2016 YEAR IN REVIEW (posted January 4th)

If you had to describe the 2016 sports scene, both here at the Lake and statewide, in a single word, that word would be "down". In just about every important measure, things were worse in 2016 than in 2015--and 2015 was a down year, too.

Regular readers know that we've been chronicling the "recession" in running and triathlon over the past few years. The decline was finally confirmed in 2016 by numbers published by national organizations, and the very first stories about it appeared in the media.

The effects can be seen in lower attendance at races and in race cancellations.  In the Lake area, it's become a rarity for a race to see an increase in turnout from one year to the next. Nowadays, races are fortunate just to equal the previous year's turnout.

Statewide races

There were 46,827 finishers at full and half marathons held across Missouri in 2016.  That's down 8% from the 50,841 finishers in 2015, and down 16% from the peak of 55,737 in 2014.  2016 was even smaller than 2012, when interest in running was still growing.  

Surprisingly, despite the declining number of finishers, there were more full and half marathons held in 2016 than ever before.  The total of 62 events was up from 57 the prior year, with 10 new races offsetting the cancellation of 5 others.

Of the 51 full and half marathons that were held in both 2015 and 2016, nearly three-fourths of them had declines in participation. That's evidence of a very broad-based decline, and not just one limited to a few large events.

Click on the thumbnail below to see the complete data.

Local races

There were thirty-six 5Ks held in the Lake area in 2016.  That was up from 35 in 2015, but still far below 2014's record of 48.  As we've seen in recent years, there was a big turnover among events, with eleven new races in 2016 offsetting ten that didn't return from the year before.

Total miles raced

The number of miles raced by Lake-area runners in 2016 in 10K and longer races totaled 5,070.  That was down 6% from the record of 5,407 miles set in 2015, but still up from 4,667 miles in 2014, and 4,194 in 2013.  

The 2016 total includes 2,735 miles for men (versus 2,797 in 2015) and 2,335 (versus 2,610) for women. 

First-Timers

We always like to herald those who step up to new or bigger challenges.  Compared to prior years, though, the list for 2016 is relatively short. 

First 100K:   Scott Page, Ashley Pryor and Todd Raney First 50K:  April Boicourt
First Marathon: Marvin Bescheinen, Aaron Koeppen, Jason Kolb, Mark Kempf and John Sykes
First Half Marathon: Ed Doney, Megan Hendrickson, Marie Pitts, Megan Rice (at age 11, a Lake-area women's record), Nichole Stephens, Cooper Vickers, and Tami Wehmeyer

Fastest finishers

Kellee Lundquist had the fastest marathon time among all Lake-area runners in 2016, finishing the Boston Marathon in 3:36:53. For the second year in a row, Todd Raney had the men's fastest time, with a personal best of 3:45:30 at the Mercedes-Benz Marathon in Alabama.

Heather Oddo and Nigher Alfaro had the fastest half marathon finishes for Lake-area women and men. Heather ran a 1:25:25--and was the overall winner--at the 2016 Bridge & Dam Half.  Nigher won the Run for the Children Half in April in 1:34:14.

Most prolific racers

Todd Raney and April Leonard topped the lists of most miles raced in 2016.   Counting only races of 10K or longer, Todd raced a record total of 793.8 miles in 2016, beating his previous record of 619.3 miles set one year earlier.  His 2016 total included 27 marathons.   

April raced 202.0 miles in 2016, breaking the women's record of 191.3 miles set by Ashley Pryor in 2014.  April's total included four marathons and six half marathons.

Rest in Peace

On a very sad note, we lost two Lake-area runners in 2016: Denny Gillen on January 26th at the age of 63, and Alex Keith on June 30th at the age of 19.

Highlights

Despite lots of gloomy news, there were still plenty of good things that happened in 2016, though mostly at an individual level.

The best news had to be the near-miraculous recovery that Casey O'Connor made after a terrible bike crash at the Epic 150 bicycle race that left him him in a coma for two weeks, and required months of rehabilitation. Not one to quit, Casey will be returning to the Lake to do the 2017 race on April 29th. 

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CHILLY 5K RUN/WALK (posted December 31st)

The Joplin Family YMCA (Facebook page) jumped the gun just a tad and held their 2017 Chilly 5K Run/Walk on Saturday. Nearly 400 participants turned out for the 5K, including Margie Gunter of Osage Beach. After an injury-plagued year (that she's probably glad is over), Margie finished in 48:54 and placed 27th (of 28) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Full results can be found here.

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RUN FOR THE RANCH MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 6-HOUR RUN (posted December 31st)

For the second year in a row, above-normal temperatures and sunny skies provided great weather for runners at the 17th annual Run for the Ranch Marathon, Half Marathon & 6-Hour Run (Facebook page) in Springfield on Saturday.  And, once again, a sizable contingent of runners from the Lake area were among them. 

In the half marathon, April Leonard was our fastest local finisher.  April broke the two-hour mark with a 1:59:12 finish, and ended the year as the Lake-area woman with the most miles raced in 2016, with 202.0 total miles.

Four runners--Ron Bentch, John Sykes, Heather Doyle and Krystal Millan--ran the half marathon side-by-side, and finished in 2:16:50.  In only his second year of running, John ended the year with the fifth-largest number of miles raced in 2016 among Lake-area men, with 112.9 miles.

Melissa Martinez of Crocker ran one of her best races of the year, with a 3:46:53 finish in the marathon.  That comes four weeks after a 100K (62-mile) You Don't Know Jack ultramarathon finish of 10:46:46, and a 3:46:35 finish at the Honoring Our Heroes Marathon on November 19th. Melissa was the top female masters (40+) runner.

Robert Garr of St. Louis with Melissa Martinez
and April Leonard before the 10:00 a.m. start.
(Photo provided)

Results for all of our Lake-area runners, plus a few others familiar to some of us, can be found in the table below.  Full race results can be found here. 

There were 291 solo finishers this year, down 23% from last year, and nearly equaling the total from 2014's cold and rain-plagued event.

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HOT CHOCOLATE 15K/5K ST. LOUIS  (posted December 11th)

Over 11,000 chocoholics, including eight from the Lake area, participated in the second annual Hot Chocolate 15K/5K in downtown St. Louis on Sunday.  The total was up from 8,000 last year, easily making this one of St. Louis' largest running events of the year.  There were 3,673 finishers of the 15K, and 7,417 of the 5K.  (Part of this year's increase may be attributable to the 2,000-runner Santa's North Pole Dash 5K in St. Charles being moved up to December 3rd.)

St. Louis is one of about twenty stops in this popular and growing nationwide series of events.  Over 30,000 turned out in October for the Chicago race.  A Kansas City race is planned, although no date has been set.

Our top local finisher was Angela Martin, who knocked 2-1/2 minutes off her 15K finish time from last year.  Angela finished in 1:21:39 and took 13th place (of 336) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Below are the results for all of our local runners.   Full race results can be found here.

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UGLY SWEATER 5K & EGG NOG/BEER MILE (posted December 10th)

One can only imagine the sea of fashion disasters as 268 runners and walkers lined up for the Ugly Sweater 5K and Egg Nog/Beer Mile in Joplin on Saturday.  Our own Margie Gunter, no doubt decked out appropriately for the occasion, was among them.   Margie finished the 5K in 48:15, and placed 44th (of 49) in the women's 40-49 age group.

There was just one ugly sweater photo posted at the race's Facebook page, and that was plenty.

The complete race results can be found here.

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HOOVER DAM MARATHON (posted December 10th)

Unfortunately, the third time was not a charm for Todd Raney. Todd, who's three states away from finishing a marathon in all 50 states, was hoping to make some progress this weekend on his other, more ambitious goal of finishing a marathon in under four hours in all 50 states.

On Saturday, Todd ran the Hoover Dam Marathon at the Lake Mead National Park in Nevada--the state where he ran his very first marathon (of 69 so far) in 2012, but where his two marathon finish times have both been over five hours. Todd finished the Hoover Dam Marathon in 4:05:17, and placed 8th (of 23) in the men's 40-49 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

Today's finish brings Todd's total to 27 marathons completed in 2016, and 793.8 miles raced.  Both, by far, are records for a Lake-area runner.

Todd Raney at the Hoover Dam Marathon finish line. (Click on photo to get a glimpse of Lake Mead in the background.)

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RUNNING OF THE ELVES 5K RUN/WALK (updated December 5th)

Despite chilly temperatures in the lower 40s, about sixty runners and walkers turned out for the first annual Running of the Elves 5K in Camdenton on Saturday.  The race kicked off Camdenton's Christmas on the Square celebration and the arrival of Santa Claus, and introduced a new 5K course to Lake-area runners.

Nigher Alfaro captured his fifth Lake-area race win this year, finishing in about 20:15.   (The official results aren't yet available.)  Nigher felt the heat from an 8th grade cross country runner (name not yet available) from O'Fallon, Missouri, but managed to hang on.   (Nigher had three second-place finishes this year, so he came close to breaking his own record of five Lake-area race victories in a single year.  He set that record 2011--the year before Andy Goessmann moved to the Lake area and pushed Nigher off the top of the podium.) 

The women's winner (whose name isn't yet available) finished in about 23 minutes.

Pictured (from left):  Men's winner Nigher Alfaro, the second-place male from O'Fallon, and the women's winner.  (Names and finish times are forthcoming.)  Don't be surprised to see the O'Fallon runner at future local races--his family comes to the Lake to visit his grandparents in Osage Beach, and his mother is also a runner who was in Memphis for the St. Jude Marathon. 

Many more race photos can be found here.

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ST. JUDE MEMPHIS MARATHON WEEKEND  (posted December 4th)

First marathons are true enigmas.  Most runners--no matter how much they've trained or how long they've been a runner--have a tough time during their first marathon, and slog to the finish line in a relatively slow time. (I could cite many examples just among our Lake-area runners.)  A few, however, have outstanding races--so good, in fact, that they'll have a real challenge in ever topping it in the future.   Aaron Koeppen is one of the latter.  On Saturday, Aaron finished his very first marathon at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend in a remarkable 3:48:10.   He also beat all of our local, experienced marathoners to the finish line: Scott Page crossed in 3:48:34 for a new personal record (by four minutes), followed by Todd Raney (3:55:13), Rob Kucsik (in a new personal record of 3:55:39), Heather Miller (5:29:52) and Sherrie Hamner (5:29:53).

As a group, our Lake-area runners tied the record of four sub 4-hour finishers in a single marathon.  The record they tied was set at the 2013 Garmin Marathon by Andy Goessmann, Jim McDermott, Scott Page and Rob Kucsik.

There were 2,474 and 8,178 solo finishers of the marathon and half marathon, respectively.  Complete race results can be found here.

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YOU DON'T KNOW JACK TRAIL RUN (posted December 4th)

There were no Lake-area runners at the You Don't Know Jack trail runs in Carthage on Saturday, but there was one name familiar to many of us. Melissa Martinez of Crocker was one of two finishers (out of four starters) of the 100K (i.e. 62-mile) race, crossing the finish line in 10:46:46.

Full results can be found here.

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ALTERNATE CHILI TEN-MILE TRAIL RUN (posted December 4th)

Three years after a great finish at the 2013 Alternate Chili Ten-Mile Trail Run in Kansas City, Kansas, Trevor Dowdney returned for more on Saturday.  Trevor finished this time in 1:43:37--eight minutes slower than before--and placed 6th (of 22) in the men's 50-59 age group.

It might be of some comfort to Trevor seeing that another old dog runner is slowing down, too.  Eight year-old   "Winston" Schmitz, who won the canine division in 2013 in 1:27:52, won again on Saturday, but in a more leisurely 1:34:41.  Below is a 2013 photo of "Winston" leading his "mom", Amy Schmitz,   Amy was the overall female winner in 2013, and fourth overall female this year.

Full results can be found here.

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AMAZON WEB SERVICES' re:INVENT 5K (posted December 1st)

Congratulations to Gary Braman for a near top 10% finish in the men's 40-49 age group at the inaugural AWS re:Invent 5K in Las Vegas on Wednesday.  Gary finished in 21:56, placing 27th (of 244) in his age group. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, it looks like more than a few registered participants may have partied a little too hard in Sin City the night before the 6:00 a.m. race start.  There were 985 registered for the sold-out race, yet only 587 finishers.

Women outnumber men at nearly every 5K everywhere, but not at this male-dominated convention and race.  There were nearly ten men for every woman at the 5K.

Complete race results can be found here. 

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LAKER 5K TURKEY TROT (updated November 29th)

For the second year in a row, a record field turned out for the Laker 5K Turkey Trot in Camdenton on Thanksgiving Day.  A total of 180 runners and walkers took part in this year's race, exceeding last year's total of 166, and firmly establishing this as one of the Lake area's biggest and most popular annual races.  The record attendance also generated a record $3,047 in cash proceeds--on top of donated food items--for local food pantries.

A new women's record for this race was set by the phenomenal Heather Oddo in winning her second consecutive Laker Turkey Trot.  Heather smashed last year's record-setting 19:26 with a blistering 18:50 finish time. It was 19 seconds shy of her women's course record of 18:31 set at the Summer Night Glow earlier this year. 

Heather finished 7 seconds behind former Camdenton High School and current Drury University freshman cross country runner Blake Jesse.  This was Blake's first Laker Turkey Trot overall victory.

Follow the links below to view the full race results:

By finish order (.pdf or .xlsx)
By age group (.pdf or .xlsx)

William Wright was the winner of the pie-eating contest.  William beat back the challenge of eight other competitors by downing a whipped cream-topped slice of pumpkin pie in 17 seconds.

You can view all 575 race photos from the race at this page.

A big "thank you" goes to coach Dave & Lynn Weber, Gary & Ellen Thompson, their families, and the other volunteers who put on the Laker Turkey Trot.   This race is consistently one of the most well-organized races in the Lake area.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACE RESULTS (updated November 26th)

Here are the race results for Lake-area runners at non-local events around the state.  If I missed anyone, please let me know.

Congratulations to the eleven Lake-area runners who earned top-three age-group finishes at the Jefferson City Thanksgiving Day Pie Run.  That was one of the best showings ever for Lake-area runners at an out-of-town race.  One notable performance was that of Bryna Edwards, who ran the fastest 10K among Lake-area women so far this year and took second place in the very competitive 30-39 age group.  In addition, April Leonard, who previously held the year's fastest time of 56:07, topped her own best time with a 50:55 and won the women's 40-49 age group.  Among the men's highlights, Elijah Bentch won the 19-29 age group over 26 others with a 21:00 finish in the 5K, while Shawn Wood took third in the very competitive 40-49 age group.

Please note: There were several large races that didn't post results which were searchable by participants' cities.  With many hundreds--and sometimes thousands--of participants at these races, it simply wasn't practical to search for those from the Lake area. I'll be happy to post your results if you tell me where you raced.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACE PARTICIPATION (updated November 26th)

The record attendance at this year's Laker 5K Turkey Trot wasn't a fluke.  Attendance was up at nearly every turkey trot in the state of Missouri on Thanksgiving Day. 

Excluding some small races for which results aren't available, there were 39,533 participants at turkey trots around the state this year, up 4,700 over last year, and nearly 9,500 over 2014.

This is one of the few bright spots we've seen this year when measuring the level of interest in running.

Here's the data:

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WILLIAMS ROUTE 66 MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 20th) 

Todd Raney added Oklahoma to the list of states in which he's finished a marathon in under 4:00:00 after completing the Williams Route 66 Marathon in 3:55:13 on Sunday in Tulsa. Todd placed 22nd (of 107) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Todd was our only Lake-area participant.  There were, however, a few other familiar names in the results.

Sherry Wilson of Waynesville ran the 5K on Saturday, finishing in 27:29, and the half marathon on Sunday, in 2:16:30.

Shandi Brinkman of West Plains ran the marathon in 6:01:34.

The phenomenal "Marathon Maniac" Gary Krugger of Flagstaff, Arizona finished 13th overall in the marathon, in 2:59:22.  Gary won the Run for the Ranch Marathon in Springfield in 2011.  Despite being only 31 years old, he's run nearly 300 marathons, and has finished one in under three hours in all 50 states.

Full results can be found here.

Participation was down significantly from last year, especially in the marathon.  Here are the total number of finishers, by race:

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HONORING OUR HEROES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 19th)

Congratulations to the three tough women from the Lake area who braved cold temperatures and subfreezing wind chills while competing at today's inaugural Honoring Our Heroes Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon & 5K. All of the races ended in Rolla. The point-to-point marathon and half marathon races started in Salem and halfway between Salem and Rolla, respectively.

Two of our local women ran the marathon.  April Leonard, who ran her last marathon at Bass Pro just two weeks ago, was the first to finish, in 4:34:24.  (April finished second in the women's 45-49 age group behind Melissa Martinez of Crocker, who ran a speedy 3:46:35.)  Ashley Howerton of Lake Ozark finished in 4:43:19 and won the women's 25-29 age group by default.  She also set a new personal record, easily beating her 5:35:54 finish at the 2013 GO! St. Louis Marathon.

In the half marathon, Vickey Clark of Camdenton crossed the line in 2:19:37, taking fourth place (of seven) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

Here are the total number of finishers, by race:

Marathon - solo        32
Marathon - teams       3
Half marathon         108
5K                             58

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ADVENTUREMAX SPRINGFIELD HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted November 19th)

It was a milestone of sorts for the Dowdney family at the AdventureMax Springfield trail race in Highlandville on Saturday (November 19th). Racing together for the first time at a big event were Trevor Dowdney and his 14 year-old son, Aidan. Trevor won bragging rights in the family, finishing the 10K in 1:00:56 and placing second (of 13) in the men's 50-54 age group. Aidan, meanwhile, won (by default) the men's 14 & Under age group with a 1:07:40 finish. (It won't be long before Aidan trumps his dad at this distance. He's already faster on shorter trail runs.)

One other familiar name in the results was that of Jani Tucker of Lebanon, who ran the half marathon in 2:27:35 and took second place (of 6) in the women's 50-54 age group.

The complete race results can be found here.

Participation was up significantly from last year in the 10K, but the half marathon was up only marginally. Here are teh details:

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PHOENIX SUMMIT CHALLENGE (posted November 17th)

Gary Braman passed along some beautiful photos from last Saturday's Phoenix Summit Challenge (Facebook page). The Challenge isn't a race, but a city-sponsored hiking event up the mountains that surround Phoenix.  Check them out:

Gary (left) and hiking buddy Josh at the summit.

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GOBBLER GRIND MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 13th)

Congratulations to the Lake area's newest marathon finishers: John Sykes and Marvin Bescheinen.  On Sunday, John and Marvin finished the Gobbler Grind Marathon in Overland Park, Kansas. John crossed the line in an outstanding 3:55:07, and placed fourth (of nine) in the men's 55-59 age group. Marvin came in at a very impressive 4:25:47, and also placed fourth (of nine), but in the 60-64 age group.   Marathons can be especially cruel to first-timers, but it obviously wasn't for John and Marvin.

Todd Raney was our fastest marathon finisher, in 3:52:44.  Tara Grantham, running alongside Ashley Pryor, ran a new marathon personal best (as far as I can tell) of 4:16:47. Stacey Embry, running in only her second half marathon, crossed in 2:11:26. In the 5K, Melinda Sykes cruised to a 38:08 finish.

Complete race results can be found here.

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RUCK 'N' RUN 5.56K RUN/WALK (posted November 13th)

One of the events that got "lost" amid all of the big races that went on during the weekend of November 5-6 was the second annual Ruck 'N' Run 5.56K Run/Walk in Republic.   Ruck 'n' Run is a "boot camp inspired" race that includes five stations along the run course where participants must stop and perform exercises (e.g. push ups, jumping jacks and squats).

What's really important to know about Ruck 'N' Run, though, is that it benefits veterans organizations and veterans (and their families) in the Springfield area who are either homeless or at risk of becoming so.

Dan Robertson, the only Lake-area participant shown in the results, completed the course in 37:34.

The date for the 2017 Ruck 'N' Run will be Saturday, November 11th--Veteran's Day. Unlike this year, there shouldn't be a calendar conflict for Lake-area runners, as Give 'Em The Bird and Bass Pro normally take place on the first Saturday and Sunday of the month, which in 2017 will be November 4-5th.

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GIVE 'EM THE BIRD 5K RUN & 1-MILE FUN WALK (updated November 10th)

The sixth annual Give 'Em The Bird--the Lake area's "Super Bowl of 5Ks"--was blessed with incredibly nice weather for the 105 runners and walkers who took over the city of Versailles on Saturday morning.  With the staunch support of the local business community, the event raised a record $9,000 for Food for Morgan County to help local families in need during the upcoming holiday season. 

The kids were told their quarter-mile run was "just for fun",
but, as usual, the kids weren't listening.

For the third year in a row, Ashley Pryor was the overall women's winner, finishing in 22:33.  And, for the fourth time in four years, there was a first-time winner of the men's race--Francisco Garnica of Versailles, in 19:47.  Francisco's was the slowest men's winning time in the race's six-year history.  The full race results can be found here.

Overall winners Francisco Garnica and Ashley Pryor.

Some additional photos from the race can be viewed here.

Video footage from the race will take some time to edit.  I'll post it as soon as it's available.. 

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BASS PRO (PART 3 OF 3) -- CHEERING ZONE VIDEO (posted November 9th)

A 20-minute segment of video footage recorded at the Lake Area Runners Cheering Zone is now available on YouTube at this address. 

Look for Randy Acklin (holding the 2:00 pace group banner) at the 2:20 mark of the video; Melissa and Luke Martinez at the 4:25 mark; and Jim McDermott at the 10:25 mark.

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BASS PRO (PART 2 OF 3) -- PHOTOS (posted November 8th)

Here are some photos taken from the Lake Area Runners Cheering Zone, posted in the order in which they were taken.

Peter Chebil (left) and Erin Dolan had commanding leads halfway through the half marathon, and ended up being the men's and women's overall winners.  Rarely do you see a race leader grinning like Erin.  Most of the time, they're expressionless.

A runner who had just turned the corner and was headed straight toward me looked a bit familiar, and then I realized who it was:  Andy Goessmann!  (I hadn't seen Andy since he moved to Branson a few years ago.)  Andy finished ninth overall in the men's race, in 1:27:14.  A little while later, I spotted another familiar face, Jani Tucker of Lebanon.

Proud mom Melissa Martinez showed off her son, Luke Martinez, who ran the entire race with her, side-by-side.  (They were part of a large group of Team 413 runners at this year's race.)  The first marathoner to arrive was Antony Mugo.  He had a nice lead at mile 18.8, but  eventually lost it, and finished 12 seconds behind the men's winner.

Kimi Reed  (pictured at left running next to her husband, Marshall Reed) is one of the fastest women in Missouri, and has a long list of race victories, including three Bass Pro half marathons.  This year, she added a marathon victory to her resumé with a 2:44:57 finish.  Past Bass Pro marathon winner Camille Herron of Oklahoma is herself an incredible runner, but was struggling noticeably and finished 8 minutes behind Kimi. 



I saw a another runner approaching who looked familiar, but I couldn't place him until he was passing me. It was Marlo Anderson of Fort Leonard Wood.  Marlo ran the Kyleigh Phillips Memorial Half Marathon at the Lake in September.  April Leonard was running well, and with this race took the lead (though it looks like it may be only temporary) in the most miles raced among Lake-area women so far this year.

The Lake area had two marathon relay teams in the race, and Curtis Wehmeyer and Anita Leyva ran the teams' segments that passed by the cheering zone.

Two more familiar faces: Angela Martin and, from Bonnots Mill, Missouri, Dottie Ruettgers. Dottie did the Run for the Children Half Marathon in Eldon earlier this year.

I stayed until the very last of the day's runners passed by the cheering zone. (You can see the race's sag vehicle in the background in the above photo.) One of them turned out to be Katie Leigh (pictured at right), a former Lake resident who now lives in Jefferson City. (Katie ran the Kyleigh Phillips Memorial and Run for the Children half marathons at the Lake this year.)   During the race, Katie started walking with Kathryn Holden (one of just three women in the 65-69 age group), who was having a very tough day, and together they finished in just under seven hours.

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BASS PRO (PART 1 OF 3) -- RACE RESULTS (posted November 7th)

Approximately two dozen Lake-area runners made the drive to Springfield this weekend to compete at one of the Bass Pro Shops' Outdoor Fitness Festival races, making Bass Pro the most popular out-of-town race for local runners for the third year in a row.  They also enjoyed perhaps the best weather ever for the race, with temperatures in the 50s to low 60s, sunny skies and only a slight of breeze. 

The results for our local runners, plus a few familiar names from outside the immediate Lake area, are shown below. If I missed anyone, please let me know.

The most notable performances came from those outside the Lake area.  Jani Tucker of Lebanon, who ran the Boston Marathon earlier this year after qualifying at Bass Pro in 2014, finished the half marathon in 1:53:20, placing second in her age group.  Sondra Ellis of Stoutland came within 4:12 of running a Boston qualifying time.  She finished the marathon in 3:39:12, placing third in her age group.  Finally, Randy Acklin, official pacer of the 2:00 group, successfully brought his minions to the finish line in 1:59:20.

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation in the combined full and half marathon was down 15% from last year, which in turn was down 19% from the previous year.  (The decline has been very noticeable from my vantage point at the Lake Area Runners Cheering Zone these past three years.)  It's kind of sad to see a race which was consistently growing in size and popularity up until a few years ago gradually shrink to its size of five years ago.  With big sponsors willing to support it, the race isn't in any jeopardy, but races with declining numbers often make cuts that are small, yet visible. (GO! St. Louis and Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis, for example, are not nearly what they once were.)

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ST. LOUIS HALF MARATHON & 5K  (posted November 6th)

Five weeks after running his very first half marathon in Warrensburg, Ed Doney dove in again on Sunday at the St. Louis Half Marathon in suburban St. Louis.   He finished in 2:17:45, placing 17th (of 21) in the men's 60-64 age group. (That's not only an unusually large number of 60-64 year-olds, but an extremely fast one as well.) Ed came up 20 seconds shy of setting a PR, making one wonder whether walking the 5K at Give 'Em The Bird 5K (with Elizabeth) on Saturday (and traveling to St. Louis later in the day) cost him 20 precious seconds on Sunday.

Elizabeth Doney did the Track Club's 5K, finishing in 46:46.  That gave her a third-place finish in the women's 60-64 age group.

Angela Libby of Osage Beach was another 5K finisher, crossing the line in 38:36 and placing 9th (of 12) in the women's 30-34 age group.

Full results can be found here.

There were 870 half marathon finishers this year.  That was up a surprising 30% from last year, but participation at this race has been volatile over the last five years.

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MOAB TRAIL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K ADVENTURE RUN  (posted November 6th)

Moab, Utah is one of this country's most popular places for hiking and mountain biking because of the spectacular scenery in the nearby Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. The Moab Trail Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K Adventure Run draws on that popularity, with 1,500 runners coming from all across the U.S. to participate in one of its weekend races.

Chris Boyle of Osage Beach competed in Sunday's half marathon, finishing in 2:14:05 and placing 16th (of 46) in the men's 30-39 age group. There were a total of 378 runners in the half marathon, with women accounting for nearly two-thirds of them.

Complete results can be found here.

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RED DOG 100 & DIRTY PUP 50 BICYCLE RACES  (posted November 6th)

The inaugural Red Dog 100-mile and Dirty Pup 50-mile gravel road bicycle races were held on Saturday. A total of 105 racers--split evenly between the two distances--started near the state capitol in Jefferson City before heading north across the Missouri River bridge to the gravel roads in Callaway county.

Four Lake-area cyclists were among those competing. In the Red Dog 100, Scott Hofer finished in 6:44:29 to take second place (of 13) in the men's masters divison. Chris Orr was 14th (of 28) in the Open Men division with a 7:29:44 finish.

In the Dirty Pup 50, Terry Kaufman finished in 3:34:40, taking 10th place (of 52).   Amy Harrell finished 15th overall, in 3:46:00, and was the first woman to cross the line.

Full results can be found here.

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KATY TRAIL TUNNEL TROT  (posted November 6th)

Six of our Lake-area runners competed in the third annual Katy Trail Tunnel Trot 5K/12K on Sunday (November 6th) in Rocheport.  Three of them--John Sykes, Melinda Sykes and Michelle Kennedy--made it a two-race weekend, having done the Give 'Em The Bird 5K in Versailles on Saturday. 

John and Willard Haley ran the 12K side-by-side, tying for a first-place finish in the men's 50-59 age group with a time of 1:15:27.  Michelle and Melinda also ran the 12K together, finishing in 1:42:01.

Jayna Gray ran the 12K in 1:28:16, and Scott Gray walked it in 1:56:07.

Paul and Ginger Joyner of Rolla, who own Split-Second Timing, which times some of our Lake-area races, also competed in the 12K.  They finished in 1:14:31 and 1:18:39, respectively.

Results for Lake-area runners can be found below.  Full results can be found here.

Participation was up a bit from last year for both race distances.  Moving the race forward by one month, plus extremely nice weather on Sunday, certainly didn't hurt.

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TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON (posted November 6th)

Congratulations to Jesse Shields, who joined 50,000 others on Sunday to run the largest marathon in the world, the TCS New York City Marathon.   Jesse finished in 4:32:18, placing 3,100th (of 4,815) in the men's 35-39 age group.   (His age group alone was almost four times larger than the biggest marathon in Missouri.)

Complete results can be found here.

Lots of eyes were focused on 2016 Olympics triathlon gold medal winner Gwen Jorgenson, who was running her very first marathon.  (She's a phenomenal runner, but even in her debut marathon training she never ran more than 16 miles.)  Gwen finished in 2:41:01--the 14th fastest female in the race.

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MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (posted November 6th) 

Congratulations to our eight Lake-area high school cross country runners who competed at the state championships in Jefferson City on Saturday. Their results are posted below.  The full race results can be found here.

The Osage High School girls team placed 12th (of 14 teams competing) in the Class 3 team championship standings.

For the record, the top boys' and girls' runners in the state finished in 15:22 and 18:02, respectively.  Both were from Class 4 schools.

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TURKEY BEARD RUN 5K (updated October 31st)

Finally, the table has been turned.   After many Lake-area races have been won by out-of-towners over the years, one of our locals has won a race held elsewhere. Gary Braman, who himself finished second to a runner from Centralia at the Kyleigh Phillips Memorial 5K in September, was the overall winner at the Turkey Beard Run 5K at Boswell Park in Lebanon on Saturday, finishing in 21:50.

Here's a photo of Gary breaking the winner's tape.  (More photos can be found at The Free Store Ministry's Facebook page.)

Full results aren't yet available to see if any other Lake-area runners participated in the race.  Let me know if you did.

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MARINE CORPS MARATHON (posted October 30th)

Todd Raney was in Arlington, Virginia on Sunday (October 30th) to run the 41st annual Marine Corps Marathon.   The MCM is the fifth largest marathon in the United States, with about 20,000 finishers.  Because it's open to runners as young as 14 and it doesn't offer prize money (like the four larger marathons), it's sometimes referred to as "The People's Marathon".

Todd finished in 3:56:19, placing 241st (of 1,590) in the men's 45-49 age group.  Having already completed a marathon in Virginia earlier this year, Todd didn't add to his 50-state total (which remains at 47), but he did add to his total for states in which he's finished a marathon in under four hours.  That total is now 24.

Complete marathon results can be found here.

Todd is one of three current Lake-area residents who have run the Marine Corps Marathon, the other being Alysia Maschino (2015) and Pete Leyva (2007). 

The late Denny Gillen was registered for the 2015 race but deferred it to 2016 to recover from a knee procedure.  MCM was one of three big races that he was looking forward to doing this year.

One of Denny's three sons, 39 year-old Kevin Gillen of Taylors, South Carolina, took several brand-new pairs of shoes that Denny had bought for the 2016 season and used them to train for and run in the Marine Corps Marathon in his dad's place.  (The race organizers allowed Kevin to take his dad's slot in the sold-out race.)  Kevin finished yesterday's marathon in 4:56:45. (I'm not certain, but I believe it was his very first marathon.)  Surely, his proud dad is all smiles today.

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MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (posted October 30th

Three Lake-area high school cross country runners have qualified for the Missouri state championship meet next Saturday (November 5th) in Jefferson City.

At the Class 2 district race in Westphalia on Saturday, Kendall Reger, a junior at Versailles High School, finished in 18:30 and placed seventh overall.  Kendall was the overall winner at last year's Give 'Em The Bird 5K, but he obviously won't be there on Saturday to defend last year's win.

In Salisbury, Osage High School sophomore Micah Hill and junior Karlie Minnehan finished a fraction of a second apart (21:43.77 for Micah, versus 21:43.90 for Karlie) to take 11th and 12th place, respectively, in the Class 3 district race.  (They barely made the cutoff, as only the top 15 runners advance to the state meet.)  This will be Micah's second appearance at the state championship.

Camdenton High School's Garrett Mason, who won the Blue Ribbon 5K Run in August, finished in 18:16 and placed 63rd in the Class 4 sectional at Ha Ha Tonka. Only the top 30 runners in the Class 4 sectionals advance to the state final.

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CHATTAJACK 31 (posted October 24th) 

Trevor Dowdney returned to Chattanooga, Tennessee on Saturday (October 22nd) for his second shot at the Chattajack 31 paddle race on the Tennessee River.  About 300 paddlers competed in various kayak, paddleboard and surfski divisions.   

Trevor finished the 31-mile race in 7:03:54, placing 62nd (of 116) in the men's 14' stand-up paddleboard (SUP) division.  That was slower than his 5:50:53 finish last year.

Full results can be found here.

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PETE'S FEET ACROSS AMERICA (posted October 24th)

On Monday, 29 year-old ultrarunner Pete Kostelnick, from Lincoln, Nebraska completed his 3,067-mile run across the United States in 42 days, 6 hours and 30 minutes.  He broke the existing transcontinental record--which has stood for 36 years--by four days. 

Someone may someday break Pete's record, but it's going to take another phenomenal runner, supported by an equally phenomenal support crew.  Pete and his crew made this run look easy.  He was so consistent from one day to the next that, frankly, it was a bit boring to follow. 

Pete Kostelnick (blue jersey) and his support crew in front of San Francisco City Hall. He started his run in San Francisco on September 12, 2016--his 29th birthday.

Here are some media reports:

Runner's World:  "Ultrarunner Pete Kostelnick Smashes Record for Run Across U.S."

New York Post:  "Ultrarunner Breaks World Record in 6- Week Trek Across U.S."

The New York Times:  "How to Run Across the Country Faster Than Anyone"

An interviewd on ESPN can be found on Pete's Facebook page. 

For more information about his run, here are links to Pete's live tracker, Facebook page, and website.

On a personal note, I first posted the news in August of Pete's upcoming attempt to break the transcontinental record.  When his run began in September, I wasn't sure whether I should post daily updates, since many coast-to-coast runs end prematurely and I didn't want to bring much attention to something that might only end in failure.  However, I knew that Pete had the talent, determination and support to break the record, and decided to go all in on it.  I'm glad I did.  I've been fortunate to witness or follow some incredible feats of endurance, but Pete's is one of the most extraordinary.  Running the equivalent of nearly three marathons a day for 42 days, through all kinds of terrain and weather, is beyond comprehension.

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OUTBACK IN THE OZARKS (updated October 24th)

The Outback in the Ozarks team relay in northwest Arkansas has been one of the few bright spots in running races these past few years, having bucked the trend of declining participation experienced by races all across the country.  The race nearly doubled in size this year alone, with 75 teams--each consisting of anywhere from four to twelve runners--competing in one of four race-distance options, up from 46 teams (between two distances) last year.

Lake-area runners contributed to the race's growth this year.  Interest in the race was strong enough to field a second Lake Area Runners team for the first time.  Both teams competed in the 200-mile race.

The Lake Area Runners - Team 1, consisting solely of runners 40 years and older, won the Masters division (over two other Masters teams) in a finish time of 30:18:15.   They placed 13th overall among the 62 teams that finished.

Team 2 finished in 34:18:40, placing 44th overall and 18th (of 28) in the Open division.

Here are the rosters for the two teams:

Complete race results can be found here.

Kudos to cub reporter Scott Page for the link to the race results, the team rosters, and the hundreds of photos that are posted at the teams' photo album. 

Check out the teams' Facebook page for even more photos and reports.

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RACE FOR HONOR 5K RUN/WALK (posted October 23rd)

Approximately 40-50 runners and walkers came out on a spectacular October morning to participate in the Race for Honor 5K in Lake Ozark.  The race was organized on short notice by the recently-formed School of the Osage Interact Club, but they did a great job in putting on a fun event that also benefited a very worthy cause:  the Central Missouri Honor Flight, which takes World War II--and, increasingly, Korean and Vietnam War--veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built to honor their service and sacrifices.

Interact clubs are Rotary International's service club for young people ages 12 to 18.  They're sponsored by local Rotary Clubs, but are self-governing and self-supporting.

The overall race winners were Osage cross country runners Derrick Puckett (a junior) and Micah Hill (a sophomore) in 19:28 and 21:47, respectively.

Many more photos from the event can be found here.

A big "thanks" and "congratulations" go to the SOTO Interact club--especially club member Micah Hill--and the school staff and volunteers for a well-organized event that will help honor our deserving veterans.

Finally, it would be a major omission not to recognize the student group (pictured below) that sung the national anthem before the race began. It was one of the finest renditions I've heard at any race, whether local or distant.  Thank you, ladies!   We needed that.

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THE GREAT GO! ST. LOUIS HALLOWEEN RACE (posted October 23rd) 

Laura Barnhart and Angela Libby, both of Osage Beach, participated in the The Great GO! St. Louis Halloween Race in downtown St. Louis on Sunday (October 23rd).   Their results are shown in the table below.

Tyler Pence, the overall winner of last week's Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon, made it two in a row, with another dominant victory.  He finished the half marathon in 1:05:47--two minutes faster than last week, and three minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. 

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CUBAN GRAVEL CRISIS BICYCLE RACE (posted October 18th)

Bicycle races on gravel roads have grown in popularity over the last few years, often at the expense of road and mountain bike races. The many miles of gravel roads in the Ozarks is making Missouri a popular place for gravel races.

The second annual Cuban Gravel Crisis was held on Saturday in Cuba, Missouri with 145 cyclists finishing the 20-, 50- or 100-mile race options. Two were from the Lake area. Terry Kaufman of Four Seasons competed in the 50-mile race, finishing in 4:26 and placing 26th overall (of 81). In the 100-mile race, Ron Bentch of Versailles took 11th place (of 26 finishers) with a time of 7:44. Two other locals, Scott Hofer and Chris Orr, entered the 100-mile race, but failed to finish.

Complete race results can be found at the race's Facebook page.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL ST. LOUIS HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (updated October 17th)

Thirteen Lake-area runners traveled to St. Louis this past weekend to compete in the Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon and 5K/10K. The weather was the warmest in the race's six-year history, with temperatures in the low 70s at the start.

Heather Oddo took the crown this year as our fastest local Rock 'n' Roll Half finisher, with an incredible 1:30:09. Heather was the eighth overall female (of 3,074), and won the women's 30-34 age group over 488 other competitors.

Pete Leyva, who was our top finisher in four of the race's five years, crossed the line in 1:50:08. That was good for 10th place (of 125 runners) in the men's 55-59 age group.

Melissa Martinez finished nine seconds behind Pete, and placed 6th (of 340) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Anita Leyva finished in the top 10th of the 45-49 age group with a finish time of 1:59:15.

Congratulations to Nichole Stephens of Lake Ozark for finishing her very first half marathon. Due to a missing chip, Nichole didn't get an official time, but she ran alongside Brandi Kincaid, who finished in 2:24:23.

Jackie Pirtle-Hall of St. Charles was the overall women's half marathon winner, in 1:17:00. Jackie's been dominant at half and full marathon races in the St. Louis area for years.

The men's race was the big story of the day, as the winner, 23 year-old Tyler Pence from Springfield, Illinois, finished in 1:07:47--nine minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. That's a blistering pace of 5:11 per mile.

Below are photos of some of our Lake-area finishers.

About 100 more photos from the race can be viewed here.

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WADDELL & REED KANSAS CITY MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 15th)

The Lake area was represented by seven runners at the Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K on Saturday (October 15th).

Todd Raney, Heather Doyle and April Leonard all finished the marathon in the top 25% of their respective age groups.

Jason Kolb finished further back in his age group, but he deserves a special congratulations for finishing his very first marathon.

 
Paula O'Connor (left) was at the race to cheer on April Leonard. Todd Raney celebrates his third Kansas City Marathon finish in four years, and his new record for most miles raced in a year by a Lake-area runner. (Photos provided.)

In the half marathon, Lauren Jones was our fastest local finisher. Lauren crossed the line in 2:15:24. This may have been her very first half marathon. Danny and Dee Stoelting also finished the half. This was the third Kansas City Half for Danny and the first for Dee.

Below are the results for Lake-area runners. (Please let me know if I missed anyone). Full results can be found here.

Participation in this year's race totaled 6,356 solo runners, down 6% from last year's total of 6,742. It was the third consecutive decline in participation for this race since the peak of 8,912 runners in 2013.

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RACE TO THE DOME (posted October 9th) 

Trevor Dowdney was our lone Lake of the Ozarks participant in the seventh annual Race to the Dome paddle race on the Missouri River on Saturday (Ocotber 8th).   And, for the third year in a row, Trevor won the paddleboard division in the 15.8-mile race from Hartsburg to Jefferson City.  This year, he won over two other competitors.

Results can be found here.

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BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON (posted October 9th)

Congratulations to Nigher Alfaro for his third consecutive finish of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, which was held on Sunday (October 9th).  Nigher finished in 4:13:08.  He placed 1,847th of 3,485 men in the 40-44 age group.

After two years of experiencing problems during the race (blisters in 2014 and cramps in 2015), Nigher was hoping for better luck this year.  Apparently, Lady Luck wasn't listening.  He started slowing noticeably by the 30K mark this year, versus 35K last year and 40K in 2014.  Here's his per-mile pace for each 5K (or shorter) segment the last three years, starting at the halfway mark:

Full results can be found here.

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HARTFORD MARATHON & NEWPORT MARATHON(updated October 12th)

And then there were three.  Todd Raney checked Connecticut and Rhode Island off his 50-state list this weekend after finishing the Hartford Marathon on Saturday, and the Newport Marathon on Sunday.  He has just three more states to go:  New York, Oregon and Hawaii.

Todd finished the Hartford Marathon in 3:46:08, placing 62nd of 166 runners in the men's 45-49 age group.   Full results can be found here.

In the Newport Marathon, Todd finished in 4:00:37, placing 20th (of 54) in the 45-49 age group.   Those results can be found here.

The number of states in which he's finished in under four hours now totals 23.

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PREGNANCY HELP CENTER 5K RUN/WALK FOR LIFE (updated October 10th)

About two dozen runners and walkers turned out on Saturday for the fourth annual 5K Run/Walk for Life benefiting the Pregnancy Help Centers at the Lake of the Ozarks. 

Only a half dozen or so were runners. Jesse Shields and Katie Hensley were the top male and female finishers.  Jesse finished in 21:xx; Katie was a few minutes behind.  Katie lives in Quincy, Illinois and is a frequent visitor to the Lake.  You may recall she was the overall female winner at the 9/11 Freedom Run on September 10th.

More photos from the event can be found here.

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RUN THE BURG HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (updated October 5th)

Ed and Elizabeth Doney traveled to Warrensburg on Saturday to participate in the Run the Burg Half Marathon & 5K/10K.

Ed ran the half marathon, finishing in 2:17:26 and placing second (of two) in the men's 60-64 age group.  This was Ed's very first half marathon.  Congratulations Ed!

Elizabeth did the 5K, finishing in 44:54 and placing second (of three) in the women's 60-64 age group.

Full results can be found here.

Overall participation (229 finishers) was down from last year (251 finishers), although the number of 10K finishers was up slightly.  The half marathon (76 finishers) was down 10% from last year's total of 84.

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MO' COWBELL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 4th)

Congratulations to Mark Kempf for finishing his very first marathon.  On Sunday (October 2nd), Mark completed the MO' Cowbell Marathon in St. Charles, finishing in 4:49:34 and placing 23rd (of 38) in the men's 45-49 age group. 

Three other Lake-area runners--Bobbie Grant, Nathan Evans and Helen Sparks--competed in the half marathon. Their results can be found below.

Complete race results can be found here.

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ROOTS 'n BLUES 'n BBQ HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted October 2nd)

The Lake area had just one representative--the smallest number in years--at this year's Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ Half Marathon & 10K in Columbia on Saturday (September 26th). 

Patricia Benefield of Eldon ran the 10K, finishing in 1:34:51 and placing 53rd (of 60) in the women's 40-49 age group.

Click for the complete half marathon and 10K results. There were 548 and 521 finishers of the half marathon and 10K, respectively.

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FROG HILL HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted October 2nd)

A total of 246 runners turned out for the third annual Frog Hill Half Marathon & 5K/10K (Facebook page), presented by Team 413 - Gracerunner Ministries, in Waynesville on Saturday (October 1st).  Of these, 86 ran the half marathon, 57 ran the 10K, and 103 ran the 5K on Friday night that was newly added to this year's event.  Six runners from the Lake area were among those participating.

In the half marathon, Jim McDermott was our fastest Lake-area finisher, crossing the line in 1:51:22.  Jim won his age group by default.

April Leonard won the women's 40-49 age group over nine other competitors, finishing in 1:59:38.  April is the only local runner to complete the Hills and Hollers Challenge, which required also finishing the Bridge and Dam and Kyleigh Phillips Memorial half marathons.  She earned a custom hoodie for completing the challenge.

Alysia Maschino and Jen Wiethop took a more leisurely pace and finished the half marathon in 3:20:48.

Finally, Curtis and Tami Wehmeyer ran the Leapfrog 5K on Friday night, finishing in 30:36 and 38:28, respectively.

Click to view the full results.

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PANTHER RUN 5K/10K/15K (posted October 2nd)

The Lake area had one runner in Springfield on Saturday competing at the Panther Run (5K/10K/15K).  Taylor Davidson of Lake Ozark ran the 5K in 26:15, and finished second (of 28) in the women's 13-19 age group.

He doesn't race as often as he did when he lived at the Lake, but Andy Goessmann, who now lives in Branson, ran the 15K and placed 13th of 189 competitors.  Andy took second place (of 19) in the men's 30-39 age group.

Results can be found here.

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KYLEIGH PHILLIPS MEMORIAL 5K & HALF MARATHON (updated September 26th)

While fall officially arrived two days earlier, warm and humid summer weather held on long enough to make it a brutally tough day for those who competed at the third annual Kyleigh Phillips Memorial 5K & Half Marathon on Saturday. Forty-two runners and walkers--including 20 for the half marathon and 22 for the 5K--participated in the race that started at the Tri-County YMCA in Osage Beach. 

The race was a benefit for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, which is a leading treatment and research center for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.  The race's namesake, Kyleigh Phillips, passed away in 2015 at the age of three following a battle with a rare form of cancer.   

The temperature was 73°, with 80% relative humidity, at the 9:00 a.m. start, and reached the low 80s by 11:00.   This was the ninth half marathon ever held at the Lake of the Ozarks, and the weather conditions for this race were clearly the toughest.  The relatively slow finish times reflect it. 

For the second year in a row, Nigher Alfaro and Melissa Martinez were the overall male and female winners of the half marathon.  Nigher, who suffered leg cramps that reduced him to a walk at times, finished in 1:49:55--over 17 minutes slower than last year's winning time of 1:32:45.  Fifty-six year-old marvel John Sykes was closing in on Nigher the last few miles, but finished 28 seconds behind, in 1:50:23.

Melissa Martinez crossed the line in 1:57:30.  That was only slightly slower than her 1:55:53 finish last year.   (Jim McDermott isn't listed in the race results at this time, but he ran and finished alongside Melissa.)

The 5K had two first-time winners.  Derek Calhoon of Centralia and Kris Williams of Camdenton were the men's and women's winners in 20:31 and 26:39, respectively.

Complete race results can be found here.

Other than the heat, the big story of this race was the participation by a large, wonderful group of runners from the Greater Missouri Team 413 Gracerunner Project.  Their spirit and encouragement was like nothing we've ever really seen at a Lake-area race.   Their call to form a reception line for the final finishers was especially cool--and inspiring.

Many more race photos can be viewed here.

A big "thanks" goes to Curtis and Tami Wehmeyer and all of their volunteers for another great race.  Included among those volunteers were some from the Nike Factory Store, (Nike also graciously provides volunteers for Bridge & Dam.)

Miscellaneous notes from the race:

April Leonard will have to wait another year to try to add the Tokyo Marathon to her list of World Marathon Majors finishes.    April has finished Chicago, New York, London and Berlin, and needs only Tokyo and Boston to finish the set.  Tokyo had an incredible 320,000 applications--nearly 10 for each of the roughly 35,000 slots available.

John and Melinda Sykes both started running only three years ago, and are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet.  As fit and fast as he is, you'd never know that John once weighed 235 pounds and was a smoker. He's currently training like a maniac for his first marathon at Waddell & Reed Kansas City on October 15th.  He ran 19 miles on Friday--another warm, humid day--before Saturday's half marathon.  (We may have to have an intervention for John at some point.)

Finally, ~~~~ Healing vibes ~~~~ to Margie Gunter, who's out of action for at least a month following shoulder surgery that was required after this summer's bike crash.  Margie was at the race to cheer everbody on. 

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TUNNEL LIGHT MARATHON (posted September 18th)

And then there were five.  Five states, that is, remaining on Todd Raney's list of states to go in his quest to finish a marathon in every state.  On Sunday (September 18th), Todd finished the Tunnel Light Marathon in North Bend, Washington in 3:52:03, placing 41st (of 61) in the men's 45-49 age group.   Complete race results can be found here.

Todd has five states to go in his 50-state quest: Oregon, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Hawaii.  He plans to check off Connecticut and Rhode Island next month.

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GETTING DIRTY TO STAY CLEAN 5K/10K (updated September 22nd)

We don't know how dirty he got, but Scott Gray ran the Getting Dirty to Stay Clean 5K trail run on Saturday in Springfield, finishing in 51:11.  The event was a benefit for Better Life in Recovery, which helps those battling substance abuse and mental health issues. 

Jayna Gray was signed up for the 10K, but a gear bag containing her running shoes, socks, etc., that was accidentally left behind at home caused her to skip the race.  With the consent of the race director, she'll do a make-up 10K in Eldon on Friday and receive a finisher's medal in the mail.

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BARREL AGED BARLEY RUN 15K AND 5K MASH DASH (posted September 18th)

Mark Kempf was our lone Lake-area runner at the Barrel Aged Barley Run 15K held at Boat Town Brewing in Phillipsburg on Saturday evening.   Mark finished in 1:30:54. 15K participants were treated to a post-run hayride while enjoying free beer served in a souvenir pub glass.

Ginger Joyner, a runner and triathlete who helps husband Paul Joyner time some of our Lake-area races for Split Second Timing, let Paul handle the timing duties while she ran the 15K in 1:38:48.

Check out the unique finishers "medals".

Complete results can be found here.

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HALFMAX, QUARTERMAX & OCTOMAX TRIATHLONS (posted September 17th)

There were no Lake-area athletes at the HalfMax/QuarterMax/OctoMax Triathlons held on Saturday (September 17th) at the Innsbrook Resort west of St. Louis.

What's noteworthy, though, is the 44% drop in participation from last year:

Even more startling is the long-term drop in participation in this event.  In 2003 and 2004, HalfMax alone was one of the biggest triathlons in the state, with approximately 400 finishers.  QuarterMax was only slightly smaller, with about 350 finishers.  Combined, these two triathlons are now one-fifth the size they once were.   That's a huge decline, and the future of this race--or at least some of its distances--has to be in some doubt.  Historically, Ultramax Sports has been quick to pull the plug on events that no longer measured up.  

Full results for this year's HalfMax/QuarterMax/OctoMax can be found here.

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9/11 FREEDOM RUN 5K (posted September 11th)

Thirty-five runners and a cyclist turned out on a beautiful Saturday evening in Lake Ozark for the third annual 9/11 Freedom Run 5K. The event was put on by the firefighters of the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District to commemorate those New York City firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.  (Each participant ran or walked in memory of a firefighter whose name and photo were shown on a tag inserted into our race packets.)  Proceeds from the event will go toward the Lake Ozark firefighters' "Shop With a Fireman" program, which takes underprivileged kids shopping for Christmas gifts in a fire truck.

For the second year in a row, Nigher Alfaro was the overall winner, finishing in 19:44--24 seconds faster than last year.  Katie Hensley, from Quincy, Illinois, was the women's winner, finishing in 25:38.  Each received a firefighter's helmet for their victory.

Complete race results can be found here.

A big "thanks" goes to the Lake Ozark firefighters for putting on another fun race. They really go above the call of duty, serving us hamburgers and hot dogs at the finish line, and adding a bounce house to keep the kids entertained.  It was a bit of a disappointment to see the drop in attendance from last year, but it certainly isn't due to the quality of the event.  This really is a wonderful event worthy of our support.

The race photos can be found here.

Footnotes from the race:

Eleven year-old, Will Faulconer took second place overall, finishing in 21:37.

Jesse Shields is training hard for the New York City Marathon on November 6th.

Dan Robertson, who only started running last year and made it a goal to finish 5Ks in under 30:00, is now finishing comfortably below that.  Dan crossed the line in 27:31.

Everyone takes up running for a reason. Connie Long took it up to help deal with the tragic loss of her daughter in an automobile accident last year.

Paula O'Connor, who probably does more Lake-area races than anybody else, did the Pig & Pickle 5K in Tuscumbia earlier on Saturday.  She reports that they had a good turnout, despite the early morning rain.

Casey O'Connor is now back in Austin, Texas.

Margie Gunter was our lone cyclist at the race. With an injured foot and, more recently, an injured shoulder, we may have to put Margie in a full body cast--wrapped in bubblewrap--to prevent further injuries.

*   *   *   *   *

AZALEA HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted September 11th)

Two of our Lake-area runners competed Saturday (September 10th) in the fourth annual Azalea Half Marathon in Nixa. 

Alysia Maschino finished in 2:05:34, placing 7th (of 16) in the women's 40-44 age group.

Melissa Martinez knocked a minute off last year's finish time, finishing this year in 1:49:42 and taking second place (of fourteen competitors) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Full results can be found here.

Attendance was down signifcantly for all distances.  The half marathon had 130 finishers, versus 192 last year and 219 in 2014.  The 5K and 10K totals of 130 and 62 finishers, respectively, were off from 179 and 107 last year.

*   *   *   *   *

FORREST GUMP CHALLENGE (posted September 4th)

Two, or possibly three, Lake-area runners took on the Forrest Gump Challenge, benefiting Cross Country Missions, in Reeds Spring on Saturday (September 3rd).  Jim McDermott and Melissa Martinez both ran the 50K, finishing side-by-side in 6:16:07.  This was Jim's very first ultramarathon.   (Melissa, on the other hand, has run a bunch of them.)  Jim finished third among the four male finishers, while Melissa placed fourth among the four women.

Heather Miller was the women's marathon winner, crossing the finish line in 4:24:26 ahead of two other women.   As to whether this is the same Heather Miller from the Lake area, I have a suspicion that it is, but I'm just not 100% certain.  (If you know for certain, please pass it on to me.)

Race results are supposed to be posted at the Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners race results page, but you can find them here.

Nearly 600 race photos can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

KAUA'I MARATHON (posted September 4th)

She's run marathons in four states, but Angela Martin ran her farthest-from-home marathon so far on Sunday (September 4th), having traveled 4,000 miles from the Lake of the Ozarks to compete in the Kaua'i Marathon in Hawaii. 

Angela finished in 5:32:46, placing 16th (of 25) in the women's 45-49 age group.  (Angela must have been running with Andrea Reynolds of Battlefield, Missouri, because the odds of two Missouri women in the same age group finishing two seconds apart in a marathon 4,000 miles away without knowing each other would be astronomical.  There were a couple other women from the Battlefield/Springfield area in the marathon, so this looks like a trip with more than one purpose.)

The temperature for the race was in the upper 70s/lower 80s, and the relative humidity was in the same range--not very favorable conditions for running a marathon. 

The full results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

GO GIRL RUN KANSAS CITY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted September 4th)

(Note:  The race results don't show the city for each finisher, so it's quite possible that I missed someone. If I missed you or someone you know who completed the race, please let me know.)

Congratulations to Heather Doyle for her third-place finish (among 65 competitors) in the women's 35-39 age group at Sunday's (September 4th) Go Girl Run - Kansas City half marathon.  Heather finished in 1:49:59.

The warm, humid weather may have also been a factor, but the race's move from late September to Labor Day weekend resulted in a big drop in participation. In 2014, there were 741 half marathoners.  Participation in the half marathon was up slightly this year--360 versus 351 (though still less than half of 2014's 741), but the number of 5K finishers was down to 279, versus 324 last year.  

The full results can be found here.   

*   *   *   *   *

ELDON DOG PARK 5K RUN/DOG WALK (updated September 5th)

The first annual 5K Run/Dog Walk to benefit the planned Eldon Dog Park was held on Saturday in Eldon.  Forty-two registered two-legged runners and walkers, plus about a dozen of the four-legged variety, enjoyed beautiful weather while sweating for a wonderful cause.

The overall two-legged winners were Ashley Hanks and Clay Flaugher.   "Cubbie" Leonard took overall Top Dog honors, and received a bone that should last for eternity.

Photos from the race can be found here.

Overall four-legged winner "Cubbie" Leonard being presented with the grand prize by running partner April Leonard.

*   *   *   *   *

PRISON BREAK (posted September 3rd)

(This event didn't appear on any race calendars, which is why I missed it when compiling the Weekend Events.  Only by luck did I come across it when searching for results of other races.)

Three Lake-area runners competed Saturday at the fifth annual Prison Break, a five-mile obstacle race that begins at the Missouri State Penitentiary. Here are their results:

Curtis Wehmeyer - 41:24 (15th of 89 men)
Casey Wehmeyer - 49:37 (33rd of 89 men)
Amy Harrell - 56:30 (25th of 130 women)

Complete results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

POCATELLO MARATHON (posted September 3rd)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for again inching closer to his goal of completing a marathon in under four hours in all 50 states.  On Saturday (September 3rd) Todd completed the Pocatello Marathon in 3:54:33, making Idaho the 44th state in which he's finished a marathon, and the 21st state with a finish in under four hours.  He placed 11th  (of 25) in the men's 45-49 age group. Complete results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

NEBRASKA STATE FAIR MARATHON (posted August 28th)

Two years after a 4:08:17 finish at the Omaha Marathon, Todd Raney returned to Nebraska in hopes of furthering his goal to complete a marathon in under four hours in all 50 states. The weather was warm (upper 50s to upper 60s) and humid on Saturday for the Nebraska State Fair Marathon, leading Todd to back down mid-race and settle for a 4:10:50 finish. He placed ninth (of 19) in the men's 45-49 age group. Complete results can be found here.

Todd heads to Idaho next weekend for the Pocatello Marathon.

*   *   *   *   *

ROYALS 5K RUN (updated August 29th)

Eight runners and walkers from the Lake area participated in the Royals 5K in Kansas City on Saturday (August 27th).

There were a few notable performances:

Jim McDermott won the men's 60-64 age group over 62 other competitors, finishing in a speedy 23:15--a minute and a half over his nearest rival.  One of those other competitors was Ed Doney, who finished in 29:36.  That was good for seventh place in the age group.

Marley Corpe finished in 29:41 and placed sixth (of 136) in the women's 13-and-under age group.  Her mom, Jody Corpe, finished 18th (of 181) in the women's 40-44 age group.

There were 2,856 finishers of the race, which was up from 2,232 last year.  Full results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

ANCHORAGE RUNFEST (posted August 21st)

Todd Raney traveled 3,000 miles--his longest so far--to further his quest of running a marathon in all 50 states.  On Sunday (August 21st), Todd finished the Anchorage RunFest's Moose's Tooth Marathon, crossing the line in 3:49:50 and placing eighth (of 21) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Alaska was Todd's 43rd state, and the 20th in which he's completed a marathon in under four hours. 

Greg Burress, who lives in Kansas City but who's raced with us at the Lake, ran the 49K (30.4 miles) and finished in 5:17:33, taking second place (of four) in the men's 45-49 age group.  (Why 49K?  Alaska was the 49th state to join the Union, in 1959.)

Complete results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

CONCERNS OF POLICE SURVIVORS BLUE RIBBON 5K RUN/WALK (updated August 21st)

The third annual Blue Ribbon 5K, benefiting Camdenton-based Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), brought out a sea of blue-wearing participants on Saturday, and a handful of superheros among them.   Nearly 130 runners and walkers--some of them participating "virtually"--registered for the event.

The race had two first-time winners at a Lake-area event. Garrett Mason, a Camdenton High School sophomore cross country runner, led the men from start to finish and crossed the line at 18:52--eleven seconds ahead of 45 year-old Danny Bennett, who tried but failed to catch the winner who was 30 years his junior. Megan Hillen, from Batchtown, Illinois (along the Mississippi River not far from St. Charles) was the top woman, with a 25:03 finish.   Megan came from behind to pass both Alysia Maschino and Anita Leyva.

Age-group winners are listed below:

The full results can be found here.

Lots of photos from the event can be found here.

P.S.:  Margie Gunter did manage to extend her streak to nine days without a bike accident, thanks in part to two budding heroes.  

*   *   *   *   *

DIVA DASH 5K - COLUMBIA (posted August 14th)

Two Lake-area runners were among the 143 who competed at the Diva Dash 5K in Columbia on Sunday. 

Bobbi Grant of Eldon finished in 27:22, placing 13th overall and second (of 19) in the 30-34 age group.

Paige Friedrich of Lake Ozark in 40:56, placing fourth (of nine) in the 20-24 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

RUNNING WITH THE OUTLAWS 5K/10K RUN/WALK AND 13-MILE BIKE RACE (posted August 14th)

She started the race a bit banged-up after a bike crash the day before, but Margie Gunter persevered and finished the 13-mile bike race option at the Running with the Outlaws 5K/10K in the extreme southwest Missouri town of Pineville on Saturday.   Margie reports that she finished in 58:59 and took third place.   She posted some photos at the Lake Area Runners Facebook page.

Congratulations and ~~~~healing vibes~~~~, Margie!

Actually, it's a bittersweet weekend for Margie.  It was exactly one year ago today (August 14th) that her mom (and frequent 5K sidekick), Esther Harris, passed away. Margie still misses her greatly.   Our sympathies continue, Margie.

*   *   *   *   *

RUN FOR THE FALLEN (posted August 14th)

The Lake of the Ozarks' participation in the national Run for the Fallen brought out approximately 125 runners and walkers to Camdenton Middle School on Saturday to run or walk a mile or more in memory of the 142 Missouri fallen soldiers who lost their lives in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.  This was the seventh year for this event, which was organized by the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Here are some photos from the event.

*   *   *   *   *

REPUBLIC TIGER TRI (posted August 13th) 

Two Lake area triathletes competed at the Republic Tiger Tri in Republic on Saturday (August 13th).

Mark Kempf and Nathan Evans were second-time participants, having finished the 300-yard pool swim, 12.2-mile bike and 5K run last year.

Mark finished in 1:22:11 (less than a minute slower than last year's 1:21:24) and placed sixth (of eight) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Nathan was also a tad slower than last year.  He finished in 1:34:07 (versus 1:32:29 last year) and was fourth (of eight) in the men's 40-and-over Clydesdale division.

Here are their splits

Participation was down from last year.  There were a total of 240 finishers in the sprint and super-sprint distances, down 45 from 2015. 

The full race results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

CASEY O'CONNOR (posted August 14th)

The best news I've heard in a long time is about Casey O'Connor.   His mom, Paula O'Connor told me he's heading back home to Austin this week, nearly 3-1/2 months after he was involved in a terrible bike crash and sustained a severe head injury at The Epic gravel road bike race held here at the Lake of the Ozarks. He was in a coma for 2-1/2 weeks.

Paula says he's almost fully recovered, with only some slight impairment remaining on his left side that should see continued improvement over time. He's been riding his bike in recent weeks, and plans to return to bike racing after his return to Texas.   Look for him to return to The Epic next year to complete some unfinished business.

When you think of just how devastating and lifelong Casey's injuries could have been, this is a virtual miracle.   During those weeks in which he was in a coma, I, for one, never expected such a dramatic and (relatively) quick recovery. 

*   *   *   *   *

STOCKTON LAKE TRIATHLON (posted August 7th) 

Jim McDermott became our area's first participant at the three year-old Stockton Lake Triathlon's Wild-Life Challenge on Sunday (August 7th). Jim competed in the long course race, consisting of a 1,000-meter swim, 20.8-mile bike and 10K run. He finished in 2:36:14, placing second (of three) in the men's 60-64 age group. Here are his splits:

Swim:        29:15  (2:56 per 100 meters)
T-1:             1:49
Bike:       1:07:28  (18.5 mph)
T-2:              1:10
Run:           56:35  (9:09/mile)
Finish:     2:36:14

Complete results can be found here.

There were a total of 112 finishers (including seven relay teams) in this year's race.  That's almost the exact same number as in both 2015 and 2014.

*   *   *   *   *

MISSOURI STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TIME TRIAL (updated August 7th) 

The Missouri State Championship Time Trial bicycle race was held on Saturday (August 6th) in Centralia.  Depending on the divison in which they were competing, the 78 men and 20 women raced either a 40K or 20K distance.

Shawn Wood of Eldon finished ninth (of eleven) in the men's Cat 5 race, finishing the 40K in 1:12:51--an average speed of 20.4 miles per hour.  

The full results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

SHOW-ME STATE GAMES (posted July 31st) 

Scott and Jayna Gray were the only Lake-area competitors at the Show-Me State Games 5K/10K at Bethel Park in Columbia on Sunday.

Scott competed in the 5K race walk, winning the men's 35-39 age group by default with a finish time of 43:36.

Jayna competed in the 10K run, finishing in 1:08:22 and placing fourth (of four) in the women's 35-39 age group.

The full results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

OLD SETTLERS DAY 5K (posted July 31st) 

Three Lake Area Runners participated in the fourth annual Old Settlers Day 5K in Waynesville on Saturday.

Don Sechrest of Richland was the first to finish, crossing the line in 23:05 and placing second (of nine) in the men's 50-98 age group.  Jim McDermott took second place in that age group with a 23:29 finish. 

Melissa Martinez of Crocker finished in 25:34 and won the women's 40-49 age group over three other competitors.

There were a total of 109 participants in the race.

The full results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

SHOW-ME STATE GAMES (posted July 26th) 

The oppressive heat and humidity didn't stop 124 athletes--including seven from the Lake area--from competing at the Show-Me State Games triathlon and duathlon on Sunday (July 24th) in Columbia. 

Jim McDermott not only led all of our local finishers, but he won the men's 60-64 age group.

In the duathlon (15-mile bike and 3-mile run), Sharon Schaefer, who hails from Holts Summit but who occasionally races with us in the Lake area, won the women's 60-64 age group (over one other competitor) with a 1:47:11 finish.

Full results can be found here.

The Columbia Missourian published an article about the event.

*   *   *   *   *

THE MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER 340 (updated July 21st)

Congratulations to the "AlumiNaughty" team of Brian Brooks and Marilyn Thieman of Eldon for finishing the Missouri American Water 340, the 340-mile paddling race from Kansas City to St. Charles on the Missouri River that started on Tuesday (July 19th).  They finished in 53 hours and 26 minutes, and placed third in the mixed tandem division.  This was their second MAW340 racing together, after a 47:45:xx finish last year. 

This was also Brian's fifth MAW340.  He raced solo in 2012 (taking second place) and 2014 (DNF), and was on a 3-4 person team in 2013. 

Two first-timers, Megan and Sawyer DeWitt of Gravois Mills, competed as the "2DeWitt2Quit" mixed tandem team this year, but abandoned the race after arriving at Miami on Wednesday morning.

Kevin Sellers of Camdenton quit the race after reaching Waverly late Tuesday afternoon.

Click here for a course map.

Race tracking is available here.

Check out the race's Facebook page for lots of photos and stories.

History was made at this year's race as the six-woman "Boaty-licious" team from Texas took the overall victory. They finished the course in 38 hours and 22 minutes. Amazingly, it's reported that they never stopped for more than a minute, never got out of the boat, and didn't sleep.   They beat solo men's winner and über paddler Joe Mann of Lee's Summit by 2-1/2 hours. 

*   *   *   *  *

SHAWNEE MISSION TRIATHLON & DUATHLON (posted July 12th)

Joan Kelley of Gravois Mills had a great day at the Shawnee Mission Triathlon on Sunday (July 10th).   She beat last year's finish time, and won her 65-69 age group (by default, but it still counts).  Here are this and last year's splits:

Swim (500 meters):  20:32 (versus 17:31 in 2015)
T-1:                             3:49 (versus 7:34)
Bike (9 miles):           45:04 (versus 47:18)
T-2:                             2:52 (versus 2:16)
Run (3.2 miles):         41:39 (versus 41:00)
Finish:                     1:53:53 (versus 1:55:38)

Full results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

LAKE FREEBIRD TRIATHLON (posted August 7th) 

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for taking sixth overall (of 20 competitors) at Sunday's (July 10th) Lake Freebird Triathlon (660-meter swim, 14-mile bike and 5K run) in Mountain Grove, Missouri. 

Jim finished in 1:24:17, just a shade slower than his 1:22:22 finish at this race in 2014. 

Full results can be found here.

Some race photo can be found at the Mountain Grove Lions Club's Facebook page, including one of Jim. 

*   *   *   *  *

MISSOULA MARATHON (posted July 10th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for completing the Missoula Marathon in Missoula, Montana on Sunday (July 10th).  Todd finished in 3:52:32, placing 24th (of 62) in the men's 45-49 age group.  This finish also marks the 42nd state in which Todd has completed a marathon, and the 19th state in which he's finished one in under four hours.

Another familiar name popped up in the race results--Greg Burress of Kansas City.   Greg, who ran our area's Rise 'n Shine Half Marathon last year, finished in 4:38:30.   (Note that he often paces other runners.)

There were sixteen runners from Missouri represented at the marathon.  It's likely that many of them were there to check Montana off their 50-state lists.

*   *   *   *   *

ALEX KEITH, 1997 - 2016 (posted July 7th)

One of our young local runners has passed away. Nineteen year-old Alexander G. ("Alex") Keith died on Thursday, June 30th.   His obituary appeared today at LakeNewsOnline.  

As far as I know, Alex ran only one local race--the 2015 Bridge & Dam Half Marathon.  Three months later, he ran his first full marathon--the Maryville Marathon in Maryville, Missouri.

Rest in peace, Alex.  Our condolences to your family.

*   *   *   *   *

18th ANNUAL ELDON INDEPENDENCE DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 10th)

(Kudos to Scott and Jayna Gray for providing info and photos from yesterday's 5K.)

About 80 runners and walkers turned out for Eldon's Independence Day 5K.  That was smaller than last year's estimated crowd of 100, but a surprisingly good turnout considering the dry but threatening weather that followed two days of nearly nonstop showers over the holiday weekend.  Ironically, last year's race was one of the few races that hadn't been victimized by wet or threatening weather in the first half of the year.  This year's race was the exact opposite--it was the only local race where weather was an issue. 

April Leonard was the overall women's winner.  A 15 year-old Kickapoo High School runner (we'll get his name when the official results are published soon) from Springfield won the men's race. 

Not sure who the others are (though I have a hunch they're family), but that's Melinda and John Sykes in the second row, with John once again exhibiting his trademark pose with a race medal.

*   *   *   *   *

THE "RUNNING RECESSION" (posted July 1st)

The recession continues: Now that we've reached the halfway point of the year, it's time take another look at the level of interest in running in the state of Missouri. We measure it by tallying up the number of half and full marathon finishers at races held around the state. It's by no means a complete measure, but it's proved to be a pretty fair indicator of interest in running.

You may recall that the total for all of 2015 was 9% below that of 2014--the first year-to-year decline since the running boom began in the early 2000s.

For the first six months of 2016, the trend is still downward, with 7% fewer finishers than in the same period last year.  Without the addition of two new events held in 2016--the Independence Half Marathon and Race 13.1 St. Louis--the total would have been down 13%.  The data can be viewed below.  (Click on it for a larger image.)  You'll note that nearly two-thirds of the events had lower participation this year compared to last. 

For Lake-area runners, the level of interest is almost unchanged.  The number of miles completed at 10K and longer races by runners in our area totaled 2,990 through the first six months of 2016.  The total for the same period last year was 2,960 miles.

*   *   *   *   *

MISSOURI RACE SERIES - COLUMBIA (posted June 19th)

The final installment of the four-race Missouri Race Series 2016 season was held on Saturday (June 18th) in Columbia.  A total of 134 runners competed in the event, including 35 in the 10-mile race, 39 in the 10K, and 60 in the 5K. 

The start/finish line in Columbia.  Photo provided by Scott Gray.

Fourteen Lake-area runners were among the competitors.   Jim McDermott led our 10-mile finishers, crossing the line in 1:20:41.  Our top 10K finisher was Michelle Kolb, in 1:05:44, and Ron Bentch topped the 5K finishers, in 22:47.

Ashley Pryor and Ron Bentch won their respective age-groups.

Here are the results for the Lake-area participants.

Complete race results can be found here. 

There were three notable performances on Saturday by three exceptional runners.

The overall winner of the 10-mile race was 67 year-old John Howland of Jefferson City. John finished ahead of 34 other competitors, in 1:17:00.  (This is the first time in memory a runner in this age group was an overall race winner.)

The overall winner of the men's 10K was Drew White, a former high school cross country standout for Festus High School (perennially one of the top teams in the state championships) and now a junior cross country and track runner at Mizzou.  He finished the 10K in a blistering 32:18.

Jamie Vest was the overall women's 10K winner, in 38:45.  Jamie is an elite runner from Lebanon.  She was the overall women's winner of the Dallas Marathon last December in 2:58:21.  She also finished third at Bass Pro one month earlier in 3:30:36. 

Series results

It's not official, but looking at the above results and the series standings after three races, it appears that our Lake-area runners claimed the following series placings (I'll keep an eye out for the official results for any necessary corrections):

10-Mile:

Jason Kolb - first place, men 30-39
Ashley Pryor - first place, women 30-39
Heather Doyle - second place, women 30-39
Stacey Embry - first place, women 40-49
Marvin Bescheinen - first place, men 60-69
Jim McDermott - third (or possibly 2nd) place, men 60-69

10K:

April Leonard - third place, women 40-49
Melinda Sykes - first place, women 50-59

5K:

Ron Bentch - third place, men 50-59
Olivia Doyle - first place, women 19 & under

*   *   *   *   *

RACE ACROSS AMERICA (updated June 21st)

The Race Across America bicycle race will be coming through the Lake area this week.   The Signal gasoline station on Highway 54 one block east of the square in Camdenton will again serve as Time Station #32 for the race.  Racers and their support crews are not required to stop at time stations along the course, but many do so for rest, refueling, etc.  You're welcome to stop by the time station to visit with the racers and their crews.  (Years ago, we manned the time station around the clock for 3-4 days to help the crews find whatever they might need locally, but smartphones and Internet access allowed them to begin to do that for themselves, leaving us with little to do other than mingle with them.) 

You can visually track the current position of all racers here.

The leader of the race is expected to arrive on Monday (June 20th), followed by a steady stream of 42 solo racers and 40 teams (of 2, 4 or 8 riders) over the following three days.  The racers and their crews come from about fifteen countries around the world.

For the very first time, a local will be part of the race, although only as a crew member. Doug Thompson, a paramedic/EMT from Osage Beach, will be crewing for solo racer Erik Newsholme, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who's representing Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta / Team E.

The riders and crews will be traveling east on Highway 54 to Jefferson City.  If you see them on the road, please give them plenty of space.  All of them will be sleep-deprived, and not as alert as normal to things around them.  A friendly honk of the horn or wave would be greatly appreciated by them.  At this point, they're about 1,900 miles into the race that started near San Diego and ends in Annapolis, Maryland, a total distance of about 3,000 miles.

*   *   *   *   *

SUMMER NIGHT GLOW 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 12th)

The Children's Learning Center's Summer Night Glow 5K Run/Walk is perennially among the largest and most festive 5Ks in the Lake area, and this year's ninth annual event was no exception.  There were 270 finishers (with many more who registered but did not attend) of the race this year--up from last year's total of 261, but down from the record of 327 set in 2014.  (The 2014 race was the largest timed 5K ever held in the Lake area.)

The huge crowd was undeterred by the first serious heat wave of the season. Temperatures in the afternoon reached the low 90s.

   
The most kid-oriented 5K at the Lake
brings out the kid in grown-ups, too.

 
New to the event this year was a photo booth
that proved popular among the participants.

The men's and women's races each had first-time winners. The overall winner was the phenomenal Heather Oddo. Heather won in 18:31, smashing her existing women's course record of 19:26 set at last Thanksgiving's Laker 5K Turkey Trot (when the weather was much, much cooler). Of the four local races she's now competed in (including the 2012 Moonshine Half Marathon, the 2016 Bridge & Dam Half Marathon, and the 2015 Laker 5K Turkey Trot), Heather's been the overall winner in three of them.

Blake Jesse was the men's winner, with a finish time of 18:48.  He finished more than a minute ahead of his nearest competitor.

Click to view the full results by finish order or by age group.

 
Left photo:  Overall winner Heather Oddo (#216) brought along her sister, Tiffany Caldwell (#99), who was running her very first 5K.  Speed must run (pardon the pun) in the family, as Tiffany took second place in the women's 30-39 age group.  Right photo: overall men's winner Blake Jesse.

Below are just two of over 200 photos from the event that you can view here.

Once again, a big "thanks" goes to the staff of the Children's Learning Center, the race sponsors, the volunteers, Dave Weber, and Gary and Ellen Thompson for putting on another wonderful event.  Thanks also go to Andy's Frozen Custard for the best post-race food ever!  

The event was also a financial success. It raised $12,500 for the CLC, up from last year's total of $11,000.

*   *   *   *   *

REVEL ROCKIES MARATHON (posted June 12th)

It was yet another nail-biter for Todd Raney.  At Sunday's (June 12th) Revel Rockies Marathon in Denver, Todd squeaked by with a 3:59:07 finish, giving him his 18th state in which he's finished a marathon in under four hours.  Todd placed 23rd (of 25) in the men's 45-49 age group.  Full results can be found here.  (Those of you who did the Run for the Ranch in Springfield in 2012 may recall the winner of the marathon was Gary Krugger.  Gary finished second overall at Revel Rockies on Sunday with a 2:41:16.  He's run hundreds of marathons, and has finished one in under three hours in all 50 states--a very rare achievement.)

Revel Rockies is popular among Boston Marathon qualifying hopefuls, as the point-to-point course boasts an incredible 4,708 ft. drop in elevation from start to finish. (The race starts out, though, at a lung-starving 10,510 feet above sea level.)   Not surprisingly, the average finish time at this marathon is noticeably less than at most others.

Colorado becomes the 41st state in which Todd has finished a marathon.  Those states in which he's completed a marathon are shown in red on the map below.  He has plans to check off at least four more states (Montana, Idaho, Washington and Alaska) this year. 

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RUN FOR A VET HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted June 12th)

The inaugural Run for a Vet Half Marathon & 5K in Branson on Saturday (June 11th) had one Lake-area runner among its finishers. Victoria Joslyn of Camdenton finished the half in 2:03:14, placing second (of nine) in the women's 40-49 age group.

The race, which was organized by the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, had 68 finishers of the half, and 85 of the 5K.

Complete results can be found here.

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LAKE RACE 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 7th)

The beautiful weather for Sunday's Lake Race 5K Run/Walk at Beaver's at the Dam Bar & Grill in Lake Ozark was in stark contrast to the clouds and rain that marred last year's inaugural event.  Despite the great weather, we had fewer runners this year (64, versus 77 last year), but that can probably be explained by a calendar quirk that required holding the race on a Sunday morning on the same weekend as the boat races.

The overall men's and women's winners were Cody Poskin, a 14 year-old runner from Cedar Hill (about 20 miles southwest of St. Louis in Jefferson County), and Lake-area newcomer Angie Quist, who moved from Iowa to Sunrise Beach this past March.  Cody finshed in 18:45, nearly 45 seconds ahead of last year's winner, Nigher Alfaro.  Angie trailed second-place female finisher April Leonard early in the race, but pulled ahead and finished about a minute faster. 

Complete race results can be found here.  

Versailles runner Jason Zolecki took home two trophies this weekend--one for his third-place finish in the men's 40-49 age group at the 5K, and one for his (and his brother Joel's) second-place finish in class 7 at Saturday's boat races.

Many more photos from the race can be found here. 

Congratulations and thanks go to Stephanie Klautzer and all of her staff and volunteers--as well as the Lake Ozark police department and Beaver's at the Dam--for another well-organized and successful event. 

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HOSPITAL HILL RUN (posted June 5th)

Five Lake-area runners competed at the 43rd annual Hospital Hill Run in Kansas City this past weekend. The most notable finish was turned in by Angela Martin, who finished near the top 10% of her age group with a 2:02:38 finish time in the half marathon.  Results for all Lake-area participants are shown below:

Participation was down from last year for all race distances. The number of half marathon and 10K finishers were down 16% and 23%, respectively, from 2015.   The number of Lake-area participants was also down noticeably. This year's total of five was less than half of last year's total of twelve, and less than a third of 2014's peak of 17.

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VERMONT CITY MARATHON (posted May 29th)

It was a very disappointing day for Todd Raney at Sunday's Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont.   The race was stopped at noon--four hours after the race began--due to the combination of 88° temperatures and 46% relative humidity.  (You can read the official press release regarding the stoppage here.)  Anyone still on the course at that time was instructed to go to the nearest aid station for a ride to the finish line.  

Official finish times were recorded for 933 runners--about half the starting field--who finished in under 4-1/2 hours.  Unfortunately, that didn't include Todd, who finished in 4:52:15.  (Todd will get full credit for the finish on this website.) 

Race stoppages always generate some second-guessing and hard feelings, especially by those who weren't very far from the finish line at the time of the stoppage.  

Race organizers started instituting heat policies in force after the disastrous 2007 Chicago Marathon.  That race was stopped 3-1/2 hours after it began due to hot, humid weather that led to an embarrassing and inexcusable shortage of water on the course.  

In 2011, the GO! St. Louis Marathon's heat policy resulted in the marathon course being closed at mile 9 at 9:00 a.m.  Marathoners who hadn't yet reached that point were instructed to join the half marathoners in a turn toward the finish line.   

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ROCKFORD MARATHON (posted May 23rd)

It was another nail-biter of a finish for Todd Raney this weekend.  On Sunday (May 22nd), Todd finished the Rockford Marathon in 3:59:13, allowing him to check off Illinois in his quest to finish a marathon in under four hours in every state.  Illinois marks state number 17.  (His state total remains at 39 for marathon finishes regardless of finish time.)  

At Rockford, Todd placed 11th (of 24) in the men's 45-49 age group.  Full results are here.

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JOPLIN MEMORIAL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated May 24th)

This year's Joplin Memorial Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K commemorated the fifth anniversary of the devastating tornado that ripped through the heart of the city, killing 161 people.  Just over 2,500 runners--including five from the Lake area--participated in the event.  The marathon was a new addition to the race this year, and attracted an impressive total of 343 finishers.

Three of those marathon finishers were from the Lake area: Jim McDermott, Jen Wiethop, and Alysia Maschino. 

This was Jim McDermott's fifth consecutive appearance at the race.  Jim finished in 4:12:55 and placed fifth (of nine) in the 60-64 age group.

Jen Wiethop crossed the line in 4:26:34, placing 15th (of 29) in the women's 30-34 age group, while Alysia Maschino finished in 4:53:48 and placed 15th (of 28) in the 40-44 age group.  Jen's finish time was a new personal record by nearly 20 minutes.

Julie Moss was our lone half marathoner.  She finished in 2:19:24, shaving three minutes off her time at the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon last month.

Scott Gray finished his first half marathon at this race last year, but opted for the 5K this year.  He finished in 40:10.
He also passed along some photos from the race.

The starting line. A woman was called to the starting line for a "bib exchange". It turned out to be a ruse for a marriage proposal, to which she said "yes".


Famous running coach and author Jeff Galloway (in green shirt) spoke at this year's race banquet.


The men's marathon champion crosses the finish line.


Scott Gray chose to race Joplin while Jayna Gray was running the women-only Go Girl Run Half Marathon in Columbia. 

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STRIKER LIFE HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted May 22nd)

Congratulations to the Pages--Reagan and Scott--and Cooper Vickers for excellent runs at the Striker Life Half Marathon at Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster on Saturday (May 21st).

Cooper, who at age 14 set the record for the youngest male half marathon finisher in the Lake area, ran a personal best 1:58:53 and finished second (of three) in the male 19-and-under age group.  Reagan also finished second (of three) in her age group with a finish time of 2:07:56.  This was her seventh half marathon finish.

Scott narrowly missed a sub two-hour finish, crossing the line in 2:00:09.  He placed 7th (of 13) in the men's 40-49 age group.  Scott reports that the course was long, at 13.4 miles.  (Postings on the race's Facebook page indicate that the half marathon and 10K courses were indeed long.)

Complete race results can be found here.  

There were 121, 71 and 148 finishers of the half marathon, 10K and 5K, respectively.  The number of half finishers was down 42% from last year.

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GO GIRL RUN COLUMBIA MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted May 22nd)

Congratulations to all seven Lake-area women who finished Saturday's (May 21st) Go Girl Run Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K in Columbia.  

This was the first year that the race offered the marathon distance.  Forty-nine runners, including our own April Leonard, participated in the inaugural race.  April finished in  4:47:54, placing 4th (of 7) in the women's 45-49 age group. 

In the half marathon, our fastest local finisher was Angela Martin, who took third place (of 34) in the 45-49 age group by finishing in 2:03:23--her fastest finish at this race since running 1:59:57 in 2013.  Angela's sister-in-law, Cindy Martin, ran the 5K in 35:22, and Cindy's daughter, Jessica Rozier, ran the half in 2:28:55.  They've made this race a family affair for the last three years.

Participation in the half marathon declined once again.  It's now dropped every year since the inaugural race was held in 2012, when there were 621 half marathon finishers.  There were 352 half finishers this year, and even adding to it the 49 finishers of the full marathon, the total is still 14% less than last year's 467 half marathon finishers.  (It's purely a guess, but the marathon may not return next year.  Ultramax Sports is quick to pull the plug on races that don't measure up, and keeping a marathon course open for 7 hours for just 49 runners doesn't make much sense.) 

If I missed anyone, please let me know.

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LACLEDE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE'S POWER RUN 5K/10K (posted May 21st)

Just one Lake-area runner competed at Laclede Electric Cooperative's Power Run on Saturday (May 21st) in Lebanon.   Jason Crockett of Camdenton finished the 10K in 52:13, and won the men's 41-50 age group by default. 

A familiar name in the 10K results was Sherry Wilson of Waynesville.  Sherry won the women's 41-50 age group--also by default--in 57:45.

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FORT LEONARD WOOD'S VOLKSLAUF 10K MUD RUN (posted May 21st)

Two runners from Camdenton were among the 675 finishers of the 17th annual Volkslauf 10K Mud Run at Fort Leonard Wood on Saturday (May 21st). 

Larry and Gavyn Quade--37 and 8 years old, respectively--ran together and finished in 1:24:41, placing 348th/349th of all finishers.

Full results can be found here.

Participation was down 28% from last year's total of 938.

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DIVAS HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted May 16th)

Seven Lake-area women traveled to Branson on Sunday (May 15th) for the third annual women-only Divas Half Marathon & 5K.  They were among a total of 1,109 participants (517 for the half; 592 for the 5K), which was down 28% from last year's total of 1,539. 

The most notable of our locals' performance was that of Taylor Dority, who finished ahead of 28 others and won the 20-24 age group with a 28:57 finish time in the 5K. 

Here are the results for our Lake-area participants. (If I missed anyone, please let me know.)

Full race results can be found here.

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RUNNING WITH THE COWS HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated May 15th)

The RWTC - Bucyrus, Kansas:

Chalk up another half marathon finish for Willard Haley--his seventh of the year, and all within the last two months.  On Saturday (May 14th), Willard finished the Running with the Cows Half Marathon in Bucyrus, Kansas in 2:09:39, placing 14th (of 28) in the men's 55-59 age group. In doing so, he also completed the three-race Heartland 39.3 Series, which includes the Rock the Parkway and Garmin half marathons.   (Series results haven't been posted yet.)  This marks the second year in a row Willard's completed the series.

There were 1,388 finishers of the half marathon, down 13% from last year.  Click for the half marathon and 5K results.

The Virtual RWTC - Eldon, Missouri:

April Leonard skipped the travel and took the virtual race option.  She stepped outside the door and ran 13.21 miles in a bit over two hours, battling chilly temperatures, wind, gravel roads, and a few pit bulls along the way.  She'll get an official race t-shirt and finishers medal to go along with a photo and congratulatory "Moooooooooo" from her virtual race mascot.  

   

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MISSOURI RACE SERIES - JOPLIN (posted May 15th)

The third race in the four-race Missouri Race Series 2016 season was held on Saturday (May 14th) in Joplin.  A total of 60 runners participated in the event, including 23 in the 10-mile race, 15 in the 10K, and 22 in the 5K. 

Ten Lake-area runners were among the competitors.   Jason Kolb was once again our fastest 10-mile finisher, doing it this time in 1:21:15.  Next up was Jim McDermott, who was making his first appearance at a Missouri Race Series event, and won the men's 60-69 age group with a 1:25:34 finish.  Heather Doyle finished five seconds behind Jim and won the women's 30-39 age group.  Stacey Embry won the women's 40-49 age group, in 1:35:44.

For the third series race in a row, Melinda Sykes ran unchallenged in her age group in the 10K, and has clinched a series championship.

Olivia Doyle also won her age group by default in the 5K.  With two victories so far in this year's series, she's a virtual shoo-in for a series championship. 

Here are the results for the Lake-area participants.

Click to view the complete race results.  The race series standings (not yet reflecting the Joplin results) can be found here.

The last stop in the series is Columbia, on Saturday, June 18th.

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LAKE REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM 5K FUN RUN/WALK (posted May 10th)

Beautiful spring weather--and, for some, promises of an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast--brought out a record crowd for the ninth annual Lake Regional Health System Fun Run/Walk in Osage Beach on Saturday (May 7th).  A total of 306 registered participants (up from 267 last year), including 229 participants in the 5K run/walk, turned out for the event, which benefited the hospital's Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation department. 

The overall male and female winners were David Prather and Kara O'Connor.  Maybe it was due to temperatures in the upper 60s, but the men's winning time was by far the slowest--and the women's the second slowest--in the four years that the race has been held on the current course (with only slight course differences in 2013 and 2014).

This was David's third Lake Regional overall victory.  He won with a time of 20:40, considerably slower than his previous winning times of 19:11 and 18:56 in 2015 and 2013, respectively.  (David was also the de facto winner in 2014 when he paced Luke Martinez to the finish line.  Under state high school sports rules at the time, David couldn't enter the race as a competitor.)  Surprisingly, second-place male Nigher Alfaro, who finished in 19:39 last year--18 seconds behind David--also had an off day, and finished 42 seconds behind David this year, in 21:22.  Fifteen year-old Cooper Vickers took third, in 23:44. 

Kara, who moved from Camdenton to Oakland, California several years ago, was in town to help out following her brother Casey's serious injury at a Lake-area bike race last week.  She finished in 25:41, more than a minute ahead of her nearest female competitor, Anita Leyva (26:55).

Complete race results can be found here.

The "I Can 5K!" group showed up in force this year, with many more participants than last year.   (I counted about 50 in this year's group photo, versus 33 in last year's.)

Sixty-nine year-old Thom Wilkins joined us again this year, as did a few other familiar faces from Lebanon (e.g. Jeremiah Rogers and Andy Fisher).  Thom finished in 24:46, easily demolishing the rest of the male 60-and-over field.  Thom is (finally) slowing down, though; he finished in 19:13 back in 2013.

There's no doubt we had a bunch of first-time 5Kers at the event.  We always like to herald first-timers, and our poster girl for this year's first-timers is Krysti Rice, who finished in 33:22 and took home third place in the women's 19-29 age group. 

Shown below are just two of hundreds more photos that can be viewed here.  (To give you an incentive to check them all out, look for the one that was Photoshopped.)

A huge thanks goes to the staff at Lake Regional, the volunteers and sponsors for putting on another great event. Jennifer Newman deserves special recognition for mentoring the "I Can 5K!" group and making this among the best 5Ks in the Lake area.

Miscellaneous notes from the race:

Jesse Shields is back running, after a tough 2015.  His mother was ill and passed away last year, and he developed plantar fasciitis. He won a lottery slot into this year's New York City Marathon.

Nigher Alfaro is going back to the Chicago Marathon this October.  He swears he's going to start off easy this time, after learning hard lessons the last two years.

He hadn't run a half marathon until this year, but Cooper Vickers will be going for his third at the Striker Life Half at Whiteman Air Force Base on May 21st.  Scott and Reagan Page will be running it as well.

Rumor has it one of our runners may be doing his first marathon at the Panama City Beach Marathon.   A road trip to warm, sunny Florida may not sound all that great right now, but come December 3rd, we'll be jealous.

It hasn't happened in years, and will likely never happen again, but your sloth-like webmaster/photographer managed to finish ahead of both Jim McDermott and Pete Leyva, both of whom were taking it easy for various reasons.

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TRAIL TO A CURE RIDE/WALK/RUN (posted May 8th)

Make that five half marathons in five weeks for Willard Haley.  After a 2:13:50 finish at last week's Colorado Half Marathon in 30-degree temperatures, Willard ran in our summer-like Missouri weather on Saturday at the Trail to a Cure Half Marathon on the Katy Trail near Rocheport.  He paid the price for not being acclimated to warm weather, finishing in 2:27:52.  Last year, he finished in 2:18:40. 

This is one of the smallest half marathons in the state.  There were just 23 half marathon participants (versus 25 last year), including 8 men and 15 women.

Willard goes for six half marathons in six weeks at next weekend's Running with the Cows in Bucyrus, Kansas.

Half marathon results are available on separate pages for men and women.

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WISCONSIN MARATHON & KALAMAZOO MARATHON (posted May 8th)

It was another double-marathon weekend for Todd Raney, something he's done twice before.  On Saturday (May 7th), Todd ran the Wisconsin Marathon in 3:57:27, placing 28th (of 62) in the men's 45-49 age group.  Twenty-four hours later, Todd was in Michigan for the Kalamazoo Marathon, where he finished in 4:30:14, good for 23rd (of 33) in his age group.

Todd had prior marathon finishes in both states, so there was no progress toward his fifty-state goal. (His total currently stands at 39.)  He was, however, able to check off Wisconsin in his goal of finishing a marathon in under four hours in each state.  That total is now 16.

  
Todd Raney crosses the finish line at the Wisconsin Marathon.

Wisconsin results can be found here.  Kalamazoo's results are here.

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TA-TA TROT 5K RUN/WALK (posted May 8th)

The Ta-Ta Trot 5K Run/Walk had 208 registered participants at its fifth annual race on Saturday (May 7th).  The race is organized by the "We Bleed Pink" team of Jayna Gray, Kari Salsman and Holly Thomas, and is a fund-raiser for the Avon 39 Walk to End Breast Cancer. .

This year's race crowned two first-time winners: Kolby Werdenhausen (25:24) and Kari Salsman (26:35).  Strangely, this race has never had a repeat male or female winner.

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COLORADO MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 10K/5K (posted May 2nd)

Willard Haley was in Fort Collins, Colorado this weekend for Sunday's (May 1st) Colorado Half Marathon.  The point-to-point course starts out at an oxygen-depriving altitude of 5,300 feet above sea level, easily negating any benefit from the course's 300-foot elevation drop from start to finish.

The weather was chilly, with temperatures in the low to mid 30s, a steady breeze, and overcast skies. 

Willard finished in 2:13:50, placing 16th (of 27) in the men's 55-59 age group. This was Willard's fourth half marathon in four weeks and his fifth thus far in 2016 (he finished 12 in 2015).  It also nudged him into second place in our list of most miles raced by Lake-area men so far this year.

Willard Haley at the finish line. The streets were wet,
but only 0.01" of rain was officially recorded in Ft. Collins.


It may be Spring, but it's still chilly in the mountains.

Complete results can be found here.

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FRISCO RAILROAD RUN (posted May 2nd)

Sherrie Hamner was our sole Lake-area representative at the Ozark Greenways/Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners' Frisco Railroad Run (50-Mile/50K/Marathon/Half Marathon/8K/Relay) in Willard on Saturday (April 30th).  As she's done at least a few times at races in the past, Sherrie ran with Shandi Brinkman--wife of Allen Brinkman, who ran on the Lake Area Runners' Outback in the Ozarks team last year.

Sherrie and Shandi finished the half marathon in 3:03:33.  That placed Sherrie 29th (of 30) in the women's 40-49 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

The Frisco Railroad Run has once again managed to do what many other events have been unable to do in recent years--increase participation over the previous year.   Here are the numbers for the last three races:

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RUN WITH THE HORSES 5K/10K, HIDDEN HILLS CHALLENGE, & KIDS' 1K RUN/WALK (updated May 2nd)

Here are the division winners for Saturday's Run With the Horses benefit for the Missouri Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue & Sanctuary (Facebook page). 

Hidden Hills Challenge (reduced to 8 miles due to bridge flooding): ?

Women 30-39    Jen Wiethop (39:44) ?

10K:

Women 40-49    April Leonard (56:07)
Women 50-59    Michelle Miller (1:40:10)
Women 60-69    Linda Berberich (1:40:12)

5K:

Women 20-29    Jessica Cross (52:59)
Women 30-39    Athena Nix (30:15)
Women 60-69    Kathy Gale (49:45)
                          June Langley (52:43)
                          Ann Burkert (53:01)
Women 70-79    Maryellen Phillips (56.17)
Men 19&under   Mason Dobachesky (27:57)
Men 30-39         Darin McDermott (43:57)
Men 50-59         Jeff Langley (50:07)

Kids' 1K:

1. Michael Maschino (5:48)
2. Sam Maschino (6:22)
3. Lincoln Nix (7:54)
4. Myli Nix (7:55)

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ROCK 'N' ROLL NASHVILLE MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (posted May 2nd)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for an outstanding race at Saturday's (April 30th) Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Half Marathon. Jim finished in 1:52:46, placing fifth (of 223 competitors) in the men's 60-64 age group.

Full results can be found here.

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TRIZOU TRIATHLON (posted May 2nd)

Not content with doing just a half marathon on Saturday, Jim McDermott traveled to Columbia on Sunday for the TriZou Triathlon.  This was Jim's third consecutive year at the race. 

Jim finished the 400-meter pool swim, 14-mile bike and 3-mile run in 1:21:07.  That was slightly slower than in past years, but still earned him third place (of nine) in the men's 60-64 age group.

Here are Jim's results and splits for the past three years:

Full results can be found here.

There were 510 triathlon (sprint and super sprint) and 30 duathlon finishers at this year's race.  The total of 540 was down from 592 in 2015, and 599 in 2014.   In it's heyday five years ago, this race had nearly 750 participants.

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RUN FOR THE CHILDREN HALF MARATHON (updated April 26th)

The weather was absolutely perfect for the Miller County Child Advocacy Council's fourth annual Run for the Children Half Marathon in Eldon on Saturday (April 23rd). Thirty-seven runners competed at this year's race, up one from 2015.

For the second year in a row, Nigher Alfaro and Alisha Eldridge were the overall men's and women's winners. (Nigher also won in 2014, making this his third win in a row.)   Nigher finished in 1:34:14, knocking 10 minutes off his 1:44:07 finish at Bridge & Dam three weeks ago, which had been the fastest half marathon finish among Lake-area men so far this year.

Alisha, crossed the line in 1:43:15. This was her third half marathon in four weeks (the others being Bridge & Dam and GO! St. Louis), and her finish times were all within one minute of one another.  (Tobby Eldridge and Steve Martonfi also made this their third half marathon in four weeks.)

The complete race results can be found here.

We want to extend a special congratulations to three first-time half marathon finishers.   Anna Vieira made this race a family affair, running with her dad and mom, John and Melinda Sykes.  Anna finished in 2:59:04, giving her at least some bragging rights for having finished four minutes ahead of Melinda.   Amy McIntyre of Jefferson City, who came to the race with Lake-area running pal Megan Hendrickson (herself a first-time half finisher at Bridge & Dam earlier this month), finished in 3:19:40. (Megan finished in 2:47:22.)  Finally, Sarah McManus, from Fort Leonard Wood, ran this half to check off an item on her bucket list.  (She said this was her first and last, but we all know how that goes.)  Sarah finished in 2:32:52.

Congratulations are also in order for a new personal half marathon record for Jen Wiethop. Four weeks after running a 1:57:15 at Bridge & Dam, Jen shaved 30 seconds off that to establish a new personal best of 1:56:45. Jen's running partner (and Bridge & Dam race director) Alysia Machino finished in 1:54:01, her fastest half since one year ago.   (Jen and Alysia put in another three miles of running after the race ended, so both must have plans to race again soon.)

Returning to the race this year after an absence of a year or two were Half Fanatic #3978 Dottie Ruettgers of Bonnots Mill, and Sharon Shaefer of Holts Summit, who's still going strong at age 63. Both are prolific runners whose names you'll often see in Missouri race results.

After the awards ceremony had ended and most of the runners had gone home, there remained one runner still on the course, struggling with cramps and hip problems, and moving slowly toward the finish line. To the applause of all who waited for him, John Sash crossed the finish line in 3:56:17. John completed this race in 2014 (in 3:35:12) at the age of 64, and now at age 66 he's believed to be the oldest male finisher of a Lake-area half marathon. (One of the neatest things was seeing the Eldon police officer who was following John for the entire race step out of his car to congratulate John.   That officer, by the way, will be doing his first 5K in Chicago on June 25th at the Chicago Bears 5K.)

Many more race photos can be viewed here.

Finally, a huge thank-you goes to Christy Kidwell, Debbie Fair, and all of the other organizers, volunteers, police, fire and other officials who gave us another great race.  This is a wonderful event on a nice, quiet course through mostly residential streets of Eldon, and is worthy of our continued support.  If you haven't run this race before, please consider doing so next year.

The date for next year's race is Saturday, April 22nd.

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BIG SUR INTERNATIONAL MARATHON (posted April 24th)

Two of our Lake-area runners traveled to California this weekend to run in one of the most scenic marathons in the world--the Big Sur International Marathon. The course is on coastal Highway 1, offering a near continuous view of the Pacific Ocean for 26.2 miles.

Todd Raney finished in 4:03:38, placing 73rd (of 228) in the men's 45-49 age group.  Ashley Pryor finished minutes later, in 4:10:57.  That placed Ashley 69th (of 274) in the women's 30-34 age group.

California marks the 39th state in which Todd has finished a marathon.  His state total for finishes under four hours remains at a stubborn 15.

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BOSTON MARATHON (updated April 19th)

Congratulations to Kellee Lundquist of Linn Creek for finishing today's 120th running of the Boston Marathon.  Kellee finished in 3:36:53.

Kellee joins three other Lake-area runners who have completed this prestigious race:  Jim McDermott (in 2014), Laura Davis (in 2011) and the late Denny Gillen (in 2010).  Kellee qualified for Boston at the MO' Cowbell Marathon in October 2014, where she finished in 3:28:55--six minutes faster than Boston's 3:35:00 qualifying standard for women 18-34.  LakeExpo.com published an article last week about Kellee's participation in the Boston Marathon.

Former Lake-area resident Lizzy Handschy, who has been battling injuries and had a tough day, finished in 3:36:18.  Lizzy qualified for Boston at last year's GO! St. Louis Marathon with a wonen's second-place finish time of 2:57:04.  (The only woman to beat her at GO! St. Louis, her running pal Andrea Byrum (née Karl), finished ahead of Lizzy again, in 3:13:52.)

Congratulations are also in order for three members of the Lake Area Runners Facebook group who were among the 30,000+ runners in today's race.

Jani Tucker, from Lebanon, finished in 4:01:43.  Jani qualified for Boston with a 3:57:22 finish at Bass Pro in 2014.

Greg Linhart, a 2014 Boston finisher from Grandview, crossed the finish line in 3:10:39.   Greg qualified for this year's race with a 3:05:48 at the 2015 Little Rock Marathon.

One week ago, Crocker's Melissa Martinez was wearing a boot because of a peroneal tendon (ankle/foot) injury, but she managed to finish Boston today, albeit slowly.   She played it very cautiously and finished in 5:37:12.  Melissa qualified with a 3:38:26 at GO! St. Louis in 2015.

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MISSOURI RACE SERIES - JEFFERSON CITY (posted April 17th)

Race #2 in the Missouri Race Series' four-race 2016 season was held on Saturday (April 16th) in Jefferson City.  A total of 92 runners participated in the event, including 27 in the 10-mile race, 29 in the 10K, and 36 in the 5K. 

Sixteen Lake-area runners were among the competitors.  Josh Schrock had perhaps the best day of all, with an overall victory in the 10K.  Jason Kolb and Ron Bentch took second overall in the 10-mile and 5K races, respectively.  All three were age-group winners, as were John Sykes, Marvin Bescheinen, April Leonard, Melinda Sykes, Jason Zolecki and Olivia Doyle.   (Melinda also won her age group in Lee's Summit, so she's close to clinching a series age-group championship.)

Olivia Doyle, who finished her first 5K (and won her age group) at Give 'Em the Bird last November at the age of eight, remained undefeated by winning the women's 19-and-under age group on Saturday.

After finishing his first 5K in under 30:00 last month at ShamRox Columbia, Dan Robertson made it two in a row, but he cut it awfully close, finishing in 29:54.

Here are the results for the Lake-area participants.

Click to view the complete race results.

The next stop in the series is Joplin, on Saturday, May 14th.

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GARMIN MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & MARATHON RELAY (posted April 17th)

Three Lake-area runners competed in the Garmin Half Marathon in Olathe, Kansas, on Saturday (April 16th).

Of note, this was Todd Raney's second Garmin Marathon finish.  Todd finished in 4:18:25 in 2013, making Kansas the third state in which he had finished a marathon.  He returned this year in hopes of finishing in under four hours (to further his goal of finishing a marathon in each state in under four hours), but that was not to be.  He finished in 4:19:37.  Race-time temperatures in the upper 50s/lower 60s weren't in his favor.

Here are their results:

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GO! ST. LOUIS MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 7K & MARATHON RELAYS (posted April 10th)

Eight Lake-area runners traveled to St. Louis this weekend to participate in the state's largest combined full and half marathon event--the GO! St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend.  Five of the runners--Alisha Eldridge, Tobby Eldridge, Chris Reynolds, Steve Martonfi and Par Pitts--made it back-to-back half marathons after doing the Bridge & Dam Half last week.

Alisha Eldridge had another outstanding run, finishing in 1:42:16 (one minute faster than at Bridge & Dam) and placing 7th (of 407) in the women's 35-39 age group.

Here are our locals' results:

The latest weather forecast for race day called for showers and thunderstorms to move into the St. Louis area between 7:00 a.m. (the race start time) and 1:00 p.m.  The half marathoners were long finished when a thunderstorm with heavy rain, strong winds and lightning hit at 11:45 a.m., while hundreds of marathoners (including yours truly) were still on the course.  (Hail also fell in the St. Louis area, but not in the vicinity of the race.)  A race official at mile 23 reported that the race had been stopped, and that anybody who proceeded on the course would be disqualified unless and until the race officially resumed.  Runners heeded the warning and sought shelter ahead at a nearby office building, but after another official who had ducked for cover in front of that same building said later that he heard no such announcement, runners continued on.  (It was reminiscent of the Little Rock Marathon miscommunication nightmare in 2014.)  The rain and thunder stopped about 15-20 minutes later.

From the starting line, it looked like GO! St. Louis might finally have reversed its four-year trend of declining participation, as the starting corrals looked fuller than in years past.  However, that was not the case, and GO! St. Louis suffered yet another (significant) decline.  The total number of full and half marathon solo finishers was down 17% from 2015--which was down a similar 17% from 2014.  From the peak year of 2011, the number of GO! St. Louis finishers has now dropped a dramatic 53%.   Here's the data.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL RALEIGH MARATHON (posted April 10th)

Todd Raney checked off North Carolina on his 50-state marathon quest this weekend after finishing the Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Marathon. Todd finished in 4:13:52, placing 39th (of 92) in the men's 45-49 age group.

North Carolina was the 38th state in which Todd has finished a marathon.  The tally of states in which he's finished a marathon in under four hours remains at 15.

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GO GIRL RUN SPRINGFIELD HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 9th)

Congratulations to our nine Lake-area runners who competed at Saturday's (April 9th) Go Girl Run Springfield Half Marathon & 5K.  

One of our area's fastest women runners, Sondra Ellis of Richland, placed third overall among 621 women finishers with a 1:34:33 finish time.  Sondra shaved nearly 8 minutes off of last year's 1:42:13, when she won the 30-34 age group over 97 other competitors. (She placed second in that age group this year.)

Sherrie Hamner made it two halfs in two weekends, after finishing the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon last week.  Today in Springfield, Sherrie finished in 2:22:37--roughly the same as at Bridge & Dam--and placed 48th (of 86) in the 40-44 age group.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners:

Total participation was a record in the race's four-year history, although most of this year's increase is attributable to a near doubling of 5K runners.  The number of half marathon finishers was up from 2015, but still below 2013 and 2014 levels.  Here are the details:

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ROCK THE PARKWAY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 9th)

Four Lake-area runners traveled to Kansas City for Saturday's (April 9th) Rock the Parkway Half Marathon & 5K.    

Willard Haley was first to the finish line, crossing in 2:03:04 and beating last year's finish time by over two minutes.  Willard placed 38th (of 79) in the men's 55-59 age group.

One week after finishing the tough Bridge & Dam Half Marathon in 2:17:06, Jessica Rozier was back at it and ran the half in 2:13:10, placing 266th (of 452) in the women's 25-29 age group. Jessica's mom, Cindy Martin, ran the 5K, finishing in 38:30 and placing 29th (of 63) in the 50-54 age group.

Kristin Muff of Sunrise Beach rounded out the list of Lake-area runners.  Kristin finished the half in 2:51:58, good for 308th (of 341) in the women's 40-44 age group.

Rock the Parkway is the first large half marathon of the year in the state of Missouri, so the turnout for this race bears a closer look in trying to measure changes in the level of interest in racing.  Unlike the majority of races, which saw declining participation in recent years, Rock the Parkway bucked that trend, with record attendance in the half marathon every year since 2012.  However, that string was broken this year, with the number of half marathon finishers down 15% from 2015.  (The number of 5K finishers has bounced around, with no discernible trend.)

Here are the full results:

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Congratulatons to a new Lake-area record holder:  The youngest Lake-area female to complete a half marathon is 11 year-old Megan Rice of Camdenton, who finished her first half marathon at the Badge of Honor Benefit Run last Saturday in Poplar Bluff.   (Megan's finish time of 2:38:37 was listed in the youngest age-group posted--the 16-19 age group--but it's been confirmed that she's only 11 years old.)  The record was previously held by Reagan Page, who finished the Bass Pro Half Marathon in 2013 at the age of 13.  Congratulations, Megan! 

Our youngest male half marathon finisher is believed to be 14 year-old Cooper Vickers. (Casey O'Connor ran the 2008 Bass Pro Half Marathon at age 15.)

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BRIDGE AND DAM HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted April 4th)

(Please note: I was at the Lake Area Runners Cheering Zone for the duration of this race, so I actually saw very little of all that went on, nor did have the luxury of time to take any photos to share. All I can really report on are some race basics, plus my own observations from a single vantage point along the half marathon course.  Be sure to visit the race's Facebook page for lots of photos and comments posted by others. )

Beautiful, sunny, and comfortably cool weather greeted runners for the second annual Bridge and Dam Half Marathon & 10K at the Lake of the Ozarks on Saturday, April 2nd.  A total of 262 runners, including 172 in the half marathon and 90 in the 10K, crossed the finish line in the race, which is organized by the Lake of the Ozarks chapter of the non-profit Missouri Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).  The total was down slightly from 2015, when 278 runners raced through a nasty mix of cold temperatures and persistent snow flurries.

Once again, runners came from all over the country to participate in this race.  Runners represented eleven other states, including distant states like California, Washington, Pennsylvania and New York.  Surprisingly, 195 (or 74%) of this year's participants came from outside the Lake area.  That was up from 70% in 2015.

Last year's overall winner, Gerald Holtmeyer, a phenomenal 56 year-old runner from Bonnot's Mill, Missouri, was the heavy favorite to win again.  However, he was beaten by an equally phenomenal 29 year-old local runner, Heather Oddo of Osage Beach.   Heather finished in a personal best of 1:25:25, more than 1-1/2 minutes ahead of Gerald, who crossed the line in 1:27:00.  (Gerald won last year in 1:22:22, but his slower time this year may be attributable in part to a course change that added more hills.)

Heather is an incredible runner, and now that Lizzy Handschy (who was the top women's finisher last year in 1:23:10) has moved out of the Lake area to go to graduate school, Heather is clearly our fastest local female runner.  (We don't know whether she's as fast as Lizzy, as they never raced head-to-head.)  Heather was unknown to us until she did her first local race--the now-defunct Moonshine Half Marathon--and was the overall winner, in 1:30:54.  (It, too, was a hilly course, and she beat our top male runner at the time, Andy Goessmann, by two minutes.)  Heather subsequently got married and had a child, and didn't race with us again until the Laker 5K Turkey Trot last Thanksgiving Day.  Heather finished second overall in that race to Camdenton High School cross country runner David Prather, who's one of our fastest local runners.  

Heather was the first runner to pass by the Lake Area Runner Cheering Zone at the 5-, 6- and 9-mile marks of the Bridge & Dam course.  Each time, she showed a tenacity and focus that, personally, I have rarely seen in a runner.  When Heather runs, it looks as if she's yards behind the leader of a race near the finish line, hell-bent on beating him or her.  (I was once driving along Highway 54 and saw Heather out on a training run.  She has the same tenacity during training, as well.)  She's remarkable.  Congratulations, Heather!

Other than Heather, our top local finishers were Nigher Alfaro (1:44:07) in the half marathon, and Sam Casella (49:21) of Sunrise Beach and Monica Martin (1:00:56) of Camdenton in the 10K.  Sam placed second overall in the 10K.  Like Gerald Holtmeyer, Nigher finished five minutes slower than last year, again indicating that this year's course was tougher.

For the record, the overall male and female winners of the 10K were Shane Proksel of Omaha, Nebraska in 48:06, and Katie Crank of Brooklyn, New York in 50:52.  This was the first Bridge & Dam appearance for both.

The complete race results can be found in .html and .pdf.

There were lots of notable moments from the cheering zone:

• Megan Hendrickson, who was robbed of her first half marathon finish by race-shortened bad weather at last November's Disney Wine & Dine Half in Florida, passed by on her way to joining the ranks of half marathon finishers. Congratulations, Megan!

•  Perhaps nothing was more memorable than when a volunteer told me to look "over there", and I spot a very dainty runner who turns out to be 11 year-old Addi Carter of Oskaloosa, Iowa.   Addi finished, alongside her mother, in 2:20:51. Congratulations, Addi!

•  One of our locals I was especially rooting for was Jen Wiethop. Jen finished the half in 2:06:50 last year, and had a goal to break 2:00:00 this year.  Well, she not only broke it, she smashed it, in 1:57:15.  Congratulations, Jen!

•  Another Lake-area runner who had an outstanding race was Alisha Eldridge.  Somehow, Alisha knocked eight minutes off of last year's 1:51:27, finishing in 1:43:17.

•  I spotted lots of familiar local faces (April Leonard, Paula O'Connor, Jim McDermott, and on and on and on), but I also announced (over the public-address system) the names of quite a few local runners whom I've never heard of before. (Are they running newbies, or do they seldom race?)   Incidentally, ~~~ Healing vibes~~~ to both Jim McDermott and Melissa Martinez.  Melissa had to sit out this race in order to heal in time for the Boston Marathon on April 18th.

•  The horrible hill at the turnaround on Spring Creek Drive gained the instant infamy that we expected.   Those few runners who said that they "loved it" were obviously huge liars.

•  The race staff and volunteers (the Nike Factory Store provided those at the nearby aid station) were like a well-oiled machine.  Within a matter of minutes, they rolled up in a procession of cars and trucks, quickly unloaded tables, water, Gatorade, and trash cans, and set up the aid station, ready for business. 

•  The PR (as in "Personal Record") bell suffered an early, unfortunate knock-out.   A 5/16"-thick bolt that fastened the bell to the frame above it sheared in half after one of the early runners landed a hard punch to the bag below.  (The bolt probably fatigued from the bell's frequent ringing at it's first appearance at our cheering zone at Bass Pro last fall.)

•  The live video streaming went well and we did everything we could to entertain and encourage the runners, but the cheering zone failed in its ultimate goal: making the zone so much fun that runners would abandon their race just to hang out with us. We're just going to have to try to do better next year. (The little wheels are already turning.)

In closing, I'd like to offer my biggest congratulations to all of this year's runners (that course is a beast!), and an equally big thanks to the organizers, race staff, volunteers and sponsors for an outstanding event.

We're very lucky to have an event of this size and stature at the Lake.  Even better, it has the potential to become much, much bigger.

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BADGE OF HONOR BENEFIT RUN (updated April 8th)

Six of our local runners--all with law enforcement connections--traveled to Poplar Bluff on Saturday (April 2nd) to compete in the second annual Badge of Honor Benefit Run half marathon & 10K/5K.   Four came home with victories.

Last year, she won her age group, but this year, Anita Leyva won the women's 5K overall, besting 34 other competitors.  Anita finished in 24:17, knocking over 2-1/2 minutes off of last year's 26:58 finish time.

Elsewhere in the Leyva household, Pete brought home the men's 55-59 age-group victory in the 10K, finishing in 48:15.

The Rice family had three members at the race, all in the half marathon.  Megan and Tami won their respective 16-19 and 55-59 age groups by default with times of 2:38:37 and 2:39:12.  (Megan is actually only 11 years old, but the 16-19 age-group was the youngest one available to place her in.)  This was Megan's first half marathon, and she now holds the Lake-area record for the youngest female half marathon finisher.  Matt finished in 2:18:54, placing him fifth (of five) in the men's 35-39 age group. 

Bobby Allison of Eldon ran the half in 2:06:02, placing second (of two) in the men's 30-34 age group.

Full results can be found here.

The race had a total of 67 half marathon, 27 10K and 55 5K finishers.  That compares to last year's total of 53 in the half marathon, and 26 and 57, respectively, in the 10K and 5K.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE MARATHON (posted April 3rd)

Todd Raney inched a bit closer to his 50-state marathon goal on Saturday (April 2nd) by finishing the Charlottesville Marathon in Charlottesville, Virginia.  This marks the 37th state in which Todd has completed a marathon.

Todd finished in 4:15:52.  (Strangely, age-group results aren't posted except for the top three places.)  He'll be returning to Virginia on October 30th for the Marine Corps Marathon, where he'll be aiming for a sub 4-hour finish.

Complete race results can be found here.

Todd Raney (left) crosses the finish line with friends
Glen Anderson (middle) and Andrew Zapanta.  

Glen Anderson celebrated his 150th marathon finish. Compared to Glen, Todd's a relative newbie, with 52 finishes.  (Note the enormous "Epic" LIttle Rock Marathon medal dangling at Glen's waist.) (Photos provided.)

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Who'll be the 300th?:  The Lake Area Runners Facebook group hit 299 members on Friday with the addition of Lori Bilbrey of Macomb, Illinois (hometown of our part-time Lake resident and fellow runner, Lawson Barclay).   Lori ran the Bridge & Dam 10K on Saturday, finishing in 1:06:48.

By the way, ~~~~Healing vibes~~~~ to Lawson, who was planning to do Bridge & Dam until pulling a muscle the week before. (Maybe it's common, but we always seem to have more runners injured early in the season than later on.)

Here's how the number of Lake Area Runners stacks up to that of other nearby Facebook groups:

Sedalia Striders                           545
Lake Area Runners                      299
Lebanon Missouri Runners         165
Pulaski County Runners              120
Versailles Area Runners                91

I have two brand-new Lake Area Runners 2014 t-shirts left in inventory--a men's large (in yellow) and a women's medium (in red).  I'll send, free of charge, a t-shirt to the person becoming our 300th member.  Once you've joined the group, send me an e-mail ASAP with your choice of t-shirt.   In case we see a flurry of new members, the first to e-mail me gets a t-shirt.  (Update:  Jason Kolb became our 300th member.  Welcome, Jason!)

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The "running recession" continues:  Two of our longstanding Lake-area 5Ks are apparently no more. The Ozark Coast Kiwanis held their first Run for the Beach 5K in 2006, when there were a mere handful of local 5Ks each year.  Participation waned significantly in recent years, so it's not unexpected that they pulled the plug on it.  (They pulled the plug last year on their other running event, the Great Bagnell Dam Duck Drop 5K.)

The Dogwood Festival 5K dates back, if I'm not mistaken, to the mid 2000s.  It was renamed and underwent some major changes in recent years, but interest in the event continued its long, downward slide.  It too, is history.

Last year, we had our first decline ever in the number of Lake-area 5Ks.  We dropped from a very bloated 48 events in 2014 to a still-high total of 35 in 2015.  It looks like we'll see another decline in 2016, as still more events may not be returning.

The decline in interest in running isn't limited to the Lake, either.  Through last weekend, there have been eleven half marathons held in Missouri in 2016, and most of them have seen declines in participation, as shown in the table below:

Finally, if it's any consolation, the decline isn't limited to running.  Ultramax Sports' MaxTrax Duathlon--one of its oldest events--was held on Saturday, and participation was down 24% from last year.   Being a for-profit company, Ultramax is normally quick to cancel events that aren't doing well or have limited prospects. MaxTrax's return in 2017 may be in doubt.

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MISSOURI RACE SERIES - LEE'S SUMMIT (posted March 26th)

The Missouri Race Series opened its four-race 2016 season on Saturday (March 26th) in Lee's Summit.  A total of 141 runners participated in the event, including 64 in the 10-mile race, 23 in the 10K, and 54 in the 5K.  The 5K is a new addition to all series events this year.

Three of our Lake-area women took home age-group victories. In the 10-mile race, Ashley Pryor won the 30-39 age group in 1:24:32 (with Heather Doyle finishing 22 seconds behind to take second place), while Stacey Embry won the 40-49 age group over 10 other competitors.   Melinda Sykes won the women's 50-59 age group in the 10K.

Jason Kolb was the first to finish, in 1:17:21.  That was good for third place in the men's 30-39 age group.

John Sykes and Marvin Bescheinen placed second in the 50-59 and 60-69 age groups, respectively, with 1:29:19 and 1:30:10 finishes.

Here are the results for the Lake-area participants.

Click to view the complete race results.

The next stop in the series is Jefferson City, on Saturday, April 16th.

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SEDALIA HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted March 30th)

Five of our Lake-area runners ran the Sedalia Half Marathon on Saturday, March 19th.   

Curtis Wehmeyer led our locals to the finish line, finishing in 1:52:01.

A special congratulations goes to Marie Pitts and Tami Wehmeyer for finishing their very first half marathons.

Full results can be found here.   Of note is that there were 67 half marathon finishers--down 40% from last year's 111.

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BATAAN MEMORIAL DEATH MARCH (posted March 22nd)

Three of our local runners were among 6,600 participants in the 27th annual Bataan Memorial Death March on Sunday (March 20th) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.  The march commemorates the thousands of American soldiers who died during a forced march through the scorching Philippine jungles after a surrender to the Japanese army in April 1942.

Rona Schaefer, Paul Schaefer and Wayne Meckley  each completed the 26.2-mile hike in 11:00:00, give or take a few seconds.  They competed in the "heavy" division, meaning that each wore a backpack weighing 35 lbs. or more the entire way.

While it's technically a race in which the leaders will finish in about 4-1/2 hours, the average finisher takes nine hours to complete the hilly course.  The course cut-off time is 13 hours.

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ST. PATRICK'S DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated March 19th)

Winter is down to its last days, but it was enough to bring chilly temperatures in the mid 30s to Saturday's St. Patrick's Day 5K Run/Walk in Eldon.  About 45 souls turned out for the event, down significantly from the estimated 75 at last year's race.

Paula O'Connor was the overall women's winner, in 26:15. For the men, it was a replay of 2014, when Chris Barriger edged out Nigher Alfaro. Chris, who works in Eldon but who lives in Russellville (and is a running buddy of Russellville's elite runner, Karl Gilpin), finished in 18:56, improving over his 19:18 and 19:25 finishes in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

A list of the top three finishers in each age group has been posted. Click to view them in .docx or .pdf format.

Below are a few more photos from the race. You'll find the rest here.

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RACE RESULTS FOR MARCH 12-13

(Note: We had only a few runners at a number of races this weekend, so rather than report on each race separately, I'm consolidating their results here in a single post.  If I missed anyone who raced this weekend, please let me know.)

SHAMROX COLUMBIA 15K/5K & BEER MILE (Rocheport):

The complete race results can be found here.

DUBLIN'S PASS SHAMROX 15K/5K & BEER MILE (Springfield):

Dan Robertson ran the ShamRox 5K and finished in 28:36 (his first sub 30:00 5K), placing 6th (of 11) in the men's 55-59 age group.

Bethany Wall finished in 31:44, good for 7th place (of 22) in the women's 20-24 age group. Bethany's a relative newcomer to running: This was just her fourth 5K.

Nicole Stowe, a member of the Lake Area Runners Facebook group and who lives in Lebanon, was the overall women's winner of the 5K, beating 329 other women with her 23:00 finish time.

There were some extraordinarily fast finishes at both the 15K and 5K. The 15K winner, Graham McCaleb, finished in 52:23--a pace of 5:39 per mile, and 6-1/2 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. The 5K winner, Chandler Yeary, ran a 16:22, a blistering pace of 5:18 per mile.  They beat 288 and 498 runners, respectively, to the finish line of their races.

The complete race results can be found here.

CLOVER DASH 5K/10K (Fort Leonard Wood):

In the 10K, Melissa Martinez of Crocker placed fourth (of 8) in the women's 45-54 age group with a 53:26 finish.  Rose Chapman ran the 5K, finishing in 37:05 and placing 5th (of 13) in the women's 35-44 age group.   Click for complete 5K and 10K results.

YMCA LUCK OF THE IRISH 5K (Jefferson City):

Denzil Calton ran a 25:38 and placed fifth (of 18) in the men's 50-59 age group. Remarkably, the overall winner of the race, which included 95 men and 125 women, was a 57 year-old, John Reinkemeyer. He finished in 20:08.  Results can be found here.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE RUN (St. Louis):

This race is perennially one of the largest in the state, and had 6,914 participants at this year's race on Saturday.  

Five runners from the Lake area were among them:

The overall winner, Brian Lyons, ran a sub 5:00 pace for the 5-mile race, finishing in 24:55. The top woman, Julie Snow, ran a sub 6:00.  She crossed the line in 29:55.  Complete results are here.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL D.C. MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (posted March 12th)

It took a sprint to the finish line to do it, but Todd Raney succeeded in finishing the Rock 'n' Roll D.C. Marathon in his goal of under four hours on Saturday.  He cut it extremely close, though, finishing with just three ticks of the clock to spare. 

Todd's official finish time of 3:59:56 placed him 61st (of 160) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

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LITTLE ROCK MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted March 7th)

Two Lake-area runners traveled to Arkansas this past weekend in pursuit of some of the biggest, most ostentatious finishers' medals around. Jim McDermott and Laura Davis were two of 5,524 finishers who hauled home medals from Sunday's Little Rock Marathon & Half Marathon. The number of finishers was down 14% from last year's total of 6,394.

Jim finished the marathon in 4:10:23, placing 10th (of 58) in the men's 60-64 age group.  Laura opted for the half marathon, and finished in 3:34:53.  That placed Laura 234th (of 271) in the women's 45-49 age group.

A few other familiar names were spotted in the results.  Melissa Martinez of Crocker finished the marathon in 4:13:47, placing 16th (of 161) in the women's 45-49 age group.  Sharon Shaefer of New Bloomfield placed 7th (of 30) in the women's 60-64 age group with a 5:17:16 marathon.  Finally, Sherry Wilson of Waynesville ran the half marathon and finished in 2:07:32.  That was good for 45th (of 306) in the 40-44 age group.  

Full results can be found here.

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RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE 11K CHALLENGE & 1-MILE FUN RUN (updated March 9th)

Crocker R-II Schools hosted the Race to the White House 11K Challenge & 1-Mile Fun Run on Saturday, benefiting the school's planned educational trip to Washington, D.C.

Results haven't yet been posted, but three of our Lake-area runners--Willard Haley and Scott and Jayna Gray--took on the 11K Challenge.  Scott reports that the course appeared to be closer to 10K than 11K.  (Personally, I've come to graciously welcome such shortages, and treat them like a senior discount. :) )

I'll keep an eye out for the results and post them once available.

Scott and Jayna Gray at the starting line.  (Photo provided.)

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ROCK 'N' ROLL MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (updated March 1st)

Congratulations to our five Lake-area runners who competed on Sunday (February 28th) at the Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon & Half Marathon.  Two of the five--Todd Raney and Amy Harrell--ran the marathon, while the remainder--April Boicourt, Heather Doyle and Ashley Pryor--ran side-by-side from start to finish.  

April, Heather and Ashley now share bragging rights for the fastest half marathon among Lake-area runners so far this year.  Amy has claim to the fastest marathon finish for women.

With his marathon finish in Louisiana, Todd checked off state #36 in his 50-state quest.

Results for our Lake-area runners are shown below.  Complete race results can be found here.

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POLAR BEAR STRUT 5K RUN/WALK (updated February 28th)

The Polar Bear Strut 5K had the best weather in its fifteen-year history on Saturday. Clear skies, temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s, and a slight breeze brought out 97 runners and walkers (up from 79 last year) who raised a total of $7,867 for Special Olympics Missouri.

Nigher Alfaro was the overall winner for the fourth year in a row, making him (almost certainly) the record-holder for most Strut victories.  Nigher made it look easy, with his largest-ever margin of victory at the Strut--over 2-1/2 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher, Jim McDermott. 

The women's race had a first-time winner, Emily Yaeger. Emily finished in 24:35, more than two minutes ahead of Anita Leyva.  Two-time winner (and course record-holder) Tessa Weber decided to run alongside her dad, David Weber, and both finished in a leisurely 27:45. 

The king is dead!  The king is dead!  Pete Leyva, who was the top law enforcement finisher every year since 2010, saw his reign come to an end this year after finishing behind Thomas Gruenberg, who finished in 24:14.

The queen still lives, though. Zim Schwartze, who's been at every Polar Bear Strut except one (due to the flu), was again the top female law enforcement finisher (in 27:32).  Zim has won that title every year since at least 2010.

Our Lake-area runners proved to be great runners--but poor hosts to the many out-of-town participants--by taking home many of the age-group awards.  Jim McDermott, Curtis Wehmeyer, Willard Haley, Anita Leyva and Tessa Weber each won his or her respective division.

Complete race results can be viewed by order of finish or by age-group/division.

Over 200 other race photos can be found here.   Also, pro photographer Al Griffin posted his photos at LakeExpo.com.  Click here to view them.

Some miscellaneous notes from Saturday:

~~~~ Healing vibes ~~~~ to April Leonard, who's been dealing with plantar fasciitis the last few weeks.  April took it very easy and finished in 30:07.

Running injuries forced Casey O'Connor to skip plans to run in the Austin Marathon two weeks ago with sister Kara O'Connor.  He had been training hard for it, but apparently a little too hard.  

Never one to relax, Jim McDermott has his sights on three marathons these next few months.  First up is next weekend's Little Rock Marathon (have you seen this year's ginormous finisher's medal?), followed by Rock 'n' Roll Nashville on April 30th and Joplin Memorial's newly-added marathon on May 21st.

We missed two of our favorite Strutters this year.  After being a near-fixture at the Strut, Dawn Standley moved to Okinawa shortly after last year's race.  (She should be returning to the States this summer.)  Margie Gunter was apparently playing on the slopes of the Rockies.

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SHELBY FOREST LOOP MARATHON (updated February 23rd)

Like every sport, running has its ups and downs. One week ago, Todd Raney ran a personal marathon best of 3:45:30 at the Mercedes-Benz Marathon in Alabama, but this weekend, warm, humid weather for the Shelby Forest Loop Marathon in Millington, Tennessee slowed him to a 4:17:45 finish.  That placed Todd fifth (of six) among men in the 40-49 age group.

Complete marathon results can be found here.  The winner of the marathon was also, at age 16, the youngest in the race.  He finished in 2:56:10.  Amazingly, of the 36 marathon finishers, ten were age 60 or over.  The oldest was a 75 year-old, who finished in 6:37:09.

Unfortunately, Todd made no progress toward either his 50-state or 50-states-under-4:00:00 goals.   He had completed a Tennessee marathon three years ago, in 4:29:59.

Next up for Todd--and a few other Lake-area runners--is next Sunday's Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon & Half Marathon. Warm, humid weather is certainly a possibility for that race, too.

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POLAR BEAR RUN 5K/10K (posted February 16th)

Paula O'Connor traveled to Bolivar on Saturday (February 13th) for the Polar Bear Run 5K/10K put on by the Roy Blunt YMCA of Bolivar.   Paula was one of several Lake-area runners who did this race last year.

Paula finished in 27:16, placing 2nd (of 14) in the women's 50-59 age group.  This was a tad slower than her 27:16 finish last year. 

The cold, windy weather was probably to blame for a significant decline in participation at this year's race.  A total of 89 turned out for the 5K (versus 145 last year), and 37 for the 10K (versus 98). 

Full results can be found here.

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AUSTIN MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (posted February 14th)

Paula O'Connor's daughter, Kara, who now lives in Oakland, California, traveled to Austin, Texas over the weekend to visit brother Casey, and to run in the Austin Marathon.  Kara finished in 4:39:44, placing 74th (of 165) in the women's 20-24 age group.

Full results can be found here.

This wasn't Kara's first marathon.  She finished the Carlsbad Marathon in January of last year.   (A familiar name, Gary Krugger, won that race.)

On a side note, last year's Austin Marathon proved to be Denny Gillen's last stand-alone marathon.  He was registered for last fall's Chicago and Marine Corps Marathons, but knee problems forced him to get deferments for those two races until 2016.

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MERCEDES-BENZ MARATHON (posted February 14th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for setting a new personal record at the Mercedes-Benz Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama on Valentine's Day.  (Mercedes-Benz has a huge auto assembly plant 35 miles west of Birmingham.) Todd knocked 1:40 off of his previous marathon best time by  finishing in 3:45:30, and placed 18th (of 56) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Full results can be found here.

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HEART OF THE OZARKS HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted February 13th)

Congratulations to the Lake area's newest--and one of our youngest--half marathon finishers, Cooper Vickers. Running side-by-side with Scott Page all the way to the finish line, Cooper finished today's (February 13th) Heart of the Ozarks Half Marathon in West Plains in 2:17:34. (Scott's official time was two seconds slower, thus giving Cooper current bragging rights for the fastest half marathon among Lake-area men so far in 2016.)

Cooper placed fourth (of four) in the male 13-15 age group. Scott was erroneously listed in the women's 40-49 age group, but his finish time would have placed him tenth (of twelve) among men in that same age range.

West Plains runner Shandi Brinkman, who's husband, Allen Brinkman, was on the Lake Area Runners' Outback in the Ozarks team last October, finished the half marathon in 2:41:18.

Full race results can be found here.

The bitterly cold temperature of 20° (wind chill of 10°) at the start apparently didn't deter many runners from participating. The total number of half marathon finishers was 155--exactly the same as last year. There were 69 10K participants.

Heart of the Ozarks is unusual in that it has a much younger than average field.  (Dixon Camps, which holds running-focused camps for young athletes, is a race sponsor.)   Of the 155 half marathon finishers, 41 were 19 years old or younger.  They're not just young, but fast, too.  In the half marathon, they took the top seven places overall, and 15 of the top 20.  

Close to half of the field finished the half marathon in under two hours.

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ROCHEPORT ROUBAIX (posted February 1st)

Unusually mild weather brought out a much bigger crowd for the Rocheport Roubaix bicycle race compared to last year, when racers faced temperatures in the teens and a wind chill near zero.  A total of 173 turned out on Sunday to compete in one of four race distances offered, versus 58 last year.

Two Lake-area cyclists were among the competitors in the 68-mile race distance.

Chris Orr finished in 5:04:31, placing 25th among 45 male finishers. Chris shaved about an hour off of last year's time (although last year's course was two miles longer).

Josh Schrock finished just minutes behind Chris, in 5:12:26. Josh placed 32nd among the 45 male finishers.

Full results can be found here.

Here are the number of finishers for each race:

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CHILDREN'S TLC GROUNDHOG RUN (posted January 24th)

Angela Martin of Osage Beach was one of 2,802 runners taking to the underground on Sunday for the Children's TLC Groundhog Run in Kansas City.  The 34th annual race, which includes 5K and 10K runs in staggered starts, was held at the Hunt Midwest SubTropolis in comfortable 65-70 degree temperatures.  

Angela finished the 10K in 1:02:25, placing 24th (of 77) in the women's 45-49 age group.  That was a tad slower than her 57:38 finish last year.

Click to view the full results for the 10K or 5K.  

Participation at this year's event was down 15% from the total of 3,293 in 2015.

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RHETT'S OUTDOOR CHALLENGE 7K TRAIL RUN (posted January 23rd)

Temperatures in the mid 20s and a snow-covered course didn't stop four die-hard Lake-area runners from competing at the Rhett's Outdoor Challenge 7K Trail Run at Cosmo Park in Columbia on Saturday.   They were among a total of 150 finishers of the race, up slightly from 148 last year. 

Kaleb Robertson led all of our locals, finishing in 48:42 and placing 4th (of 8) in the men's 20-29 age group.

Bethany Wall was our sole female representative, and competed in the women's 20-29 age group--the largest of all age groups in the race.  Bethany crossed the line in 1:03:57 and placed 22nd (of 29).

Dan Robertson placed 6th (of 9) in the men's 50-59 age group with a a 56:38 finish.

Brad Gant, who lives in Roach, finished in 1:04:09.  That placed him 18th (of 22) in the men's 30-39 age group.

Full results can be found here.

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CHEVRON HOUSTON MARATHON (posted January 16th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for a sub four-hour finish at the Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday (January 17th).  Todd finished in 3:50:02, placing 180th (of 676) in the men's 45-49 age group.

The large prize purses help attract some of the fastest runners in the world to this race.  At Sunday's half marathon, Mary Wacera of Kenya ran the fastest women's half marathon ever on U.S. soil at 1:06:29.  The men's half marathon winner was Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopa, in 1:00:37.  He was the 2015 and 2013 winner of the Boston Marathon.  Ethiopians were also the winners of the men's and women's marathons.

Sara Hall, wife of now-retired distance runner Ryan Hall, was the top American female in the half marathon, finishing in 1:10:07.

Full results can be found here.

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WALT DISNEY WORLD MARATHON WEEKEND (posted January 11th)

Congratulations to Lisa Kitzman of Sunrise Beach for completing the half marathon at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in Orlando, Florida, this past weekend. Lisa finished in 2:23:33, placing 219th (of 1,388) in the women's 45-49 age group. This was not Lisa's first half; she ran the 2014 Quad Cities Half Marathon in 2:14:08.

Jeff Quillen of Lake Ozark was registered for The Goofy Challenge, consisting of the half and full marathons on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, but no finish times were listed for Jeff for either race.

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THE PISTOL ULTRA RUN (updated January 8th)

Congratulations to Ashley Pryor, Todd Raney, Scott Page, Reagan Page and April Boicourt for finishing The Pistol Ultra Run in Alcoa, Tennessee, on Saturday (January 2nd). The race offered standard 100-mile, 100K, 50-mile, 50K, and 50K relay options, plus various combinations of those distances, including--for the completely insane--a 100-mile/50-mile combo.  The race was held on a mostly flat and paved multi-use path, with runners completing anywhere from three to ten laps (fifteen, for those 100/50 runners) of a looped course.

Ashley, Todd and Scott finished the 100K (62-mile) race.  It was the longest race any of them have ever run, and they now share the all-time distance record among Lake-area runners.  (Todd and Scott held the previous record of 50 miles, which they set at the Midnight Madness 50-Miler in Tulsa in July 2013.)

April also established a personal distance record in completing the 50K.  After finishing her first half marathon in 2014, her first marathon (and triathlon) in 2015, and now her first ultramarathon in 2016, April has come a long way (pardon the pun) in less than two years.  (Lord only knows what insanity comes her way next.)   

Reagan joined two other teenage women on a 50K relay team.  This was Reagan's first relay race of any distance.  (If the team split the 50K distance equally, Reagan's leg wouldn't have been a personal record, as she's already completed five half marathons (21.1K)).

Below are the results for our local runners.  The complete race results can be found here.

Here are the total number of finishers, by race:

100-mile                  72     (40 DNFs) 
100K                       49     (19 DNFs) 
50-mile                    26     (10 DNFs)
50K                        153     (10 DNFs) 
50K relay teams      18
     Total                 318

Ultramarathons are seldom precisely the distances advertised (the Midnight Madness 50-Miler, for instance, was 51.5 miles), but this race was apparently far longer than the advertised distances, and as a result created some (understandable) grumbling among the participants.  Our locals (and others in comments on Facebook) report that the 100K/50K races were actually closer to 110K/55K in length.  That's really inexcusable for a fourth annual race on an easily measured urban course (and a clear violation of my Rule #4 for race directors.)  

The weather for the race was almost precisely as forecasted days in advance--a morning low of 26°, an afternoon high of 46°, and mostly sunny skies.  Winds were calm throughout the morning, and picked up to just 5 mph in the afternoon.  That's remarkably lucky weather for a winter race in the Midwest.

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CHILLY 5K & KIDS' FROZEN FUN RUN (posted January 2nd)

Some of our local runners started off the new year with a chilly run at the appropriately-named Chilly 5K & Kids' Frozen Fun Run at the Joplin Family YMCA on Friday.

This marked the second year in a row  that Scott and Jayna Gray dragged their brood--Brandon Gray, Emme Pruitt and Eryn Pruitt--to a New Year's Day 5K.  Last year, they ran the Commitment Day 5K in St. Louis.

Here are our locals' results:

Full race results can be found here. The 5K had 291 participants at this year's race, down from last year's total of 376.

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