the box near the top, right-hand side of this page.  Sales of the custom triathlon and cycling tops, shorts, jerseys and technical t-shirts will help in meeting the fund-raising goal.

INDEPENDENCE DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 5th)

We had a big turnout for today's (July 4th) Independence Day 5K Run/Walk in Eldon despite the warm, humid weather.  A rough guess is that 150 runners and walkers showed up for this 14th annual event--one of the longest-running (pardon the pun) events of its kind in the Lake area.

Click on photo to view a larger image

Click on photo to view a larger image

After being beaten--perhaps for the first time--at a local 5K almost two weeks ago, Casey O'Connor returned to his winning ways as the overall male winner with a finish time of 17:09.  The overall female winner was Erica Grebbs, in 21:51.  The results for the top three finishers in each age group have been posted.

Overall male winner Casey O'Connor

A huge thanks goes to Eldon Parks & Recreation director Keith Walk and all of the volunteers who put on another great event.  Also, hats off to Eldon mayor Ron Bly, who came out and presented the awards to the medal winners.  It's always nice when community leaders show support for local athletic events.  That usually only happens with big events in major cities. 

Best quote (or, shall I say snide remark?) of the day came from Andy Goessmann, who, as he was passing an old guy who had jokingly asked some female volunteers nearby if they thought he still looked sexy at that late point in the race, said, "You might be faster if you stopped talking (on the course)."  That was funny.  (You're right, Andy, but it's always fun to get a rise out of the volunteers and spectators.  They appreciate the attention, as well.)  By the way, Andy showed up late for the start, yet still managed to beat most of us.

TRIBUTE TRIATHLON (posted June 16th)

Congratulations to our five Lake-area triathletes who competed at Saturday's (June 23) third annual Tribute Triathlon in Windsor, Missouri.  The triathlon included a 300-yard lake swim, 18-mile bike and 5K run.

Jim McDermott did exceptionally well, as always, finishing 11th overall (of 46 participants).  Only one participant older than Jim placed ahead of him.

Here are our locals' results.  Complete race results can be found here.

The Tribute Triathlon has an interesting story behind it.  Here's an excerpt from the event's website:

"The event is held in celebration of the life of Frederick (Fred) James Overton, II who died suddenly from a heart attack while training for a marathon. Fred had three blocked arteries and an enlarged heart (Cardiomegaly) which contributed to the result of his early death.  One of Fred's dreams was to have a Triathlon in his home town; the first Tribute Triathlon was held in July 2010.  Fred's family and friends wish to continue honoring him by organizing a professional event and hope to provide a venue to increase awareness to cardiac health."

This was also interesting:

"Proceeds supported athletic heart screenings. Forty six High School Students participated in athletic heart screening two were found to have cardiac defects offering the students
and their family hope of early treatment and a successful outcome. 

Thirty five high school students participate in 2011 finding four athletes with cardiac abnormalities." 

Here's a link to the registration page at Active.com.

Thanks to Jim McDermott for the heads-up on the event. 

TRI-COUNTY YMCA FIRECRACKER 5K RUN/WALK (updated June 23rd)

We had perfect weather and a nice turnout of 31 runners for the fourth annual YMCA Firecracker 5K Run/Walk today (June 23rd) at the Linn Creek City Park. The Tri-County YMCA of the Ozarks took over the event this year and gave it some much-needed organizational support.

Click on photo to view a larger image

The overall male and female winners were 16 year-old Tyler Henson (an Iowan, vacationing at the Lake) and 15 year-old Faith Scheidemantle, in 17:30 and 23:19, respectively.

          
Tyler Henson and Faith Scheidemantle

Both Tyler and Faith are high-school cross country runners and would have lost their high school sports eligibility by accepting the $50 cash prizes for being overall winners. Without hesitation, they both asked the YMCA to keep the prize money. (The YMCA will be looking into prizes for next year that won't jeopardize the eligibility of high school athletes.)

The full race results can be found here.

Lots of photos can be found here.

Scott Leffingwell, associate executive director of the Tri-County YMCA, did a great job in putting together the event in a relatively short amount of time. The event went very smoothly and everyone had a fun time, and Scott deserves much of the credit.

The YMCA's Dayna Viele and the volunteers from the Nike Factory Store helped Scott on race day and deserve ample credit, too.  The two volunteers (whose names I didn't catch) at the turn-around proved to be a godsend at a desperate moment.

Thanks go to the Nike Factory Store for the age-group gift card prizes, Paul's Supermarket for the donated food and water, Andy's Frozen Custard for the free frozen custard coupons, and a generous donation by Cheri Warner.

Finally, thanks go to everyone who came out to run and help support the Tri-County YMCA.

THE PERFECT 10 ROGAINE (posted June 17th)

The first of Bonk Hard Racing's new Performance Series, single-discipline events, The Perfect 10 Rogaine, will open for registration on July 1st.

The Perfect 10 is an orienteering race, with up to 10 hours of trekking in the Lake of the Ozarks State Park.  The event will be held on Saturday, October 13th, and will be open to solo racers and teams of two, three or four.

Not familiar with orienteering, or what a "rogaine" is?  Basically, for this race, you'll be given a map and a list of pre-plotted checkpoints.  Using your navigational skills and a compass (GPS units are not allowed!), you'll trek to each checkpoint, punch your "passport", and then race to the finish line. (Think of it as a big treasure hunt, but without the treasure.)  During the trekking sections of most adventure races, you're usually required to find each of the checkpoints in their numerical order.  A "rogaine" section, however, allows you to seek out the checkpoints in any order.  This makes charting and trekking the most efficient route all the more important for winning.   

It sounds like a great excuse to play in the state park at a really nice time of year.  If you're not an adventure racer and looking for something different or a new challenge, please give this some consideration.

MARINE MESS FLW VOLKSLAUF (updated June 16th)

(Click on any photo below to view it in a larger size, or to begin a slideshow of all the photos.)

See the Lake area's "Odd Man Out" team of (left to right) Denise Baker, Andrea Anderson, Scott Page, Joan Wolf and Karen Blevins.

See the Odd Man Out team run ......

   

See the Odd Man Out team, minus the Man, run ......

See the Odd Man Out team swim/run/play in the mud ......

See the Odd Man Out team come out very, very dirty ......

Finally, see the Odd Man Out team celebrating at the finish line.

Congratulations to the Odd Man Out team for finishing the 13th annual Marine Mess FLW Volkslauf ("Volkslauf" is German for "fun run") at Fort Leonard Wood on Saturday (June 16th).  Heck, congratulations merely for having the guts to enter.

Is it just me, or does it look like they had fun?

Thanks to Scott Page for passing along the photos.

NIGHT STRIDE 5K RUN/WALK (updated June 17th)

The Children's Learning Center's Night Stride 5K Run/Walk had the largest turnout in the event's five-year history last night (June 15th).  A total of 239 had registered for the event (one of the largest ever for a Lake-area 5K), and 181 of them came out to run or walk the challenging course. The event raised about $5,500 for the Children's Learning Center.

Click on photo to view a larger image

Congratulations to Casey O'Connor and Chelsea Van Hook, the overall male and female winners, in 17:54 and 21:46, respectively.

Full results are available!  Choose a format:

By age group (.pdf format)
In order of finish (.pdf format)
In order of finish (Excel (.xls) format)

Click here for some photos. 

A huge thanks goes out to the CLC staff, volunteers (including four from the Nike Factory Store and more from Kohl's), and sponsors for a wonderful and fun event.  What makes this event special is the focus on children.  There were tons of them in attendance, and they all seemed to have a blast. 

One of the most popular kids' activities was the Sponge Toss.  

A young volunteer gets hit in the noggin with a wet sponge.
Click on photo to view a larger image

RACE ACROSS AMERICA (posted June 16th)

The Race Across America, a 3,000-mile, coast-to-coast bicycle race, will be rolling through the Lake area from Monday through Thursday, June 18-21.

If you're driving on Highway 54 during that period, please be very cautious around the cyclists and their trailing support vehicles. All of the cyclists and most of their crew members will have been significantly sleep-deprived by the time they reach our area, and thus less aware of the potential dangers around them.

The Signal gasoline station on Highway 54 just east of the square in Camdenton will once again be a time station for the race. You're welcome to stop by and meet some of the support crews. You might be able to meet some of the cyclists as well.

You can also follow the race in nearly real-time at the race's website.

NORTH SHORE HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted June 10th)

Congratulations to Alice and Keith Staats, who live in Springfield, Illinois, but who spend time at their second home at the Lake of the Ozarks and have participated in some of our local 5Ks this spring, for doing well at Sunday's (June 10th) North Shore Half Marathon & 5K in Highland Park Illinois.  The race was held under brutally warm, humid and windy conditions.  The race issued explicit advance warnings to runners about the dangers.  This year has seen many events shortened and cancelled due to weather.  (The fall-out from the disastrous Chicago Marathon in 2007 continues to haunt race directors.)

Alice competed in the 5K, finishing in 30:15, placing her 4th (of 37) in the female 55-59 age group.  (That finish time was faster than Alice's two finishes at Lake-area 5Ks.)

Keith competed in the half marathon, finishing in 1:59:38.  That placed Keith 24th (of 65) in the male 55-59 age group.  

CALL FOR COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED LAKE-AREA RUNNING CLUB (posted June 7th)

BONK HARD RACING PERFORMANCE SERIES (posted June 7th)

Gary and Ellen Thompson, the Lake-area owners of Bonk Hard Racing, have announced the introduction of a new series of single-discipline events. For anyone who shies away from adventure racing because all three disciplines of orienteering, cycling and paddling are involved, this new series of separate, single-discipline events should be of interest. Three new events will be rolled out over the next year. Solo and team options will be offered at each of the races.

First up will be The Perfect 10 Rogaine, a 10-hour Rogaine orienteering race in the Lake of the Ozarks State Park on October 13, 2012.

Next up, on April 20, 2013, will be the first annual Ozark Gravel Road Expedition (OGRE, for short), sponsored by Oz Cycles and Kayaks. OGRE is a 150-mile bike race on the rough, hilly gravel roads in rural areas surrounding the Lake of the Ozarks. That promises to be a brutal, challenging race. (The field size for this race will be limited, so If you're interested, be sure to get on the e-mail list to be notified when registration opens early in 2013.)

Finally, a paddling race will be held during the summer of 2013.

You can read a little more about the new series at Bonk Hard Racing's May newsletter.

ROCK ISLAND TRAIL (posted June 6th)

One of the biggest potential recreational trail projects in the Lake area took a major step forward recently. While there are still many hurdles yet to overcome, this proposed multi-use trail would be a huge asset to our area, and deserves our attention and support.  Many of us make the long drive to Jefferson City to ride the Katy Trail.  This proposed trail would give us something very similar to it, right here in the Lake area.

Mac McNally, a regional planner for the Lake of the Ozarks Council of Local Governments (LOCLG), has been spearheading the trail effort. Since taking that job a year ago, Mac has had as one of his goals trying to improve recreational facilities in our area as part of a broader goal of advancing economic development.  He's been doing an outstanding job in that regard, and this recent development is evidence of that.

What happened recently is that Ameren Missouri has allowed the use of a three-mile segment of abandoned Rock Island Railroad right-of-way for the "rails-to-trails" project.  That segment is located in Eldon, and is a small part of a much longer Rock Island system running generally from St. Louis to Kansas City, portions of which are currently being converted to trail use.

Click here to read more about the recent development. 

LOWA PADDLERS CLUB MONTHLY MEET-UPS (posted May 29th)

The Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance is holding monthly meet-ups for all kayakers and canoers, of all levels and ages, at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. They're being held on one Saturday each month through October, from 9:00 a.m. until noon, at the shelter house near the spring. (Here's a map.) Bring your kayak or canoe, lifejackets, snacks and sunblock.  (Some extra kayaks should be available for use if you don't have one.)  There is no charge to participate  Click here for more information.

Here is the schedule for remaining dates in 2012:

June 16
July 14
August 18
September 22
October 13

ELDON KIWANIS' DENNIS SCHEIDERER 5K RUN/WALK (updated June 3rd)

Perfect running weather (except for a few pesky raindrops at the start) greeted about twenty runners and at least that many walkers at yesterday's (June 2nd) 6th Annual Dennis Scheiderer 5K Run/Walk put on by the Eldon Kiwanis.  Thanks go to Alecia Etter and the rest of the Eldon Kiwanis for putting on another fun event.  Everyone had a great time. 

(Click on photos to view a larger image.)

Among the runners, the overall female winner was Terry Atteberry, in a finish time of 24:24, followed by Heather Riley (24:37) and Paula O'Connor (25:05).

Terry Atteberry, Overall female winner

The overall male winner was Eldon High School junior cross country runner Casper Hocking, who crossed the finish line in 18:28, easily ahead of Nigher Alfaro (20:00) and Cory McPheeters (23:31).  Casper said that he's been running about 50 miles per week, so he should have a great cross country season this fall. 

Casper Hocking, Overall male winner

Another runner with a very bright future is Ryan Page, the overall "kid" winner, who finished in a personal best 5K time of 24:15.  Ryan's principal motivation for running appears to be beating old, fat guys to the finish line, and even taunting them while doing so. (It's reminiscent of a guy who, about 25 years ago, loved competing as a teenager in triathlons against older guys and beating them. His name was Lance Armstrong.)

Ryan Page

Click here to view some additional photos from the race.

Click here for the results.

HOSPITAL HILL RUN (updated June 3rd)

Six Lake-area runners were among the 6,500 who participated in yesterday's (June 2nd) Hospital Hill Run in Kansas City.  The race included a half marathon, 10K and 5K.  The half marathon attracts some of the fastest runners in the Midwest.  In fact, of the top ten male finishers, only one was from Missouri.  The winner, Julius Koskei of Hebron, Kentucky, finished in an incredible 1:04:37--a pace of 4:56 per mile.

Among our local finishers, Alysia Maschino did exceptionally well, finishing in 1:47:01, which placed her 27th (of 285) in a very competitive age group.  Keep in mind that Alysia had never run a half marathon prior to last October's Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis, in which she finished in 2:03:12.  Knocking 16 minutes off a half marathon finish time in less than a year is quite an achievement.  Alysia's 1:47:01 finish is now one of the fastest for a Lake-area runner both this year and last.

Another runner whose first half marathon was also at Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis, Todd Raney, finished in 1:54:00, resulting in a new personal best at that distance after a 1:54:54 finish at the Kansas Half Marathon back in April.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners:

URBAN ASSAULT RIDE ST. LOUIS (updated June 3rd)

Congratulations to Baub Eis and Mike Hammerstone, known collectively as the Off Constantly team, for doing well at Sunday's (June 3rd) Urban Assault Ride in St. Louis.  Baub and Mike finished 46th of 86 teams in the two-person male division, in a time of 2:46:18.

Looking through the Urban Assault Ride results reveals, once again, just how good the athletes are who compete as the four-person Alpine Shop team at the Bonk Hard Chill and other adventure races.  Two members of that team, David Frei and Jeff Sona, placed first among the 86 two-person male teams in the Urban Assault Ride.  Carrie Sona and her teammate finished third among the 44 two-person women's teams.  Finally, Doug Nishimura and his teammate, Sunny Gilbert (who was on the two-person female team that won their Bonk Hard Chill division), finished fourth among 81 co-ed teams. 

Never heard of the Urban Assault Ride?  Here's how it's described at their website:

"The Urban Assault Ride is the biggest Bicycle Obstacle Event series in the nation!  Here's how it works: You and your teammate will set out on a city-wide quest for 'checkpoints' on your favorite two-wheeled steeds.  At each checkpoint, you'll drop your bikes and complete a funky/adventurous obstacle course, then remount your bikes and hit the streets for more.

The goal is to complete all the checkpoints in the shortest amount of time. You choose your own route and checkpoint order. This means that the most clever are often the victors. Of course, it may also help if you can pull a mean big-wheel powerslide and fly across an inflatable slip-n-slide ;)

After your pedal-powered adventure, your team will cross the finish line and enter a massive celebration of New Belgium Brewing Co's whimsical ways, bikes, and big wheels. The after party is just as much fun as the ride itself, thanks to the craziest raffle prize contest you'll ever experience."

DIRTY KANZA 200 (updated June 3rd)

Congratulations to our four Lake-area cyclists who finished the grueling Dirty Kanza 200 200-mile bike race in the Flint Hills region of east-central Kansas on Saturday (June 2nd). Just finishing the race is a major challenge.  This year, just under half of the male competitors under the age of 50 finished the course.  The full results can be found at the race's Facebook page.  Here are the results for our Lake-area participants:

ROCK 'N' ROLL ST. LOUIS MARATHON & HALF (posted June 5th)

A quick note:  New to this year's Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon is a two-person relay option. (There's no similar option for the full marathon.)  This would be a great way for two runners who aren't quite up to doing a half marathon themselves to still be able to join in on the fun.  However, there is a limit of 200 relay teams.  Those spots should easily sell out, so if you're interested, don't delay.

Though it won't make a difference to participants, Solutia is not returning as the title sponsor of the event.  The company was acquired by a larger chemical company this past winter. 

IRONMAN 70.3 KANSAS TRIATHLON (posted June 7th)

We want to wish the best of luck to Denny Gillen, who travels to Lawrence, Kansas, this weekend for Sunday's Ironman 70.3 Kansas Triathlon (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run).

I'm sure Denny is hoping his new, lightning fast Trek Speed Concept is the trick to reversing the trend of gradually slower finish times:

• 2009      5:39:31
• 2010      5:47:04
• 2011       6:16:52

TOUR DE CURE (posted May 1st)

GO GIRL RUN HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated May 27th)

Congratulations to our Lake-area women who competed at yesterday's (May 26th) inaugural Go Girl Run half marathon and 5K in Columbia.  Notable performances were turned in by Sue Barry and Amy Demott in the half marathon, and Erin Oswalt in the 5K.  Sue and Erin finished third in their respective age groups.  Sue came about 3 minutes after the winner of her age group, while Erin was only 51 seconds out of first place.  Amy was our fastest local finisher, in 1:53:09, which placed her 7th (of 109) in her age group.  Here are the full Lake-area results:

I'm doubtful that I found the results of all Lake-area finishers.  If your name is missing from the above list, please let me know.

There were 621 finishers in the women-only half marathon, and 532 finishers (495 of them women) in the 5K.

It's a shame the event just happened to be held on the hottest day of the year thus far.  The weather was brutal for a long run.  At the 7:30 a.m. start, the temperature was 75 degrees, with 76% relative humidity.  By 10:00 a.m., the temperature was 82 degrees.  Making things even worse were the clear skies.  (That's one shortcoming of the conventional "heat index"--it's based on measurements in the shade.  Exposure to full sunshine can make it feel up to 15 degrees warmer than the reported heat index.)  Anyone who received a finisher's medal really earned it today.     

BERRYMAN MARATHON/50-MILE (posted May 24th)

I didn't see any Lake-area runners on the list of those who competed at last Saturday's (May 19th) Berryman Marathon and 50-Mile race. However, there were some familiar names among the top finishers. In the marathon, Jeff Sona finished first in 4:00:39, David Frei finished fifth in 4:25:52, and Carrie Sona was 18th overall (and sixth-fastest female) in 5:09:43. These three are members of the Alpine Shop adventure racing team that has won the Bonk Hard Chill a number of times, including this year's race back in February. Keep in mind that Jeff, David and Carrie are 49, 47 and 47 years old, respectively.

KANSAS CITY TRIATHLON (posted May 20th)

Congratulations to Denny Gillen, who finished third (of five) in the male 60-64 age group at Sunday's (May 20th) Kansas City Triathlon.  Denny's splits were as follows:

By virtue of his top-ten age group finish, Denny qualified to compete at the 5150 U.S. Championship Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 2, 2012.

Interestingly, the women's race was won in 2:01:34 by Laura Bennett, who qualified last week for the U.S. Olympic team competing in London this summer. Laura is a world-class triathlete who was a fourth-place finisher at the 2008 Olympics.

JOPLIN MEMORIAL RUN (updated May 19th)

The inaugural Joplin Memorial Run held today (May 19th) brought out a big field of runners.  There were 1,245 half marathon finishers, and 1,093 5K finishers.  will include a half marathon, 5K and a kids' race. 

Three runners from the Lake area participated in the half marathon:

Jim McDermott of Camdenton finished in 1:48:34, placing him 103rd of 509 male finishers. 

Angela Martin of Osage Beach finished in 2:04:35, placing her 157th of 736 female finishers.

Michelle Curtright of Eldon finished in 3:09:59, placing her 688th of 736 female finishers.

There were no results by age-group, only by gender.  The complete results can be found here.

MIGHTY MELODY MIRACLE MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K, 5K AND FUN TRAIL WALK (updated May 24th)

(Update: I wasn't able to find any results online, but the event turned out to be successful, with over 200 participants.)

A special event is being held on Saturday, May 19th, in Liberty, Missouri (just northeast of Kansas City). The Mighty Melody Miracle Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K and Fun Trail Walk is a fund-raiser to support the continuing medical care of Melody Faith Unger, who will be celebrating her first birthday two days later. Melody is a miracle baby.  She was born 13 weeks prematurely--weighing just 13 ounces at birth--and spent the first six months of her life in the hospital overcoming all the challenges and complications of a very premature birth.  She was given the nickname, "Mighty Melody".  As if that wasn't enough of a nightmare for the family, eight days after Melody finally went home, in October 2011, a terrible tragedy followed--Melody's mother, Lois, died.  You can read more about the miracle and tragedy at the link shown above, or at a special Facebook page.

If you are going to be near Kansas City on the 19th, please consider participating in one of the distances offered.  If not, please consider making a donation to the cause.

Thanks go to Jim McDermott for making me aware of this event. 

JAMAICAN ME CRAZY 5K RUN/WALK (updated May 18h)

The Jamaican Me Crazy 5K Run/Walk, organized by The Church at Osage Hills to support a youth missionary trip this summer, was held last Saturday (May 12th) at the Linn Creek City Park.  The event had a big turnout, with 154 participants.

Finish times aren't available, but Jeremy Glassmaker was known to be the first to cross the finish line, in 18:43.

Congratulations to Alice Staats of Springfield, Illinois, who won her age group in 29:38.  That gave Alice some pretty rare bragging rights--three age-group wins at Lake-area 5Ks over three consecutive weekends.  Alice's husband, Keith Staat, won the male 50+ age group in 25:13.  That comes two weeks after Keith finished second to Rodney Wright at the Lake Regional 5K. 

TA-TA TROT 5K RUN/WALK (updated May 13th)

(Click to view a larger image.)

The biggest 5K event in Lake-area history was also among the best ever.  If you weren't there, you really missed out on a wonderful, inspiring and fun event.  The event was yesterday's (May 12th) Ta-Ta Trot 5K Run/Walk, which was held in memory of the late Eldon Middle School English teacher, Betty White.  Proceeds from the event will benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

As mentioned above, this was by far the biggest 5K we've ever had in the Lake area.  An astounding total of 277 participants registered for the event.  That's 32 more than the previous record holder (Jax Attack 5K in November 2010), and about four or five times the typical number for a local 5K.  All of the credit goes to the We Bleed Pink team of Jayna Gray, Kari Salsman, Holly Thomas (a cancer survivor herself) and Jennifer Wrye.  They did an incredible job of organizing the event and recruiting participants.  Together, they will also be participating in Komen's 3-Day event--a 60-mile walk over three days--in Dallas/Fort Worth on November 2-4, 2012.

(Click to view a larger image.)
The "We Bleed Pink" Team
Pictured (left to right):  Kari Salsman, Jennifer Wrye, Holly Thomas and Jayna Gray 

The overall male and female winners were Jason Drake and Stacy Turner in 19:09 and 22:46, respectively.

(Click to view a larger image.)
The Fast People
Pictured (left to right):  Nigher Alfaro (second place, male 40-49), Rodney Wright (first place, male 50-59, in a 5K personal best of 20:49) and Stacy Turner (overall female winner)

An abbreviated set of results, showing just the top three finishers in each age group, can be found here.  I will post the complete results as soon as they're available.

A page of photos taken at the event can be found here.

As a personal postscript, I first contacted Jayna Gray back in mid March after seeing the Ta-Ta Trot listed on the Jefferson City Road Runners race calendar.  I offered to post it on this website as well, and she immediately accepted.  To be honest, though, I was worried that, with another Lake-area 5K scheduled for that same day, Jayna, Holly, Jennifer and Kari might not be able to able to attract many participants to their first-time event, and end up disappointed with the amount of money raised.  Boy, was I dead wrong!  (And glad to be, as well.)  I was literally shocked when I read an e-mail from Jayna a week ago saying that they already had 210 people pre-registered.  And with the final total of 277 participants, this event will probably stand as the largest Lake-area 5K event for years to come.

However, it wasn't the record number of participants that made this event special. This was an inspiring event, made all the more evident by the release of hundreds of pink balloons in memory of Betty White, and in support of all those diagnosed with breast cancer.  Unlike the racing at most 5K events, the racing at this event clearly took a back seat to the seriousness of the cause, and rightly so.

The balloon release.

Congratulations, and thank you, Jayna, Holly, Kari and Jennifer, and good luck to all of you in Dallas. Betty would be so proud of you!

TRIZOU TRIATHLON (posted May 6th)

Congratulations to our Lake-area athletes who participated in today's (May 6th) TriZou Triathlon in Columbia. The triathlon included a 400-meter pool swim, a 14-mile bike, and a 3-mile run.

Splits and results for Trever Griswold, from Eldon:

      Swim:        8:09  (1:51/100 meters)
      T1:             3:33
      Bike:     1:09:16 (12.1 mph)
      T2:             2:24
      Run:         21:24 (7:08/mile)
      Finish:   1:44:43
      Place:         25th (of 29) in male 20-24

Splits and results for Team Osage Beach:
      Swim:        8:14  (1:53/100 meters)
      T1:             2:00
      Bike:        57:26 (14.6 mph)
      T2:             1:12
      Run:         19:54 (6:38/mile)
      Finish:   1:28:43
      Place:         3rd (of 11) teams

Does anybody know who "Team Osage Beach" consisted of? The official results didn't list individual team members, and I'd like to recognize them--especially their runner.

WARRIOR DASH (updated May 6th)

A whopping 9,535 mud-loving athletes competed on Saturday and Sunday (May 5-6th at the Warrior Dash in Kansas City.  The event consisted of a 3.1-mile run through twelve obstacles and lots of mud.  

The results didn't identify the cities of those participating, so I couldn't tell who from the Lake area joined in the fun.  If you were among them, please let me know.  (I believe we had a few who are members of Anytime Fitness in Osage Beach.) 

If you missed out on the Kansas City event, another Warrior Dash is scheduled for September 29th in Old Monroe, Missouri, about 10 miles north of Wentzville and O'Fallon, or about 25 miles northwest of St. Louis.

If you're looking for something closer to home, check out the EPIC Mud Run coming up in Columbia on September 1st.

CAPITAL CITY ADVENTURE RACE posted May 6th)

The Capital City Adventure Race scheduled for this past Saturday (May 5th) in Jefferson City was cancelled due to a low number of registrations. The race had been held for a few years, but this year's cancellation doesn't bode well for its return in the future.  I don't know if it was a reflection on just that race, or if interest in adventure racing may be waning after years of growth.

RELAY FOR LIFE FLASHLIGHT 5K RUN & 1-MILE WALK (updated May 6th)

The Relay for Life Flashlight 5K Run and 1-Mile Walk, benefiting the Relay for Life of Camden County, was held last night (May 5th) in Linn Creek.

      
The finish chute was lined with luminaries, each bearing the name of a cancer victim. (Click to view a larger image.)

A rough guess of 60-70 runners and walkers turned out for the event, on a warm (81°) and humid evening.

(Click to view a larger image.)

The overall male winner was NIgher Alfaro (21:01), who won his second local 5K of the year following last week's victory at Lake Regional's 5K at Tan-Tar-A. For the women, the overall winner was Camdenton High School's outstanding freshman cross-country runner, Faith Scheidemantle, who crossed the finish line in 22:37.  The first male and female walkers to finish were Rob Gent and Janice Steinmetz.

   
Overall winners Nigher Alfaro and Faith Scheidemantle.
(Click to view a larger image.)

Here's the full list of winners:

Congratulations to Alice Staats, from Springfield, Illinois, for winning her age group for the second Lake-area 5K in a row, after last week's win at Tan-Tar-A.

Here are a couple more photos. I regret not getting one of Dawn Standley, who dressed up for the event as a lava lamp and would clearly have won the best costume award, if one had been given.

   
Another starting line photo, and the nice goody bag and contents.
(Click to view a larger image.)

Finally, thanks go to Nikki Brauer and Natalie Pasley and all of the volunteers for putting on a wonderful event, for a very worthy cause. Everyone had a great time (despite our groans about the humidity), and hopefully the event far exceeded its fund-raising goal.

If you would like the original, uncropped, unedited version of any of the above photos, please let me know.

FRISCO RAILROAD RUN (updated April 29th)

Congratulations to our thirteen Lake-area runners who went down to Willard, Missouri, on Saturday (April 28th) to compete in the Frisco Railroad Run.  The course was on the Frisco Highline Trail--a flat, mostly hard-packed gravel trail created from the abandoned Frisco Railroad line. It was a warm and humid day, though that didn't stop some of our runners from doing particularly well.  Some of the highlights:

• Stacy Turner ran the marathon in 4:17:07, placing 6th (of 17) in her age group.
• Andy Goessmann turned in the fastest time among Lake-area runners in the half marathon, finishing in 1:38:34, placing him 5th (of 19) in his age group, and 14th overall among all 247 half marathon finishers.  Even more impressive is that that comes just two weeks after Andy finished the GO! St. Louis Marathon in 4:29:14.
• The phenomenal 58 year-old Jim McDermott of Camdenton finished the half in 1:48:27, placing him 2nd (of 15) in his age group.  That was even faster than Jim's 1:50:55 finish at the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon.  (Has anybody around here ever heard of the term "recovery period"?  Anybody?  Bueller?)
• Andrea Anderson placed 3rd (of 30) in her age group with a 2:02:37 finish in the half.
• Scott Page and Rob Kucsik ran the half marathon together, and set personal bests of 1:55:22, placing them in the top ten (of 33) in their age group. 

TROLLEY RUN (posted April 29th)

The 24th Annual Trolley Run was held today (April 29th) in Kansas City.  This four-mile run, benefiting the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired, attracted a big field of nearly 6,000 participants.  It apparently attracted some top-notch runners as well. Today's winner, Emmanuel Bor, finished in 18:48--an astonishing pace of 4:42 per mile.  In an amazingly close finish, though, the next three runners all finished in 18:49, just one second behind the winner.

A little further behind the leaders came the Gillen clan--Denny, his son Tim, his granddaughter Grace, and his grandson Josh. Here's a great photo of Denny and the grandkids, and the Gillen family's results.  Congratulations to all the Gillens!

(click to view larger image)

5TH ANNUAL LAKE REGIONAL FUN RUN/WALK (updated April 29th)

Move over, Polar Bear Strut and Great Bagnell Dam Duck Drop. We have a new local 5K course that all agree is more challenging: Tan-Tar-A. The 5th Annual Lake Regional Fun Run/Walk, benefiting its Cardiopulmonary Rehab Department, was held today, Saturday, April 28th at Tan-Tar-A.

The course started near Tan-Tar-A's main lobby, and wound its way through Tan-Tar-A Estates. The course was nothing but hills.  The first quarter-mile was all downhill, but then the fun and pain began.  An unrelenting climb for most of the next 0.75 miles, before an undulating series of hills to the turnaround.  The return trip was mostly downhill, until the final quarter-mile to the finish line.  One thing is for certain: No personal best will ever be recorded on this course. 

The overall male and female winners were Nigher Alfaro and Laura Davis in 22:13 and 27:16, respectively.

 
Overall winners Nigher Alfaro and Laura Davis.
(click to view larger images)

Full results, by both finish order and age-group finish, are available here.

Photos are available here.

Just how tough was this course?  Just compare the finish times for Nigher Alfaro and Rodney Wright today with their finishes on a relatively flat course at last month's St. Patrick's Day 5K in Eldon:

It was really great to see the large group from Anytime Fitness participating in the event. Lisa Morgan, who owns Anytime Fitness on Highway 42 in Osage Beach, brought along about 15-20 of her members, all of whom were wearing blue t-shirts with the club's name emblazoned on them. It's always refreshing to see new faces join us.  I hope they'll join us at future events as well.

Finally, a huge thanks goes to all the employees and volunteers at Lake Regional, especially Terri Hall and Jennifer Bethurem--who helped put on this event. They did a great job, and gave us a beautiful, challenging course on which to race.  Thanks also to the sponsors who helped make the event possible.

KANSAS HALF MARATHON (posted April 24th)

Congratulations to our three local finishers of last Sunday's (April 22nd) Kansas Half Marathon in Lawrence, Kansas.  Todd Raney of Camdenton finished in 1:54:54, nicely beating the 1:59:02 in his first half marathon at last October's Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis race.  Running in their second half marathon in consecutive weekends, Jeff Quillen of Sunrise Beach and Bradley Hinkle of Lake Ozark both knocked a few minutes off their finish times from the Rock the Parkway half marathon on April 14th.  Complete results can be found here. 

VOLUNTEERS AVAILABLE FOR LAKE-AREA SPORTING EVENTS (posted April 11th)

MUNCHKIN MARATHON, WICKEDLY FAST HALF AND DOROTHY DASH 5K (posted April 22nd)

The Wizard of Oz themed Munchkin Marathon, Wickedly Fast Half and Dorothy Dash 5K were held yesterday (April 2st) in Olathe, Kansas.  I didn't see any Lake-area runners in the results.  Please let me know if I missed anyone.

BIKE MS (posted April 22nd)

The Gateway Chapter of the National MS Society will be sponsoring kickoff bicycle rides in St. Louis and Columbia next weekend to give cyclists a feel for the full Bike MS event coming up on September 8-9th.  The ride in Columbia is on Sunday, April 29th.  The ride is 25 miles long, and costs just $10 if you pre-register (or $15 on the day of the ride).

ST. PATRICK'S DAY 5K RUN/WALK (posted April 21st)

The results from Eldon's St. Patrick's Day 5K Run/Walk on March 17th were posted this past week.  The results only include the top three finishers in each division. Click here to view them.

THE HOGEYE MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (posted April 20th)

Congratulations to our two Lake-area runners who traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for last Sunday's (April 15th) Hogeye Half Marathon.  Alysia Maschino of Linn Creek did extremely well, finishing 4th (of 56) in the female 35-39 age group, in a time of 1:56:22 (9:07/mile pace).  This was only the second half marathon for Alysia, and she set a new half marathon personal best, knocking seven minutes off her 2:03:12 finish at last October's Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half.  Beth Coulter of Camdenton also ran well in her second half marathon, finishing in 2:11:21 (10:27 pace), placing her 17th (of 53) in the female 30-34 age group.  

ROCK THE PARKWAY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 20th)

Six Lake-area residents traveled to Kansas City last weekend for Saturday's (April 14th) third annual Rock the Parkway Half Marathon and 5K.  This was a pretty large event, with nearly 7,500 total participants.

Regina Bell of Lake Ozark was our fastest local finisher, in a time of 1:47:46, placing her 28th (of 561) in the competitive female 30-34 age group.  Melissa Albertson of Eldon and Dominic Butel of Lake Ozark also did well in their respective age groups. 

GO! ST. LOUIS MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & MARATHON RELAY (updated April 21st)

Congratulations to all the Lake-area runners who finished the GO! St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon last Sunday (April 15th). (The Mature Mile and 5K events scheduled for Saturday were cancelled due to heavy rain and thunderstorms.)

2012 GO! St. Louis finishers medals

We had a total of 37 solo runners (6 marathoners and 31 half marathoners) and one four-person female relay team compete, setting a new record--by a wide margin--for Lake-area participation at an out-of-town event.

Notable performances include Kristen Glassmaker's 1:41:38 finish (the fastest finish of all Lake-area runners) in the half marathon, placing her 11th (of 809) in the female 20-24 age group.  Kristen is a School of the Osage teacher recently featured in The Lake Today (sorry, I can't find the article online).  Jim McDermott, the 58 year-old phenom from Camdenton, finished the half in 1:50:55, placing him 20th (of 158) in his age group.  A big "attagirl" goes to Dawn Standley, who after years of doing the GO! St. Louis half marathon, finally stepped up to run her first full marathon, leaving her daughter, Cat (a multi-year half finisher), behind at the half marathon turnaround.

There were a total of 1,671 marathon and 8,376 half marathon solo finishers at this year's event.  Those numbers are down significantly from last year, when 1,914 marathoners and 11,547 half marathoners crossed the line.  Competition from Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis is a likely explanation.

The funniest spectator sign that I can recall: "Run Like U Gotta Poop". 

Some of the marathon relay team names were clever or amusing:

Male teams:

THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEER PONG TOURNAMENT
SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME

Female teams:

SEXY AND WE KNOW IT
SOLE SISTERS
4 RUNNERS, 26.2 MILES, REASON? BEER AT THE FINISH!
BABY GOT BACK
GIRLS RUN WILD
WILL RUN FOR VINO
MOMS THAT RUN
RUNNING MAKES US HOT
THONG DISTANCE RUNNERS
COUGARS
HOT MOMS
HOTTER MOMS
WICKED WOMEN OF WILDWOOD
ARE WE THERE YET?!?
SISTAS WITH BLISTAS
MARATHONIN' MIDDLE SCHOOL MAMA'S
CALL ME A CAB
NURSES RUNNING WILD
8 CHEEKS TO THE WIND
WORST PACE SCENARIO
THE FAST GIRLS YOU WANT
WILL RUN FOR BEER

Co-ed teams:

3 SISTAS AND A MISTA
WHO INVITED THE GUY?
THREE GIRLS AND THIS GUY
SCRAMBLED LEGS AND ACHIN'
1 MICK, 2 DEGOS, AND A POLLOCK
DRINKING TEAM (WITH A RUNNING PROBLEM)
I'M HERE FOR THE SHIRT!
WILL RUN FOR CUPCAKES
WE GOT THE RUNS
SALTY NUTS AND KNOCKERS

One interesting item to point out is that Sunny Gilbert, who, along with teammate Emily Korsch, was one of the top finishers at this year's Bonk Hard Chill, was the second-fastest female finisher at the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon, in a blistering 1:24:24.

If you'd like to see some of the local St. Louis TV coverage of the event, here are some video links:

KSDK:

GO! St. Louis Marathon attracts thousands

Jackie Pirtle-Hall, winner of the Go! St. Louis Marathon, joins First @ 4

KTVI:

GO! St. Louis Marathon

5K RUN/WALK INTO AWARENESS (updated April 20th)

The traditional Dogwood Festival 5K, which has benefited the Camden County Child Advocacy Council the past few years, is being supplanted this year by the Council's 5K Run/Walk Into Awareness.  The date will be the same--Saturday, April 21st--but it will be an evening event instead of an early-morning one, and will be at a new location.  The run/walk will start at 7:30 p.m. at Bob Shore Stadium in Camdenton. (Click here for a map.)  Registration on the day of the event opens at 6:45 p.m.

For those competing in the timed run event, the cost is $20. The cost to participate in the (untimed) fun walk is $3.00 per person, or $10 per family.

Click here for a downloadable registration form with all the details.

RUNNING RIVER TRAIL 5K (posted March 31st)

Looking for a 5K in a different place, or even off-road? The 4th Annual Running River Trail 5K at Pomme De Terre Lake is coming up on Saturday, April 21st. The event is organized by the Hermitage Lions Club and the Hickory County Community Improvement Coalition. The course is on the "finely rocked" Running River Trail, which starts out flat along the river, then continues through the hilly forest.  Click for more information and an entry form in .docx or .pdf format.

Directions are pretty easy: Take Highway 54 west to Hermitage (35 miles from Camdenton), turn south onto Route 254 for about 2.5 miles, then continue on 254 as it turns west toward Pomme de Terre Dam.  The event begins at Outlet Park, just below the Dam.  (Google Maps shows the park clearly if you search for "Pomme de Terre Dam".)

RUN FOR THE BEACH 5K & 1K RUN/WALK (updated April 20th)

The Kiwanis Club of Ozark Coast has just announced that its seventh annual Run for the Beach 5K/1K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, April 14th, at Mills Elementary School on Bagnell Dam Blvd. in Lake Ozark.  The 5K starts at 9:00 a.m; the 1K at 9:30 a.m.  The cost is to enter is $20. (No cost for children 12 and under.) 

Click here for a registration form and further details.

ADVANCED RADIOLOGY MAXTRAX DUATHLON (posted April 8th)

Denny leads a pack of competitors heading into T-1.
(Photo by Stella Gillen)

Congratulations to Denny Gillen, who braved the chilly weather and put together an outstanding race to win his male 60-64 age group at Saturday's (April 7th) Advanced Radiology MaxTrax Duathlon in Columbia. Here are Denny's splits in the long course race (1.5-mile run, 15-mile bike, 3-mile run):

Run:  10:24 (6:56/mile pace)
T-1:     1:51
Bike:  47:25 (19.0 mph)
T-2:      1:00
Run:   23:37 (7:53/mile)
Finish:  1:24:17

Check out Denny's blog for more race details.  

HIGHLINE RUN FOR SCOUTING HALF MARATHON (posted April 3rd)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott of Camdenton who finished Saturday's (March 31st) Highline Run for Scouting Half Marathon in an outstanding 1:44:36 (8:00/mile pace). (Those of you young'uns may not be too impressed by a 1:44 half marathon, but that's a pretty impressive race for someone in the 50-59 age group.) His finish time placed Jim 11th (of 28) in his age group, indicating that there were quite a few elite runners ahead of him.

Here's a link to the full results.

SEDALIA HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated April 4th)

Congratulations to five of our local runners, all of whom did well at last Saturday's (March 31st) Sedalia Half Marathon and 5K.

The full results can be found here.

The results didn't show what cities the participants were from, so I'm reporting only on those names familiar to me.  If I missed anyone else from the Lake area, please let me know.

SECOND CHANCE BIKES (posted March 25th)

The Lake Sun published a front-page article in its weekend edition (March 23-24) reporting on the effort to supply bicycles to kids who lost everything in last year's tornado in Joplin. Linn Creek police chief and über athlete Trevor Dowdney has been working with Advantage Metals and Faithbridge Church to collect used bicycles for distribution. On April 2nd, Trevor will be taking the bikes collected so far. If you have a used bicycle that you'd like to donate, please click here to find the drop-off locations.

PHILIP J. SVITAK FREEDOM RIDE (posted March 25th)

The 11th annual Philip J. Svitak Freedom Ride is scheduled for Saturday, August 18th, in Joplin. This is a supported bicycle ride with 10-, 25-, and 64-mile options.  The event is a tribute to Philip Svitak, an avid cyclist from Joplin who was killed March 4, 2002, along with seven other American servicemen in Afghanistan.  A portion of the proceeds go to the Svitak Memorial Bike Fund to purchase bicycles for children of military families at Christmas.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated March 18th)

The City of Eldon had a great turnout for Saturday's (March 17th) St. Patrick's Day 5K Run/Walk.  At least 100 runners and walkers (a best-guess would be 125) showed up to participate, and the weather was ideal.  The four-leaf clovers on the race t-shirts brought all of us good luck, as the approaching storm held off until the event was over and everyone was well on their way home.  A big "thanks" goes to Parks & Recreation Director Keith Walk and all the volunteers who put on another wonderful event.  Eldon's 5K course, which has only gradual hills and runs mostly through the city's tree-lined residential streets, is one of the most enjoyable in the Lake area.

The overall male winner was Casey O'Connor, who finished in a blistering 17:16.  While there are no record books to confirm this, there's a very good chance that Casey's was the fastest 5K ever run at a Lake-area event.

Casey O'Conner, overall male winner
(click on photo for larger image)

The overall female winner was Jill Durnin, who finished in 20:33.  (Jill had to leave early, so I was unable to get a photo.)

Some notable age-group wins:

Male 30-39:  Nigher Alfaro (19:50)
Male 50-59:  Gary Lile (19:32)

Full results are usually posted within a few days of the event.  I'll post the link as soon as they're available.

Here are a few more photos.  Click on a photo to view a larger size image, or to view a slideshow of all the photos.  (If you would like a copy of a photo in its original, unedited form, please contact me.)

     
     

SEDALIA HALF MARATHON, JOPLIN MEMORIAL RUN, AND HIGHLINE RUN FOR SCOUTING (updated March 18th)

Since we have a large number of Lake-area runners who are interested in half marathons, I wanted to pass along news about a few events that only recently came to my attention.

The Sedalia Half Marathon & 5K is coming up on Saturday, March 31st. Click here for the race flyer and registration form, or here to register at Active.com. The early entry deadline, which will save you $10 off the $30 half marathon fee, is March 15th. (It would be a good warm-up or readiness test for anyone doing the GO! St. Louis Marathon or Half Marathon two weeks later.)

Also on Saturday, March 31st, is the Highline Run for Scouting Half Marathon, 5K and 1K in Springfield.  The event benefits the Boy Scouts.  The course is a flat, paved section of the Frisco High Line converted rail line.

Finally, a brand new event, the Joplin Memorial Run, will include a half marathon, 5K and a kids' race.  It's on Saturday, May 19th--just days shy of the one-year anniversary of the devastating tornado that took 161 lives.  If you've been wanting to see the aftermath of that tornado, this would be a good excuse to do so.  Here are some photos taken last September, after most of the debris had been cleared.

MY SHAMROX 15K (posted March 18th)

Congratulations to two locals who did well at Saturday's (March 17th) My ShamRox 15K (9.3-mile) race in Springfield.

Angela Martin of Osage Beach finished in 1:20:26 (8:39/mile pace), placing her third (of 11) in the female 40-44 age group.

Tammara Vitelli of Camdenton finished in 1:31:31 (9:51 pace), placing 16th (of 30) in the female 35-39 age group.

COLUMBIA SC MARATHON (updated March 11th)

Congratulations to both Denny Gillen and his son, Kevin, who finished yesterday's (March 10th) Columbia SC Marathon in Columbia, South Carolina. This was Kevin's first marathon, and he finished it alongside his dad in a time of 4:24:28.  It has to be exceptionally rare for a parent and child to finish a marathon together in a time like that.

Click here to read Denny's race report.

Here are some great finish line and post-race photos that Denny passed along.  Click on a photo to view a larger size image.

An interesting note about the marathon is that the overall female winner, Amy McDonaugh, is legally blind, with only poor sight from one eye.  She was accompanied by a guide, and won in 3:04:17, despite taking a wrong turn on the second lap that added a few extra city blocks to the distance she ran.

POLAR BEAR STRUT 5K RUN/WALK (updated Feburary 26th)

A chilly (34°) temperature and a beautiful, sunny sky greeted 143 runners and walkers who participated in yesterday's (2/25) eleventh annual Polar Bear Strut 5K Run/Walk, benefiting Special Olympics Missouri.  A total of $11,322 was raised by the event.  A huge thanks goes out to Pete Leyva, the Special Olympics staff and all the volunteers (particularly Gary Thompson, who handled the race-timing responsibilities) who made this a wonderful, well-organized event.   Everyone had a great time (despite the many grimaced looks on runners climbing the never-ending hills).

Click on a photo below to view a larger size image, or to play a slideshow of all the photos.  (If you would like a copy of the original, unedited version of any photo below, please let me know). 

Listed below are the winners of the various age groups and divisions.  Click for the complete overall results or age-group results.

THE BONK HARD CHILL (updated February 20th)

The Bonk Hard Chill results have been posted. Click here to find the results page.  Here are the results of our local teams:

Oz Cycles and Kayaks, consisting of Dan Dougan, Jim Jackson, Tyler Cordia and Josh Schrock, finished first among the eight teams competing in the four-person open division, and ninth among all 43 teams competing.  (If I'm not mistaken, this may be the first time a local team has ever won their division in the seven-year history of the race.)  They cut it pretty close, finishing just nine minutes ahead of the second place team after eleven hours of racing.  Congratulations, guys!

Oz Bisecules, consisting of Chris Orr and Dave Goldberg, finished 13th (of 22 teams) in the two-person male division, and 30th overall.  They managed to find 31 of 37 checkpoints.

Finally, The Slackers, consisting of Tony and Renee´ Slack of Lake Ozark competing in their first Bonk Hard Chill, failed to finish after 7-1/2 hours of racing.

There were several other noteworthy items to report: 

The Stinging Nettles won the two-person male division, with an hour to spare over their nearest competitors.  (They also finished second overall, 23 minutes behind the Alpine Shop team, which has finished first or second in their division--as well as overall--at almost every Bonk Hard Chill race in the past.)  The team included Jason Elsenraat, who founded The Bonk Hard Chill back in 2006 and who sold the Bonk Hard Racing series last year to Gary and Ellen Thompson of Osage Beach. (Check out the recent article about The Bonk Hard Chill and Gary and Ellen Thompson that appeared on LakeExpo.com.)

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the day came from WHOA!, the only two-person female team in the race.  (Two-person female teams have been very rare in Bonk Hard Chill history.)  Team members Emily Korsch, who raced with Gary Thompson to a strong finish a few years ago, and Sunny Gilbert, who was a nationally-ranked triathlete in the mid 2000s, finished fourth overall.

Attention adventure racing enthusiasts: The fourth annual Capital City Adventure Race in Jefferson City is scheduled for Saturday, May 5th.  Click here for more information.  Please note that the registration deadline is April 13th.

FROZE TOES BICYCLE RACE (posted February 21st)

The 22nd annual Froze Toes road race, put on by the Columbia Bicycle Club, will be held on Sunday, February 26th, near Columbia. Racing starts at 9:00 a.m., with race-day registration opening at 7:30 a.m.  The course is very flat, and everyone other than the top pros will race 31 miles. The entry fee is just $25. Click here to download the flyer.

(I didn't see anyone from the Lake area in the results.)

SHOW-ME 100 BIKE RIDE (posted February 15th)

As reported last month, the Missouri Bicycle Federation's annual bike ride in October was moved to late August for 2012. If the new date doesn't fit your schedule, or if you're looking for a ride in cooler weather, there's another ride that might be of interest. The second annual Show-Me 100 Bike Ride on Saturday, September 29th, benefits the Ronald McDonald House of Mid Missouri. Besides the 100-mile ride, there are 62- and 31-mile options. All begin and end in Columbia. To join the ride, there's a $25 registration fee and a commitment to raise $200.

2 DAM DAYS PADDLE EVENTS (posted February 15th)

The schedule for this year's 2 Dam Days paddle events has been posted on their newly-remodeled website. The two-day, 89-mile "main event" and 54-mile "adventure" paddling races will be held on Saturday-Sunday, September 29-30th. The two Just4Fun races of 12.5 and 3.5 miles will be held on Saturday. Registration is open.

CHICAGO MARATHON (posted February 12th)

If you were hoping to run in the 2012 Chicago Marathon, scheduled for October 7th, but haven't yet registered, it's too late.  All 45,000 slots were sold out within six days of registration opening on February 1st.

RUN FOR THE CHOCOLATE (posted January 25th)

If the Krispy Kreme Challenge isn't decadent enough for you, perhaps the inaugural Run for the Chocolate 5K run and one-mile walk in downtown St. Louis will fill the bill.  It's scheduled for February 12th, just in time for Valentine's Day. 

Race participants will be categorized by age and relationship status, so during registration, participants will be asked to specify one of the following categories:

• Bachelor
• Bachelorette
• Off the Market Men
• Off the Market Women
• Cougar Women 40+
• Serial Dater Men 40+ (Manther)

Winners of the bachelor and bachelorette age groups will win a blind ice cream date at Crown Candy Kitchen (a St. Louis paradise for anyone who loves ice cream) or participating restaurant with their opposite gender age group winner.

Of course, the finishers medals will be edible.

BIKEMO 2012 (posted January 25th)

Major changes to the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation's annual BikeMO event are being made for 2012.  First, the event is moving to August 25th, instead of its usual scheduling for mid October when the weather is less predictable.  Second, the event will start and end in Columbia, not Holts Summit.  Rides of varying lengths will still be offered, as well as a route on the Katy Trail. 

MIDWEST BICYCLE EXPO & SWAP MEET (posted January 23rd)

This may be of interest to any visitors looking to buy or sell bikes or bike parts.  Click here for more information.  (Collinsville is an easy drive from St. Louis.)

NEWLY-ADDED TRIATHLONS/DUATHLONS (posted January 1st)

I've learned of a few triathlons/duathlons that may be of interest to Lake-area athletes.  None of the events are new.  They're small and not well known, but they're close enough to the Lake area to perhaps justify the travel time for the distances offered.

The Summer Roundup Triathlon in Joplin is scheduled for Sunday, June 24th.  (The Big Time Youth Triathlon will be held the day before.)  Two distances are offered: sprint (500-meter swim, 15.3-mile bike and 5K run) and Olympic (1500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run).  The swim is an open-water swim in Scroggs Lake.  (The youth triathlon, though, features a pool swim.)  The adult event is USA Triathlon sanctioned.

Not much information is currently available on three other events, the Sedalia Spring Into Summer Duathlon (short and long courses), the Sedalia Duathlon held in September, and the Fulton Triathlon (200-meter pool swim, 10K bike and 2-mile run). In 2011, these events were held on June 4th, September 25th, and July 9th, respectively.  I'll try to find out more about these events as they draw near.

ATHLINKS.COM (posted January 1st)

Athlinks.com maintains a huge database of past race results that you can search by simply typing in your name, or the name of any other athlete.  It includes most endurance events of a half marathon or half Ironman or longer, and it's relatively complete and accurate.

Besides the race results, athlinks.com is a social network, allowing athletes to join the website and connect with one another.  They currently have 213,000 members.

(Thanks go to Denny Gillen for reminding me of the website.)