2013 YEAR-END REVIEW

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Here are some interesting 2013 statistics for Lake-area runners.  I'm quite confident that all of these are new records. Compared to the totals five or ten years ago, they're simply astounding.

We had two runners, Scott Page and Todd Raney, complete a 51.5-mile ultramarathon.

We had 23 runners (13 women and 10 men) finish a combined total of 46 marathons. Just three runners (Todd Raney, Tammara Vitelli and Angela Martin) accounted for 14 of those 46.

We had 111 runners (78 women and 33 men) finish a combined total of 168 half marathons.

It's going to be very interesting to see how 2014 totals will compare. These 2013 numbers are going to be hard to beat.

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THE NAVY SEAL PHYSICAL FITNESS GUIDE (posted January 1, 2014)

Navy SEALs aren't the fastest or strongest athletes on the planet, but they are definitely among the fittest. Click on the above image to download their fitness guide. Some of the information in it is pretty basic, some isn't relevant to non-soldiers, and some may not be of interest to you, but it's worth a look.  You're almost certain to learn something new in its 282 pages.

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"THE MARATHON COUPLE" (posted January 1, 2014)

If you think "Marathon Man" Trent Morrow's feat of running 161 marathons in 2013 is impressive, how about the Australian couple that ran a marathon a day--EVERY DAY--in 2013. After finishing their 365th marathon on December 31st, then ran a 366th to get to their home in Melbourne. Oh, and by the way, the couple are both well into their 60s. Here's the article.  (Their nutrition strategy alone is worth the read.  Also, take note of their footwear.  The husband appears to be wearing Vibram FiveFingers.) 

Trent Morrow's record isn't affected since he met the Guinness requirement of running on certified courses and with a minimum number of other runners.

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"MARATHON MAN" TRENT MORROW (updated December 31st)

On the very last day of 2013, "Marathon Man" Trent Morrow (Facebook page) completed his successful, year-long quest to set the world record for the number of marathon finishes in a single year.  He finished his 161st marathon of the year in Florida.  Simply amazing!

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RUN FOR THE RANCH MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated December 28th)

Congratulations to the Lake area's Tammara Vitelli, Andy Goessmann and Scott Page, and our frequent Lake-area visitor Lawson Barclay, for oustanding results at the Run for the Ranch Marathon & Half Marathon (Facebook page) on Saturday (December 18th) in Springfield.

Tammara Vitelli ran the fastest marathon of any Lake-area female in 2013, finishing in 4:08:18.  That placed Tammara third (of 17) in the female 30-39 age group.

Andy Goessmann finished the half marathon in 1:31:59, placing second (of 13) in the male 20-29 age group.   Andy, who has the fastest full marathon finish of any Lake-area runner in 2013, came within five second of also running the fastest half marathon. (Nigher Alfaro will end the year with the fastest half--a 1:31:55 finish at Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis.)

Scott Page finished the half marathon in 1:45:55, placing sixth (of 26) in the male 40-49 age group. That made it Scott's fastest half marathon in 2013, but, if I'm not mistaken, also a new personal best in that distance.

Lawson Barclay, who lives in Macomb, Illinois, but often visits the Lake and runs in our local events, finished the half marathon in 2:23:19, placed eighth (of 15) in the male 60-69 age group.

The full results can be found here.

Based on the number of finishers, participation was down nearly 20% for the event this year compared to last, despite the mild weather.

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OPERATION JACK KC RUN/WALK IN THE SNOW (updated December 28th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for finishing the marathon on Saturday (December 28th) at the second annual Operation Jack KC Run/Walk in the Snow Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K (Facebook page) in the Kansas City suburb of Shawnee, Kansas. Todd finished in 4:08:58. Full results can be found here.

Operation Jack KC was one of three Operation Jack satellite races being held around the country on Saturday.  (The main race is being held in Los Angeles on December 26th.) The Kansas City race was small, with just nine solo marathon runners. The half marathon and 5K had 40 and 37 finishers, respectively.

Operation Jack was started in 2010 when the father of a child with autism ran at least one marathon a week to help raise funds and awareness for autism charities.  Proceeds from the Kansas City race will be split between Operation Jack and the Autism Society's local branch.  

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THE STOCKTON LAKE TRI WILD-LIFE CHALLENGE (posted December 23rd)

A brand-new triathlon is coming this summer to Stockton Lake, which is located about 85 miles west of Camdenton.

The Stockton Lake Tri Wild-Life Challenge (Facebook page) will be held on Sunday, August 3rd.   The triathlon will include short (500-meter swim, 10.4-mile bike and 5K run) and long (1000-meter swim, 20.8-mile bike and 10K run) courses.  (The course maps are available here.)  Team options are available for both distances.

Since the entire event is being held on Army Corps of Engineers park land, there will be minimal traffic on the bike course.  The run course is mostly on trails in the park.

The registration page can be found here.

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FIRST DAY HIKES (posted December 23rd)

There are no Lake-area 5Ks on New Year's Day, but if you stil have a desire to get outside and start off the year with some exercise, you now have a local opportunity.   As part of the national First Day Hikes event, Missouri is organizing short, guided hikes at 44 of the state's parks, including Lake of the Ozarks State Park and Ha Ha Tonka State Park, on New Year's Day.

The hike at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park begins at 10:00 a.m. at the entrance to the campground, which is located a couple miles past Lee C. Fine Airport, and just a little bit past the horse stables, on Route 134 (off of Highway 42). The hike will be on the 1.5-mile Lakeview Bend Trail.

The Ha Ha Tonka hike starts at the Colosseum Trail trailhead at 1:00 p.m.   The trail is one mile in length.

Click here for the complete list of First Day Hikes in Missouri's state parks.

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HALF & HALF / DOUBLE HALF MARATHON (updated December 17th)

Congratulations to the Lake area's Running Dynasty of Todd Raney, Scott Page and Rob Kucsik for finishing the marathon at Sunday's (December 15th) Half & Half / Double Half Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The race offers participants three options--a trail half marathon, a road half marathon, or a full marathon using the trail and road courses for the two half marathons. 

Todd finished in 4:56:31, placing fourth (of 23) in the male 40-44 age group.  Scott and Rob both finished in 5:10:48, tying for 8th in the same 40-44 age group. Full results can be found here.  

The air temperature was a chilly 29 at the 9:00 a.m. start, and rose steadily to a relatively tropical 56 by the time our locals finished.

You just gotta love the three folks who slowly but steadily finished the marathon in 9:53:22.  Whether running or walking, that would feel like an eternity under even the best of conditions.

Participation was almost the same as last year, with 337 finishers this year, versus 346 one year ago.

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ALTERNATE CHILI TEN-MILE TRAIL RUN (updated December 17th)

Congratulations to Trevor Dowdney on two counts.  First, for successfully lobbying the organizer of the Alternate Chili Ten-Mile Trail Run to allow him to enter the sold-out race, and second, for finishing the hilly race on a bitterly cold morning with wind chills in the mid teens.  (A few of the participants took nasty spills and suffered minor injuries).

Trevor finished in 1:35:35, placing second (of 27) in the male 40-49 age group.  One-year old "Winston" Schmitz won the canine division, finishing in 1:27:52.  Here he is at the one-mile mark, leading his mom, Amy Schmitz, the overall female winner.

Full results can be found here.

You can view race photos of Trevor here, here and here.  The entire gallery of race photos can be found here.

Alternate Chili is a warm-up to the larger and longer "Psycho WyCo" Run Toto Run 50K, 20-mile and 10-mile trail runs coming up on February 8th at the Wyandotte County Lake Park in Kansas City, Kansas.  The field is limited for each distance, but at this time registration is still open for all of them.  Miki Schroeder did the 10-miler at the 2013 race.

The Psycho Wyco is one of the few races offering a canine division.  In 2013, "Charlotte" was the top dog in the 50K, finishing in 5:02:53 and beating more than 90% of her human competitors.  Other winners included "Lucy" in the 20-miler in 6:18:14, and "Ivan" in the 10-miler in 1:51:58.

Note also that you can register to be a pacer on the final lap of the 50K if your running partner needs or wants one.

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KT82 (posted December 13th)

GO! St. Louis, the non-profit that organizes a number of large running events in the St. Louis area, including the GO! St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon, is introducing its first off-road race. The KT82 is an 82-mile team relay race (mostly) on the Katy Trail from St. Louis (starting at Creve Coeur Park) to Hermann on Saturday, August 30th. Teams can consist of three or six runners. The cost is $500 per team.

With the field limited to 200 teams, the event is virtually certain to sell out, so the organizers will be accepting entries into a lottery to determine which teams will be invited to participate. Registration for the lottery runs from February 3 to February 17, with the lottery winners determined immediately afterward.

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ELDON RECREATIONAL TRAIL (posted December 9th)

There's an excellent article in the December edition of the Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal (the article can be viewed online here) about the proposed recreational trail that would connect to Eldon.   If the trail ever becomes reality, it would be a great alternative to driving all the way to Jefferson City to ride the Katy Trail.   As with every public project, though, funding is and will continue to be the big issue.

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STATE SPENDING ON BICYCLING AND PEDESTRIAN PROJECTS (posted December 9th)

A major change in Missouri's transportation funding plans could mean big improvements for biking, hiking and walking in the state.   In the past, bicycling and walking received none of MoDOT's budget since the Missouri Constitution didn't permit transportation funds to be spent on biking and walking facilities. (The only monies spent on bicycling and walking facilities came from the federal government.)  

Last month, MoDOT proposed a 10-year, $8 billion Long-Range Transportation Plan that will go to the voters in November 2014. The plan embraces bicycling and walking as vital parts of the state's transportation system and, if approved, would allow MoDOT to fund projects to improve bicycling and walking.  This is big news for cyclists and trail users. 

The Missouri Foundation for Bicycling and Walking, better known as MoBikeFed, is giddy with excitement over the plan. You can read more about the plan and MoBikeFed's reaction here.

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ULTRAMAX SPORTS 2014 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (posted December 8th)

Ultramax Sports, Missouri's largest race organization, has posted their 2014 schedule of events.

Here are some notable changes from the 2013 schedule:

The Go Girl Run series of women-only half marathons and 5Ks has been spread out. In 2013, they were all held in May. For 2014, Springfield will be held in April, Columbia stays in May, and Kansas City moves to September.

The Bridge the Gap to Health Half Marathon, 10K & 5K in Quincy, Illinois, is a long established race, but Ultramax will be handling timing services and the race now appears on their schedule. The exact date hasn't been announced, but the 2013 race was held on Saturday, May 18th.

The St. Louis 5150 Triathlon, which replaced the Quartermax Triathlon when Ultramax was awarded a race in the Ironman 5150 series, is no longer a 5150 race, and reverts back to the Quartermax Triathlon. (The shorter Octomax Triathlon remains unchanged.)

Perhaps the biggest change is the addition/return of the TriSports.com Halfmax National Championship Triathlon, which will be held simultaneously with Quartermax and Octomax on June 28th.  This half-iron distance race has had a bumpy history.  It debuted at Innsbrook (25 miles west of St. Louis) in 2003 as the Halfmax Triathlon. When half-iron distance triathlons became popular in the mid 2000s, the race was changed to try to establish it as a national championship event, and was moved to Kansas City.  It failed to gain the national attention and participation that was hoped for after the move to Kansas City, and was then moved on an annual rotating basis among Boulder City (Nevada), Oklahoma City, and Myrtle Beach (South Carolina).  The last year for the race was 2012, when it attracted less than 200 participants and was held in Oklahoma City as part of the Redman Triathlon.  The race was considered defunct, as no announcement was ever made regarding a 2013 event.  In 2014, the race is being resurrected and returns to its Innsbrook origins, with "national championship" as part of its name.

Finally, the AdventureMax Team Triathlon has been dropped for 2014.   This would have been the race's fifth year.   The adventure race that had been held simultaneously with the triathlon was dropped in 2012.

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CASTLEWOOD 8-HOUR ADVENTURE RACE (updated December 9th)

They were registered to compete, but the "Two Hiking Hillbillies" team of Tony and Renee Slack apparently never made it to the starting line at Saturday's (December 7th) Castlewood 8-Hour Adventure Race at Castlewood State Park west of St. Louis. This would have been the second go-round for them, after having finished the race in 2012.

It's just a guess, but the winter storm is probably to blame for their no-show at the race.

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ST. JUDE MEMPHIS MARATHON  (posted December 2nd)

Friday, December 6th update:  The event has been cancelled as a result of the winter storm.  Here's the announcement.

We want to wish the best of luck to Sherrie Hamner of Camdenton as she heads to Memphis this weekend to run the St. Jude Memphis Marathon on Saturday (December 7th).  This will be Sherrie's third St. Jude Marathon, after having completed it in 2010 and 2012.  Like last year, Sherrie will be running with "TEAM LASH BRINK" teammate Shandi Brinkman of West Plains, Missouri.

Sherrie ran the White River Half Marathon in Cotter, Arkansas, on November 23rd and the Laker 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.

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MOTHER ROAD MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted December 3rd) 

The 2013 Mother Road Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K held this past October in Joplin was the last for that event. On Monday, the Joplin City Council voted not to continue the race, citing financial losses and declining participation. The details can be found in a Joplin Globe story. Reactions can be found at the event's Facebook page.

When you look at the number of finishers in the event's four-year history, it's not surprising that it's being cancelled.  Unless put on by a non-profit organization and in a non-urban location, a marathon with just 139 finishers isn't financially viable. 

Whatever the reason(s) for the Mother Road Marathon's declining participation (my guess is that some of Bass Pro's growth came at MRM's expense, and the massive 2011 tornado may have had an effect), declining numbers have hit many events this year, on top of drops in 2012.  Some declines (e.g. GO! St. Louis) have been rather dramatic.  

When you look at race participation numbers over the years, it's appears that the rapid growth of the 2000s stalled out in 2011 or 2012, and may now be in decline.  If so, don't be surprised to see more race cancellations or changes in the next year or two. 

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LAKER 5K TURKEY TROT (updated November 29th)

The starting line. (Click on photo for a larger image.)

Ninety-nine runners and walkers turned out on a beautiful sunny and cool Thanksgiving Day for the fourth annual Laker 5K Turkey Trot at Camdenton High School. The event was a benefit for local food pantries, and winning runners took home pies and frozen turkeys donated by the event's sponsors.

A huge thanks goes to Camdenton High School coach Dave Weber and his volunteers--especially Gary Thompson, who handled race timing duties--who gave up a part of their holiday to put on another great event for a very worthy cause, and to the sponsors who helped make the event a big success.

The overall winners were current Camdenton High School cross country runner J.J. Ryan and CHS graduate and former cross country runner Victoria Robinson.   J.J. finished in 17:29, and Victoria in 21:47.

   
Overall winners J.J. Ryan and Victoria Robinson.
(Click on photo for larger image.)

To view the full results, click on the links below:

    By order of finish and all age groups -- Excel (.xls) file
    By order of finish:  .pdf file or photo image
    By age group -- females:  .pdf file or photo image
    By age group -- males:  .pdf file or photo image

The highlight of the event may have been Pete Leyva's dominating victory over four competitors in the pie-eating contest. Pete consumed a slice of pumpkin pie in 7.9 seconds--a new record for the Laker 5K Turkey Trot. Click on the thumbnail below to watch a short video of history being made. (The video will take some time to load, so please be patient.  Using an Internet connection speed of 10 Mbps, it still took about three minutes to fully load and then start playing.  The file is about 20 MB in size.)

After all the recent discussion about Chad Stafko's opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, I couldn't help myself from snapping this photo while wandering through the parking lot.  (And this was not the only "26.2" I saw.)

A large collection of photos taken at the event can be found here.  To make downloading faster (as well as uploading, since there are 187 of them), the photos were reduced in both size and resolution. If you'd like a larger, higher-resolution image of any photo(s), just e-mail me and tell me which one(s).

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TURKEY TROTS AROUND THE STATE AND BEYOND (updated December 1st)

Below you'll find results for Lake-area runners at turkey trots held around the state (other than the Laker 5K Turkey Trot, which is covered elsewhere on this page). If I missed anyone, please let me know. Some of the races didn't list the cities in which the participants live, making it almost certain that I missed someone.

For what it's worth, here are the number of finishers at the state's biggest races:

SPRINGFIELD:

Congratulations to Casey O'Connor and John Sanders for outstanding races at the 19th Annual Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk in Springfield.  Casey and John took 10th and 37th overall, respectively, of 6,299 finishers.  Casey placed third (of 254) in the male 20-24 age group, and John was second (of 215) in the male 35-39 age group. 

Younger runners had the competitive edge at this race.  Of the top twenty males, only one was older than 29.

The women's 5K was won by Kimi Reed, who also won the 5K at the Bass Pro Shops Marathon Weekend. 

Full results can be found here. 

JEFFERSON CITY:

Congratulations to Alisha Eldridge for an outstanding race in Jefferson City.  Alisha finished the Thanksgiving Day Pie Run's 5K race in 21:45, and won the female 30-39 age group over 55 other competitors.

Full results can be found here.

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA:

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GOBBLER GRIND MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated November 24th) 

Sunday's (November 24th) Gobbler Grind Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K (Facebook page) in Overland Park, Kansas, was almost certainly the coldest in the race's 17-year history.  At the 8:00 a.m. start, the air temperature was 12°, and the 5 mph winds resulted in a wind chill of just 4°--so cold, that the water in cups at the aid stations was turning to ice.  In these conditions, you have to have extra sympathy for the volunteers and (any) spectators. 

Congratulations to the Lake area's Stacy Turner for braving such conditions and finishing the half marathon in 1:47:36.  That placed Stacy 9th (of 90) in the female 35-39 age group.  Her finish time was just 44 seconds shy of her fastest half marathon of the year, a 1:46:52 finish at the Run for the Children.

Congratulations also go to our part-time Lake resident, Miki Schroeder.  Miki finished in 2:12:45, placing 23rd (of 61) in the female 40-44 age group. That makes nine half marathon finishes for Miki in 2013, the most of any of the runners we follow.

Results can be found here.  I'll be searching for results for other Lake-area participants when all the results are posted, but if you know of any, please let me know.

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ROUTE 66 MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 24th) 

Competitors at Sunday's (November 24th) Route 66 Marathon & Half Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, faced brutally cold conditions on race morning, with an air temperature of 23° and a wind chill of 13° at the 8:00 a.m. start.  That came after many faced hazardous driving conditions getting to Tulsa for the weekend's activities due to snow and freezing rain.  (To make matters worse, another band of snow and freezing rain was heading to Tulsa as the race was going on.) 

Despite the weather, there were nearly 10,000 participants registered for Oklahoma's second largest race (after the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon held in April), including 3,000 marathoners, 6,000 half marathoners, and 1,000 marathon relay runners. (For some unknown reason, the race attracted about 200 Half Fanatics, making this one of their most popular half marathons in the country.)  Starting line photos show that many were dressed as if they were competing in the Iditarod. 

Congratulations to Ashley Pryor, the only Lake-area runner participating (at least as far as I can find), who finished the half marathon in 1:44:49. That placed Ashley 11th (of about 500) in the female 30-34 age group. It's also becomes the fastest half marathon finish time by a Lake-area female in 2013, beating Brandi Reed's 1:45:50 at Bass Pro.

"Marathon Man" Trent Morrow finished the race in 4:31:17.  This brings his 2013 marathon total to at least 128.  He has 37 days to reach his goal of 160 by December 31st.  The current world record stands at 156, although I believe that's unofficial. 

One interesting twist to the marathon is that runners can take a optional 0.3-mile "Center of the Universe Detour" through Tulsa's historic Center of the Universe, and receive a special 26.5-mile race medal.

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ADVENTUREMAX SPRINGFIELD HALF MARATHON, 10K, AND FAMILY TRAIL RUN (updated November 23rd) 

The Lake area had seven participants at the inaugural AdventureMax Springfield Trail Run (Facebook page) in Highlandville, Missouri, on Saturday (November 23rd).  Between the half marathon and 10K, the event had a total of 276 participants--more than twice the 131 that competed in the AdventureMax trail runs at Innsbrook (near St. Louis) this past March. 

The Lake area's fastest half marathon finisher was Josh Schrock.  Josh finished in 1:58:58, placing 4th (of 11) in the male 30-34 age group.

Among our 10K finishers, Trevor Dowdney placed seventh overall (of 124), and won the male 45-49 age group (over six others) with a 53:18 finish time.

A noteworthy performance in the 10K was that by 8 year-old Jacob Schrock.  Jacob finished in 1:06:12, which was good for third place (of 5) in the male 14-and-under age group.

Perusing the full results, it looks like youthfulness offered a big advantage.  The top two finishers in both the half marathon and 10K were in the male 15-19 age group, even though there were only four in that age group in each race. The exception: 70 year-old Mike Clarke of Springfield, who finished the half marathon in 1:47:47, and was 16th overall (of 152).

Congratulations to all of our Lake-area finishers.  Here are their results:

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WHITE RIVER MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 23rd) 

Congratulations to Sherrie Hamner of Osage Beach for finishing Saturday's (November 23rd) White River Half Marathon in Cotter, Arkansas, in 2:06:43.  That placed Sherrie 14th (of 41) in the female 35-39 age group.

The full results can be found here.  "Marathon Man" Trent Morrow was planning to run the marathon, but his name doesn't appear in the results.

Unlike many full and half marathons that have experienced declines in participation in 2013, White River had a notable increase.  The marathon had 230 finishers, versus 169 in 2012, and there were 302 finishers of the half marathon, compared to last year's 249.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL SAN ANTONIO MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated November 17th) 

Congratulations to Tara Grantham, owner of Versailles Total Fitness, for finishing Sunday's (November 17th) Rock 'n' Roll Marathon San Antonio Marathon.   Tara crossed the finish line in 4:57:36, placing her 42nd (of 116) in the female 45-49 age group. 

Tara's son, Joe Frazier, who hails from Beaumont, Texas, ran the half marathon, and finished in 1:40:10.  That placed him 25th (of 624) in the male 25-29 age group.

Joe is planning to run the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 19th, where he'll be trying to qualify for the 2015 Boston Marathon.  (He ran this this year's Boston Marathon and finished in 3:28:38--not long before the deadly explosions occurred.)   The weather conditions for Sunday's Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio were clearly unfavorable to running a BM qualifying time.  At the 7:00 a.m. start, the temperature at the start was 74°, with 88% relative humidity. (My own rule-of-thumb is that, if the temperature is 70° or higher, add the temperature and relative humidity, and if they total 140 or more, running conditions are brutal.)

A footnote to the race is that "Marathon Man" Trent Morrow, who's trying to set the world record for marathons run in a single year, finished the marathon in 4:24:44.  Immediately after finishing, he headed for the airport to run in Sunday evening's Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas marathon.  Las Vegas would be marathon #127 for the year, with 33 more to go in the next 43 days to reach his goal of 160.

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MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (posted November 10th) 

Congratulations to our four Lake-area high school runners for their finishes at the state high school cross country championships on Saturday (November 9th) in Jefferson City.   All four runners are underclassmen, so expect to see their names again.

This was the second state championship race for two of the runners, Gabrielle Hill and Chase Cook.  Gabrielle knocked 44 seconds off of her 21:53 finish last year.  Chase was four seconds slower this year than last.

To see how your 5K finish time compares to the state high school champions', the boys' winner finished in 15:57, and the girls' in 17:31.

The full race results can be found here.

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GLOW IN THE PARK 5K RUN/WALK (updated November 10th) 

 
(Click on a photo for a larger image.)

There's no doubt about it, the Lake area's first glow run suffered greatly from the changes in date and location necessitated by the damage caused by flooding at the Osage Beach City Park in August.  Only about ten runners and walkers turned out at the Camdenton City Park on Saturday night (November 9th) for the Tri-County YMCA's Glow in the Park 5K Run/Walk (Facebook page). For a November evening, the weather was surprisingly nice for the event, with temperatures in the upper 50s, no wind, and a clear, moonlit sky.   Next year, the plan is to have the event at the Osage Beach City Park sometime during the summer.

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KC15K (posted November 10th) 

I couldn't find any local runners' names among those finishing Saturday's (November 9th) KC15K or 7K races in Kansas City.   (If I missed anyone, please let me know.)

It's worth noting that participation at the event dropped significantly, after an even bigger drop-off in 2012. (Ultramax Sports is pretty quick to change or cancel events facing declining interest.) Here are the number of finishers in this event's three-year history:

2013 results can be found here.

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OSAGE RIVER BOTTTOM ROWDY RUN (updated November 5th)

About 150 participants turned out on Saturday (November 2nd) for the inaugural Osage River Bottom Rowdy Run, which was held at the River Bottom MX Park located at the end of D Road in Kaiser.   The Rowdy Run was a mud/obstacle run, and included races for both adults and kids (ages 6-15).  

Results for those competing in the timed races show Trevor Dowdney and Josh Schrock finishing second and fourth overall, respectively.  Trevor finished the 5K course in 35 minutes; Josh was four minutes behind.

Check out the event's Facebook page for more results and lots of photos.

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MARGIE GUNTER BREAKS HER ARM (posted November 4th)

We want to extend ~~~~healing vibes ~~~~ to one of our favorite local athletes, Margie Gunter.   A week after finishing the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon, Margie took a tumble while riding her bicycle and broke an arm.  Heal quickly, Margie!

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NEW YORK CITY MARATHON (updated December 4th)

Congratulations to Sherrie Hamner of Camdenton and part-time Lake-area resident April Leonard for finishing Sunday's (November 3rd) ING New York City Marathon.  Sherrie finish in 5:25:14, placing 2,669th (of 3,224) in the female 35-39 age group.  April finished in 4:24:59, placing 882nd (of 2,479) in the female 45-49 age group. The New York City Marathon is the world's largest marathon, with over 50,00 participants this year.

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BASS PRO SHOPS MARATHON WEEKEND (updated November 4th)

While other big races (e.g. GO! St. Louis and Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis) have seen lower participation this year, the Bass Pro Shops Marathon Weekend (Facebook page) drew a record number of participants this year.  Over 3,120 solo and 86 relay team finishers crossed the finish line on Sunday, on top of an unknown number of participants in Saturday's Camo Color Fun Run.

In line with that, the Marathon Weekend drew a record number of participants from the Lake area.  Thirty-one local runners made the trip to Springfield, surpassing last year's total of 20, and more than triple the 9 who raced in 2011. 

A pre-race photo of many of our Lake-area runners who competed at Bass Pro.  (Click on photo for a larger image.)

Our Lake-area runners turned in lots of outstanding results--perhaps the best we've seen, generally speaking, at any out-of-town race this year.  Seven runners placed in the top 10% of their age group (including some of the most competitive age groups, I might add), and almost all of our runners placed at least in the top half of their group.  I'm not certain of it, but it looks as though a number of personal records may have been set, as well. 

Jim McDermott was "thinking" last week that this race "might ought to be treated as a long run" for next month's Run for the Ranch, suggesting that he was just going to run an easy, steady race.  At the Give 'Em The Bird 5K on Saturday, Jim said he was expecting to finish the Bass Pro marathon in about 4:10 to 4:20.  He may have just earned this year's sandbagger award by going out and finishing the Bass Pro marathon in 3:55:04--a mere four seconds over the Boston Marathon qualifying standard for his age group.  

I always like to point out those who are stepping up to the challenge of doing something for the first time, and on Sunday we had three such "firsts": Terry Atteberry finished her first marathon, and Reagan Page--who's just 13 years old--and Brandi Kincaid finished their first half marathons.  Reagan, by the way, finished in 2:08:22, achieving her goal of finishing below the average half marathon finish time of about 2:11:00 recorded by Lake-area women thus far in 2013.

Here are the results for Lake-area runners.  If I've missed anyone, please let me know.  (I didn't know the name of our local relay team, so I was unable to post their result.  Perhaps they can help me with that.)

There were some familiar names among the overall race winners.  Jackie Stiles, a former All-American basketball player at Missouri State, won the women's half marathon in 1:21:12.  Kimi Reed, who has a long list of victories, including the 2012 Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon, won the women's 5K, in 17:34. 

You can view many of the photos I took at the race by clicking here.  I recorded lots and lots of video footage (I think I walked a marathon or two capturing it all), and I'll do my best to get it edited.

On a personal note, I want to thank all those who were able to stop by before the race for our group photo.  As hurried as things were at the time, it's a miracle that we managed to get everyone to stand still for a few seconds.

Finally, I'd like to share a poignant anecdote from the race.  As I was walking around with the videocamera, I often asked those spectators who were bearing signs to hold them up for me so that I could capture the messages on them.  One family held up a sign that cheered on their runner in the usual way, but had the words "Nice visor" tacked on to the bottom.  When I asked what that that was all about, they told me that their runner--a female who was a wife, mother and daughter to the spectators--ran her very first half marathon at Bass Pro last year alongside her father who, as usual during races, was wearing his favorite running visor.  Sadly, he passed away about a month ago, and she decided to run one more half marathon with him--this time in spirit--by wearing that very same visor. 

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GIVE 'EM THE BIRD 5K RUN & 1-MILE WALK (updated November 2nd)

Despite cloudy and chilly weather, a big crowd of about 175 runners and walkers turned out for Saturday's (November 2nd) third annual Give 'Em The Bird 5K Run in Versailles. The event was organized by Tara Grantham of Versailles Total Fitness to raise funds for a local food pantry to help those in need this Thanksgiving.

The starting line.
(Click on photo to view a larger image.)

In all likelihood, Casey O'Connor's winning time of 16:05 (5:11/mile pace) was the fastest 5K ever run in the Lake area. Going into the race, Casey's goal was to break 16:00, but a gradual uphill climb into a steady headwind in the last quarter mile may have cost him those precious five seconds. Still, it was an outstanding performance on Casey's part.

The overall female winner was 11 year-old Alexis Fischer, who finished in 22:27. Alexis beat some pretty fast competitors, and took home a crisp $100 bill for doing so.

Overall winners Alexis Fischer and Casey O'Connor.
(Click on photo to view a larger image.)

Full results will be posted at Ready Set Results' website.

A video of the event can be viewed below in a small-screen size, or in a larger size (including a 720p high definition version) on YouTube.

Here are some photos from the race.  Click to view a larger image of a photo, or to start a slideshow of all of them. 

The starting line for the fun run for kids.
They're a lot more fun to watch than the adults.

A group photo before the race.

The Versailles High School cheerleaders showed up to cheer on the runners.  The Versailles police department's school resource officer saw them having so much fun, he came over and joined in.

Denny Gillen (24:25) (left) and Jim McDermott (24:17) finished fourth and third, respectively, in the male 60-69 age group.  When neither of these guys wins that age group, you know some ringers showed up. (Photo provided.)

A huge "thanks" goes to Tara and Steve Grantham and all of the volunteers and sponsors for a wonderful event, and to the police, fire and ambulance personnel for keeping a watchful eye on everyone.  In the eleven years that I've been doing local 5Ks, I've never seen a live band playing along the course route, an on-air radio announcer broadcasting at the start/finish line, or high school cheerleaders cheering the runners on.  It was all very impressive, and helped make the event a ton of fun. 

Tara later reported that the 5K raised $6,000 for Food for Morgan County.  Congrats, Tara! 

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SUSAN G. KOMEN MID MISSOURI RACE FOR THE CURE (posted November 5th)

Congratulations to two of our fastest local runners for outstanding results at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K in Columbia on October 12th. Casey O'Connor was the overall winner of the race (over 120 other competitors), finishing in 17:27. Nigher Alfaro finished in 20:26, placing him second (of seven) in the male 40-44 age group.

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BERRYMAN TRAIL EPIC (posted November 5th)

Congratulations to our seven local finishers of the 55-mile Berryman Trail Epic mountain bike race on October 26th.

In the male 30-39 age group, there were 69 finishers, and our locals placed as follows:

Dan Dougan                35th
Josh Schrock              39th
Derek Thomason       42nd
Chris Orr                     53rd
Cody Fox                    57th

In the male 40-49 age group, Scott Hofer finished 26th, and Jim Jackson finished 96th.

The full results can be viewed here.

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HALLOWEEN (posted October 31st)

(Click on photo for a larger image.)

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RUN FOR THE CHILDREN HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 29th)

The Miller County Child Advocacy Council has announced that the second annual Run for the Children Half Marathon & 5K will be on Saturday, April 26, 2014. (That's not a typo--a 5K run/walk option is being added to the event.) Click for the flyer or registration form. You can also register online.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL ST. LOUIS MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated October 28th)

The Lake area had twenty finishers at Sunday's (October 27th) third annual Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon, and many of them turned in noteworthy performances. At least three personal records were set, and new fastest finish times for 2013 were recorded in three categories.

Our only participant in the marathon, Stephanie Weaver, finished in 4:12:11, placing 37th (of 130) in the female 30-34 age group. Her finish time was also the fastest among Lake-area women in the marathon in 2013 by just over two minutes.

In the half marathon, Nigher Alfaro was our fastest local finisher. Nigher finished in 1:31:55, placing 6th (of 405) in the very competitive male 40-44 age group. That finish time was a new personal best for Nigher (by 1:23), and is now the fastest this year for Lake-area men. (He holds the three fastest finishes this year.)

Anita Leyva also finished with a new personal best. Anita crossed the line in 1:46:28, placing 13th (of 462) in the equally competitive female 45-49 age group. By a mere 8 seconds, Anita now has the year's fastest half marathon finish among Lake-area women.

Note: The Lake Area Scoreboard at right now reflects these new 2013 fastest finish times. The update for the Most Miles Raced will have to wait a few days. (I don't have Microsoft Excel on the laptop I bring along while traveling.)

A third personal best was turned in by Todd Raney. Todd finished the half marathon in 1:43:48. This comes one week after Todd set a new personal best in the marathon.

Pete Leyva came within 38 seconds of beating his 2011 Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis finish time. He finished this year in 1:37:31, placing 9th (of 267) in the male 50-54 age group.

Congratulations to all of our Lake-area finishers. The table below lists all that I could find. Please let me know if I missed anyone.

A recap of this year's race wouldn't be complete without pointing out another significant decline in the number of participants at Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis. As shown in the table above, this year saw less than half the number of finishers as in the inaugural year of 2011. (Declining race participation is something I've been noticing all year, and will report on in my year-end review.) Participation by Lake-area runners was also down, from 25 in 2011, to 23 in 2012, and 20 this year.

Thanks to all who stopped by before the race for a quick group photo and some camaraderie. When you're racing (or even being a spectator) in a distant city, it's always comforting to see a friendly face.

Pictured (Left to right): Anita Leyva, Pete Leyva, Nigher Alfaro (in back), Todd Raney, Mark Kempf and Margie Gunter.
(Click on photo for a larger image.)


Pictured (Left to right): Miki Schroeder, Nigher Alfaro, Mark Kempf (in back), Todd Raney and Margie Gunter.
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

Trent Morrow (Facebook page), the Australian who's attempting to set a new Guinness world record by running 160 marathons in 2013, finished the race in a little over four hours. That makes at least 117 finishes so far this year for Trent.

More photos from the race can be found here.

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GRAND RAPIDS MARATHON (posted October 20th)

Congratulations to Denny Gillen for finishing Sunday's (October 20th) Grand Rapids Marathon in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Denny finished in 4:34:42, placing 23rd (of 41) in the male 60-64 age group. (The race results can be found here.) Denny predicted that this would be his slowest marathon, but his finish time was one that many of us would be happy to see next our name.

If you think that Todd Raney and Scott Page are a little (or a lot) crazy, "Marathon Man" Trent Morrow ran the Grand Rapids Marathon as part of his attempt to break the Guinness world record for most marathons run in a single year.  This was Trent's 116th so far in 2013.  (That's over 3,000 miles of running.)  He's hoping to reach 160 by year-end to break the current record of 157 set in 2012.  Trent runs to bring awareness to colon cancer, which claimed the life of his mother in 1993. You can read more about his year thus far at his Facebook page.  It's fascinating to read. 

Trent has already done one marathon this year in Missouri. He ran the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia on September 2nd.

He will be running the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon next Sunday, October 27th.

His schedule of upcoming events currently extends to November 3rd. The Bass Pro Shops Marathon on November 3rd, though, is not on his schedule. He'll be doing the New York City Marathon that day.

Those of you doing the Run for the Ranch Marathon & Half Marathon in Springfield on December 29th may want to keep an eye out for his possible entry.

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PERFECT 10 ROGAINE (posted October 20th)

The second annual Perfect 10 Rogaine orienteering and trekking race was held on Saturday (October 19th) at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. Participants raced for up to ten hours (penalties were applied for going over that time limit) finding checkpoints around the park. Sixty-six racers competed, including 17 racing solo.

The Lake area's Jim Jackson and Josh Schrock, competing as the Oz Cycles team, won the male open division over six other teams. Congratulations Jim and Josh!

Overall winners, not surprisingly, were David Frei and Emily Korsch on the Alpine Shop Lite team.   David has won so many adventure races at the LOTO State Park that he could probably race blindfolded and still win.

Here are links to the overall and division results.

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WADDELL & REED KANSAS CITY MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 19th)

Congratulations to all of our Lake-area runners at Saturday's (October 19th) Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K (Facebook page).

Two of our runners set personal marathon records.  Todd Raney finished in 3:53:41, bettering his previous best of 3:58:48 set at the Forrest Gump Challenge earlier this year.  Jen Wiethop, whose first marathon was just seven weeks ago at the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia, finished her second in 4:45:53, or about 25 minutes faster than her first.

Angela Martin finished the marathon in 4:49:40. 

Vicki Hodges finished the half marathon in 2:08:32. Part-time Lake resident Miki Schroeder also ran the half--her seventh half marathon this year--and finished in 2:06:15.

Below are the results for our Lake-area finishers.  (Note: The overall results pages were limited to 1500 participants each.  If I missed anyone, please let me know.)

Congratulations also go to David Babcock, who knitted his way to a new Guinness world record during the marathon.  He knitted a 12-foot long scarf while completing the marathon in 5:48:27. Here's the story.

Here's a TV report of a tailgating party at the 15-mile mark of the marathon.

Here's a newspaper story about the race and its winners.

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COSTUME FOR CANCER 5K WALK/RUN (posted October 15th)

The Change Academy Lake of the Ozarks (CALO) is organizing a Halloween-themed 5K benefiting the American Cancer Society. The Costume for Cancer 5K Walk/Run will be held on the evening of Saturday, October 26th, at Carl's Market (map), located at the intersection of Horseshoe Bend Parkway and Bittersweet Road, across from Ruthie D's.

The cost is $20 if you pre-register, and $25 on the day of the race.  Children under 12 are free.   Families of four (all aged 12 or over) can enter for $50, plus $10 for each additional family member aged 12 or older.

Costumes are encouraged at this event, and a costume contest will be held at 6:15 p.m.

The run/walk starts at 7:00 p.m., with race-day registration opening at 5:30 p.m.

Click for a flyer/registration form with more details.

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HARTSBURG PUMPKIN FESTIVAL RIDE (posted October 14th) 

One of the most enjoyable outings of the year for local cyclists is to ride the Katy Trail from Jefferson City to Hartsburg--a distance of 9.5 miles--to visit the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival. It's an easy ride for the whole family, and the festival offers everything from crafts to junk food to face painting and, of course, pumpkins--some so big that a child's wagon can barely contain them. If you were unable to join the ride this year, make plans to do so next year.   The festival is usually held on the second weekend of October.

Below are some photos from the ride. (I have some video footage that will take some time to edit.) Click on a photo to view a larger version of it, or to start a slideshow of all of them.

A group photo before we head out.

Kids love the ride as much as adults.

We stopped at a scenic rest area along the Missouri River.

A mass of trees and debris, presumably from the August flooding, clogging Cedar Creek.

Governor and Mrs. Jay Nixon at the Hartsburg trailhead

Chris Orr talking to the Nixons

Some of the pumpkins for sale

What's wrong with this picture?

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CHICAGO MARATHON (posted October 13th) 

The Lake area was represented by three runners among the nearly 39,000 who competed at Sunday's (October 13th) prestigious Chicago Marathon.

Andy Goessmann shaved three and a half minutes off his 2012 finish time of 3:21:43 by crossed the finish line in 3:18:08, placing 378th of 3,043 finishers in the male 25-29 age group.

Jesse Shields finished in 3:41:48, placing 944th of 3,669 in the male 30-34 age group.

Unfortunately, knee trouble prevented Jordan Teeple from finishing.  Jordan reached the halfway point in 1:59:34, but had to stop after 16 miles. 

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MOTHER ROAD MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 13th) 

Congratulations to Todd Raney and Scott Page for finishing the fourth annual Mother Road Marathon near Joplin on Sunday (October 13th). Scott reports that they faced a stiff 15-20 mph headwind for the entire course, no doubt resulting in a slower-than-expected finish time. They finished together, in 4:21:15, tying for seventh place (of 19) in the male 40-44 age group.   (Louis Niewald, who used to live in the Lake area but now resides in Joplin, finished minutes later, in 4:27:47.)

Another Lake-area runner, Jodi Layman of Camdenton, participated in the 5K and finished in 1:01:20, placing last among 17 finishers in the female 40-44 age group.

The full results can be found here.

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RUNNING WITH THE ANGELS - THE CHAD ROGERS MEMORIAL RUN (posted October 13th) 

A memorial run for Chad Rogers, the 30 year-old Liberty, Missouri, runner, father and husband who died during a run this past July, was held in the Kansas City area on Saturday (October 12th). A total of 307 runners and walkers participated in the Running With The Angels event, including Jim McDermott of Camdenton and part-time Lake resident Miki Schroeder.

Jim and Miki both ran the 15K.  Jim finished in 1:12:33, placing sixth overall among 21 males, and first in the male 60-and-over age group.  Miki crossed the line in 1:25:35, placing fifth (of 7) in the female 40-49 age group. 

Click here for the full results.

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THE GREAT GO! ST. LOUIS HALLOWEEN RACE (posted October 13th) 

Congratulations to our six Lake-area runners who competed in The Great GO! St. Louis Halloween Race in downtown St. Louis on Sunday (October 13th). The most notable performance was turned in by 13 year-old Eli Mangone, who finished the 5K in 22:41, placing second (of 47) in the male 1-14 age group, and 21st overall of 1,301 competitors. Here are the results for our local runners.

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LAKE-AREA ATHLETES IN THE NEWS (posted October 17th)

We very rarely see our local athletes (other than the high-schoolers) mentioned in the local media, so it was a big surprise to see three of them get some media attention this week--although, regrettably, none of it for their athletic endeavors.

Trevor Dowdney
Jordan Teeple
Steve Hermann

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BOOGIE, THE FOUR-LEGGED HALF MARATHON FINISHER (posted October 17th)

Some very sad news to report: "Boogie", the 8 year-old Labrador retriever who got loose from his owner on October 4th and showed up and ran the Evansville Half Marathon the following morning (and finished in 2:15:00), died on Wednesday.  He reportedly had a heart attack. 

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MILLS ELEMENTARY PUMPKIN COLOR RUN & RIDDLE RACE (posted September 23rd)

The Pumpkin Festival is Mills Elementary PTA's biggest fund-raiser of the year, and this year they're adding 5K and 1-mile color run/walks to the event. The Mills Elementary Pumpkin Color Run & Riddle Race will be held on Saturday, October 12th, at 7:30 a.m. at the school on Bagnell Dam Blvd.   These are family-friendly, untimed events.

Online registration is availble here.  The entry fee is $10 for those under age 10, and $15 for ages 10 and over.  A family entry for up to five participants is $50.  (There's a nominal $1.00 fee for registering online.)  Register by September 27th to be guaranteed a t-shirt on the day of the event.

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MO' COWBELL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 6th)

Congratulations to our two Lake-area finishers at Sunday's (October 6th) MO' Cowbell Half Marathon in St. Charles. Laura Davis finished in 2:01:09, placing 26th (of 172) in the female 45-49 age group.  Bobbie Grant of Lake Ozark finished seconds later, in 2:01:34, placing 41st (of 222) in the female 25-29 age group.

This was the third year for this race.  It added a 5K starting in 2012, and a marathon in 2013.  It's one of the few half marathons that's grown over the past several years--from 1408 finishers in 2011, to 2400 in 2012, and to 2593 this year.  There were 428 finishers of the newly-added marathon.

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

(Click on photo for a larger image.)

An estimated 150 runners and walkers came out for the 27th annual Eldon Turkey Festival's Turkey Trot & Gobble Wobble 5K Run/Walk on Saturday (September 28th).

Overall male and female winners were Harrison Hughes (in 18:02) and Alisha Eldridge (in 21:50). Harrison ran just as he's pictured below, making fools of us wearing $100+ running shoes and technical clothing.

The list of top finishers of each age group is available in .docx or .pdf format.

   
Overall winners Harrison Hughes and Alisha Eldridge.
(Click on a photo for a larger image.)

Here are some more photos from the event.

       

~~~~~Healing vibes~~~~~ to our fellow runner who tore a PCL about a half mile from the finish line.

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2 DAM DAYS PADDLE MARATHON (updated October 3rd) 

The fourth annual 2 Dam Days Paddle Races were held at the Lake of the Ozarks last past weekend (September 28-29), and featured four races of varying distances (90, 66, 16 and 3.5 miles)

In the Extreme 90-mile race, former Olympian--and winner of the inaugural 2 Dam Days race in 2010--Mike Herbert won in twelve hours and 17 minutes. 

You can't help but admire the perseverance of the final Extreme 90 finisher, Nancy Bowers, for hanging in there and finishing in a two-day total of 23 hours and 48 minutes.

We had five locals competing In the Sweet 16 race.  In the men's solo 15-18 foot division, Jay Polchow of Rocky Mount finished third (of four) in 3.43 hours.  In the men's solo under-15 foot division, all four finishers were locals and finished within minutes of one another:

1.  Daniel Bruns (Linn Creek)
2.  Wesley Meeker (Linn Creek)
3.  Gary Wiggins (Osage Beach)
4.  Jack Bay (Gravois Mills)

The Lake area's Jesse Shields, who paddled 66 miles over two days in the Adventure race in 2012, stepped up to the Extreme 90 race this year, but was listed as DNF in the results.

Here are links to the full results:

Extreme 90, Ultra 66 and Adventure Races

Sweet 16

(The link to the Anything Goes race isn't working.)

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SPLASH PEDAL DASH YOUTH TRIATHLON (updated September 25th)

One of the neatest things about the sport of triathlon is that, since it consists of three activities we all learned to do as kids, it's something that kids can enjoy just as much as adults--if only they get the opportunity. This morning (September 14th) in Eldon, approximately 30 kids got their first chance.

The Eldon Career Center put on its first Splash Pedal Dash Youth Triathlon for kids in grades K-8.  This was also the first-ever (public) kids triathlon ever held in the Lake area.  While the event was designed to be more of a "friendly entry" into the sport, you'd never know it by how hard the kids were racing. (In the last five years, I haven't taken a race as seriously as some of these kids took this one today.)

Almost all of the competitors were still around for photos at the very end of the event.  (Click on photo for a larger image, or click here to download a very large image.)

A huge thanks and congratulations goes to SkillsUSA Sponsors Kelli Engelbrecht, Becky Dickerson, and Jim Wright; FBLA Sponsors Shelly Henderson and Jerri Haley; and secretary Darla Schulte and Willard Haley from the Eldon Career Center for an outstanding event.  Even though this was a first-time event in a sport in which none of them have ever participated, it went off without a hitch.  Also, a huge thanks goes to the Eldon High School students and others who came out to volunteer.  Everyone--especially the kids--had a blast!  Next year promises to be even bigger and better.

A video of the event can be found below. A larger-screen version of it can be found on YouTube. 

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REVOLUTION3 BRANSON TRIATHLON (updated October 4th)

Click on the image below to read my report about Sunday's Rev3 Branson Triathlon.  The report includes photos and videos of Alysia Maschino and Jim McDermott, both of whom finished the brutally tough race.

Click for some nice finish line photos of Alysia and Jim posted by Rev3.

A recap video of the triathlon was posted by Rev3 on Vimeo. I didn't spot Alysia Maschino or Jim McDermott in the video, but Denny Gillen appears in his kayak at 1:10 and again at 1:42.

Arnel Aquilar, the finisher who's interviewed at the end of the video, was the very last competitor to finish the bike course. He looked dejected at the bike dismount line (where I was volunteering), but hung in there and went on to finish the half-iron distance race in 9:30:45. 

Click on the thumbnail image below to view the video on Vimeo.

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TOUR DE ELDON MOONLIGHT BICYCLE RIDE (posted August 31st)

The "Tour de Eldon" moonlight bicycle ride is returning this year, after skipping 2012. It will be held on the evening of Saturday, October 5th. The ride starts at 8:00 p.m. at the Eldon Community Center (map).  This is a leisurely ride through the city of Eldon, and will likely (again) include a stop midway for refreshments. Kids aged 10 or older are welcome. It's a lot of fun, and the police escort and medical support, combined with virtually no traffic, make it very safe. (Be sure to bring a helmet and a bike light.)  We all had a great time (well, except perhaps for Dan Dougan) when it was last held in 2011. Click for a flyer in Word format.

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FLOYD SANDERS MEMORIAL PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH WALK (posted August 21st)

The fourth annual Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk in memory of Camdenton police officer Floyd Sanders, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2010, will be held on Saturday, September 28th, at the Linn Creek City Park (map).

The 5K walk begins at 9:00 a.m., with registration on that day opening at 8:00 a.m.  A pledge amount of $20 is requested; anything more will be greatly appreciated.  100% of the proceeds will go to pancreatic research through the non-profit Lustgarten Foundation.

Click for a flyer with all the details in .docx or .pdf format.

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WALK TO END ALZHEIMER'S (posted August 26th)

A benefit walk for the Alzheimer's Association will be held on Saturday, September 28th, at Camdenton High School. The Walk to End Alzheimer's starts at 10:00 a.m., with registration opening at 9:00 a.m. You can also register online here.   Alzheimer's is a devastating affliction that, unless a cure is found, will directly or indirectly affect nearly every one of us at some point in our lifetime.

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TOUGH MUDDER (posted September 16th) 

Congratulations to the Dirty Troopers for braving the mud and obstacles to finish the challenging Tough Mudder event in Montgomery City this past weekend.  (The event is not timed, so there are no finish times or results posted.)

The Dirty Troopers included locals Steve Gisselbeck, Tim Mosley, Stephen Hodges, Mike Turner, Stacy Turner, and four others.

Stacy passed along some photos from the race. Click on any thumbnail to view a larger image or to play a slideshow of all of them.

       

     

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

Congratulations to our eight Lake-area runners who finished Saturday's (September 22nd) Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ Half Marathon in Columbia.

Notably, Nigher Alfaro set a personal best by finishing in 1:33:18, taking third place (of 60) in the very competitive male 40-49 age group.  That finish also marks the fastest half marathon by a Lake-area male runner in 2013.  The next fastest was Nigher's 1:36:51 finish at the Run for the Children Half Marathon in April.  

As an aside, the fastest masters (40+) female was Marzena Tomicki, in 1:35:28.  Marzena was the top female at the Run for the Children Half Marathon.

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PLAZA 10K (posted September 23rd)

Congratulations to part-time Lake resident Miki Schroeder for a 56:36 finish at the Plaza 10K on September 15th in Kansas City. That finish time gave Miki 46th place (of 291) in the female 40-44 age group. Scott Hinkle of Lake Ozark finished in 1:17:54, placing 159th (of 169) in the male 40-44 age group.

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MOONSHINE 10K (posted July 28th)  

September 23 update:  The race has been cancelled for this year.

Registration is open for the second annual Moonshine 10K(Facebook page).  (As reported earlier this year, the half marathon option has been dropped for 2013.)   The race will be held on Saturday, September 28th.  The registration page can be found here.

The course will be the same as last year, starting at Bootlegger's Sports Book & Grill in Osage Beach (in the Stone Crest shopping mall, across from Hy-Vee), heading down D Road, and ending at the Crybaby Campground. Click on the image below for a larger view of the course.

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CHELSEA'S EPILEPSY 5K RUN/WALK FOR SUDEP AWARENESS (posted June 30th) 

The second annual Chelsea's Epilepsy 5K Run/Walk for SUDEP Awareness will be held on Sunday, September 22nd, 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 $25 for adults (13 and over) and $15 for children (7 to 12) if you register by the August 15th pre-registration deadline.  (Those fees rise to $35 and $20 after the deadline.)  Please go to this page for more information and to register.

This event is one of six 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 again being organized by a local resident whose granddaughter has epilepsy. 

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ELDON HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI 5K RUN/WALK (posted August 31st)

The first annual Eldon High School Alumni 5K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, September 21st. The run/walk starts at 8:00 a.m., with registration open that morning from 7:15 to 7:45 a.m.   The start will be at the high school's old gym at 101 S. Pine Street--a couple blocks west of the Public Safety Building where most of Eldon's 5Ks begin.

By registering on or before September 13th, you'll pay an entry fee of just $10 and be guaranteed a t-shirt on race day.  After that date, the entry fee rises to $15.  (Registering early helps event organizers greatly in anticipating race supplies and t-shirts needed.  Please register early if you can.) 

Click for a flyer/registration form.

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CADV "MAKE THE BREAK" 5K COLOR FUN RUN/WALK (posted May 31st)

"Titus"
Pictured at the 2011 Make the Break 5K

The Citizens Against Domestic Violence 5K will have an exciting, new twist this year--it's going to be a color run/walk!  The family-friendly event will be held on Saturday, September 14th, in the Linn Creek Industrial Park (not the city park, as in past years).  The run/walk starts at 10:00 a.m., with race-day registration opening at 9:00 a.m.  Pre-register on or before September 2nd to be assured of a t-shirt on race day.

The entry fee is $25 for the first family member, and $15 for each additional one.  Everyone will be eligible for the door prize drawings, and anyone who raises $100 or more is eligible for the grand prize drawing.  

Be sure to read the suggestions and advisories on the registration form. 

Click to download a flyer/registration form, a waiver, and/or a sponsor/pledge form. 

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A RUN TO REMEMBER 5K & 10K (posted September 8th) 

Congratulations to three Lake-area runners for outstanding races at Saturday's (September 7th) A Run to Remember in Buffalo. The event was a benefit for the Alzheimer's Association and the Buffalo Prairie Care Center.

Casey O'Connor was the overall winner (of 18 competitors) of the 10K, finishing in 38:06, a pace of 6:08 per mile.  Paula O'Connor finished the 10K in 56:54, taking second place in the female 40-49 age group.

In the 5K, Nigher Alfaro finished in 20:54, taking second place overall among 30 competitors.

Full results are posted here.

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BROADWAY BRIDGE HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted September 8th) 

Miki Schroeder, who hails from Platte City but spends lots of time here at the Lake and occasionally runs with us, and who (as far as I can tell) has run every half marathon race in the Kansas City area this year, added one more half marathon finish to her total after finishing Sunday's Broadway Bridge Half Marathon.

Miki finished in 2:21:04, placing her 19th (of 41) in the female 40-44 age group.  (I suspect she had a hard day, since she's finished just about every other half marathon this year in 2:00:00, give or take a few minutes.)  With this finish, she now tops the list of females with the most miles raced this year in the Scoreboard.

The race results failed to show hometowns for most runners. If I missed anyone, please let me know. The full results can be found here.

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SAINT TO SAINT RELAY & ULTRA RUN (updated September 9th) 

Congratulations to the Multiple Midlife Crises team of Scott Page, Rob Kucsik, Todd Raney and Mark Kempf for a great run at Saturday's (September 7th) Saint to Saint Relay & Ultra Run.   The run is a hilly, 41-mile race from Saint Robert to Saint James.

(Left to right): Scott Page, Todd Raney, Rob Kucsik and Mark Kempf at the awards ceremony.  (Photo provided.)
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

The team finished in 5:48:08 (a pace of 8:29/mile), and placed fifth among the twelve teams competing.  They were the only team competing in the male masters (age 40+) division.  (And, since there was no male masters team in the inaugural race in 2012, they established the record for fastest finish time in that division.)  The official results can be found here.

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PIG AND PICKLE 5K RUN/WALK (updated September 7th) 

Over 100 registered participants descended on the small town of Tuscumbia (population 203 as of 2010) along the banks of the Osage River on Saturday for the first annual Pig and Pickle 5K Run/Walk.  The event kicked off activities for the town's Pig and Pickle Festival, and was a fund-raiser for the town's little league baseball teams.

The starting line.  (Click on photo for a larger image.)

Check out a lot more photos here.

The event wasn't timed since the first-time race organizers were a bit concerned about being overwhelmed by the task.  They plan to hold the run/walk again in 2014, but are contemplating moving it to a date earlier in the year.

The course was about as flat as they come in the Lake area, quite similar to the Linn Creek course.  Here is a satellite view of the course.

A map to the event location can be found here.

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HEART OF AMERICA MARATHON (posted September 2nd)

Congratulations to our eight Lake-area runners who finished the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia on Labor Day.

Todd Raney led all local finishers and crossed the line in 4:05:22, placing him 10th (of 28) in the male 40-44 age group.  Stacy Turner followed soon after, finishing in 4:13:24, and placing 6th (of 15) in the female 35-39 age group.  Stacy's finish time is now the fastest for local women this year. 

Also noteworthy is that this was Jen Wiethop's very first marathon.  She finished, in 5:21:12.

Here are results for Lake-area runners, listed by finish time:

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

Congratulations to Jim McDermott, who finished the prestigious Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday (September 1st). Jim finished the 1500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run in 2:51:40, placing him 8th (of 16) in the male 60-64 age group. Here are his splits:

Swim:        41:01  (2:44 per 100 meters)
T-1:             3:20
Bike:       1:09:32  (21.4 mph)
T-2:             2:42
Run:          55:06  (8:53/mile)
Finish:    2:51:40

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IRONMAN LOUISVILLE TRIATHLON (updated August 26th)

Congratulations to two-time Ironman finisher Denny Gillen. On Sunday (August 25th), Denny crossed the finish line of the Ironman Louisville Triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run) in an outstanding time of 13:29:21, knocking nearly 30 minutes off his 2011 Louisville finish time.  It was a very hot, muggy day, with the afternoon high hitting 91°.  (Factoring in the afternoon's 61% relative humidity, the heat index hit a brutal 103°.)  Here are Denny's splits:

Swim:        1:54:53  (2:58/100 meters)
T-1:              10:39
Bike:          6:25:18  (17.4 mph)
T-2:              13:46
Run:          4:44:55  (10:52/mile)
Finish:     13:29:21

Denny finished seventh (of 28 finishers) in the male 60-64 age group.  (It's absolutely stunning that the top three finishers in Denny's age group crossed the line in about 10-1/2 hours.)

Here are some photos Denny passed along.  (Click on a photo for a larger image.)

   

Next up for Denny is the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Marathon on October 20th.

(For the record, the Lake area has two other finishers of Ironman Louisville.  Trevor Dowdney and John Tucker finished it in 2007 in 12:09:43 and 14:10:26, respectively.)

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PREDICT YOUR TIME 5K (updated August 26th)

Congratulations to Scott Page for coming closest to predicting his finish time at Sunday's (August 25th) second annual Predict Your Time 5K.  Scott finished just 16 seconds off of his predicted time.  He didn't win by much, though. Paula O'Connor finished 18 seconds off of her prediction.

The starting line. (Photo provided.)
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

Everybody who participated deserves a pat on the back simply for showing up on a hot, muggy August afternoon.

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CARING FOR CAROL 5K (posted August 18th)

Congratulations to Lake-area runner Dennis Michaelree for finishing second (of five) in the male 60-and-over age group at the Caring for Carol 5K (Facebook page) in Jefferson City on Saturday (August 17th).   Dennis crossed the finish line in 27:24.

Dennis Michaelree crosses the finish line.
(Larger photo can be viewed here.)

The race was a benefit for Carol Ortbals and family.   Carol was hit by a car while crossing a street in Jefferson City in February, and suffered traumatic brain injuries.  

A total of 182 runners and walkers turned out for the event. Full results can be found here.

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A RUNNER'S LEGACY 5K/10K RUN & 18-MILE BIKE (posted August 18th)

Lisa Persicke was an accomplished marathon runner from St. James who was tragically struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on August 19, 2012--eight days after also finishing the Republic Tiger Triathlon.   She was on a training run for the upcoming 2012 Chicago Marathon (she had finished it in 2010 in 3:35:21) when she was struck.

To honor Lisa, her family and friends organized A Runner's Legacy 5K/10K Run and 18-Mile Bike (Facebook page) on Saturday (August 17th) in St. James.  Proceeds went to support a scholarship fun for John F. Hodge High School seniors, The Cinderella Program, and St. James Boys Soccer.

Congratulations to Lake-area runners Pete and Anita Leyva for outstanding races in the 10K.   Pete finished third (of 49) overall, and first in his age group, in 42:56.   Not far behind, Anita finished seventh overall and first in her age group, in 45:59.   Pete and Anita are training hard for their third straight appearance at the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon in October.   (On a recent run, I joined Anita when our running paths crossed about a mile from home.  Trying to keep up with her for half a mile nearly killed me. :) )

A total of 57 runners participated in the 5K race, and 49 in the 10K. No word as to how many participated in the bike ride.

Full results can be found here.

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RUN FOR THE FALLEN (posted July 28th) 

The Lake area's fourth annual participation in the nationwide Run for the Fallen brought out 134 runners and walkers to Camdenton Middle School on Saturday (August 17th).  The ran or walked a mile or more in honor of one of the 139 Missouri soldiers (among a total of over 6,700) who have given their lives since 2002 in either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.  

Trish Creach did another great job organizing this event, with help from some wonderful volunteers. What really makes this event special is having family members from a number of the fallen soldiers in attendance. They expressed their thanks to all who participated.

Below are some additional photos. Click on a thumbnail to view the photo, and/or to begin a slideshow of all the photos.

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REPUBLIC TIGER TRI (posted August 10th) 

Congratulations to the phenomenal Jim McDermott, who won the male 60-64 age group (over eight other competitors) at Saturday's (August 10th) Republic Tiger Tri (300-yard pool swim, 12-mile bike and 5K run).  Jim knocked nearly six minutes off last year's finish time (of 1:16:30, good for fourth in the male 55-59 age group last year) with a 1:10:48, improving his performance in nearly every race segment and transition.   A four-minute improvement in the bike segment is particularly noteworthy.  Here are Jim's splits, including comparisons to last year.

                  2013                                  2012

Swim:          7:15  (2:39/100 yards)      7:08 (2:37)
T-1:             2:09                                  3:17
Bike:          36:11  (20.6 mph)             40:10 (18.5)
T-2:             0:58                                  1:37
Run:          24:15  (7:50/mile)             24:18 (7:51)
Finish:    1:10:48                             1:16:30

There were 290 finishers of this year's race, versus 360 in 2012.   (The kids triathlon had 95 this year, versus 97.)  The full race results can be found here.

Next up for Jim is the prestigious Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 1st.

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THE GREAT BAGNELL DAM DUCK DROP 5K RUN/WALK (updated August 3rd) 

A morning thunderstorm exited the Lake area just in time to permit the The Great Bagnell Dam Duck Drop 5K Run/Walk to go on as scheduled this morning (August 3rd).  Attendance was obviously hurt by the bad weather, but approximately 25-30 runners and walkers still came out to participate.

The Duck Drop 5K starting line.  Photo by Scott Page.
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

Scott Page passed along a bunch of photos that you can find here.

The overall winner was 19 year-old Colton Reid, in 18:43.  Nigher Alfaro came in second, in 20:26. Pete Leyva finished in 22:05.  (Sorry, those are the only results I have.)

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SHOW-ME STATE GAMES (updated July 29th)

Here are results for Lake-area athletes at various events at this summer's Show-Me State Games.

Running--5K/10K (July 28):

Congratulations to all of our Lake-area runners for great races at the 5K/10K.  Two of our runners, Nigher Alfaro and Reagan Page, were age-group winners in the 5K.  That makes two years in a row that Nigher has won the male 40-44 age group.  (He finished in 20:13 this year, versus 20:50 last year.)  Reagan, paced by brother Ryan Page, finished in 26:22--a new personal best.

In the 10K, Scott Page and Todd Raney ran together and finished in a third-place tie in the male 40-44 age group, with a finish time of 49:28.  Finishing in 51:23, part-time Lake resident Harold Selby took home third place in the male 55-59 age group. 

Road Cycling (July 20):

Judah Bennett of Versailles was the only competitor in the male 14-17 age group, thus taking home the win.  He finished the 28-mile race in 1:13:45, averaging 22.8 miles per hour.

Greg Bennett of Versailles placed fifth (of seven) in the male 50-59 age group by averaging 26.6 mph and completing the 28-mile course in 1:03:15.

Triathlon/Duathlon (July 21):

One interesting footnote to the triathlon results is that the overall female winner, Marzena Tomicki, who finished in 1:22:27, was also the winner of the Run for the Children Half Marathon in Eldon in April.

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WIN FOR KC WOMEN'S TRIATHLON (posted July 27th)

Congratulations to Eldon residents Jessica Beckmann and Meagan Carroll for finishing Saturday's (July 27th) WIN for KC Women's Triathlon (500-meter swim, 10-mile bike and 5K run) in Kansas City.   Jessica did particularly well, finishing tenth (of 147) in the female 40-44 age group. Their splits:

Jessica Beckmann:

Swim:         10:18  (2:03/100 meters)
T-1:              3:27
Bike:          36:08  (16.6 mph)
T-2:              1:05
Run:           24:41  (7:57 mile)
Finish:     1:15:39  (10th of 147 in female 40-44)

Meagan Carroll:

Swim:         11:16  (2:15/100 meters)
T-1:            10:41
Bike:           54:36  (11.0 mph)
T-2:              1:55
Run:           38:25  (12:23/mile)
Finish:     1:56:53  (39th of 40 in female 20-24)

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ST. ANTHONY'S RACING THE ROOF 5K WALK/RUN (updated July 29th)

A beautiful and unusually cool July morning brought out a big crowd for Saturday's (July 27th) Racing the Roof 5K Walk/Run and one-mile kids run at the Linn Creek City Park.  Well over 100 participants, including lots of kids and teen-agers, came out to enjoy the color run while helping to raise funds to repair the roof at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Camdenton.

The starting line of the kids' one-mile race.
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

The starting line of the 5K race.
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

Congratulations and thanks go to Dr. Maria Bernabe and all the volunteers for a wonderful event.  First-time events are especially hard to pull off, but this event went off without a hitch, and everyone had a great time.  (And with all the bake sale items, and hamburgers and hotdogs offered up by the Knights of Columbus, this was one race where it was easy to consume more calories than you burned.)   Lots of awards and nice prizes were also handed out. (Sorry, but I didn't get the results to report.)

Thanks also go to the Linn Creek Police Department and Camden County Sheriff's Department for keeping a close eye on the course.

Some of the color crew. As runners and walkers approached the finish line, the color crew tossed handfuls of the watery, corn starch coloring. (Click on photo for larger image.)

Click here to view the race photos and a short video.

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WHAT'S YOUR COLOR 5K (updated July 27th)

Saturday's (July 27th) What's Your Color 5K run/walk, benefiting the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Camden County and organized by Lake Regional's Family Birth Center, was the largest-ever 5K in Lake-area history, with approximately 650 participants.  There would almost certainly have been more had registration not been closed on July 22nd due to the overwhelming response. 

According to one attendee, the event had participants run or walk three loops around the Osage Beach City Park, with colored powders being tossed over the participants at the start and at points along the course.  The event was not timed, so there are no results to report.

For more information and some photos, check out the event's Facebook page.

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THE MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER 340 (updated July 27th)

Two Lake-area paddlers competed in the brutally tough Missouri American Water 340, a 340-mile paddling race that started in Kansas City on Tuesday morning (July 23rd) and ends in St. Charles.   A total of 527 solo and team competitors on 344 boats registered for the race, although only 274 boats started.   Of the 274 that started, only 178 finished within the 88-hour time limit.

Brian Brooks of Eldon, who finished second in the solo men's division in 2012, competed on the three-person The B.O.M.M. team (boat #3959) this year.   The B.O.M.M. won the 3-4 person team division, finishing in 43 hours and 52 minutes.

Marilyn Thieman, also from Eldon, was on the three-person Older Than Dirt (renamed from Bikini Bottom Barge) team (boat #3555).   Older Than Dirt finished in 77 hours and 35 minutes, placing tenth (of 13) in the 3-4 person team division. 

The race leaderboard can be found here. You can also follow the race discussion on Facebook.

This year's MR340 was marred by tragic news.  A racer who abandoned the race at Lexington, but continued on to Miami to support fellow paddlers and meet up with his support crew, was found deceased in his camper in Miami on Wednesday morning. 

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IRONMAN 70.3 MUNCIE (updated July 22nd) 

Denny Gillen, who's been training extremely hard for next month's Ironman Louisville Triathlon, put together an outstanding race--and set a new personal best--at the half-iron distance Ironman 70.3 Muncie on Saturday (July 13th) in Muncie, Indiana.   Denny finished the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run in an exceptional 5:38:02, placing him sixth (of 31) in the male 60-64 age group. Here are his splits:

Swim:      47:12  (2:26/100 meters)
T-1:           5:06
Bike:     2:42:26  (20.69 mph)
T-2:            4:24
Run:      1:58:54  (9:04/mile)
Finish:   5:38:02

Denny has to be extremely pleased with that performance as he goes for his return visit to Ironman Louisville, which he completed in 2011 in 13:58:15.   A very rough rule-of-thumb in triathlon is that your iron-distance finish time will be twice your half-iron finish time, plus one hour.   (That's VERY rough, since it doesn't take into account the differences in course difficulty, weather, etc.)  If that holds true, Denny would finish Louisville in under 13 hours.  It will be exciting to see how well he does.  Go Denny!

Here's a link to Denny's race report.

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LAKE FREEBIRD TRIATHLON (posted July 15th) 

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for finishing Sunday's (July 14th) Lake Freebird Triathlon in Mountain Grove, Missouri.  Jim placed 22nd among the 57 sprint-distance finishers, and third among the six males 50 and over who competed.  Here are Jim's splits for the 660-meter swim, 14-mile bike and 5K run:

Swim:       14:42  (2:13/100 meters)
T-1:            1:52
Bike:        45:56  (18.3 mph)
T-2:            1:43
Run:         24:47  (8:00/mile)
Finish:   1:29:00

Full results can be found here.

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MIGHTY MAX KIDS TRIATHLON (posted July 21st) 

Congratulations to the Martonfi kids--Caleb, Nicholas, and Zoe--of Eldon for outstanding results at Saturday's (July 20th) Mighty Max Kids Triathlon in Columbia.

Caleb, age 11, won the male 11-12 age group over four other competitors.  His splits:

Swim:        2:58  (2:58/100 yards)
T-1:           1:18
Bike:        11:52  (15.2 mph)
T-2:           0:18
Run:          7:56  (7:56/mile)
Finish:     24:23

Nicholas, age 9, finished fourth (of 11) in the male 9-10 age group.  His splits:

Swim:       3:15  (3:15/100 yards)
T-1:          1:36
Bike:       12:30  (14.4 mph)
T-2:          0:18
Run:         3:55  (7:50/mile)
Finish:    21:34

Zoe, age 7, finished fourth (of 19) in the female 7-8 age group.  Her splits:

Swim:       3:07  (6:14/100 yards)
T-1:          2:37
Bike:        9:05  (11.9 mph)
T-2:          0:40
Run:         4:48  (9:36/mile)
Finish:    20:17

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RODNEY WRIGHT STILL GOING STRONG (posted July 10th) 

Many of you may remember Rodney Wright. Rodney was a great guy who participated in most of our local 5K races over the years, and moved to South Carolina in the summer of 2012. We haven't heard from Rodney since then, but according to the race results site Athlinks.com, he's continuing to do well.   He's run a number of 5Ks this year--finishing all of them in about 21 minutes or less--and in March finished the GHS Half Marathon in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1:41:24. (You can find the details here.)  Now age 55, Rodney just keeps getting faster.  Those of us in the male 50+ age group who used to compete against the Silver Fox miss him terribly...not!  :)

MIDNIGHT MADNESS 50-MILER (updated July 7th)

Congratulations to Scott Page and Todd Raney, who finished the Midnight Madness 50-Miler running race in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday (July 6th).  This was the first ultramarathon for both, and likely the first ultramarathon ever attempted and/or completed by a Lake-area runner.  They finished in 12:43:25--a little longer than they had anticipated, but races of this duration seldom, if ever, go as planned. 

Celebrating at the finish line (left to right): Scott Page, Ryan Page, Todd Raney and Reagan Page. (Click on photo for a larger image.)

Normally, I report a finisher's age-group place, but in an epic race like this, finishing is such a huge accomplishment that even mentioning the age-group placing would diminish the significance of the achievement. 

The results can be found here.  In brief, there were 125 starters and 106 finishers, including 70 males and 37 females (there's an unexplained discrepancy in the totals).  The winner crossed the line in 6:51:56, and the final finisher did so in 14:50:46, barely under the 15-hour time limit.  Perhaps the most incredible finishes were those by brothers Cameron and Brandon Plate, in 11:20:57 and 11:47:33, respectively.  They're just 11 and 13 years old.  At the other end of the age spectrum, the oldest male and female finishers were 68 and 59 years old.  Finally, more finishers (33) crossed the line in the 11:00 to 12:00 hour than any other one-hour period.

The weather was certainly mild by Oklahoma standards for early summer.  The air temperature was 79 degrees when the race started at midnight, fell to 70 by 7:00 a.m., and then rose steadily to 87 under mostly cloudy or overcast skies by noon.   

The course consisted of five, 10.3-mile loops on the mostly flat River Parks Trails System around Tulsa.  The race had a fifteen-hour time limit, with a noon cutoff to begin the fifth and final lap.

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HANNIBAL CANNIBAL 5K/10K/15K (posted July 6th)

Nigher Alfaro's long drive to Hannibal, Missouri, to run in Saturday's (July 6th) Hannibal Cannibal paid off nicely.  Nigher finished the 5K in 20:59, winning the male 40-44 age group (over 27 others), and tying for the 23rd fastest overall finish time (of 1,296 5K participants).  (Full results can be found here.)  The course features a monster of a hill that inspired the name of the race and its tagline--"It'll Eat You Up".

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ELDON 15th ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 6th)

(Click on photo for a larger image.)

Mild weather brought out a big crowd for the City of Eldon's 15th Annual Independence Day 5K Run/Walk on Saturday (July 6th). And, once again, the city's parks and recreation director Keith Walk and his large crew of volunteers put on an outstanding event. One nice surprise at this year's event was the distribution of technical t-shirts--a true rarity for a local 5K.

The overall male and female winners were Greg Linhart (in 18:xx) and Jill Durnin (in 20:41).  (The full results should be posted in about a week.  I'll link to them as soon as they're available.)

   
Two of today's winners:  Former collegiate All-American basketball player Jill Durnin (left), the overall female winner, and star martial arts student Alyssa Dale, who won the female 10-14 age group.  (Click on photos for larger images.)

Who is this young runner, and why is he flashing a $20.00 bill? Click here to find out.

A few random race notes:

I failed to get a photo of it, but two Eldon firemen, wearing full firefighting uniforms, walked the 5K, with one of them also carrying the American flag.  That was a nice touch.

It seemed like every other runner called to pick up a medal at the awards ceremony had a last name of "Martonfi".  The Martonfi's look to be building a dynasty among local running families like the O'Connors and Vitellis.

The phenomenal K.C. Rider, who can still runs 24-minute 5Ks at age 69, is moving to Kansas.  K.C. was notorious at past Eldon 5Ks for drafting off a large, unnamed geezer until about the one-mile mark, then pulling ahead for good. :)

Lots of runners are sporting injuries at this point of the season.  (Jesse Shields, on the other hand, has fortunately overcome the ITB problems troubling him earlier in the year.)  Let's hope everyone takes advantage of the lull in racing over the next two months and heals in time for the upcoming fall season.    

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FIRECRACKER 5K TULSA (posted July 4th)

Congratulations to the two youngest members of the Page family for great runs at the Firecracker 5K in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Independence Day.

Ryan Page took home family bragging rights over older sister Reagan Page by finishing in 24:45, placing him fourth (of 30) in the male 9-12 age group. All three finishers ahead of Ryan were a year or two older.

Reagan finished in 28:13, placing tenth (of 28) in the female 13-15 age group.  Every finisher ahead of 13 year-old Reagan was either 14 or 15.

There were 1006 finishers of the race.  Full results can be found here.

Here's a short TV story about the race that appeared on Tulsa's KOTV.com.

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THE DOUBLE ROAD RACE (updated June 30th)

Congratulations to all of our Lake-area runners participating at Sunday's (June 30th) Double Road Race in Overland Park, Kansas.   This new twist on racing, created by the founder of Runners World magazine, has runners completing a 10K, resting a short amount of time, and then running a 5K.  The Overland Park race is one of ten Double Road Races being held around the country this year.

There were a few especially noteworthy performances.  Ashley Pryor was our fastest local finisher, completing the 10K and 5K in a combined 1:13:29.  That placed Ashley second in her age group, just 46 seconds behind the winner.  Tara Grantham finished 11 seconds behind Ashley, and also placed second in her age group.  Finally, 61 year-old Marvin Bescheinen finished in an outstanding 1:15:01, yet that only placed him in the middle of the pack of fourteen 60-64 males.  That was one helluva competitive group of geezers! 

The official race results don't list runners' hometowns, so it's very likely that I've missed some local runners whose names aren't familiar to me.  Let me know who I missed, and I'll be happy to add them to the table below.

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HARDWATER HALF-HUNDRED (updated June 30th)

The Hardwater Half-Hundred (i.e. 50-kilometer or 31-mile) canoe/kayak race down the Osage River was held on Saturday (June 29th).  Sadly, only ten solo and three two-person teams competed in this inaugural event, raising questions as to whether the first Hardwater race might also be the last.  The Hardwater was the third single-discipline race to be added to Bonk Hard Racing's yearly event schedule.  (The other two events--The Perfect 10 Rogaine, an orienteering event, and The Ozark Gravel Road Expedition (OGRE), a 150-mile mountain bike race, were quite successful.)  

The solo winner was Joe Mann of Copenhagen, Denmark, who finished in 3:23:55.   Diane Diebold and Jason Bettis of Springfield won the team division in 3:45:01.  They barely beat adventure-racing extraordinaires David Frei and Emily Korsch on the "Would You Like Freis and a Korsch With That?" team.  There were no Lake-area paddlers in the race.

LakeNewsOnline.com published a brief article about the race prior to race day.  

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5150 ST. LOUIS TRIATHLON (updated June 30th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott, who finished third (of eight) in the male 60-64 age group at the 5150 St. Louis Triathlon held Saturday (June 29th) at the Innsbrook Resort.  Jim finished the 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run in 3:03:38.  Here are his splits:

Swim:         43:23 (2:54 per 100 meters)
T-1:              1:14
Bike:       1:16:06 (19.6 mph)
T-2:              1:44
Run:        1:01:33 (9:53/mile)
Finish:     3:03:38

Jim's top-ten age-group finish qualifies him for the for the Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship in Des Moines on September 1st.

Going into 5150 St. Louis, Jim was thinking that if things went well, he might take a shot at the Rev3 Branson Triathlon on September 22nd.  That would be his first attempt at the half-iron distance (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run). 

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JC GREEN GIANT (updated June 30th)

Organizers of the inaugural JC Green Giant, a 13-mile running race--with obstacles--on the Jefferson City Greenway, are proclaiming the event a big success.  (Check out the event's Facebook page for additional details.)

The Lake area had at least three participants--Rona Schaefer, Stacy Turner and Jen Wiethop.  No race results have been posted so far, and organizers announced they only plan to report on their website the top three finishers in each division.

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FORGET-ME-NOT TROT 5K/10K RUN/WALK (updated June 30th)

The first annual Forget-Me-Not Trot 5K/10K Run/Walk on Saturday (June 29th) had 33 registered runners and walkers on an absolutely beautiful summer morning.  The event was a benefit for the Missouri Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization based in Linn Creek.

(Click on photo for a larger image)

A big "thanks" goes to Michelle Cox and all of the volunteers for a wonderful event. When I was first informed of the event back in January, I was hoping that the Sanctuary would bring out one of the horses that they've rescued and which would benefit from this fundraiser. To my surprise, they brought "Pixie" to the race.  Pixie walked the 5K, earning a first-place ribbon in the pony division.

"Pixie", a pony rescued by the Sanctuary.
(Click for a larger image.)

Here are the photos I took. (I'm not happy with the lack of sharpness in many of them. I thought I'd try a different autofocus setting, but it proved to be inferior.)

The overall male and female winners were:

5K:
      Nigher Alfaro (21:11)
      Faith Scheidemantle (23:07)

10K:
      Paul Jordan (44:57)
      Susan Buckingham (1:14:58)

      
Left to right: Nigher Alfaro, Faith Scheidemantle, Paul Jordan and Susan Buckingham (Click for larger images)

Click to view the full results in .docx or .pdf format.

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SGT. DAVID DANIEL ("D.D.") FINLEY (1969-2013)

Here's some very sad and tragic news to report.   David Finley, a 43 year-old Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper from West Plains, drowned Saturday during a practice swim in Lake Wedington before Sunday's (now cancelled) Ozark Valley Triathlon near Fayetteville, Arkansas. You can read more about it here.   His wife and two children were at the scene of the tragedy.

For years, deaths during open water swims have been one of the most troubling issues in the sport of triathlon.  It often happens without any explanation, and to even seemingly healthy athletes. David was apparently in good health.  In just the last few months, he finished both the Joplin Memorial Run and Forrest Gump Challenge half marathons in two hours or less, and finished several other, shorter races.  (I couldn't find any prior triathlon results for David, suggesting the possibility that he may have been attempting his first triathlon.  That, alone, doesn't mean much--experienced triathletes have died while swimming, even while wearing buoyant wetsuits.)

If you swim in open water, please take every possible precaution.  I'd be happy to share my own approach to maximizing safety while training in open water.

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MAYOR'S MARATHON (posted June 22nd)

Congratulations to April Leonard, who finished Saturday's (June 22nd) Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, in 4:58:18. That finish time placed April 16th (of 38) in the female 45-49 age group, and is now the fastest marathon finish time among Lake-area runners thus far in 2013.

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MOONSHINE 10K (posted June 18th

The Moonshine Half Marathon & 10K is being reduced to just a 10K this year.  The course will start at Bootleggers and end at the Crybaby Campground--the turnaround point for last year's half marathon.  Shuttles will bring finishers back to the starting line.  The date of the event will be Saturday, September 28th.  Registration will be opening soon.

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ONE RUN FOR BOSTON (updated June 20th)

One Run for Boston (Facebook page) is a nonstop, coast-to-coast relay run to show support for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.  The run began on Friday, June 7th, in Los Angeles, and will end in Boston on Sunday, June 30th. 

Three Lake-area runners--Pete and Anita Leyva, and Curtis Wehmeyer--will be joined by Tracy Huffman of Rolla in running a 10-mile leg of the route when the baton reaches St. Robert on Friday, June 21st. In case you missed it, LakeNewsOnline.com had an article about Pete and Anita's upcoming participation, which you can read here.

Pete and Anita appeared on KRMS-1150AM's Morning Magazine show on Friday, June 14th, to talk about the run. Click here to listen to a recording of it.

Here are some additional links:

      Live tracker of the run's current position

Segment being run by Lake-area runners, with maps of start and finish points

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

Just over 150 runners and walkers turned out at Camdenton High School Friday night for the 6th annual Summer Night Stride 5K, benefiting the Children's Learning Center.  With tons of kids in attendance, this is always one of the most fun 5Ks in the Lake area.

A great sight to see at this year's event was the first-time participation by members of the Mid County Fire Protection District.  The best part, though, was watching the early finishers go back out on the course to encourage and bring their slower brethren to the finish line.  Congratulations to all of you!

A big thanks goes to the staff of the Children's Learning Center and the volunteers for putting on yet another outstanding event.  Thanks also go to Gerbes for bringing the food and water, and the other sponsors for supporting the event.  

The overall male winner was Jeremy Ryan, a Camdenton High School graduating senior and state championship-qualifying cross country runner, who demolished the competition with a 17:12 finish--one of the fastest in the Lake area this year.  (Last year, he finished this race in 18:34.)  Among the females, Tessa Weber, another state-qualifying cross country runner who will be a sophomore at Camdenton High School this fall, led all others with a 20:59 finish.  (She finished last year in 21:56, ten seconds behind the overall female winner.)

Results are now available (thank you, Gary Thompson).

       By order of finish:  .xlsx or .pdf
       By age group:        .xlsx or .pdf

A short video of the Summer Night Stride 5K can be viewed by clicking on the above image. The video that displays is a small-screen (640x360) version. A large-screen (1280x720), high-definition version can be downloaded from my file-sharing dropbox at WeTransfer by clicking here. The large-screen file is 337 MB in size, so it will take some time to download.

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RUN WITH THE COPS, NOT FROM THEM 5K/10K (updated June 16th)

Update: According to others, the event went on as scheduled, with the raining stopping shortly after the race began.  Also, there were about 100 participants in attendance, making the first-year event a success.

The Miller County Sheriff's Department is organizing their first annual Run With The Cops, Not From Them 5K/10K on Saturday, June 15th.  Proceeds from the event will be used to help the department obtain a new K-9 and purchase some much-needed equipment.

The event is being held at the Eldon Air Park, located on Franklin Street in Eldon, near the Aquatic Park. The 10K will start at 8:00 a.m.; the 5K at 8:30 a.m.  Race-day registration opens at 7:00 a.m.

The entry fee is $30 for the 10K, and $20 for the 5K.

All participants will receive a t-shirt, although only those who pre-register on or before June 1st will be assured of receiving theirs on race day.

Click here to download a registration form, or go to the event's Facebook page.  Please note:  The registration form doesn't list a mailing address.  Use this:

Miller County Sheriff's Department
1999 Highway 52
Tuscumbia, MO 65082

I'd suggest noting "Attn:  Run with the Cops 5K/10K" on the envelope to help it get to the right person a little faster.

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COLORPALOOZA 5K RUN/WALK (updated June 15th)

The Colorpalooza 5K held in Jefferson City on Saturday (June 15th) was a resounding success. Michelle Cox reports that they had over 500 participants--an outstanding number for a first-time event.  It looks like the storms that hit the Lake area didn't affect Jefferson City--at least at the time of the event.

Here's a photo provided by Michelle.

Michelle, Kristen and Darby Cox

In case you missed out on the fun, we have three color runs coming up in the immediate Lake area in the coming months.

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COLORPALOOZA 5K RUN/WALK (updated May 6th)

The first annual Colorpalooza 5K Run/Walk will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 15th, at the Jaycee Cole County Fairgrounds (map) in memory of Angie Capps-Tinnin, a 39 year-old mother of three who passed away in December after a year-long battle against colon cancer.   Angie worked for Troop F of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Her husband, Tim, still works for Troop F.

The entry fee is $25. T-shirts will be guaranteed only for those who register before June 1st.  If you wear your own t-shirt to the event, be aware that it will get stained.  (White t-shirts are recommended for the full color effect).  Snacks and water will be provided. 

Click for a registration form.

Proceeds from the event will go to Safety Net of Missouri, a non-profit organization formed in 2012 to provide needed support and financial assistance to the spouses and children of law enforcement officers, paramedics, EMT’s, correction officers and firefighters who have lost their lives while performing their duties.

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MARYVILLE MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted June 10th)

Congratulations to Ashley Pryor, who traveled to Maryville, Missouri, on Saturday (June 8th) and finished the Maryville Half Marathon in 1:50:58. That placed Ashley 6th (of 19) in the female 30-39 age group. (The full results can be found here.)

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JUNE JINGLE JOG 5K/10K (posted June 10th)

Jim McDermott took third overall (of 14) and first (of 3) in the male 50-59 age group in the 10K race at the June Jingle Jog (try saying that quickly three times) in Mount Vernon, Missouri, on Saturday (June 8th).   The event was a fund-raiser for the Missouri Rehabilitation Center's Toy Drive.  Jim finished in 47:23, a pace of 7:37 per mile. (Full results.)

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LAWRENCE TRIATHLON (posted June 3rd)

The brand-new, recently-announced Lawrence Triathlon will be held on Sunday, July 21st, in Lawrence, Kansas. Sprint (500-meter swim, 12-mile bike, 3-mile run) and international (1500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run) distances are being offered.

DIRTY KANZA 200 (posted June 2nd)

It was a tough day for our Lake-area cyclists on Saturday (June 1st) at the Dirty Kanza 200, a 200-mile dirt/gravel road race in the Flint Hills region of east-central Kansas.  Last year, all four of our locals finished; this year, only one.  This race is notorious for its difficulty.  Typically, only about half of those who start the race reach the finish line.  That held true for this year's race as well.  Only 331 (53%) of the 630 starters finished.

Jim Jackson was our only local finisher.  He finished in 18:41:57, placing 88th (of 106) in the Veteran Men division.

Dan Dougan, Josh Schrock and Larry Allman failed to finish.

Tyler Cordia, who lives in Columbia but who has family in the Lake area, finished in 16:52:05. 

Here's the link to the full results.

There were some interesting and familiar names on the finishers list.

Chris Carmichael, who's perhaps best known as a coach to Lance Armstrong, finished 24th overall, in 13:56:22.

There were a few finishers who also placed near the front at The OGRE bicycle race held at the Lake of the Ozarks on April 20th, including Jim Phillips (14:14:31), Jamie Wynne (14:14:37), Pierre Echasserieau (14:14:50) and Emily Korsch (15:53:05)

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MEMORIAL SUNBURST HALF MARATHON (posted June 1st)

Congratulations to Denny Gillen for an outstanding 1:47:01 half marathon finish at Saturday's Memorial Sunburst Races in South Bend, Indiana.  That placed Denny first among the nineteen finishers in the male 60-64 age group, and nearly five minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. 

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FUN 5K FOR OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA (updated May 31st)

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a rare, genetic disorder affecting the body's ability to make collagen--a protein that helps make bones and muscles strong.  Those born with OI suffer from a variety of symptoms, the most common of which is weak bones that break easily. 

A Fun 5K benefiting the OI Foundation's mission to find a cure and help those affected by OI will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31st, at >186 S. Business Route 5--just south of the Camdenton square.  (I believe that's the address of the First Baptist Church.)

Noah Leiferman
(Photo provided to LakeNewsOnline)

Noah Leiferman, a five-year old from Camenton, and whose story was told in a LakeNewsOnline article several months ago, suffers from OI, and has experienced ten bone fractures in his young life.  Noah's mother, Randi Phillips, is organizing the 5K in an effort to raise awareness of OI and funds to find a cure.

The entry fee is $25. Click here to download an entry form containing further details.

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HOSPITAL HILL RUN (posted June 1st)

Congratulations to our Lake-area runners who competed at Saturday's (June 1st) Hospital Hill Run in Kansas City.  Alysia Maschino was our top local finisher, with a 1:49:58 finish in the half marathon.  That placed her just inside the top 10% (43rd of 444) of those in the female 35-39 age group.

The results were tediously slow to search through, so if I missed anyone, please let me know. 

One small footnote to the race:  The overall female winner, Kimi Reed (1:19:21), also won last year's Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon.   

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GO GIRL RUN HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated June 29th)

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JOPLIN MEMORIAL RUN (posted May 18th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott, who finished the half marathon at Saturday's (May 18th) Joplin Memorial Run in an outstanding 1:48:30 (8:18/mile pace). Jim placed seventh (of 24) in the male 55-59 age group.

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RUNNING WITH THE COWS (posted May 11th)

At Saturday's (May 11th) Running with the Cows Half Marathon in Bucyrus, Kansas, Scott Hinkle of Osage Beach finish in 2:53:29, placing him 69th (of 70) in the male 40-44 age group.

Frequent Lake-area visitor Miki Schroeder finished in 2:03:16, placing 32nd (of 114) in the female 40-44 age group. With this finish, Miki completed the Heartland 39.3 Series of three half marathons over the past five weeks, finishing all within 4 minutes of one another.

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SMITHVILLE 8-HOUR ADVENTURE RACE (posted May 12th)

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TA-TA TROT 5K RUN/WALK (updated May 11th)

The second annual Ta-Ta-Trot 5K Run/Walk on Saturday (May 11th) set a new record for a Lake-area event.  A total of 291 runners and walkers registered for this year's event, surpassing last year's record of 277.  To anyone who's been participating in local 5Ks over the years, it's hard to believe that a Lake-area run/walk could attract nearly 300 participants.  The credit belongs to the We Bleed Pink team of Jayna Gray, Kari Salsman, Holly Thomas (a cancer survivor herself), Jennifer Wrye, Christi Morris and Theresa Dennis.  They organized the event to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, and will be participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day event--a 3-day, 60-mile walk--between August 16 and18th in Detroit.

The biggest group of runners and walkers in Lake-area history
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

After all the rainy, cloudy, and chilly weather in recent weeks, the weather for this race was absolutely perfect.

Nigher Alfaro was the overall male winner, in 19:21. (Nigher finished second overall in 2012.)

Sorry I didn't catch her name, but I believe runner #137, pictured below, was the overall female winner, in about 23 minutes.  (Sorry also for the lousy image--it's a screen shot from the video footage.)  I'll post her name and finish time when the results come in--or sooner, if someone knows.

 
Overall winners: Nigher Alfaro and a not-yet-identified female.

Terry Atteberry and April Leonard.  Terry's been battling knee problems, and said before the race that she was just going to "take it easy". She was the second female finisher, in around 24 minutes.  April came in not long thereafter.

Click on the image below to view a small-screen (640 by 360), lower-quality version of a video of the Ta-Ta Trot 5K that was organized by the We Bleed Pink team on May 11th. The video runs just under five minutes, and is 79 MB in size. You can also download a large-screen (1280 by 720), high-definition version, which is 198 MB in size, from the file-sharing service WeTransfer.com by clicking here.

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REVOLUTION3 KNOXVILLE TRIATHLON (posted May 5th)

Congratulations to Denny Gillen for finishing--or should we say "surviving"-- Sunday's (May 5th) Revolution3 Knoxville Triathlon in Knoxville, Tennessee, in dreadful weather conditions.  Denny finished the half-iron distance triathlon (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run) in just under 7 hours.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        52:01 (2:51 per 100 meters)
T-1:           12:23
Bike:       3:25:01 (16.8 mph)
T-2:             7:17
Run:       2:19:26 (10:31/mile)
Finish:    6:56:06

Denny Gillen crosses the finish line with his grandchildren in tow (or vice versa).   (Photo provided.  Click on photo for a larger image.)

Because of below-normal temperatures this spring, the water temperature in the Tennessee River was a cold 59°.  That's cold enough to numb the fingers and feet (which aren't protected by a wetsuit), making it difficult to transition to the bike segment.

For the bike and run, the air temperature stayed in the low 50s, and it rained nearly the entire duration of the race. 

A half ironman is hard enough in perfect weather.  In lousy weather, it's downright miserable.  After avoiding injury (riding a bike with narrow, smooth tires is fraught with danger in the rain), finishing becomes your only goal.  Denny had been hoping to finish in six hours, but that was before seeing the weather forecast for race day.

(Click on photo for a larger image)

Shortly after the race, Rev3 offered a free entry into next year's race for the athlete who received the most Facebook "likes" of his or her family finish line photo at this year's race. The above photo of Denny running down the finish chute with his four grandchildren won that contest with 203 "likes" (the next-highest "like-getter" received 134), earning him a free entry into the 2014 race. 

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WISCONSIN MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated May 4th)

Congratulations to our area's Laura Davis, who finished the Wisconsin Half Marathon in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Saturday (May 4th) in 1:54:36 (8:45/mile pace). That finish placed Laura 21st (of 212) in the female 40-44 age group.

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LAKE REGIONAL FUN RUN/WALK (updated May 4th)

A total of 59 runners, plus an additional number of walkers, braved chilly (36° officially), near-record low temperatures at Saturday's (May 4th) 6th Annual Lake Regional Fun Run/Walk, sponsored by Columbia College and benefiting Lake Regional's Cardiac Rehab Department.  The snow flurries and rain that had fallen earlier in the morning were gone by the start of the race, and the sun actually made a welcome appearance before the race ended.

A big, bright object appeared in the sky for the first time in days.

 
Course directions being given at the starting line.
(Click on photo for a larger image.)

The big story at the race was the battle at the front between 15 year-old David Prather of Camdenton and 66 year-old Thom Wilkins from Conway Springs, Kansas.  David eked out the victory, in 18:56, but Thom wasn't far behind, finishing in an astonishing 19:13.   (Thom isn't a complete stranger to Lake-area events, having won, for example, the CADV's Make the Break 5K in Linn Creek in October 2011.)

David Prather (left) is closely followed by Thom Wilkins
just past the halfway mark of the race.

The results are now available. Click here to view them.

Click here to view the race photos.

It was great to see a group of runners come all the way from Lebanon just for the 5K. They were members of a church, and were just as nice and friendly as could be. (When I first spotted them in their familiar-colored t-shirts with a footprint design in front, I thought we might have a turf battle erupt with the Lake Area Runners, but fortunately no trouble ensued.)  They turned out to be ringers, too.  Three of the men were among the top seven male finishers; three of the women were among the top nine females.

It was also great to see a bunch of members from Anytime Fitness-Osage Beach at the event.  They came out in large numbers last year, too, when they all wore blue t-shirts.  I didn't see any t-shirts this year, but then it was way too cold for just a t-shirt. 

Thanks go to everyone at Lake Regional Health System--particularly the Cardiac Rehab Department--and principal sponsor Columbia College for another wonderful event. After being moved several times over the years, including one due to the Expressway construction, the event finally has a location and course that look to be permanent.

Shown below is the 5K course map.  Click on it to view a full-size image.

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WARRIOR DASH - KANSAS CITY (posted April 28th)

It may have been wet and chilly for the Run for the Children Half Marathon in Eldon on Saturday, but at least those runners weren't also wading through mud pits and obstacles like those participants in the Warrior Dash in Kansas City.  Nearly 9,100 participated in that event on Saturday, and another 1,400 on a drier, warmer Sunday.  Two locals, Steve and Robin Martonfi of Eldon, were among them on Saturday.  Steve finished the 3-mile course in 37:55, placing 60th (of 839) in the male 40-49 age group.  Robin finished in 1:22:56, placing 1,727th (of 1,876) in the female 30-39 age group. 

It's a mystery (at least to me) as to why, but women are drawn to these muddy challenges in big numbers, and accounted for about half of the Warrior Dash - Kansas City finishers.  Go figure. 

TROLLEY RUN (posted April 28th)

Congratulations to the Gillen gang for being five of the 6,899 finishers at Sunday's (April 28th) Trolley Run in Kansas City.   Pictured above are Denny and grandson Josh, who ran together and finished the four-mile course in 48:23. The rest of the gang took a more leisurely approach, with 11 year-old Gracie finishing in 1:13:39, and Tim and Debbie strolling in at 1:21:45.

(For those who ran in yesterday's wet, chilly Run for the Children Half Marathon, take a look at the sunny sky and the short sleeves on the participants. Oh, what a difference a day makes!)

Sadly, even a four-mile running race held on a Sunday morning in a Midwestern city, and benefiting a charity catering to children who are blind or visually-impaired, is affected by the recent terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon. This advisory appeared on the event's website: "In light of recent developments no bags or backpacks will be permitted at the Trolley Run."  Expect to see more of that in the future.

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KENTUCKY DERBY MINIMARATHON (posted April 27th)

Congratulations to two of our Lake-area runners for outstanding races at Saturday's (April 27th) Kentucky Derby miniMarathon (a strange, almost irreverent, name for a half marathon, since there's nothing "mini" about running 13.1 miles).

Alysia Maschino finished in 1:50:11, placing her 60th (of 1009) in the female 35-39 age group. Beth Coulter, in the same age group, placed 122nd (of 1009) by finishing minutes later, in 1:55:50.

This was a sizable event--larger than GO! St. Louis, for instance.  The half marathon had 11,480 finishers; the marathon had 2,025.  The weather was good for the runners--53°, a slight breeze, and overcast skies, but no rain.  (Rain did move into Louisville after the race was over.) 

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RUN FOR THE CHILDREN HALF MARATHON (updated April 28th)

The first annual Run for the Children Half Marathon was a smashing success.  This was only the second-ever stand-alone half marathon ever held in the Lake area, and it attracted a large field, despite chilly (46°), breezy (5-8 mph) and misty conditions.  Ninety runners (59 women and 31 men) crossed the finish line after following a course that wound its way all over the city of Eldon and featured more than 50 turns. 

A huge "thanks" and congratulations go to the Miller County Child Advocacy Council, which organized the event. They did an outstanding job, especially in recruiting police officers (from at least four jurisdictions), Eldon fire and EMS personnel, and a large group of enthusiastic volunteers to control traffic, direct runners around the course, and staff the seven water stations.  Organizing an event like this is a daunting task--especially for first-timers--and the Miller County CAC did a superlative job at pulling it off.  This event is destined to become the spring race that Lake-area runners looking for a half marathon will want to do, and as word of the race gets around, runners from cities all over central Missouri are likely to participate as well.

The overall male winner was 30 year-old Brian Schulte from Jefferson City, in 1:26:02.  Brian finished fourth overall at last month's Sedalia Half Marathon in 1:24:45.

The overall female winner was Marzena Tomicki, a 43 year-old outstanding runner and triathlete from Columbia. Marzena finished in 1:46:36.  (Her husband, Tom Tomicki, finished in 1:42:24, placing third among males 41-50). 

Click the thumbnail below to view the full results.

Click here to view some race photos.

Here are some personal observations, as well as miscellaneous stuff I heard and learned at the race, in no particular order:

I'm not certain, but I think a lot of the runners in the race were not from the Lake area.  As I looked down the list of the 90 finishers, I only recognized about one-third of the names.  Granted, I don't know all those in the Lake area who do half or full marathons (indeed, I'm always surprised with "new" Lake-area runners appearing in results for out-of-town races), but I doubt that half of the runners were from this area.  It bodes well for the race that many or most of the participants come from outside the area since its growth is going to be tied more to attracting additional outside runners than locals.

It was really neat to see some of the residents along the course come outside to cheer us on.  Had the weather been nicer, I'm sure we would have seen more.  It may be just a dream, but perhaps someday we'll see lots of residents cheering us on and making the race much more fun to run in.  

Congrats to Willard Haley for his 2:09:30 finish, placing him third in the men's 51-60 age goup.  Willard passed me for good at the aid station inside the subdivision at the 7.5-mile mark.  He hasn't been running very long, and this marked his very first half marathon.

Josh Schrock is also fairly new to running, and I believe this was his first half marathon as well.  He finished in 1:53:34.  This comes one week after finishing the brutally tough, 154-mile Ozark Gravel Road Expedition (OGRE) bicycle race here at the Lake. (Coming up on June 1st for Josh is the 200-mile Dirty Kanza bike race.)  Josh's wife, Sarah Schrock, finished the half marathon (her first) in 2:24:40.  

Terry Atteberry zoomed past me at the 4-mile mark on her way to finishing in 1:57:06.  Terry's been battling issues with both knees. They're the kind of problems that a doctor will recommend that you "stop running".  Telling a runner--and Terry's a darn good one--to stop running is like telling him or her not to breathe.  ~~~~Healing vibes to Terry~~~~ 

Ashley Pryor has bounced back from a knee injury sustained at the Bass Pro Shops Marathon last fall.  She finished in 1:50:37 on Saturday, and won the women's 21-30 age group.  Ashley's husband Ryan Pryor, who finished his first half marathon at GO! St. Louis three weeks earlier, was planning to run, but had to back out for emergency babysitting duties.

Angela Martin finished in 1:55:35, giving her third place in the women's 41-50 age group.  Angela rivals the phenomenal Jim McDermott when it comes to racing frequency--especially in longer events.  She did the Walt Disney World Marathon in January and the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon two weeks ago.  She plans to do two of the Go Girl Run Half Marathons (Springfield and Columbia) in May, and the Hospital Hill Half in June.  In the fall, she's planning on the Kansas City Marathon and Bass Pro Shops Marathon.

Todd Raney, who finished in 1:45:10 (a new personal best), looks to be putting both Angela Martin and Jim McDermott to shame with all of his past and planned racing.  It may be time the Lake Area Runners have a group intervention for Todd, or find a twelve-step program to help him come to his senses.  He's making all of us look like lazy bums.

Congrats to Tara Grantham for setting a new personal best at the half marathon distance, with a 1:54:51 finish.  That placed her second in the women's 41-50 age group.  Scott Page deserves at least an "attaboy", for pacing Tara from start to finish.  After last week's Garmin Marathon finish, Scott was wavering between running and volunteering at this race, and decided on Tuesday to run it.  He did a good deed along the way.  Cindy, Reagan and (my personal tormentor) Ryan Page did their own good deed by volunteering at the race.  They were directing runners at a turn located at the 4.2-mile mark.

Nigher Alfaro also set a personal best with a 1:36:51 finish.  He won the male 41-50 age group, though by a mere 30 seconds.

While we all seem to obsess over speed and winning, let's not forget that those aren't everything.  Helen Sparks didn't win anything at this race.  Indeed, she was the race's final finisher, crossing the finish line 33 minutes later than anyone else, in 3:41:58.  If you've ever been out on a race course at or near the very back of the pack due to illness, injury or just because you're slow, you know how lonely it can be, and how strong the urge to quit becomes--especially if, like on Saturday, the weather is lousy.  You're tired, you're hurting, and there's really nothing to be gained by continuing on, other than the pride you get from finishing.  Congratulations to you, too, Helen.  I've said it many times before and I'll say it again:  If you want to see great athletes, be at a finish line when the winners come in.  If you want to see true guts and determination, wait around for the final finishers.

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If you participated in the race, the Miller County CAC would like to hear your comments and/or suggestions for next year.  The e-mail address for comments is contained in your race packet.  (My suggestions will be to post mile markers on the course, offer Gatorade at the aid stations, and place the first aid station about a mile earlier in the course.  If you agree, please let them know.)

The official course map can be found at the race's Facebook page.  My own, unofficial version of the course map can be viewed by clicking on the thumbnail image below.

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KANSAS HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 21st)

Congratulations to Miki Schroeder, a Platte City, Missouri resident who spends many weekends at the Lake of the Ozarks and appears at some of our local races, for finishing Sunday's Kansas Half Marathon in 2:01:20, placing her 23rd (of 92) in the female 40-44 age group. This was one week after finishing the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon in 1:59:13. Miki will do the final installment of the Heartland 39.3 Series, the Running With The Cows Half Marathon, on May 11th near Kansas City. (No word as to whether she'll join us at the Lake next weekend for the Run for the Children.)

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EADS BRIDGE DUATHLON (posted April 23rd)

Congratulations to our frequent Lake visitor Harold Selby for two more great performances recently. At the Eads Bridge Duathlon, which literally starts and finishes on the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River (and offers stunning views of the Gateway Arch and St. Louis riverfront), Harold finished third (of 16) in the male 55-59 age group. He finished the 1.5-mile run, 10-mile bike, and 1.5-mile run course in 58:08.

Harold also finished fifth overall (among 92 competitors) at a 5K in Pacific, Missouri, in 23:34.

Guys like Harold should give all of you younger athletes the reassurance that you can look forward to many more years of participating in sports, and have a lot of fun along the way.

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GARMIN MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated April 21st)

Congratulations to our Lake-area finishers at Saturday's (April 20th) Garmin Marathon in Olathe, Kansas.

Andy Goessmann was our fastest local finisher, in 3:14:28 (7:26/mile pace).  That placed Andy fifth (of 26) in the male 25-29 age group.  (Having completed two marathons in two weeks, Andy now qualifies for membership in Marathon Maniacs, which includes some of the most certifiably crazy runners on the planet.)

Jim McDermott placed fifth (of 33) in the male 55-59 age group, with an outstanding 3:52:02 finish (8:52 pace).

Rob Kucsik and Scott Page ran together the entire race and finished with identical 3:56:05 times (9:01 pace), comfortably under the prized 4-hour marathon finish mark.

Todd Raney deserves a huge round of applause for hanging in there and finishing in 4:18:25.  This was a big disappointment for Todd (after finishing the Forrest Gump Challenge marathon in 3:58:38 three weeks earlier), but he was quite sick the night before, and suffered through foot pain most of the race.  Many runners would have skipped the start under such circumstances.

Annica Russo finished her very first marathon, in 5:24:47, although her dad, Pete Russo, came home with Russo family bragging rights by finishing in 4:37:47.

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OZARK GRAVEL ROAD EXPEDITION (OGRE) (updated April 24th)

Saturday's (April 20th) inaugural Ozark Gravel Road Expedition (OGRE) was a big success. This epic, 154-mile bike race on mostly gravel--and unrelentingly hilly--roads in Camden and Miller counties was a huge test of endurance.  

Of the 79 competitors (67 solo and 6 two-person teams) who started, 60 (48 solo and 6 two-person teams) reached the finish line.  This was a far higher percentage than the organizers expected. 

The weather was chilly at the 6:00 a.m. start at Big Surf Waterpark, but the day turned out to be absolute perfect for both racers and spectators, with clear skies and mild temperatures.  The race ended at Oz Cycles in Lake Ozark. 

I recorded some video of the start, and have lots of photos to share.  It will take some time to edit all of it, so please bear with me.

I volunteered at the race, including manning the final checkpoint--located three miles from the finish--from 3:30 p.m. until just past midnight.  It was inspiring to see not only the incredibly fast top finishers of the race (Tyler Cordia of Columbia, but who has family in the Lake area, won the race in 11:24:51), but also those at the back-of-the-pack who pushed themselves incredibly hard late into the night to reach the finish line by the midnight deadline.  As I've said many times, if you want to see great athletes, be at a finish line when the winners come in.  If you want to see true guts and determination, wait around for the final finishers.  They deserve just as much respect, if not more.

The results have been posted, and can be found here.

Here's a brief story about the race posted at LakeNewsOnline.com.

Congratulations to all of our locals who competed.  This was a brutal race, and just finishing gives you major bragging rights.

One notable local finisher was Dr. Scott Hofer, who moved to the Lake area last year.  He beat all of the other locals and finished in 11:54:16, placing him second (of 12 finishers) in the male veteran (40-49) division.

Scott Hofer, pictured at the 87-mile mark of the race.
(Click on photo for a larger image)

Click on the thumbnail image below to view a short, five-minute video of the start of the race.  The video has also been posted on YouTube, in the event that you'd rather view it there.

Want to know more about the race?  Read the official press release by clicking on the image below (it opens a .pdf file):

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THE GREAT GO! ST. LOUIS HALLOWEEN RACE (posted April 17th)

The Great GO! St. Louis Halloween Race has added a half marathon distance option (to the past 10K, 5K and one-mile fun run options) for its upcoming fourth annual event on Sunday, October 13th. The 10K and half marathon courses (map) include scenic sections along the riverfront in front of the Gateway Arch. The half marathon heads south past the Anheuser-Busch brewery for the additional seven miles.

This race is sure to draw some participants away from the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday, October 27th.  Indeed, some of our Lake-area runners who had done Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis the past two years will be opting instead for the new Halloween half marathon.

The half marathon is limited to 2,500 participants, and that relatively small field limit may sell out well in advance.  So, if you're intent on doing this half marathon, you may not want to wait long to register. Click for the registration page.

Thanks go to Rona Schaefer for bringing the event to my attention. Rona is among the group opting for the Halloween half marathon.  

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BOSTON MARATHON 2013 (updated April 17th)

Related local news stories from LakeNewsOnline.com:

"Versailles Couple Misses Boston Blasts by 40 Minutes",  by Lake Sun, April 16, 2013

"Lake Area Runners Show Support for Marathon Victims", by Spree Hilliard, April 16, 2013

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RUN FOR THE BEACH 5K RUN/WALK (posted March 19th)

Approximately 45 runners and walkers turned out for Saturday's (April 13th) 8th annual Run for the Beach 5K/1K Fun Run/Walk organized by the Kiwanis Club of Ozark Coast.  Proceeds from the event will be used to support the Kiwanis' efforts to help local children and families. 

The starting line. (Click on photo for a larger image.)

The weather was absolutely perfect for a run--44°, no wind, and beautiful, sunny skies.

The course goes over the toll bridge, offering the most scenic views of any Lake-area 5K.   (Click on photo for a larger image.)

The overall winner was Andy Goessmann, in 21:09, on a "long" 5K course.  Andy, who was recovering this past week from the GO! St. Louis Marathon, pulled ahead of Nigher Alfaro shortly before the finish line.

Nigher Alfaro leads Andy Goessmann (in background), with a little more than a mile to go.  (Click on photo for a larger image.)

I'm expecting to receive the list of the top three finishers in each division, and will post it as soon as it arrives.

It was nice to see Jesse Shields running again after being sidelined with ITB (iliotibial band) problems last month.  The ITB is a common source of problems for runners, and can be debilitating. 

Josh Schrock, whose background has been more oriented toward cycling, is now doing a lot more running.  Josh has two big weekends ahead of him--the OGRE 150-mile bike race next weekend, and the Run for the Children Half Marathon one week later.

A big thanks goes to the Kiwanis for another wonderful event.  Attendance at this year's event was down substantially from last year, for whatever reason(s).  The quality of the event's organization is certainly not to blame--the event went off without a hitch.

The Lake Ozark Police Department also deserves praise for keeping a watchful eye on us while out on the course.

JAY DIX CHALLENGE TO CURE 10K/5K (posted April 13th)

Congratulations to the phenomenal 59 year-old Jim McDermott of Camdenton, who finished Saturday's (April 13th) Jay Dix Challenge to Cure 10K in Columbia in 47:07, a pace of 7:37 per mile. That placed Jim second (of three) in the male 55-59 age group, and just 44 seconds behind the winner.  Jim, who races more often than just about anyone, will be traveling to Olathe, Kansas, next weekend for the Garmin Marathon.

I looked for, but didn't see, any other locals listed in the results for either the 10K or 5K.  Please let me know if I missed anyone.

ROCK THE PARKWAY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 13th)

Congratulations to our six Lake-area runners (and Miki Schroeder, a part-time Lake resident) who finished Saturday's (April 13th) Rock the Parkway Half Marathon in Kansas City.

Angela Martin claimed the fastest finish time of the Lake-area runners.  Her 1:54:55 finish placed her 56th (of 425) in the female 40-44 age group.

MAXTRAX DUATHLON (posted April 11th)

Congratulations to Harold Selby, a frequent visitor to the Lake area from Pacific, Missouri, who finished the MaxTrax Duathlon last Saturday (April 6th) in Columbia, and won his male 55-59 age group over one other competitor. Here are Harold's splits:

1.5-mile run:        10:41    (7:07/mile pace)
Transition 1:          0:47
7.5-mile bike:      28:35    (15.7 mph)
Transition 2:         0:27
1.5-mile run:       12:35    (8:23/mile pace)
Finish:                53:05

As if that wasn't enough racing for one weekend, the very next day Harold competed in the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon, finishing in 1:51:53.

GO! ST. LOUIS MARATHON AND FAMILY FITNESS WEEKEND (updated April 11th)

The weather at the 13th Annual GO! St. Louis Marathon, Half Marathon and Marathon Relay on Sunday (April 7th) was absolutely perfect for spectators, but as the morning went on, it presented a challenge--as it's now done for four consecutive years--for the approximately 9,400 solo runners and 430 four-person marathon relay teams participating in the event.  The temperature at the 7:00 a.m. start of the race was 56° under mostly clear skies.  By 10:00 a.m., the temperature had risen to 66°, and by noon it reached 73°.  The promising weather forecast a few days earlier of an afternoon high in the mid 60s and cloudy skies was apparently too good to be trusted.  (The conditions might not have been so tough if below normal temperatures since late February hadn't made it difficult to acclimate to the first extended warm spell of the season, which only began days before the marathon.)

   

Congratulations to our eighteen Lake-area runners who competed.  (Note that we had substantially fewer runners this year than last--18 versus last year's 38).  Among the notable performances:

Andy Goessmann was using the marathon as practice for the Garmin Marathon on April 20th.  Andy finished in 3:24:54, placing him 25th (of 130) in the male 25-29 age group.  He reached the halfway point in just 1:34:43, which suggests the relentless hills took a toll on Andy on the second half.  (The GO! St. Louis course, particularly for the marathon, is almost nothing but hills.)

In the half marathon, Jackie Rasmussen turned in the fastest finish among Lake-area runners, with a finish time of 1:52:57, in her first GO! St. Louis appearance.  That placed Jackie 17th (of 362) in the female 45-49 age group.

Nineteen year-old Cat Standley, who despite her youth has finished the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon three previous years, crossed the finish line for a fourth time, in 1:57:58.  That placed Cat in the top 10% of her age group (22nd of 223).

J.J. Jones finished the half marathon in 2:09:04, placing well into the top third of her age group.  This was only J.J.'s second half marathon, and her first at GO! St. Louis.

One of our frequent Lake-area visitors, 56 year-old phenom Harold Selby from Pacific, Missouri, finished the half marathon in an outstanding 1:51:53.  It's hard to believe that that only placed Harold 25th of 186 runners in the male 55-59 age group.  There were obviously a whole lot of fast geezers out there competing.

Finally, congratulations to Ryan Pryor for finishing his very first half marathon.  Ryan finished in 2:08:38, resulting in a tie for bragging rights in the Pryor household for the next year, as wife Ashley crossed the finish line in exactly the same time.  (I'm surprised neither sprinted ahead of the other just before the finish line, but then there would probably be you-know-what to pay for that.)

Here are links to news videos about the race posted on KSDK.com:

• New milestones in Go! St. Louis Marathon

• Go! St. Louis Marathon draws 15,000 runners to downtown

• Devoted dad runs marathon for his ill daughter

• Pat McGonigle gets final stretch for GO!

• 25,000 runners to fill downtown St. Louis this weekend

• Go! St. Louis Marathon/Half-Marathon 2013 - PHOTOS

GO BIG OR GO HOME RACE (posted March 13th)

A benefit 5K race is being held on Saturday, April 6th, in Warrensburg, Missouri (about 80 miles northwest of the Lake area).  The inaugural Go Big or Go Home Race is a benefit for the Blaine Whitworth Go Big or Go Home Fund.  Blaine was a 25 year-old small business owner with big dreams, until he was senselessly murdered at his bar in Warrensburg. The Fund was formed in his memory to help individuals seeking to open a small business, to support recreational activities in the community, and to provide assistance for those needing a hand to straighten out their lives--three things that were dear to Blaine.

Click to go to the registration page. 

FORREST GUMP CHALLENGE (posted March 30th)

Congratulations to our three local finishers at Saturday's (March 30th) Forrest Gump Challenge (Facebook page), organized by the Galilee Summer Camp & Retreat Center, in Reeds Spring, Missouri.  This first-year event included a 50K ultramarathon, marathon, half marathon and 4-mile run.

Todd Raney's hard work over the past year paid off with his first sub 4-hour marathon finish.  He crossed the line in 3:58:38, on a hilly course and in yet another marathon that he was using as preparation for the Garmin Marathon on April 20th. (Todd finished the Andrew Jackson Marathon on March 16th, and by having finished two marathons within 16 days, he's now eligible to join the Marathon Maniacs, an ultrarunners group with some of the best--and most insane--runners on the planet.)     

Rona Schaefer took home first place among females 41-45 in the half marathon, beating four other competitors with a finish time of 1:57:16.

Mark Kempf finished just ahead of Rona, in 1:56:29, placing him third (of four) in the male 41-45 age group.

MISSOURI BIKE FEDERATION'S FALL HARVEST & PUMPKIN RIDE (posted April 2nd)

There's welcome news for cyclists. The Missouri Bike Federation is bringing back its Fall Harvest & Pumpkin Ride on October 5th. Last year, the event was moved from October to August due at least in part to the inclement weather that the event often experienced when held in mid October.   (The name was changed to "BikeMO", since the weather in August is definitely not autumn-like.   BikeMO will again be held in Columbia on Saturday, August 24th.)  

The Fall Harvest & Pumpkin Ride will be held in its usual starting location of Holts Summit. The webpage has some discrepancies regarding distances, but several options between 18 (or 33) and 100 miles will be available.

5K SPRING COLOR RUN/WALK (posted March 5th)

Move over, mud runs, there's a new, more colorful game in town.

If you've had your head in the mud, the latest craze in the world of wacky sports is "color runs", and the Lake-area's first such event is coming to Eldon. The Eldon High School Student Council is putting on their 5K Spring Color Run/Walk on Saturday, April 6th.  It's an untimed event, designed for fun-loving people of all ages.  Color zones will be spaced out along the course, with color explosions every 15 minutes at the finish line.

The event will be held at Eldon's Department of Public Safety Building at 111 S. Oak Street (where most Eldon 5Ks are held).

The cost is $25 for those who pre-register by April 3rd.  (Pre-registration also guarantees your t-shirt on race day.)  After that the cost is $30.  Race-day registration opens at 7:15 a.m., and ends at 7:45 a.m.  The run/walk starts at 8:00 a.m.

Click for a registration form with all the details.

Still not sure what a color run is?  Check out this YouTube video from the nationwide series of Color Run events.  

SEDALIA HALF MARATHON & 5K FUN RUN (updated March 24th)

Congratulations to our Lake-area finishers at Saturday's (March 23rd) Sedalia Half Marathon & 5K.

Ryan Page finished fourth overall (of 26) in the 5K in 28:00, putting to shame just about everyone older--which was nearly everyone.

In the half marathon, Ashley Pryor brought home bragging rights, finishing in 1:49:16, beating ten others to win the female 20-29 age group.  Ashley has been slowly recovering from a knee injuring sustained at the Bass Pro Shops Marathon in November, but things are apparently looking up as she heads to St. Louis in two weeks for the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon.  There, she'll be racing her husband Ryan Pryor, who's doing his first half marathon.   

Rob Kucsik, Scott Page and Todd Raney, who are preparing for the Garmin Marathon on April 20th, were using this half marathon primarily as a training run.  They held back, but still finished around 1:53-1:55.

Ryan Page (front) with (left to right) Rob Kucsik, Scott Page and Todd Raney before the start of the Sedalia Half Marathon & 5K.  One thing's for certain: They were impossible to miss in their brand-new, ultrabright Lake Area Runners jerseys. 


Ryan Page crosses the finish line.
(Click on photos for a larger image)
(Photos supplied by Scott Page)

IMPACT MEDICAL MISSIONS SPRING 5K/10K RUN/WALK (updated March 24th)

(click on photo for a larger image)

A guesstimated 50 runners and walkers braved chilly temperatures to come out for Saturday's (March 23rd) Impact Medical Missions Spring 5K/10K Run/Walk in Linn Creek.  If you dressed appropriately, the weather turned out to be not bad at all.  We certainly lucked out--the winter storm predicted for Saturday night and Sunday would have made for awful conditions, if not resulting in the event having to be cancelled. 

A big "thanks" goes to Dr. Angela Clay and her able volunteers for putting on a great event. Proceeds from the event will support a medical missionary trip to the Dominican Republic this coming June.

Thanks also goes to the Linn Creek Police Department for keeping an eye on us.  (But did Andy Goessmann really need a police-car lead escort on the second lap of the 10K? It's not like we didn't already know he was miles ahead of the rest of us. :) )

The results will be posted as soon as I receive them.  I do know that Nigher Alfaro and Andy Goessmann were the overall male winners of the 5K and 10K, respectively.

The photos are done, and can be viewed here.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated March 25th)

A total of 128 runners and walkers turned out for Saturday's (March 16th) St. Patrick's Day 5K in Eldon.  No love was lost on the weatherman.  The morning's forecasted sunny skies disappeared soon before the race began.  Even worse, temperatures fell into the 40s and winds increased, making for a chilly race--a far cry from last year's 63°, humid conditions.

The full results can be found here. 

Andy Goessmann was the overall male winner, in 18:53.  Nigher Alfaro was running together with Andy at the very last turn (about 3/4-mile from the finish line), but ended up second, in 19:16. 

Pamela Stevens was the overall women's champion, finishing in 21:03.  This was Pamela's second overall St. Patrick's Day win.  She won in 2011 (in 21:34), and placed third overall in 2012 (in 22:18).

 
Overall male and female winners,
Andy Goessmann and Pamela Stevens.
(click on photo for larger image)

A big "thanks" goes to Keith Walk of the Eldon Parks & Recreation Dept., the Eldon Police Department, and the volunteers for another great, well-organized event.

At the risk of sounding like a gossip columnist, here are some things heard or seen at today's event:

Jesse Shields tweaked his knee recently and was unable to appear at the race to defend his age-group win last year.  ~~~~Healing vibes for Jesse~~~~

Speaking of knees, Terry Atteberry has been experiencing pain in one of hers. (I'm guessing it's ITB- or patellar tendon-related).  That didn't stop her from taking off like a gazelle at today's race.  She ran hard and did well, but she paid for it, --she was nursing it with ice afterwards.  ~~~~Healing vibes for Terry~~~~

Andy Goessmann is planning to run in the GO! St. Louis Marathon on April 6th.  That's two weeks before his Garmin Marathon on April 20th.  Andy says that if he feels good, he may go for a Boston Marathon-qualifying time in St. Louis.  That course isn't very conducive to it, though. Except for miles 3, 5 and 13, the course is absolutely nothing but hills. 

It was nice to see Andrea Anderson and Sue Barry back at the St. Patrick's Day race.  This year, they brought along Denise Baker and Karen Blevins.  They all showed admirable restraint in not jumping into any mud puddles along the course.

Speaking of mud, Steve Martonfi will be doing the Warrior Dash in Kansas City on the weekend of April 27-28th.

Jayna Gray, who's been a regular at Eldon 5Ks for years and has a number of overall female walker victories to her credit, is now a runner.  (I think she finished today's race in 30:xx.)  Jayna is one of the We Bleed Pink team members that put on last year's extremely successful Ta-Ta Trot, which returns to Eldon on May 11th.

Lawson Barclay, who lives full-time in Macomb, Illinois, is alive and well.  He'll be returning this summer for some of our local 5Ks.

Speaking of fellow geezers, K.C. Rider was up to his old tricks.  Just as he did at two races last year, he was stalking (and, in today's wind, presumably drafting off of) yours truly until just after making the turn on to Haynes Street, before pulling ahead for good.

Finally, I learned from a reliable, inside source that someone has been inquiring about putting on a triathlon in the Lake area in October.  A one-mile swim in the lake would be followed by a bike segment ending in Eldon, and then a run in Eldon on the usual 5K course.  If I hear anything more, I'll be sure to pass it on.  Bear in mind, though, that triathlons are exceptionally difficult to organize because of all the logistical issues and the need for hordes of volunteers, so don't start training based on this information. 

THE BONK HARD CHILL (updated March 17th)

It was close, but the eighth annual Bonk Hard Chill adventure race on Saturday (March 16th) managed to live up to its name.  The 79° high temperature the day before the race gave way to 40-degree temperatures with breezy, cloudy conditions on race day.

The race was won by the virtually unbeatable Alpine Shop team of David Frei (an orienteering extraodinaire), Jeff Sona, Doug Nishimura and Emily Korsch.  They finished in 8:16:16, about 25 minutes ahead of the winning two-person team, and over an hour ahead of the next four-person co-ed team.  Alpine Shop has now won the Bonk Hard Chill five times.  They finished second in two other years (2010 and 2011), and ninth in 2007 when they inexplicably missed a seemingly easy checkpoint.

The Lake area was represented on two teams.  The Oz Cycles and Kayaks team of Dan Dougan, Tyler Cordia, Josh Shrock and Steve Hermann finished tenth overall, and won the four-person male division over seven other competitors, in 11:29:31. 

The Cedar G's team of Bob Meyer of Camdenton and Doug Hord of Lee's Summit found 22 of the 36 checkpoints, but returned to race headquarters 23 minutes over the 13-hour time limit, resulting in a severe penalty that knocked them to nearly the bottom of the 34-ranked teams.

ANDREW JACKSON MARATHON (updated March 18th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney, who finished Saturday's (March 16th) Andrew Jackson Marathon in Jackson, Tennessee, in 4:29:59 (10:19/mile).  Todd was using the marathon as "practice" for the Garmin Marathon in Olathe, Kansas, on April 20th.  His finish time placed him 10th (of 11) in the male 40-44 age group. 

The wind was a big issue at the race.  At the 7:00 a.m start, winds were blowing steadily at 12 mph, with gusts to 21.  Over the next few hours, wind speed increased to as high 25 mph, with gusts of 31.  With the layout of the course, the second half of the marathon must have been an absolute nightmare.  Temperatures were mild, ranging from 61° to 70°.

Todd has come a long way from 2003, when he ran his first 5K (and had to walk part of it to finish), to 2011, when he ran his first half marathon at Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis, and to 2012, when he ran a bunch of half marathons and his first full marathon at Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas. 

DUBLIN'S PASS SHAMROX 15K/5K (posted March 16th)

Congratulations to three of our Lake-area runners for notable finishes at Saturday's (March 16th) Dublin's Pass ShamRox 15K in Springfield.

Jim McDermott finished in 1:15:42, a pace of 8:09 per mile, placing him third (of 7) in the male 55-59 age group.

Tammara Vitelli finished in 1:20:39 (8:41/mile), good for tenth (of 38) in the female 35-39 age group.

Angela Martin finished sixth (of 36) in the female 40-44 age group, in a time of 1:23:44 (9:01/mile).

All 15K finishers (aged 21 and over) received a custom ShamRox Pint Glass to fill up with Guiness beer at Dublin's Pass Restaurant & Pub after the finish.

The race had 332 15K finishers, and 339 5K finishers.  Those numbers are up quite a bit from 2012's 195 and 266 finishers, respectively, and up tremendously from the 107 and 22, respectively, in the inaugural race in 2011,

LUCKY IN LITTLE ROCK MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted February 27th)

Congratulations to Denny Gillen, who finished Sunday's (March 3rd) Lucky in Little Rock Marathon in an outstanding 4:00:06, placing him fifth (of 49) in the male 60-64 age group. For you young'uns, running a 4-hour marathon is exceptional at age 60.

Our locals running the Garmin Marathon next month might want to take a look at Denny's pacing.  He ran each of the first 14 miles (and a few later miles) at a rock-solid pace between 8:19 and 8:51.  He hit the proverbial marathon wall at mile 22, when his pace dropped to a range of 9:46 to 11:48. 

Denny virtually sprinted the last quarter mile at an 8:11/mile pace in order to break the magical 4:00:00, but unfortunately came up just seconds short. (Denny's GPS unit shows the course being long at 26.47 miles, but the course is USATF certified and a Boston qualifier, so I can't explain the discrepancy.)

I didn't see any other Lake-area runners in the results.  If I missed anyone, please let me know.

CHICAGO MARATHON (updated February 28th)

February 28th update:  After technical problems caused registration for the 2013 Chicago Marathon to be suspended soon after it opened, race officials have announced that a lottery will be held to fill the remaining 15,000 slots.  Runners can enter the lottery through the race website between 12:01 a.m. March 5th through 9:00 p.m. March 7th.

This registration problem was certainly a black eye for one of the six "world marathon majors".  Not as bad, though, as the disastrous 2007 Chicago Marathon, where excessive heat led to serious water shortages for the participants and ovewhelmed emergency medical personnel, and ultimately led to the race being cancelled halfway through.  That race proved to be a watershed moment.  Since then, race directors for large marathons have instituted policies to deal with potential weather-related problems.

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

The twelfth annual Polar Bear Strut 5K Run/Walk, benefiting Special Olympics Missouri, brought out 115 participants on Saturday (February 23rd).  Thursday's winter storm probably kept some from attending (last year's attendance totaled 143), but the chilly (27°) temperature was still comfortable with the sunny skies and near absence of wind. 

A huge "thanks" goes to event organizer Pete Leyva of the Osage Beach Police Department, the volunteers, and Special Olympics Missouri for another great event.  The Osage Beach Department of Public Works deserves credit for completely clearing snow and ice from the course.

Nigher Alfaro was the overall male winner, in 20:45, knocking just under a minute off his fourth-place finish time of 21:43 last year. Camdenton freshman cross-country runner Tessa Weber, in her Polar Bear Strut debut, was the overall female winner, in 21:14.

  
Overall male and female winners Nigher Alfaro and Tessa Weber. The award plaques hadn't arrived in time, so the winners were comforted with bags of popcorn. (Click on photos for larger images.)

Nigher Alfaro and Tessa Weber, were far ahead of their nearest competitors at the two-mile mark.  (Click on photo for larger image.)

The results can be viewed by order of finish, or by age group or division. 

Click here to view dozens of race photos.

Click on the course map below for a larger image.

LBL CHALLENGE (updated February 18th)

It looks like our locals Dan Dougan and Jim Jackson had a tough day at Bonk Hard Racing's LBL Challenge adventure race held on Saturday (February 16th) in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in western Kentucky.  They competed in the 18-hour race, and finished third (of five) among two-person male teams.  They stopped at 12:49:37, after collecting 14 of 45 checkpoints.  The overall race winner was the nearly invincible Alpine Shop four-person co-ed team, which collected 41 checkpoints in 17:49:27--finishing just minutes before the 18-hour deadline. 

GREATER BOLIVAR POLAR BEAR RUN (posted February 23rd)

Congratulations to Paula and Tara O'Connor, who won their respective divisions at the Greater Bolivar Polar Bear Run on February 2nd in Bolivar, Missouri. Paula finished the 5K in 25:08, winning over nine other competitors in the female 40-49 age group. Tara beat one other 20-29 female competitor in the 10K, finishing in 55:45. Full results can be found here.

MOONSHINE HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted February 20th)

The 2012 finishers medals can be picked up at Duncan II Jewelry, located on Osage Beach Parkway between Applebee's and McDonald's.  If you are out-of-town or otherwise unable to pick yours up in person, race director Mike Duncan will gladly mail it to you if you e-mail him at preachstrong AT yahoo.com.  (Be sure to replace "AT" with "@".  I don't publish others' e-mail addresses, and there's no need to feed the e-mail spambots.)

Mike would also like to extend his sincerest apology for the delay in distributing the medals, and promises to be better prepared for the 2013 race. 

CATCH THE KATY 30K (updated February 11th)

The sixteen runners who participated in the Catch the Katy 30K on Sunday (February 10th) received a mixed bag of luck: the rain had stopped, but the winds didn't.  The runners must have enjoyed the free 20-25 mph tailwind on the outbound trip from Clinton to Calhoun on the Katy Trail, but they surely paid the price for it with an equivalent headwind on the return trip. Congratulations to all who braved it.  The weather forecast presumably had a lot to do with the field being much smaller than the (at least) 37 who had pre-registered. (It could have been worse. Exactly two years earlier, the low for Clinton was 9 below, the high was 24, and the Katy Trail was covered in snow and ice.)

Lake-area runners appear in bold.

OSAGE RIVER BOTTOM ROWDY RUN (posted February 7th)

The Osage River Bottom Rowdy Run, which was scheduled for March 29-30th, has been rescheduled to Sunday, November 3rd.

ALYSIA MASCHINO TO TAKE ON REV3 BRANSON (posted January 22nd)

As some of you know, I'm always reluctant to talk in advance about the long races I'm doing for fear of jinxing myself. That doesn't stop me, though, from talking about the big races others are up to.

I wanted to let everyone know that Alysia Maschino will be taking on a new and major challenge this year by doing a triathlon, and she picked a long, tough one: the recently-announced Revolution3 Branson Triathlon on September 22nd.  This half-iron distance race includes a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile (very hilly) bike, and a 13.1-mile run.

Alysia has already received some wonderful support from her family and others as she begins the long journey to prepare for this race.  When you see her at our local events, please give her some words of encouragement.   A triathlon --particularly one of this distance--can be very intimidating to a "newbie", and having the support of others can make a huge difference.

By the way, if anyone else is doing something particularly noteworthy this year, let me know, and I'll be happy to blab it to the world. 

THE INCREDIBLE GARY KRUGGER (posted January 22nd)

For those of you who participated in the Run for the Ranch last month, Gary Krugger, who won that event's marathon distance race, won the Running from an Angel Marathon held on January 14th in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Las Vegas and Boulder City, Nevada.   He finished in 2:56:57, making it his 202nd marathon or ultramarathon finish.

The organizer of that race also puts on the appropriately named Running from the Devil 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon and 50-Miler--on June 29, 2013, on the very same hilly course. Can you imagine running those distances in 100-degree weather?

TRAINING PROGRAMS (posted January 22nd)

If you're planning to run a marathon, half marathon or 5K this spring, GO! St. Louis has posted training programs on their website.   For the marathon and half marathon distances, there are separate plans for beginner and experienced runners.

Training programs have their benefits, but, in my humble opinion, shouldn't be followed blindly since they can't take into account bad weather, injuries, illness, fatigue, family obligations, etc.   Also, you can finish a marathon or half marathon on far less training than these plans call for. (Trust me on that.)

5150 ST. LOUIS TRIATHLON (posted January 17th)

It's been rumored for weeks, and today Ultramax Sports made it official: Its Quartermax and Octomax Triathlons, which are among its oldest events (both dating back to 2003), are morphing into new events for 2013.  The new events will still be held at the Innsbrook Resort west of St. Louis.  The date for both races is Saturday, June 29th.  

Quartermax will become the 5150 St. Louis Triathlon, one of nine U.S. races in the World Triathlon Corporation's 5150 race series, and a qualifying race for the Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship in Des Moines on September 1st.  The race will be the standard international (or Olympic) triathlon distance--a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run.  A 5150 relay team option will also be offered. 

Octomax will be replaced by a sprint distance race, with a 500-yard swim, 18-mile bike and 3-mile run.

Registration for both events is now open, and discounts are available until January 31st.

WALT DISNEY WORLD MARATHON WEEKEND (updated January 13th)

Congratulations to John Tucker and Angela Martin, our two local finishers in today's (January 13th) Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando, Florida. 

They picked the right marathon to run this day, with sunny skies and 70-degree weather.  One thousand miles to the west, runners in the Chevron Houston Marathon endured rain and upper 30s/low 40s temperatures.  (Been there, done that, at the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon in 2003.  Maybe not your worst nightmare, but not far from it.)

ULTRAMAX EVENTS (posted January 3rd)

Ultramax Sports has announced their schedule of events for 2013. (Many of the events for which they only provide timing or other services aren't currently listed.)

They've added some new events, most notably some Go Girl Run Half Marathon & 5K races for Kansas City and Springfield, and dropped a few others. Year-to-year schedule changes--new events, dropped events, and date changes--are all too common for Ultramax. I don't mean for this to be critical, but while they do an outstanding job in organizing events, they do lack some consistency in their schedule from year to year.

The Branson Sprint Triathlon, which was held simultaneously with the now-defunct Ironman 70.3 Branson, appears to be gone, as it's not listed on the 2013 schedule. (As reported, Rev3 will be bringing in their own new event to Branson to replace it.)

Sadly, it also appears that the Halfmax National Championship Triathlon is no more. Ultramax started the event in the mid 2000s when the sport was growing rapidly and half-iron distance triathlons became very popular. However, for a "national" championship, it never really gained much attention, and suffered from competition from the much more popular Ironman 70.3 series. The event received a boost when Trisports.com, a major triathlon retailer, stepped in as a title sponsor, but attendance still didn't grow. For the last four years, Halfmax survived by being held in conjunction with a revolving trio of races in Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. At the 2012 race, held at the Redman Triathlon in Oklahoma City, just 207 athletes competed in the Halfmax Championship. For 2013, Halfmax would have been held at the Myrtle Beach Triathlon, but that event was cancelled in 2012. (Interestingly, Rev3 will be putting on an event in South Carolina that essentially kills and replaces Halfmax.) While no official announcement has been made about Halfmax's future, it looks like it's gone.