2017 YEAR IN REVIEW(posted January 14th)

There's some gloomy stuff to report, but let's start our review of 2017 with the good news.

First-Timers

We always like to herald those who step up to new or bigger challenges, and in 2017 we had quite a few who succeeded in achieving bigger things.  (If I missed anyone's "first", please let me know.)

First 100K:   Alysia Maschino
First 50-Mile:  Chris Boyle, Gary Braman and John Shelby
First 50K: Payton Bartlett, Curtis Wehmeyer
First Marathon: Ed Doney and Gary Braman (Allison Walters and Brittany Ross may have been first-timers, as well)
First Half Marathon: Rosalie Dear, Harrison Adams, Gary Braman, Joe Register, Stacy Roberts, and Katie Roberts (Michelle Kennedy, Natalie Ness and Ariane O'Day may also have been first-time finishers)
First Triathlon:  Colten Jones, Christine Head

Fastest finishers

Chris Boyle had the fastest marathon time among all Lake-area runners in 2017, finishing the GO! St. Louis Marathon in 3:26:35.  Among the women, Bryna Edwards had the fastest finish--a 3:48:11 at the Prairie Fire Marathon in Wichita in October. 

In the half marathon distance, our fastest men's and women's finishers were Payton Bartlett and Alysia Maschino in 1:31:19 and 1:52:00, respectively.

Two Osage High School cross country runners--Colten Jones and Micah Hill--ran the fastest men's and women's 10Ks in 2017.  They finished in 44:40 and 43:41, respectively.

Most prolific racers

To no one's surprise, Todd Raney led our list of most prolific Lake-area racers for the fifth year in a row.  Todd raced a total of 660.5 miles in 10K or longer races in 2017, down from his record of 793.8 miles in 2016.  (Todd's streak will end at five since--now that he lives full-time in Kansas City--he won't be included in our 2018 standings.)

For the first time, Alysia Maschino topped the women's rankings, with 146.1 miles.  Nearly half of Alysia's miles came in a single race at the end of the year--the 100K (i.e. 62-mile) race at 36 Hours of Jack in December.

Notable accomplishments

At the Honolulu Marathon in December, Todd Raney completed his three-year quest to complete a marathon in every state.  He also grew closer to his other, more ambitious goal of finishing a marathon in under four hours in every state.  He ended the year with just six more states to achieve that second goal.

It's not often--in fact, it's very rare--for a local runner to take an overall victory at an out-of-town race, but Chris Boyle managed to do just that in the 50-mile race at the beastly Mark Twain 50/100 Mile Endurance Run.  Chris beat 25 other finishers (and 24 others who DNF'd) to win in 9:11:07.

In his very first ultramarathon, Payton Bartlett smashed the 50K state record for 17 year-olds at the 36 Hours of Jack.  Payton broke the record by over two hours, finishing in 4:19:50, and becoming the youngest-ever ultramarathon finisher in the Lake area.

For the first time, the Lake area fielded a third team at the Outback in the Ozarks team relay races in Arkansas in October, and two of our teams won their respective divisions.

Miscellaneous records

Thanks to the addition of a 5K to its 2017 race, Bridge & Dam became the largest running race ever held in the Lake area, with 416 finishers among the various distances offered.

Ed Doney became the oldest Lake-area runner to finish a marathon.  Ed finished the MO' Cowbell Marathon in St. Charles at the age of 65. 

Luckiest runners

For three straight days prior to the race, the weather forecast for Bridge & Dam called for heavy rain on race day.  It did rain at the very end of the event, but the weather was sunny and mild until almost all of the participants had crossed the finish line and headed home.

Race cancellations

The Run for the Children Half Marathon was held for the fifth and final time in April.  (In 2018, it'll be replaced by the Eldon Rock Island Road Race 15K/10K.)  Regrettably, it was the third half marathon that's come and gone in the Lake area. 

The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series announced that its St. Louis half marathon and 10K would not be held in 2018.  While years of declining participation reduced the race to a fraction of its original size in 2011, Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis is the largest race in the state to ever be cancelled.

Rest in Peace

On a sad note, we lost two Lake-area athletes in 2017.

Bethany Wall passed away at the age of 25 as a result of an automobile accident on December 14th.

Cyclist and Camdenton High School industrial arts teacher Larry Allman passed away after sustaining traumatic head injuries in a bicycle accident on June 29th. 

The running "recession"

Over the last several years, we've been chronicling the "recession" in running and, to a lesser extent, triathlon.  The situation worsened by almost every measure in 2017.  Below you'll find discussions of the decline, both statewide and local.

Statewide races

There were 41,999 finishers at full and half marathons held across Missouri in 2017.  That was down 12% from a total of 47,900 in 2016, and marked the third consecutive year of decline.  Compared to the peak of 56,787 in 2014, 2017 was down a dramatic 26%.   It's just a guess (since I don't have data prior to 2012), but we are probably down to levels not seen since around 2009. 

Races both big and small felt the pinch.  Of the 69 full and half marathons held statewide in 2017, 41 (or 60%) had declines in participation from the prior year, and some were substantial.

Despite the recession, more full and half marathons were held in 2017 than ever before.  Seven new ones offset the six that were cancelled for 2017.

Click on the thumbnail below to view the complete data in .pdf format.  Alternatively, you can download the .xlsx file here.

Total miles raced

The Lake area reflected the statewide declines.  The number of miles raced by Lake-area runners at 10K or longer races in 2017 was 4,179.  That was down 18% from 5,070 miles in 2016, and down 23% from the record of 5,407 miles set in 2015.  We're essentially back to where we were in 2013.   

Local 5Ks

Thirty-one 5Ks were held in the Lake area in 2017, down from thirty-six in 2016.  (A record 48 events were held in 2014.)   Not only were there fewer 5Ks, but the number of participants was down noticeably.

The decline in the number of race participants doesn't necessarily mean that fewer people are running.  Not everyone who runs also participates in races, and some runners may have cut back on the number of races in which they enter.  For those who do race, though, declining participation may eventually lead to fewer races available, less swag, higher entry fees (or smaller discounts), skimpier post-race food, cotton (versus technical) t-shirts, etc.  If race sponsors ever start backing out due to declining numbers or other reasons, the effects are going to be magnified. 

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RUN FOR THE RANCH MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 6-HOUR RUN (posted December 30th)

Runners hoping for a repeat of the above-normal temperatures enjoyed at the last two Run for the Ranch Marathon, Half Marathon & 6-Hour Run (Facebook page) didn't get their wish at the 18th edition of the race in Springfield on Saturday.  Temperatures in the low 20s, with wind chills ranging from 8° to 15° made for a brutally cold race.

The Lake area's brand-new quinquagenarian, Margie Gunter, was the only local runner in this year's race.  Margie ran the half marathon, finishing in 4:00:34.  Happy birthday, Margie!

Two other familiar names, Melissa Martinez of Crocker and Randy Acklin of Marshfield, ran the marathon and finished in 4:07:05 and 4:50:35, respectively.

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 289 solo finishers this year, virtually unchanged from last year despite dramatically colder weather. 

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CANDY CANE COURSE 5K/10K  (posted December 16th)

Congratulations to 13 year-old Jade Fletcher of Rocky Mount for her first 10K finish and her fourth victory--three age-group and one overall--in four consecutive weekends.  Jade was in Lee's Summit on Saturday for the Candy Cane Course 5K/10K, where she finished the 10K in 50:49, far ahead of her only other competitor in the women's 11-14 age group.  It was also the fifth-fastest 10K finish among Lake-area women this year. 

There were 593 and 193 finishers of the 5K and 10K, respectively.  Complete race results are posted here. 

Kristen Glassmaker, who some years ago taught at School of the Osage before moving to Lee's Summit, was the top female finisher--of 401 total--and placed third overall in the 5K with a 19:55 finish in the 5K.

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UGLY SWEATER 5K & EGG NOG MILE (posted December 16th)

295 runners, including our very own Margie Gunter, turned out this morning in Joplin for the Ugly Sweater 5K & Egg Nog Mile. You can check out some of the fashion disasters in a video clip of the race start, but (thankfully?) the video is fuzzy enough that you won't see how bad they really were.

Margie finished in 48:05 and placed 33rd (of 45) in the women's 45-49 age group.  Complete results can be found here.

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HAWAII BIRD CONSERVATION MARATHON  (posted December 16th)

Todd Raney can breathe easier.  He got his sub 4-hour marathon finish in Hawaii, one week after coming up just shy at the Honolulu Marathon.   On Saturday, Todd ran the inaugural Hawaii Bird Conservation Marathon and, thanks to a point-to-point course with a 3,792 drop in elevation, he finished in a personal marathon best of 3:39:11.  The Aloha State is the 44th state that Todd's checked off in his sub 4-hour quest. 

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BETHANY WALL, REST IN PEACE (posted December 15th)

I have some terribly sad and tragic news to report about one of our Lake of the Ozarks Runners.

Bethany Wall, a 25 year-old wife and mother of a young daughter, died Thursday afternoon (December 14th) in a traffic accident on Highway 54. You can read more about the accident here.

Bethany had only been a runner for a few years. Dan Robertson, who himself has only been running a few years, was a running partner.

My condolences to Bethany's family and friends.  

Excuse my language, but twenty-five is too damn young an age to die.

Rest in peace, Bethany.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL ST. LOUIS HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted December 14th)

The "running recession" has claimed the fourth biggest half marathon in Missouri.  Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis is now history.  This comes after years of declines in participation that took this event from 18,000 finishers at its inaugural race in 2011 to just 5,500 this year.   That's a staggering loss for a big race.

Here are the total number of finishers, by year.

The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series' new owner, (Chinese-owned) World Triathlon Corporation, which owns and licenses Ironman Triathlons worldwide, apparently saw this race as too small to continue producing.  As a large, for-profit company, Rock 'n' Roll can't justify putting on small, minimally-profitable events.

If you participated in or were a spectator at the event over a period of years, you couldn't help but notice the cutbacks that reflected the event's decline.  The 2011 race was a huge, top-quality event.  The 2016 race--the last one at which I was a spectator--was just a run-of-the-mill big-city race.

Runners in St. Louis are probably not too upset.  They can easily find substitute races in the MO' Cowbell Marathon & Half or GO! St. Louis Halloween Half/10K/5K in October, and the St. Louis Half Marathon & 5K in November.

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CHRISTMAS LIGHT RUN 5K (KANSAS CITY)  (posted December 10th)

Congratulations to a Lake-area runner, 13 year-old Jade Fletcher, for her third victory--two age-group and one overall--in three consecutive weeks.  On Saturday, Jade finished first among 32 girls in the 10-14 age group at the Christmas Light Run 5K in Kansas City on Saturday evening.   She finished in 23:56.  Complete race results are posted here.  (Cities weren't shown for the 1,084 finishers, so I couldn't search for other Lake-area runners. If anyone else participated in the race, please let me know.)

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HONOLULU MARATHON  (posted December 10th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for having completed his three-year quest to finish a marathon in every state in the United States.  Todd finished the Honolulu Marathon today in 4:04:13. 

While Todd came up short in making progress on his other quest--to finish a marathon in every state in under four hours--he'll have another chance to check Hawaii off that list one week from today at the Hawaii Bird Conservation Marathon.  The course is almost all downhill, starting at Volcano (yes, that's the name of the town) and ending at Hilo on the Big Island.

Results for today's race can be found here.  A quick glance at the results shows that the race is popular among Asian runners.  (Unfortunately, the race's winding course route also makes it popular for course-cutting cheaters, as revealed in a MarathonInvestigation.com report following last year's race.)

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HOT CHOCOLATE 15K/5K ST. LOUIS  (posted December 10th)

They train together, they race together, and now we know what else binds together that Versailles/Barnett/Tipton running posse--a love of chocolate.  No less than 13 of them traveled to St. Louis for the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K on Sunday.  Beating them to the chocolate at the finish line, though, was Angela Martin of Osage Beach, who finished in 1:28:19 in the 15K 

A few other chocoholics with familiar names were spotted in the 15K race results--Sherry Wilson of Waynesville (1:36:42), and Kim Ream and Lori Hurt, both of Sedalia (and both three-year Bridge & Dam Half Marathon finishers), who finished in 1:32:37.

Complete race results can be found here. (Note: Race results were not searchable by city, so it was impractical to look through all 8,373 finishers to find jsut those from the Lake area.  If I missed anyone, you know the drill.)

Total participation was down 25% from last year's inaugural race.  There were 3,062 finishers of the 15K and 5,311 of the 5K this year, versus 3,673 and 7,417, respectively, last year.

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36 HOURS OF JACK (updated December 10th) 

Osage High School cross country runner Payton Bartlett, who owns the fastest half marathon (in 1:31:19) among Lake-area runners this year, set a Missouri state record in his very first ultramarathon today at the 36 Hours of Jack in Carthage.  Payton finished the 50K in 4:19:49, taking second place overall (among 23 competitors) while obliterating the current state record of 6:39:04 for 17 year-old males by a whopping 2 hours and 20 minutes.  He's also the youngest person in the Lake area ever to complete an ultramarathon, and now holds the Lake-area record for fastest 50K finishes.  (I was told he'll be graduating from Osage High in a few weeks, and then leaving to attend college at the University of Wyoming, so we're not likely to see much of him anytime soon.)

Curtis Wehmeyer also finished his first ultramarathon.  Curtis finished the 50K in 5:35:41 and placed seventh overall (of 23).

We had two runners in the 100K race. Scott Page was the overall winner and set a new personal record, finishing in 12:12:58.  Alysia Maschino, running in her very first ultramarathon, finished in 14:36:53.  She was fifth overall (of six), and the first female to cross the line. With official state records just starting to be kept for 100K (as well as 100-mile and 200K) finishers, and with 36 Hours of Jack having certified courses for those distances, Scott and Alysia are now state record-holders for their respective genders and ages.

Melissa Martinez of Crocker completed the 100-mile race in 24:42:52.

Margie Gunter finished the 15K in 2:32:42.

Chris Boyle was at the race as a pacer, and as such doesn't appear in the official race results.

Complete race results can be found here.

Shown below are the number of finishers, by distance, in the three-year history of the race.  (The race was known as "You Don't Know Jack" in 2015 and 2016.)

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Addendum: The Missouri State Running Records were updated today, and you'll find some familiar names among the record-holders:

In order to be an official record-holder, you have to be a Missouri resident, and the record must be set at a Missouri race.

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CHRISTMAS LIGHT RUN (posted December 6th) 

A crowd of about sixteen turned out Wednesday night for our run to see the Christmas light displays at the Osage City city park, followed by drinks and food at Pappo's Pizzeria & Pub.  A really fun time was had by all. If you couldn't make it this year, plan on joining us next year, as it looks like this run is going to become an annual tradition.

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CARA HADDAD, RIP (posted December 5th) 

There's some very, very sad news to report today (December 5th).

Cara Haddad--a runner, wife and mother of three young children in Lee's Summit--passed away at 4:15 this morning. Cara's two-year battle against cancer, which took a turn for the worse this past summer, was chronicled in a Fight Dirty Facebook page, and drew a huge group of supporters. Those supporters included many in Tipton (where Cara once lived) and surrounding areas.  If you were at the Give 'Em The Bird 5K last month, you couldn't miss them in their Fight Dirty t-shirts.

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TODD RANEY (posted December 4th) 

This will be a monumental weekend for Todd Raney.

After 92 marathons, three ultramarathons, four ultramarathon relays, and lots of shorter races; after countless miles of training; after 100,000+ miles of travel; and after an investment of mucho dinero, Todd will finally achieve his goal set three years ago of completing a marathon in every state in the country.   On Sunday, he'll be running the Honolulu Marathon, making Hawaii the crowning state in his 50-state quest.

On a personal note, it's still hard to believe that that 35 year-old "kid" whom I first met at the long-gone Abs & Glutes 5K on October 16, 2004 has come so far and achieved so much these past 13 years.  I'll bet Todd himself is even a bit surprised since his running career (like everyone else's, for that matter) has had some pretty humbling experiences along the way.  (He was so out of breath that he had to walk parts of that first 5K, and his very first marathon--Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas in 2012--was a nightmare.)  To his credit, though, Todd always persevered, and he'll now claim his rare and highly-prized achievement of being a 50-state finisher. 

Todd will by no means be slacking off after Sunday's marathon.  He's pursuing a second 50-state go-round, and is seven states away from completing his other, more ambitious--and very challenging--goal of finishing a marathon in under four hours in every state.

As you may know, Todd is now a full-time resident of Kansas City, after transitioning away from the Lake area this past year.  You won't find his name in our 2018 Lake Area Scoreboard, but Todd won't soon be forgotten.  It's doubtful that any runner in the Lake area will ever match his records.

Pômaika`i! (i.e. good luck), Todd! 

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RUNNING OF THE ELVES 5K RUN/WALK (posted December 4th) 

About 50 runners and walkers showed up at the Camdenton Square on Saturday for the second annual Running of the Elves 5K.  The weather was perfect for running, with temperatures in the mid 50s, no wind, and sunny skies.   So good, in fact, that It's hard to believe we'll ever see such great running weather for this race again.

Finish times will be posted once they become available.

Below is just one of many more photos from the race that can be found here.

Tidbit from the race: Stacy and Katie Roberts' fascination with "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" goes beyond their matching sweaters (worn to the Laker 5K Turkey Trot). They've apparently gone full-Griswold, with an elaborate Christmas light display at their home.

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ST. JUDE MEMPHIS MARATHON WEEKEND  (posted December 3rd)

Melissa Martinez apparently doesn't believe in the idea of tapering.   On Saturday, Melissa ran the St. Jude Marathon, just seven days before her epic 100-mile race at You Don't Know Jack in Carthage, Missouri.  (She also ran the Bass Pro Marathon on November 5th, the Dogwood Canyon 15K and 50K on November 11-12th, and the Honoring Our Heroes Marathon on November 18th.)   At St. Jude, she paced the 4:10:00 group, and finished in 4:09:17.

The only other runner from the general Lake area was Emily Case of Richland, who finished the half marathon in 2:30:05 and placed 329th (of 674) in the women's 20-24 age group.

There were 2,353 and 10,067 finishers of the marathon and half marathon, respectively.  Complete race results can be found here.

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LAKER 5K TURKEY TROT (updated November 28th)

A total of 139 runners and walkers turned out on Thanksgiving Day for the eighth annual Laker 5K Turkey Trot at Camdenton High School.  That was a drop from last year's record total of 180, and came despite this year's beautiful, sunny weather.  Nevertheless, it was a great time for all who attended. 

Jeremy Ryan, a former Camdenton High School and Drury University cross country runner, was the overall race winner for the second time.  Jeremy won in 17:44, only slightly slower than his 17:29 winning time in 2013.  His lead at the finish line was nearly 1-1/2 minutes over the second-place finisher (and current Camdenton cross country runner), Jake Thoenen.

After two consecutive overall women's victories, a very pregnant Heather Oddo couldn't make it three in a row despite a valiant effort (and finishing in 25:12).  That made way for Camdenton High School sophomore Clare Holmes to became a first-time women's winner, in 22:24.  Breathing hard down Clare's neck, though, was Elaine Mullahan, who finished just three seconds behind, making this the closest race in Laker 5K Turkey Trot history. 

The complete race results are available by finish order (.pdf or .xlsx) and by age group (.pdf or .xlsx).

A gallery of 435 photos from the race can be viewed here.

Once again, big thank-yous go to coach David Weber for a wonderful, fun event, and to Gary Thompson for his always reliable race timing and results posting.

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DAVID FREI (posted November 26th)

Although very few of you may know or remember him, David Frei is suffering from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.   A heartbreaking article about his battle against this incurable, fatal illness appeared today on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's online edition: "Measuring life in days, ALS patient questions trying new drug that could slow demise".

I first came to know David in early 2006 while I was shooting video at The Bonk Hard Chill, an adventure race that was held for years at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. David and his frequent racing partner, Jeff Sona, won that race, and just about every Bonk Hard Chill thereafter.   I saw David once a year, almost every year, up until 2016, when he competed in The Epic 150-mile gravel road bicycle race held here at the Lake.  David was not only an extraordinary athlete, but one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Despite his racing prowess, there was not an ounce of conceit in him.

Jeff Sona, left, and David Frei after winning the
inaugural Bonk Hard Chill adventure race in 2006.

When Casey O'Connor sustained his horrific crash at that 2016 bicycle race, it was David Frei--who was riding just ahead of Casey--who stopped and came back to render assistance.  Once the EMS personnel arrived and took over, David abandoned his race and rode back to the checkpoint where I had been shooting video, and gave me his phone number so that I could pass it on to Casey's family in the event they wanted to find out more about the crash.  I later thought to myself that, of all the people in that race, David would be the one I'd want stopping to help me. 

Sadly, it was months later that David, who's now just 53 years old, came to learn of his own life-threatening condition.

This is sad beyond words.  I was in a state of disbelief when I started reading the article.

I highly doubt David will ever visit this website to read my well-wishes, but I wish him the very, very best. 

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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, or if you have a race photo you'd like to pass along, please let me know.  

Jade Fletcher won the 14-and-under age group at the Boonslick Heartland YMCA Turkey Trot 5K in Boonville.

Among all the 5K races in the state, the fastest finishes were 15:18 for the men (at the Chesterfield Turkey Trot) and 17:12 for the women (at the Parkville Turkey Trail Trot). A men's 14:07 finish was recorded at the Kirkwood-Webster 3-mile run.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACES (updated November 26th)

There were 39,649 finishers at the 26 races held on Thanksgiving Day (for which results are available.)  A few races had notable increases, and a few others notable decreases.  Overall, the total was up 0.2% from last year.

Here are the number of finishers, listed by 2017 finisher total. 

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WILLIAMS ROUTE 66 MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 19th) 

It was a beautiful, but a tad chilly, day in Tulsa for the unusually popular Williams Route 66 Marathon and Marathon.  Tulsa's premier race draws more runners than St. Louis' and Kansas City's biggest full and half marathons, despite having only one-half to one-third of their metro-area populations.  It's also become an annual Woodstock of sorts for the Marathon Maniacs, Half Fanatics and 50-staters, with about 800 of their members descending upon the race this year for a group sufferfest.

Two runners from the Lake area participated at Route 66 for the first time.  Jayna and Scott Gray ran the half marathon side-by-side and finished in 3:26:57.  That placed Jayna 454th (of 503) in the women's 35-39 age group, and Scott 212th (of 272) in same age group for the men.

Full results can be found here.   Interestingly, the winner (from Argentina) of Sunday's marathon (in 2:34:10) also won Saturday's 5K (in 16:56).

Participation was down slightly from last year.  Here are the total number of finishers, by race:

One of the nice features of Route 66 is that, even though course support closes after 6-1/2 hours and no official times are recorded after 7-1/2 hours, the finish line remains "up" for later finishers.  The final finishers today crossed the line in 9:29:xx, with quite a few spectators cheering them on.  You can see a video clip of it (and lots of other interesting items) on the Route 66 Facebook page.

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RACE FOR HONOR 5K RUN/WALK (posted November 19th)

No matter how long you've been racing, you've done races that, had they been held one day earlier or later, the weather for it would have been much better, or much worse.  At yesterday's second annual Race for Honor 5K in Lake Ozark, a difference of one hour, either way, would have made a big difference weatherwise.

About twenty runners stood at the starting line at 8:00 a.m. in breezy, but mild, 65° weather just as a cold front started moving in.  By 9:00 a.m., when the last of the runners had crossed the finish line, the temperature had dropped to the upper 40s, and winds were gusting to 25 mph.  (It could have been worse, actually--rain started falling minutes after the award ceremony ended and everyone headed off.)

Compare the outfits at the start of the race (above) with those of some of the volunteers along the course a short time later (below).

   

Despite the crazy weather, everyone had a great time and helped support a wonderful cause, the Central Missouri Honor Flight, which sends World War II and other war-time veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built to honor their service and sacrifices.  The race was organized by the School of the Osage's Interact Club.

You snooze, you lose.  That was the lesson of the day in the men's race, as last year's winner, Osage High School senior cross country runner Derrick Puckett, showed up late and tried valiantly--though unsuccessfully--to catch this year's winner, OHS sophomore Chase Grosvenor.

Another OHS sophomore cross country runner, Sarah Porter, was the overall female winner.

   
Left photo:  Men's winner Chase Grosvenor (center), flanked by race director Micah Hill
and Cooper Vickers.  Right photo:  First-time Lake-area 5K overall winner Sarah Porter.

More photos from the race, including those below, can be found here.

   
What's that old adage about nuts not falling far from the tree?

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HONORING OUR HEROES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 18th)

Pity those brave souls who participated in the second annual Honoring Our Heroes Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon & 5K on Saturday.  The cold front that moved through central Missouri mid morning not only brought a 20-degree temperature drop and light rain during the race, but the full and half marathon runners also had to contend with strong, gusty headwinds for nearly their entire race.  (Last year's inaugural race featured cold temperatures and subfreezing wind chills, as well.)

One of the marathon finishers was from the Lake area--Scott Baker of Osage Beach.  Scott, who was wearing bib #1, finished in 5:46:03, and placed fourth (of four) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Our friend Meiissa Martinez of Crocker was the third woman to finish, crossing the line in 4:10:00.  Melissa won the women's 45-49 age group over one other competitor, but by less than two minutes.  (This made it three consecutive weekends with a long race for Melissa.  She ran the Bass Pro Marathon two weeks ago, and the Dogwood Canyon 15K and 50K trail runs last weekend.  Her biggest race is yet to come--the 100-mile You Don't Know Jack in Carthage on December 9th.)

The most notable finish of all has to belong to military veteran Bob Gravley of Salem, Missouri, who completed the marathon in 7:12:25--not bad for a guy in his 80s. (He finished last year in 6:41:59.)

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation was down slightly from last year.  Here are the total number of finishers, by race:

                                 2016      2017

Marathon - solo            32        46
Marathon - teams           3          0
Half marathon            108         68
5K                                58         69
    Total                       201       183

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COTTON LAND MARATHON (posted November 12th)

Todd Raney and Mark Kempf ventured to the small town of West Monroe, Louisiana this weekend to run in the Cotton Land Marathon & Half Marathon.   Todd finished the marathon in 3:55:36, and placed second (of 18) in the men's 40-49 age group. He also checked off Louisiana as the 43rd state in which he's completed a marathon in under four hours. Mark ran the half marathon, finishing in 1:58:56 and taking seventh place (of 29) in the 40-49 age group.   Complete race results can be found here.

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GOBBLER GRIND MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 12th)

Just one runner from the Lake area competed at the Gobbler Grind Marathon in Overland Park, Kansas on Sunday. Tom Green of Camdenton ran the half marathon in 2:15:21 and placed 29th (of 36) in the men's 30-34 age group.  Complete race results can be found here.

Overall participation was down 19% from last year.  Here are the totals, by distance, for the last three years:

                               2015    2016    2017

Marathon                  192      220      231
Half Marathon           962      804      692
5K                             441      536       340
    Total                   1,595   1,560   1,263

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GIVE 'EM THE BIRD 5K RUN, 1-MILE WALK & KIDS RACE (posted November 7th)

As it's now done for seven years, Versailles rolled out the red carpet for runners and walkers at the Give 'Em The Bird 5K on Saturday.  While other Lake-area communities merely tolerate or cooperate with running races, Versailles embraces Give 'Em The Bird wholeheartedly.  City officials, the police department, the fire department, emergency medical services, Versailles High School, the Second Baptist Church, the business community (especially radio station KS95.1), and an army of citizen-volunteers step up to make this a true community event.   None of it would happen, though, without the hard work and leadership of race organizer Tara Grantham.

Thanks in part to the first-time participation of the Versailles High School basketball players (gathered at the front of the starting line in the photo above) and the Fight Dirty supporters mostly from Tipton, this year's GETB had 163 participants--up over 50% from last year's total of 105, and the biggest total since 2013.

Ashley Pryor extended her streak to four consecutive overall women's victories at GETB with a finish time of 21:49--her fastest winning time ever at this race.   A four-year winning streak is extremely rare among Lake-area races.

For the men, Julio Juarez returned to the winner's circle for the second time.  He won with a finish time of 17:59, which was over a minute faster than his nearest rival, 55 year-old Kent Lang, from Sedalia.  Julio also easily beat his 2014 winning time of 18:43.

Overall men's and women's winners
Julio Juarez and Ashley Pryor.

Complete race results can be found here.

The competition in the traditional kids "fun run"
always proves to be just as fierce as in the adult race.

To view hundreds more photos from the race, click here. 

As it's been for years, the beneficiary of this year's Give 'Em The Bird was Food for Morgan County, which provides food assistance to local families in need.  This year's contribution to the organization was a record $13,000.  That far surpasses last year's record of $9,000, and brings total contributions for the last five years to $42,000.

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BASS PRO SHOPS' OUTDOOR FITNESS FESTIVAL (updated November 6th)

Sixteen Lake-area runners made the drive to Springfield this weekend to compete at one of the Bass Pro Shops' Outdoor Fitness Festival races, once again making Bass Pro one of the most popular out-of-town races for local runners. 

While the weather was ideal for spectators--especially considering this is early November--it was far from that for the runners.  The temperature at the 7:00 a.m. start was 68°, with a muggy relative humidity of 93%.  Making matters  worse were diminishing cloud cover that caused temperatures to rise to the upper 70s by late in the morning and, at around 9:30 a.m., an increase in wind speeds to 18-22 mph, with gusts up to 33.  All in all, the full marathoners fared much worse than those running the half, and many of the back-of-the-pack marathoners suffered miserably.

Our top marathon finisher was Alysia Maschino, who crossed the line in 4:39:50 and placed 9th (of 20) in the women's 40-44 age group.  Tops among the half marathoners was Tammara Vitelli, who finished in 2:00:37 and placed 21st (of 104) in the 40-44 age group.  Seven seconds behind was Karen Bowen, who finished fifth in the 50-54 age group. 

Listed below are the results for all of our local runners, plus a few familiar names from outside the Lake area.  Complete race results can be found here.

Going into the race, all eyes were on Jim McDermott, who for months had hoped to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time of 4:10:00 or less at Bass Pro.   At the 30K (18-mile) mark, Jim was still on pace for a qualifying time (he was running minutes ahead of the 4:10 pace group), but it was plainly obvious that the weather conditions were taking a toll on him.   Sometime thereafter, things went downhill, and it took Jim nearly two hours to complete the final 12K, after completing each 10K earlier in the race in under an hour.  It's pretty certain that, if not for the weather, Jim would have run a qualifying time, just as he did at Bass Pro in 2013.  It's proof once again that the best-laid plans are no match for the vagaries of Missouri weather, any time of year.

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

After running at the Give 'Em The Bird 5K on Saturday, Ed and Elizabeth Doney headed to St. Louis for Sunday's St. Louis Half Marathon & 5K.   The St. Louis Half is one of the oldest--if not the oldest--half marathons in the state, dating back to 1980.

No finish time was shown for Ed, who was registered for the half marathon.

Elizabeth Doney did the 5K, finishing in 46:45 and beating last year's finish by .... one second.  That placed her fifth (of seven) in the women's 60-64 age group.

Full results can be found here.

There were 657 half marathon finishers this year, versus 707 last year.  There were just a few 5K finishers this year than last--158 versus 162.

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

The second annual Red Dog 100-mile and Dirty Pup 50-mile gravel road bicycle races were held on Saturday. A total of 70 racers--47 in the 100-miler and 23 in the 50-miler--started near the state capitol in Jefferson City before heading north across the Missouri River bridge to the gravel roads in Callaway county.   Five Lake-area cyclists were among those competing.

In the Red Dog 100, Scott Hofer finished in 6:45:17 to take second place (of 12) in the men's 50-and-over divison. Ron Bentch finished in 8:51:50, placing 10th in that division.

In the Dirty Pup 50, Chris Orr finished 4th overall (of 23), in 3:02:28.  Todd Elliott and Dave Perdue finished seconds apart--in 4:14:24 and 4:14:27, respectively--placing 13th and 14th overall.

Full results can be found here.

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MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (posted November56th) 

Congratulations to our eleven 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 13th (of 16 teams) in the Class 3 team championship standings.

For the record, the top boys' and girls' runners in the state finished the 5K in 15:29 and 18:09, respectively.  Both were from Class 4 schools.

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RUN ACROSS AMERICA   (updated November 5th)

Sandy Villines, a 44 year-old ultra runner from California, and women's winner of the 2017 Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, now owns the women's record for the fastest transcontinental run across the United States.  On Saturday night (November 4th), Sandy completed her 3,310-mile, San Francisco to New York City run in 54 days, smashing the previous record of 64 days.

Sandy's website contains complete information about her record attempt, as well as a link to her Facebook page.

Here are the final reports for Mimi Anderson and Sandy Villines in their transcontinental runs:

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THE GOOD LIFE HALFSY (posted October 29th)

Congratulations to Scott Gray for his first half marathon finish of 2017.  On Sunday, Scott was in Lincoln, Nebraska for The Good LIfe Halfsy half marathon, a popular, sold-out race with about 4,500 participants.

Scott finished in 3:21:10 and placed 224th (of 226) in the men's 35-39 age group.

Joining Scott on the trip to Lincoln was Chris Hein of Jefferson City.  Chris finished in 2:16:43, placing 185th in the 35-39 age group.

Chris Hein and Scott Gray at the finish line.

Complete race results can be found here.

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OUTBACK IN THE OZARKS (updated November 2nd)

The Lake area sent its biggest contingent yet to the Outback in the Ozarks (Facebook page) team relay races in northwestern Arkansas last weekend.  Sixteen local runners, spread across three teams, participated in the fourth annual race.

A total of 65 teams competed in one of the three races offered:  the 205-mile Team Endurance Relay (53 teams), the 125-mile Out and Back Challenge (6 teams), and 65-Mile Relay (6 teams). Those were down from 75 teams and four race options last year.

All of our local runners were on teams competing in the 205-mile race. 

The first to finish were the Ozark Strangers, led by Chris Boyle.  They finished in 27:15:00, winning the Ultra Mixed Submasters division (over four others) and placed third among all 53 teams.  Team members included:

    Chris Boyle (captain)
    Burton Bledsoe (Springdale, AR)
    Justin Campbell
    Andy Goessmann (Branson)
    Tony Hicks (Jefferson City)
    Dylan McHardy (Springfield)

Finishing eighth overall, and first (over two others) in the Standard Men's Masters division, were the Lake of the Ozarks Runners, in 29:32:49.  That team consisted of:

    Scott Page (captain)
    Nigher Alfaro
    Gary Braman
    Mark Kempf
    Aaron Koeppen
    Rob Kucsik
    Pete Leyva
    Anita Leyva
    Alysia Maschino
    Todd Raney
    John Shelby

In 37th place overall, and 8th (of 10) in the Standard Men's Open division, were the Tight Butts and a Few Nutz.  They finished in 35:01:56.   They included:

    Curtis Wehmeyer (captain)
    Levi Albertson
    Kelly Bienfang Benbow
    Joel Forck
    Spree Hilliard
    Stacey Lett
    Shawn Wolking (Holts Summit)
    Zach Wardenburg
    Casey Wehmeyer (Jefferson City)
    Tami Wehmeyer
    Jen Wiethop
    Steven Ziegler  

Overall race results can be found here.  Divisional results are here.

Scott Page passed along some photos of the Lake of the Ozarks Runners team:

More photos can be found at the Lake Area Runners Outback in the Ozarks Facebook page.

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MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (posted October 28th)

The largest contingent of Lake-area high school cross country runners in years--if not in history--will be heading to Jefferson City next Saturday to compete in the Missouri state high school championships.

On Saturday, at the Class 4 sectional at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Camdenton High School junior Garrett Mason, who's currently the fastest 5K runner in the Lake area, finished in 16:37 and placed 26th (of 76) in the boys race.  (The top 30 finishers qualify for the state championships.)   Garrett improved tremendously this year.  At last year's sectional he finished in 18:16, and failed to qualify for state.

Derrick Puckett of Osage High School will be going to state after finishing in 18:06 at the Class 3 district race in Moberly.  He cut is close, though.  Only the top 15 finishers qualified for state, and Derrick took 15th place. 

In the girls Class 3 district race, Faith Parrent of Eldon finished 3rd overall, in 20:47.  Osage High School junior Micah Hill finished 4th overall, in 20:57, and will be going to her third consecutive state championship.

The Osage High School girls team finished second in the team scoring, and qualified for state.  Sara Wolf, Sarah Porter, Karlie Minnehan, Neveah Henley, Alana Douglas and Reagan Page will join Micah Hill in competing for the Class 3 team championship in Jefferson City.

In the Class 2 district race at Hermitage, Kendell Reger of Versailles High School ran an 18:01 and took 8th place (of 85).  He'll be going to the state championship for the second time.

Names in red are runners going to the state championships.

Complete results can be found at these links:

Class 4, Sectional 3
Class 3, District 5
Class 2, District 7

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CUBAN GRAVEL CRISIS BICYCLE RACE (posted October 23rd)

The third annual Cuban Gravel Crisis was held on Saturday in Cuba, Missouri with 144 cyclists finishing the 20-, 50- or 100-mile race options. Two cyclists from Versailles, Josh Schrock and Ron Bentch took 10th and 11th place (of 25 finishers), respectively, in the 100-mile race, finishing just one second apart.  Josh finished in 8:51:01.  (Ron finished last year's 100-mile race in 7:44:xx.) 

Complete race results can be found here.

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THE GREAT GO! ST. LOUIS HALLOWEEN RACE (posted October 22nd) 

The Nelsons represented the Lake area well at The Great GO! St. Louis Halloween Race in downtown St. Louis on Sunday (October 22nd).   Alexander and Sarah Nelson of Linn Creek placed sixth in their respective divisions in the 5K.  Alexander finished in 25:36, placing 6th of 40, while Sarah finished in 26:49, placing 6th of 122. 

Overall attendance at the race was down 28% from last year. Overcast skies with light rain and mild but dropping temperatures from an approaching cold front may explain some of the decline.

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ATLANTIC CITY MARATHON (posted October 22nd)

No one races very long without experiencing a few bumps in the road.  A week after a disappointing result at the Green Mountain Marathon, Todd Raney hit another bump at the Atlantic City Marathon on Sunday.   He suffered from cramps and finished in 4:34:20, again keeping him from making progress toward his 50-state, sub-4 hour marathon quest.   Todd placed 63rd (of 125) in the men's 40-49 age group.

There's no need to hit the panic button for Todd.  He had a string of marathon finishes over four hours in early 2016, and rebounded soon thereafter.

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KANSAS CITY MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted October 22nd)

Just two runners represented the Lake area at the Kansas City Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K/10K on Saturday (October 21st).  It was the fewest number since at least 2010.

Angela Martin ran the marathon, finishing in 5:21:16 and placing 29th (of 38) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Cayden Sears finished the 10K in 1:03:36, placing 28th (of 82) in the women's 18-24 age group.

Full results can be found here.

A total of 6,965 runners participated in this year's event.  Thanks to the addition of the 10K, which drew 1,146 runners, that's up 10% from last year's total of 6,356.

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ROTARY ROUTE 66 5K RUN OF LEBANON (posted October 21st)

Thirty-eight runners toed the line at the Rotary Club of Lebanon's Route 66 Run on Saturday, including two from the Lake area. 

Mike Sherbak took third place (of seven) in the men's 60-and-over age group with a 29:26 finish.

Connie Long won the women's 60-and-over age group by default with a 41:51 finish.

One of our Waynesville friends, Sherry Wilson, finished in 24:58 and took second in the women's 41-50 age group

Complete results can be found here.

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MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (posted October 21st)

Two Camdenton High School runners advanced to the Class 4 high school cross country sectionals next week by finishing among the top 30 runners at Saturday's district meet in Nixa.  In the boys' race, Garrett Mason finished 14th overall, in 17:06.  Skyler Sweezor finished 19th overall in the girls' race, in 21:32.   Both Garrett and Skyler are juniors.

West Plains High School runners utterly dominated the boys' and girls' races, with its boys taking the top four spots (with exceptional finish times between 15:55 and 16:17) in their race, and the girls taking the top two in theirs.

The top 30 finishers at next Saturday's sectionals will advance to the state championships in Jefferson City on November 4th.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL ST. LOUIS HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (updated October 15th)

The cold front that moved in Saturday night made this morning's Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon & 10K the chilliest in the race's seven-year history.  Temperatures were in the low-to-mid 50s, and breezy winds adding to the chill.

Three runners from the Lake area ran the half marathon, while one ran the 5K held on Saturday.  That represents the smallest number the Lake area has sent to the race, and was down significantly from the eleven who participated last year.

Pete and Anita Leyva made it seven Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathons in a row.  There are very few Lake-area runners who have that many consecutive appearances at a race.

Flashback photo: Runners from the Lake area gather for a group photo before the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon on October 27, 2011.   Pete and Anita Leyva are sitting on the right end of the front row.  (Todd Raney, in the middle of the second row, was still over a year away from running his first marathon.)

This was a watershed race for Anita Leyva. For the first time, Anita finished Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis ahead of Pete. She finished in 1:52:57, placing sixth (of 209) in the women's 45-49 age group--her highest-ever placing at Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis. Just for grins, here are Pete's and Anita's finish times through the years:

Heather Miller was our third half marathon finisher. Heather crossed the line in 2:25:59, placing 183rd (of 357) in the women's 35-39 age group.  Kathy Drew did the 5K on Saturday, finishing in 1:53:09.

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation was down substantially at this year's race, and for every distance. There were 5,519 finishers at this year's race, down 32% from last year's 8,143. Compare that to the 17,932 finishers at the inaugural race in 2011, when the 5K and 10K weren't even offered. That's an astounding decline for a big-city race.

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GREEN MOUNTAIN MARATHON (updated October 16th)

Vermont is playing hard to get for Todd Raney.  After two prior attempts--in May of 2016 and July of this year--to run a sub 4-hour marathon in the state, Todd was back for his third attempt this weekend at the Green Mountain Marathon.

Todd reports that strong headwinds after the turnaround on the out-and-back course stood in his way today, resulting in a 4:09:55 finish. That leaves his sub-4 total unchanged at 42 states.   He'll try to add New Jersey to his total next weekend.

Complete marathon results can be found here.

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BEAR CREEK RUN (updated October 16th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for winning the men's 60-and-over age group at yesterday's fourth annual Bear Creek Run trail half marathon in Columbia.  Jim finished in 1:51:32, ahead of five other competitors in his age group, and 21st overall. 

Willard Haley's name doesn't appear in the official results, but he ran the race and finished in 2:30:xx.

There were 196 solo runners and 9 relay teams at the race.

Full results can be found here.

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FRANKENSTEIN 5K (posted October 15th)

Believe it or not, there really is a Frankenstein, Missouri, located about 12 miles east of Jefferson City.  While not an incorporated city, Frankenstein is the namesake for the Frankenstein 5K put on by St. Mary School in nearby Bonnots Mill.

Scott and Jayna Gray are believed to be the first Lake-area participants in the race's six-year history.  They finished side-by-side, in 43:59.

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PRAIRIE FIRE MARATHON (posted October 9th)

The fastest marathon among Lake-area women so far in 2017 belongs to Bryna Edwards of Lake Ozark.  On Sunday, in Wichita, Kansas, Bryna finished the Prairie Fire Marathon in 3:48:11, placing sixth (of 27) in the women's 30-34 age group.  (Bryna's finish time was short of the 2019 Boston Marathon qualifying standard of 3:35:00 for women 30-34.)   This was Bryna's second Prairie Fire Marathon.   She finished last year in 3:40:43.   She now owns two of the top ten fastest marathons run by Lake-area women.  Only four women (Lizzie Handschy, Kellie Lundquist, Sondra Ellis and Miriam Hill) have gone faster.

Todd Raney was there to celebrate a friend's 50-state marathon completion.  He also ran the marathon (leisurely, for a change), finishing in 4:38:10.  There were no changes in his 50-state or 50-state-sub-4 tallies.

Complete marathon race results can be found here.

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BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON (posted October 9th)

Two Lake-area runners were among the 44,000 finishers of Sunday's Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Twenty-one year-old Brittany Ross of Osage Beach, who very well may have been running her first marathon, finished in 5:10:45, placing 883rd (of 1,465) in the women's 20-24 age group.  (I couldn't find Brittany's name listed in any of our local race results.)

Nigher Alfaro finished his fourth consecutive Chicago Marathon in 4:06:47, placing 1,244th (of 3,470) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Nigher is probably disappointed, after having yet another marathon go south late in the race, after a great first half.  This year, his problems began after the 30K (or 18-mile) mark.  Here's his per-mile pace for each 5K (or shorter) segment these past four years, starting at the halfway mark:

Full results can be found here.

On Saturday, Nigher, along with Shellie Alfaro, Margie Gunter and about 5,000 others, ran the Chicago International 5K.  Nigher finished in 20:25, Shellie in 28:25 and Margie in 42:12.

A helpful hint from your webmaster:  If you are doing a marathon on Sunday, resist any urge to do even a short run on Saturday.  Save your legs.  Get off your feet, onto the couch, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.  I remember when Todd Raney did a four-mile run the day before the Cowtown 50K in 2014.  He later reported, "That last 4.8 miles of the 50k seemed like 20 miles!!"   Gee, I wonder why?

*   *   *   *   *

FROG HILL HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted October 8th

Another week, and another outstanding half marathon for Jim McDermott. Jim was our sole Lake-area representative at the fourth annual Frog Hill Half Marathon & 5K/10K in Waynesville on Saturday, and he took fifth overall (among 44 finishers) and first (of four) in the men's 60-69 age group.  He finished his third Frog Hill Half in 1:50:55, beating last year's 1:51:22 and 2015's 2:03:41.

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 44, 54 and 61 finishers of the half marathon, 10K and 5K, respectively.  Each total was down from last year.  Sadly, the half marathon total was down 75% from the total of 187 participants in the race's inaugural year of 2014, when interest in running was at or near its peak.

*   *   *   *   *

ELDON DOG PARK 5K RUN/DOG WALK (posted October 8th)

The second annual 5K Run/Dog Walk to benefit the Eldon Dog Park had nineteen two-legged and six four-legged participants on Saturday.  Disappointingly, that was half of last year's turnout.  The dreary weather may have kept some away. 

This year's top four-legged finishers were "Highway" (left) and "Kingston", pictured here with their companions April Leonard and Terry Atteberry. (Photos provided by April Leonard.)

*   *   *   *   *

TANGER FIT FOR A CURE 5K (posted October 8th)  

We don't see nor hear from him much anymore, but former Lake-area runner Andy Goessmann took third place averall at the Tanger Outlets' Fit for a Cure 5K in Branson on October 1st.   Andy finished in 20:26, ahead of 149 others.  The full results can be found here.

Of particular note is that the overall winner was a 52 year-old male who finished in 18:08. 

*   *   *   *  *

MO' COWBELL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 1st)

Congratulations to Ed Doney for finishing his very first marathon.  On Sunday, Ed completed the MO' Cowbell Marathon in St. Charles, finishing in 4:41:16 and placing fourth (of six) in the men's 65-69 age group.  Ed also established a new record as the oldest runner in the Lake area to finish a marathon, breaking Marvin Bescheinen's record set last year at the age of 64. 

There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to first marathons.  Some runners do very well, while others have a miserable experience.  Ed fell in the former group, running at a remarkably consistent pace throughout the race.  (That's an indication of not only smart pacing, but also proper and adequate training.)

Mark Kempf, who made MO' Cowbell his first marathon last year, stepped down to the half marathon this year and led our locals at that distance, finishing in 2:01:44. 

A notable finish in the 5K was turned in by Jana Agniel of Camdenton.  Jana finished in second place (of 31 competitors) in the women's 60-64 age group with a 31:50. 

Elizabeth Doney set a goal months ago to run an entire 5K without stopping.  She hadn't been able to do so on our hilly 5K courses at the Lake, but she finally achieved her goal on the nearly flat MO' Cowbell 5K course.  She finished in 44:25.

Results for our Lake-area runners are shown below.

Complete race results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

RUN THE BURG HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted October 1st)

Three runners from the Lake area participated in the Run the Burg Half Marathon & 5K/10K in Warrensburg on Saturday.  Two of them brought home age-group victories.

Jim McDermott and Alysia Maschino both ran the half marathon, with Jim finishing in 1:49:11 and Alysia in 1:52:00. Jim won his 60-64 age group over one other competitor, while Alysia fended off four others in the women's 40-44 age group.  Alysia finished four minutes ahead of two women from Sedalia--Lori Hurt and Kim Ream--in the 35-39 age group who are three-year Bridge & Dam finishers.

This was Jim's fastest half marathon since the 2015 Joplin Memorial Run, and Alysia's fastest since the 2013 Hospital Hill Run.

In the 5K, Michelle Waters of Camdenton finished in 39:58, taking sixth place (of six) in the 40-49 age group.

Full results can be found here.

Overall participation continued its years-long, steady decline.  There were 218 total finishers this year, versus 229 last year and 251 in 2015.  Half marathon finishers dropped to 68 this year, compared to 76 last year and 84 in 2015.

*   *   *   *   *

MAINE MARATHON (posted October 1st)

Another week, and another step closer for Todd Raney. He cut this one a little close, but Todd finished the Maine Marathon in 3:56:07, making Maine the 42nd state in which he's finished a marathon in under four hours. His finish time placed him 26th (of 56) in the men's 45-59 age group.

Todd heads to Vermont in two weeks hoping to make that state his 43rd sub-4.

*   *   *   *   *

MOTHER ROAD MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 1st)  

Four years after being cancelled due to declining participation, the revived Mother Road Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K was a smashing success.  Over 700 runners turned out, thanks in part to a strong push by the new organizer of the event. 

Eight runners--all women--from the Lake area were among the competitors. 

It took a surprising nine months of the year to finally happen, but Allison Walters became the first Lake-area woman to finish a marathon in 2017.  Allison finished in 5:47:29, and by default now owns the fastest marathon finish time among Lake-area women this year. 

There were 257 finishers of the marathon, 356 of the half marathon and 105 of the 5K.

Complete results can be found here.

*   *   *   *  *

GRAND COUNTRY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 1st)  

We had our first lake-area finishers at the two year-old Grand Country Half Marathon & 5K in Branson on Sunday. Scott and Jayna Gray and Jayna's daughter Eryn Pruitt all finished the 5K and took home straw cowboy hats for their efforts.

Jayna and Eryn finished in 39:06.  Jayna placed 10th (of 20) in the women's 35-39 age group.  Scott finished in 42:21, taking third place (of four) in the men's 35-39 age group.

There were 66 finishers of the half marathon, and 183 of the 5K.  Both totals were up from last year's inaugural race, when there were 51 and 114 finishers of the half and 5K, respectively.

Complete race results can be found here.

*   *   *   *  *

SACRED STEPS 5K (posted September 30th)  

A belated congratulations to Paula O'Connor, who took third place (of 21 runners) in the women's 50-54 age group at the Sacred Steps 5K in Leawood, Kansas on September 23rd.   Complete results can be found here.

The race results didn't include cities for most of the 310 finishers, making it impractical to look through all the runners' names in search of Lake-area runners.  That's especially true on weekends with lots of 5Ks being held around the state.      

*   *   *   *  *

TURKEY TROT & GOBBLE WOBBLE 5K RUN/WALK (updated Octber 1st)  

A crowd of about 35 runners and walkers turned out for Eldon's Turkey Trot & Gobble Wobble 5K on Saturday. The weather certainly wasn't to blame for the relatively small turnout--it was perfect for running.

The overall men's and women's winners were Brayden Wickham and Jade Fletcher.  Brayden, who won his very first Lake-area 5K three weeks ago at the 9/11 Freedom Run, finished in 19:41.  Jade finished in about 25 minutes.  It was her first 5K victory. 

A first-time 5Ker took home some hardware. Mike Sherbak, who's more at home on a bicycle than in running shoes, won the men's 60-and-over age group.  Mike said he'd like to do a half marathon, so he received the hard sell to do next year's Bridge & Dam.

More race photos can be found here.

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ROOTS 'n BLUES 'n BBQ HALF MARATHON & 10K (updated October 1st)

Eight Lake-area runners competed at the Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ Half Marathon & 10K in Columbia on Saturday. That's the largest group we've had at the race since 2012, when we had a total of eighteen.  (Last year, we had just one.)  All eight ran the half marathon.

Heather Doyle, Rosalie Dear and Marvin Bescheinen led our locals, running and finishing together in 1:58:59.

Kudos to Willard Haley for pacing a runner in her very first half marathon.  Willard and Jill Streit of Pilot Grove, Missouri (Willard's hometown) finished in 2:27:22.  It's always great to see an experienced runner helping a newbie, especially in a race distance that can be daunting for first-timers.

The phenomenal, 58 year-old Gerald Holtmeyer of Bonnots Mill, who's been a first- or second-place overall finisher at Bridge & Dam the past three years, took 13th overall (of 571 finishers) in the half marathon with a 1:39:55 finish time.  He beat 31 other competitors in the men's 50-59 age group.

Click for the complete half marathon and 10K results. There were 571 and 447 finishers of the half marathon and 10K, respectively.  The half marathon was up slightly from last year's 548 finishers, while the 10K was down from last year's total of 521.

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SUNDANCE TO SPEARFISH MARATHON (posted September 24th)

It took four marathons to get it done, but Todd Raney finally did it.  On Saturday, Todd finished a marathon in Wyoming in under four hours, making Wyoming the 41st state in which he's done so.  He did it at the Sundance to Spearfish Marathon, which starts in Wyoming and ends in South Dakota. (For races that cross state lines, runners are able to claim either state in their 50-state quests.) Todd finished in 3:47:45.

This is probably one of the more unusual marathons that Todd has done. It's very small, with a limit of 50 participants. (With such a small field, chip timing isn't used--or needed, for that matter.) The course drops in elevation from 6,600 to 3,600 feet from start to finish, making it attractive as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, yet the small field limit makes the race difficult to enter.

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QUAD CITIES MARATHON (posted September 24th)

Two runners from Camdenton competed in the Quad Cities Marathon in Moline, Illinois, on Sunday.  Teresa Shepley ran the half marathon, finishing in 2:39:09 and placing fifth (of 18) in the women's 65-69 age group.  Teresa's husband, Brian Shepley, opted for the 5K, finishing in 33:52 and placed eighth (of 31) in the men's 65-69 age group.

Full results can be found here. 

I thnk it's pretty safe to say that, in the Lake area, Teresa is the oldest female finisher of a half marathon. ( The Shepleys apparently relocated to Camdenton from Muscatine, Iowa within the past year.)

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PONY EXPRESS GRAVEL ROAD BICYCLE RACE (posted September 21st)

A belated congratulations to Lake-area cyclist Dr. Scott Hofer for his overall victory at the Pony Express Dash in Maryville, Kansas on September 9th. Scott competed against 69 others in the men's open division in the 75-mile race, finishing on top in 4:20:30, at an average speed of 17.27 mph.

Chris Orr, also from Lake Ozark, did extremely well, finishing in 8th place in the same division and race in a time of 5:04:33, or 14.78 mph.

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MARK TWAIN 50/100 MILE ENDURANCE RUNS (updated September 18th)

At the Mark Twain 50/100 Mile Endurance Run on the Berryman Trail on Saturday, Chris Boyle achieved the rarest of distinctions for a Lake-area runner--an overall victory at an out-of-town race.  (Over the years, a few others have come extremely close, but never finished on top.)  In this, his third 50-mile trail race--all within the past four months--Chris led all 26 official finishers (and 24 others who failed to make the 16-hour cutoff) with a winning time of 9:11:07.  The 50-mile race featured a brutal 5,000 feet of climbing. 

Hot on Chris' heels, and finishing just nine minutes behind him, was the overall women's winner, Denise Bourassa--a 2012 and 2013 finisher of the Western States 100, among other ultra trail runs. 

St. Louis resident and frequent Lake-area visitor Ryan Maher took sixth overall in the 50-mile race, finishing in 10:22:38.  This was Ryan's second 50-miler.

John Shelby, who volunteered at the race along with Scott Page and Gary Braman, passed along a few photos: 

Chris Boyle at the buffet table at aid station #1,
choosing among gels, chips, pretzels, grapes, bananas,
peanut M&Ms, and a "Ring for Beer" bell.

Chris Boyle leaves aid station #1.  The race started at 6:00 a.m., which is why Chris is wearing a headlamp. 

Chris Boyle (blue shirt) and Ryan Maher relax at the finish line, cheering on the remaining runners on the course.

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 26 and 11 official finishers, respectively, of the 50- and 100-mile races.  Not surprisingly, the race finishers were almost all within an age range of 30 to 49.  Between the two distances, there were just two runners under 30, and four 50 or older.   A 67 year-old may have been the oldest competitor at the race, but unfortunately he failed to beat the 50-mile cutoff time.

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REDMAN TRIATHLON (posted September 16th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for his half-iron distance finish (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run) at the Redman Triathlon in Oklahoma City on Saturday.   This was Jim's first appearance at Redman, as well as his first triathlon of this distance.  Previously, he's finished many shorter triathlons, and two iron-distance Ironman Triathlons.

Here are Jim's splits:

Swim:         35:51 (2:05 per 100 meters)*
T-1:              4:54
Bike:       3:01:25  (18.5 miles per hour)
T-2:              4:26
Run:        2:34:42
Finish:     6:21:16

(* The swim course had to be shortened due to winds causing some swim buoys to be blown off-course. Some athletes report that, according to their GPS-enabled watches, the course was significantly short--0.75 miles for the half, and 1.5 miles for the full.)

Jim placed second (of four) in the men's 60-64 age group.

Sherry Wilson of Waynesville, who raced at the Rise 'n Shine Half Marathon here at the Lake in 2015, finished the full (or "iron") distance race, in 15:07:53, and placed fourth (of five) in the women's 45-49 age group.   This was Sherry's first iron-distance triathlon.

Complete results can be found here. There were 224 solo and 15 three-person relay team finishers of the half distance race, and 57 finishers of the full distance.  In the aquabike (swim and bike only) races, there were 32 and 35 finishers of the full and half distances.   

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9/11 FREEDOM RUN 5K (updated September 10th)

Picture-perfect weather brought out a record crowd of 68 runners and walkers for Saturday's fourth annual 9/11 Freedom Run 5K in Lake Ozark.  The event was organized by the firefighters of the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District to commemorate the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.  Proceeds from the event go toward the Lake Ozark firefighters' "Shop With a Fireman" program, which takes underprivileged kids shopping for Christmas gifts in a fire truck.

Race director and LOFPD firefighter Bobby Allison
gives last-minute course instructions.

A record number of firefighters (and one mascot)--from three
Lake-area fire districts--walked the course in full gear.

Two first-time 5K winners took home top honors.  Brayden Wickham, an Eldon High School cross country runner, was the overall men's winner in 19:33--the fastest finish in the race's four-year history.  Katie Roberts was the top woman, finishing in 28:08, and took sixth place overall.

Overall winners Katie Roberts and Brayden Wickham.

Complete race results can be found here (or here, in .xlsx format).

 
The synchronized, two-handed wave team of (from left) Alysia Maschino, Jen Wiethop and Ali Hammel was in fine form.

Many more photos can be viewed here.

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THE RUNNING OF THE KNIGHTS 5K/1-MILE (posted September 10th)

Just over 100 runners came out on Sunday for the inaugural Running of the Knights 5K (Facebook), hosted by The King's Academy preschool and elementary school at Christ the King Church in Lake Ozark.  Another 33 participants took part in a 1-mile fun run.

The overall men's and women's 5K winners were Andrew Lehenbauer and Paula O'Connor in 21:13 and 27:33, respectively.

Complete results can be found here.

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GO GIRL RUN KANSAS CITY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted September 10th)

Two runners from the wider Lake area competed in the Go Girl Run - Kansas City half marathon on Sunday. 

Heather Doyle and Krystal Millan, both of Tipton, ran and finished together, in 2:24:03.  That placed Heather 26th (of 61) in the 35-39 age group, and Krystal 29th (of 63) in th 30-34 age group.

Overall participation rose modestly this year compared to last, when it was held on Labor Day weekend.  There were 422 and 365 finishers of the half marathon and 5K, respectively, this year, versus 360 and 279 last year.

The full results can be found here.   

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SIOUX FALLS MARATHON (posted September 10th)

Three years after completing the Sioux Falls Marathon, Todd Raney returned this year in hopes of checking off South Dakota in his quest to complete a marathon in under four hours in every state.   Todd came up just shy in 2014, with a 4:08:26 finish, but succeeded this year, with a 3:52:39 finish.  That placed Todd fifth (of 25) in the men's 45-49 age group.   His 50-state, sub-4 quest rose to 40 states.

Full results can be found here.

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DES MOINES ESCAPE TRIATHLON / HEART OF AMERICA MARATHON (updated September 4th)

Jim McDermott apparently didn't get the memo that this was a holiday weekend, reserved for barbeques, football and fireworks.

On Sunday, Jim competed in the Des Moines Escape Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa.  Jim opted for the Olympic distance race, consisting of a 1500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run.  He finished in 2:45:31, placing fourth (of six) in the men's 60-64 age group. Here are his splits:

Swim:         44:21 (2:57 per 100 meters)
T-1:              2:48
Bike:       1:06:00  (22.5 miles per hour)
T-2:              2:44
Run:           49:40
Finish:     2:45:31

Complete triathlon results can be found here.

On Monday, Jim stopped off in Columbia and ran the Heart of America Marathon (Facebook)--his fourth since 2014--and finished in 5:06:23. That placed Jim ninth (of 17) in the men's 60-and-over age group.

Another familiar name in the results was Melissa Martinez, who finished in 4:12:34 and took fifth place (of 11) in the women's 45-49 age group.

There were 129 finishers of this year's race, down from 142 last year, 162 in 2015, and 179 in 2014.  Near the end of the running-boom years, this race had about 200-275 finishers.

Complete marathon results can be found here.

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NEBRASKA STATE FAIR MARATHON (posted August 27th)

The third time was a charm for Todd Raney. After finishing two previous marathons in Nebraska in 4:08:17 and 4:10:50, Todd managed to finish his third--the Nebraska State Fair Marathon --in 3:49:25, making Nebraska the 39th state in which he's completed a marathon in under four hours. Todd placed fith (of 13) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Complete results can be found here. 

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TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN 5K/10K (posted August 22nd)

Well, it turns out that we did indeed have a Lake-area runner participate in an event this past weekend.   April Leonard did the virtual Total Eclipse of the Sun 10K created by the virtual run organizer, MoonJoggers.com.  April finished in 57:17, and even passed along a photo at the finish line.

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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--the same number as last year--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, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) or ISIS operations.  This was the eighth year for this event, which was organized by the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Here are some photos from the event.

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RUNNING WITH THE OUTLAWS (posted August 12th) 

The Running with the Outlaws 5K/10K and 13-mile bike races held on Saturday are part of Pineville, Missouri's Jesse James Days festivities that benefit the town's volunteer fire department. (While the infamous outlaw Jesse James hailed from the northwest Missouri town of Kearney, the 1938 movie "Jesse James" was mostly filmed in Pineville and MacDonald County.)

Congratulations to Margie Gunter, who returned for the second year in a row to do the 13-mile bike race and, after a third-place finish last year, reports she was the top female finisher this year. 

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ROUTE 66 FESTIVAL 6.6/3.3K RUN (posted August 12th) 

Mike Toth was our lone Lake-area participant at the Route 66 Festival 6.6/3.3K Run in Springfield on Saturday.   Mike ran the 6.6K race, finishing in 37:20. Age-group results weren't reported officially, but Mike was the eighth (of nine) finishers among 50-54 men.

Full results can be found here.

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THE MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER 340 (updated August 12th)

Final report: 

Of the 447 boats registered for this year's race:

293 finished
  78 started, but failed to finish
  74 failed to start

The men's tandem team of Joe Mann from Lee's Summit and Dylan McHardy of Strafford was the first to cross the finish line.  They did so Wednesday night at 9:09 p.m. in a finish time of 37 hours and nine minutes, at an average speed of 9.1 mph.  Joe finished second overall last year and third in 2015 as a solo racer.

None of the Lake-area competitors reached the finish line. Bob Meyer stopped at Glascow (mile 145) on Wednesday morning after 23 hours of racing.  The Nauti Fish team of Zach Cribb and Rob Shields also stopped at Glascow, after 34 hours.  On Tuesday, just 10 hours and 73 miles after starting, the AlumiNaughty team of Brian Brooks and Marilyn Thieman called it quits at Waverly.

---

The Missouri American Water 340, the 340-mile paddling race from Kansas City to St. Charles on the Missouri River, starts on Tuesday morning (August 8th).  The race has an 88-hour time limit, ending Friday night at midnight.

The racers will enjoy some of the mildest weather in the race's history, with below-normal temperatures expected for the duration.  However, based on the latest forecast, showers and thunderstorms are likely on Thursday.  (It seems like this race gets hit with a thunderstorm every year, so that shouldn't be a surprise.) 

This year, the racers will get a nice push once they the reach the mouth of the Osage River, thanks to the heavy rains that hit the Lake of the Ozarks area on Saturday. Those rains led to the opening of the Bagnell Dam floodgates, and once that water hits the Missouri River, the paddlers should gain some speed.

There are 447 boats and 650 paddlers in this year's race.  (The MR340 had a humble start in 2006 with just 15 boats.)  Three boats and five paddlers are from the Lake area, including:

Bob Meyer of Camdenton in the men's solo division (boat #4158);

Zach Cribb and Rob Shields, both of Camdenton, in the men's tandem division, in Nauti Fish (boat #1022); and

Eldon's Brian Brooks and Marilyn Thieman in the mixed tandem division, in AlumiNaughty (boat #4745).

Bob Meyer is a two-time solo finisher.  Brian Brooks has competed five times--twice solo (one finish and one DNF), and three team finishes, including two with Marilyn.

Click here for a course map.

Links for tracking the race can be found here.

The race's Facebook page is always an excellent source of information and photos.

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STOCKTON LAKE TRIATHLON (posted August 6th) 

Congratulations to the Lake area's newest triathlete, Colten Jones.  On Sunday, Colten competed in the Stockton Lake Triathlon's Olympic distance race, consisting of a 1,000-meter swim, 20.8-mile bike and 10K run.   Colten finished in 2:24:47, winning the men's 19-and-under age group (over two others), and taking 7th overall (of 28 finishers).  (He also managed, in his first triathlon, to beat Jim McDermott's finish time of 2:36:14 last year.)  Here are Colten's splits:

Swim:        29:04  (2:55 per 100 meters)
T-1:             1:28
Bike:       1:08:35  (18.2 mph)
T-2:              1:04
Run:           44:40  (7:13/mile)
Finish:     2:24:47

Colten's 10K time of 44:40 is the fastest among Lake-area men so far in 2017.

Complete results can be found here.

There were 79 participants between the Olympic and sprint distance races this year, down from 112 last year.  Severe weather in the past 24 hours may have kept some participants away. 

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MINNESOTA VOYAGEUR 50-MILE TRAIL ULTRAMARATHON (updated July 31st)

Congratulations to Chris Boyle, as well as to two of his friends from St. Louis--Ryan and Jaime Maher--who vacation at the Lake and are members of the LOTO Runners Facebook group, for finishing the Minnesota Voyageur 50-Mile Trail Ultramarathon on Saturday (July 29th).  This 36 year-old race is one of the oldest trail ultras in the U.S., and features a brutal 4,000 feet of climbing (course elevation profile).

This was Chris' first "official" 50-mile race.  (He, along with Gary Braman and John Shelby, ran the Berryman 50-Mile in May as volunteer course sweepers, but didn't receive an official finish time nor a place in the standings.)   Chris finished in 8:47:40, placing 31st overall (of 289 total finishers) and 13th (of 76) in the men's 30-39 age group.

Ryan finished 27 minutes behind Chris, in 9:14:51, and took 17th in the same age group. 

Ryan's wife, Jaime, finished in 12:37:14, placing 22nd (of 31) in the women's 30-39 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

Interestingly, the men's course record of 6:41:16 belongs to Scott Turek, one of the greatest ultrarunners of all time, and who was a prominent character in the bestselling book, Born to Run.  His record has stood since 1998.

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SHOW-ME STATE GAMES (updated August 23rd) 

5K/10K:

Three locals competed in the Show-Me State Games 5K/10K on Sunday.

Willard Haley took third place in his age group in the 10K with a 57:19 finish.

Jayna Gray won the women's 35-39 age group in the 5K race walk with a 37:02 finish.

Scott Gray took second in the men's 35-39 age group in the 5K race walk with a 46:06.

TRIATHLON / DUATHLON:

Tobby and Alisha Eldridge were our only locals competing in the triathlon.  This was the third year in a row that they participated in the event.

Full results can be found here. There weer 93 solo finishers (compared to 124 last year) and three relay teams in this year's race.

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WIN FOR KC WOMEN'S TRIATHLON & DUATHLON (updated July 31st)

Christine Head of Osage Beach was our lone Lake-area competitor at the women-only WIN for KC Triathlon & Duathlon at Smithville Lake near Kansas City on Saturday.  Christine finished the 500-meter swim, 10-mile bike and 5K run in 2:06:50, placing 70th (of 71) in the 35-39 age group. (I'm not certain, but I think this was Christine's first triathlon.)

Here are her splits:

Swim:         16:11  (3:15/100 meters)
T-1:              2:46
Bike:        1:03:57   (9.4 mph)
T-2:              1:07
Run:           42:51  (13:50/mile)

Finish:     2:06:50 

Taylor McEacher, a Camdenton High School graduate now living in the Kansas City area, also competed in the triathlon, finishing in 1:22:39 and placing 14th (of 47) in the 25-29 age group.  Here are Taylor's splits:

Swim:        13:53  (2:47/100 meters)
T-1:             1:26
Bike:          38:01  (15.8 mph)
T-2:              1:13
Run:           28:09  (9:05/mile)
Finish:     1:22:39 

Taylor McEacher at the 2016 Laker 5K Turkey Trot.

Full results can be found here.

Participation was down for the third consecutive year.  (Triathlon, like running, has been in recession for several years.)  Here are the number of finishers since the inaugural 2009 race:

2009         535
2010         626
2011         718
2012         790
2013         838
2014         893
2015         674
2016         616
2017         552

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MADISON MARATHON / BIG SKY MARATHON / DESERET NEWS MARATHON (updated July 29th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for achieving another first for a Lake-area runner by completing three marathons in three consecutive days.

On Saturday, Todd ran the Madison Marathon in the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest in southwestern Montana.  The race is billed as the "‘Highest Road Marathon on Planet Earth", with an average elevation of 9,000 feet above sea level.  That extreme altitude made this the toughest (and slowest) marathon he's ever done, according to Todd.  He finished in 5:35:27, and placed fourth (of ten) among those born in the 1960s.  (Yes, your age group was the decade in which you were born.)  There were 54 finishers in total.  Complete results can be downloaded here.

On Sunday, Todd ran the Big Sky Marathon, a companion to the Madison Marathon, and which is billed as the "Second Longest Downhill Road Marathon on Planet Earth". It starts at an elevation of 8,600 feet, and descends 3,700 feet to the finish line at 4,900 feet.  Todd finished in 4:39:58 and took fourth (of 13) among those born in the 1960s.   There were 38 finishers of the race.  Complete results can be downloaded here.    

   
Todd Raney at the Madison Marathon (left) and Deseret News Marathon.

Finally, Todd traveled to Salt Lake City for Utah's Pioneer Day celebration and the Deseret News Marathon.  Another downhill course--this one with an elevation drop of 3,200 feet to the finish line at 4,200 feet--gave Todd his fastest finish of the weekend, crossing the line in 3:56:19.  He placed seventh (of 19) in the men's 45-49 age group. Full results are found here.

His Utah result now puts Todd at 38 states with a sub 4-hour finish.

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CONCERNS OF POLICE SURVIVORS BLUE RIBBON 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 17th)

Sixty runners and walkers, plus six participating around the country on a virtual basis, toed the starting line at the fourth annual Blue Ribbon 5K Run/Walk in Linn Creek on Saturday.  The race was a fund-raiser for Camdenton-based Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S).

As has been the case with nearly every Lake-area race so far this year, attendance was down from last year, when 130 in-person and virtual runners and walkers participated.

Osage High School cross country runner Derrick Puckett was the overall winner, in 19:25.  Derrick beat second-place finisher Nigher Alfaro by a mere 8 seconds.   

On the women's side, Heather Oddo, despite being five months pregnant, won easily, in 22:00, and placed fourth overall. 

Interestingly, in the four years of this race, there have now been four different male and female overall winners.

Complete race results can be found here. 

You can view about 150 more race photos here. 

Finally, a big "thank-you" goes to Paul and Ginger Joyner, owners of Rolla-based Split Second Timing, who generously donated their time and services to the Blue Ribbon 5K.

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ROCK 'N' ROLL CHICAGO HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted July 16th)

Scott and Jayna Gray interrupted their family vacation to run the 10K at Sunday's Rock 'n' Roll Chicago.  Don't give them too much credit, though--Sunday's high temperature in Chicago was only 73°.

Jayna finished in 1:19:29, placing 150th (of 248) in the women's 35-39 age group, while Scott finished in 1:38:12, placing 86th (of 90) in the men's 35-39 age group. 

The phenomenal Jamie Vest of Lebanon took third overall in the women's half marathon.  She finished in 1:20:58, ahead of 5,739 other women.

Complete race results can be found here.

Scott passed along a few photos.

 
Left photo: Jayna and Scott Gray at the finish line.
Right photo: Scott and Brayden Gray with the GEICO lizard.

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LARRY ALLMAN, R.I.P. (posted July 10th)

Local cyclist and Camdenton High School industrial arts teacher Larry Allman passed away Sunday night after sustaining traumatic head injuries in a bike accident while riding with friends on Horseshoe Bend on June 29th.  (He was wearing a helmet, but it broke in the crash.)  Articles about Larry and the accident can be found at Lakenewsonline.com and LakeExpo.com. 

I never met Larry, but nevertheless still feel very sad for his family and friends.  The articles didn't mention his age, but he appears to have left us far too early.

Larry Allman (front row, far right) was on a local team that participated in the Multiple Sclerosis Society's MS 150 bike ride in Columbia in 2009.

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MAD MARATHON (posted July 9th)

Todd Raney's string of sub 4-hour marathon finishes so far in 2017 ended at ten on Sunday.  Todd was in Waitsfield, Vermont for the Mad Marathon, which bills itself as "the world's most beautiful marathon".  He finished in 4:24:44, placing 14th (of 28) in the 45-49 age group. 

Todd completed a marathon in Vermont last year, so his 50-state quest remains at 49, and his 50-state sub 4-hour quest stays at 37.

Complete results can be found here. 

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TOUR DE DONUT (posted July 8th)

There were no Lake-area cyclists among the 953 who participated in the Tour de Donut bicycle race--a spoof of the Tour de France--in Staunton, Illinois on Saturday, but there were two notable performances that are worth reporting. 

First, though, the 34-mile race gives cyclists a 5-minute credit against their finish times for each donut eaten at one of the two checkpoints on the course.   Most of those who indulged ate a donut or two, and some ate more.   None of the first 74 finishers ate a donut. 

The top male, who finished in 499th place before the donut adjustment, ate a stomach-busting 37 donuts, reducing his finish time from an unadjusted 2:51:02 down to a negative 13:57.

The top female was pretty impressive, as well, eating 36 donuts.  Before the donut adjustment, she finished in 3:24:48 (757th place).  After the adjustment, she finished in a women's winning 14:48.

Results can be found here.

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ELDON INDEPENDENCE DAY 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 8th)

Despite nice weather, a sparse crowd of only about 45 runners and walkers, including quite a few visiting the Lake area for the holiday weedend, toed the starting line at Eldon's Independence Day 5K on Saturday.   It was about half the normal turnout for this race up until several years ago.

Former Eldon High School, and now Central Methodist U., cross country runner Ryan Bennett was the overall winner, in 18:42.   Nigher Alfaro was hot on Ryan's heels, though, finishing just four seconds behind in a sprint to the finish line. (This adds to the long string of examples in recent years of Nigher placing second to a current or former cross country runner.  Nigher has more overall race victories than anyone else in the Lake area, and also more second-place finishes.)

Runners vacationing at the Lake are often overall winners at this race, and this year was no exception.  The women's overall winner was Stephanie Buehler of Oklahoma City, who finished in 21:30.

Here are the top three finishers in each division:

He may have lost out on the overall victory, but Nigher Alfaro took home first place in the men's 40-49 age group.  Finishing second behind Nigher in that age group was one of many visitors to the Lake area this holiday weekend, Matt Bridwell of St. Louis.

A HA! Now we know  why Amy Harrell's name wasn't appearing in race results over the past year.  Scott Gray scared away the competition from even showing up, and breezed to a victory in the male walker division.

Margie Gunter took home some hardware, much to the delight of her cheerleader waiting back in the car.

There are many, many more photos from the race that you can find here.

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24-HOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (posted July 1st)

The World 24-Hour Running Championships concluded today at 6:00 a.m. Central time. 

The final results show the overall male winner with 166.2 miles.  In what you might call a photo finish in a race this long, the second-place male was only about 1,000 meters behind him.

The top female completed 160.5 miles, about 4 miles ahead of the second-place female.   

The top American male came in seventh (of 159 male competitors) at 159.4 miles.  Pete Kostelnick stopped at 78.0 miles, and placed 149th.   Since it may be helpful for everyone to see that even extremely experienced runners make big mistakes, I'll repost what he put on his Facebook page:

"Well, to say I'm disappointed in myself would be an understatement. Long story short, I got a bit ahead of myself in the misty, cool weather in Belfast. I was right on pace the first 6 hours for a very solid even race, but wasn't drinking much at all, a bit overconfident, pleasantly surprised by the misty cool weather. Before I knew  it, I quickly spiraled out of control, and couldn't make any nutrition or hydration stick for the better part of the brief 78 miles I was around. Got great medical support from the US medical staff, and tried walking a few laps in a daze, but couldn't keep anything down or coming out right. I learned a lot, and couldn't be more proud of the Men's and Women's team members, staff, support crews, other runners, and my family/crew for battling courageously and leaving everything out there. It was my first international race, and I will come away very inspired, smarter, and humbled by it all, already back to the drawing board. I trained relentlessly for this race for six months, but there are some mistakes I made that I won't delve in to. Looking forward to correcting a few things, easing up on the pressure I put on myself, and get racing back on track. Thanks everyone!!"

Pete will be doing the Badwater 135-mile race on July 10th, where he'll be defending his overall victory last year.

Americans took third, fourth and fifth overall in the women's race. The top American female completed 154.7 miles.

The U.S. men's team finished third, behind Japan and Poland.  The U.S. women won the women's championship.

Here are links for more information:

Team USA

Belfast 24

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ELDON POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION'S DOUGHNUT 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 25th)

Approximately fifty-five doughnut lovers came out for Saturday's Doughnut 5K hosted by the Eldon Police Officers Association. The event was a benefit for the Association's Christmas gifts for kids program, and also yielded a $500 donation to Camdenton-based Concerns of Police Survivors.

How did the "doughnut run" work? Just prior to the race, each participant was given a glazed doughnut. Off-duty police officers and a few volunteers (aka "donut thieves") at multiple locations along the course tried to steal the doughnuts away from the participants. Only those participants who reached the finish line with a fully intact doughnut received a medal.

So far, so good, at the half-mile mark,
with doughnuts still fully intact.

The overall men's and women's winners were Aidan Gerber of Eldon and Rosy Lehmer of Sedalia in 21:21 and 28:38, respectively.

Over 100 more photos from the race can be found here.  The results page was photographed and appears at the very end of the gallery, but here's a quick link.

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Disappointing news:  I heard from an unnamed source that next year's Run for the Children Half Marathon & 10K in Eldon is going to substitute a 15K for the half marathon.   That shouldn't come as a huge surprise, as this year there were only 13 half marathon participants, compared to 90 when the race was introduced in 2013.

I was concerned that race would be cancelled outright since the 10K didn't attract but 10 participants. It takes a lot of time and effort, in addition to lots of volunteers and city support on race day, to put on a half marathon and 10K, and it's hard to justify for just 23 runners.

Unfortunately, once a Lake-area half marathon or other big race is cancelled, it's gone forever.  Remember, for example, the Moonshine Half Marathon?  The Ultramax Triathlon?  The Bonk Hard Chill?  The Ozark Off Road Challenge? 

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THE RUNNING RECESSION: A MID-YEAR UPDATE (posted June 23rd) 

Regular readers know that I've been chronicling the "recession" in running on this webpage over the past few years.

The data from the first half of 2017 shows that the level of interest in running continues to drop.  Unless there's a sudden and strong reversal in the second half of this year (I wouldn't bet on it), 2017 is likely to be the third consecutive year in which the level of interest in running has fallen. 

To measure interest in running, I keep track of the number of finishers at nearly every full and/or half marathon in the state of Missouri.  I don't track the number of 5K finishers because of the very large number of those events statewide, and because many of these finishers are casual walkers--not runners.  (Even without collecting the data, I'm pretty confident in saying that the number of 5K finishers has declined over the last several years, too.)

For some historical perspective, here are the number of full and half marathon finishers at Missouri races, by year, since 2012.   The total peaked at 56,234 in 2014, followed by declines in both 2015 and 2016.   Interestingly, there were fewer finishers in 2016 than in 2012, despite a doubling in the number of events.

In the first half of 2017, there were 21,438 finishers, down 11% from 24,177 in the first six months of 2016, as shown in the table below (click on table for a .pdf version):

The decline was broad-based, with nearly two-thirds of the events experiencing declines in 2017.  Every one of the eight largest events in the state, which represent about 75% of the total finishers, had declines:

In 2016, the races in the first six months of the year accounted for about half of the year's total finishers.  If that holds true for 2017, the total number of finishers for all of 2017 should be around 42,000.  That would represent a decline of 25% since the running recession started three years ago.  

At the start of 2017, I thought that perhaps this would be the year that interest in running would either stabilize or increase.  Halfway through the year, it looks like 2017 will be even worse than the previous two.

You really don't have to look at the above numbers to know that running has lost its popularity.  If you've attended many of our Lake-area 5Ks over the last few years, you've seen the big decline in the number of participants.

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A "running recession" update postscript:  Lake-area runners logged a total of 2,133 miles at 10K and longer races through the first half of 2017. That's 30% less than the total of 3,066 miles in last year's first half.

Interestingly, there are now about 25% more members of the Lake of the Ozarks Runners Facebook group than there were a year ago.

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SHOW-ME STATE SENIOR GAMES (posted June 20th) 

Ed Doney was our lone Lake-area competitor at the Show-Me State Senior Games in Columbia over the weekend.

In Saturday's 5K, Ed finished in 27:35, placing second (of three) in the men's 65-69 age group.  The winner of the age group was the phenomenal John Howland of Jefferson City, who crossed the line in 22:00.  (Last year, at the age of 67, John was the overall winner--over 34 other competitors--of the Missouri Race Series 10-mile race in Columbia.) 

On Sunday, Ed won his age group by default in the 10K, finishing in 1:00:21. 

Full race results can be found here.

The Senior Games are open to all individuals 50 years old or older. Almost all of the participants are serious age-group competitors.  The oldest runner was in the 85-89 age group, and he finished the 5K in 35:23.

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RUN WITH THE HORSES 5K/10K, HIDDEN HILLS 10K CHALLENGE & KIDS' 1-MILE RUN/WALK (posted June 20th)

A morning thunderstorm moved out just in time--but left behind oppressive humidity--on Saturday for the thirty-three runners and walkers participating in the Run with the Horses benefiting the Missouri Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue & Sanctuary.

In the Hidden Hills 10K Challenge, half of which featured steep hills on (mostly) gravel roads, Chris Boyle ran the fastest 10K of the year among Lake-area men, finishing in 46:00.  Katie Roberts won the women's race by default, finishing alongside husband Stacy Roberts in about 1:05:00.

The 5K winners were both visiting the Lake from Quincy, Illinois.  Brad Neisen won the men's race by default with an impressive 18:45 finish time.  Cierra Hiland was the top female, finishing in 21:36.  This was Cierra's third victory this year--she won the women's 5K at Bridge & Dam in 22:52, and at the Lake Race 5K in 20:51.

Here are the complete race results:

Below is just one of many more photos from the race that you can view here.

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ONE ON THE RUN (posted June 18th)

Scott and Jayna Gray played host this weekend to Helene Neville, who's running 4,000 miles across Missouri and eleven other states over the span of five months this year to complete her years-long quest of running across every state in the continental U.S.  She crossed into Missouri at St. Joseph on Tuesday (June 13th), heading east. 

You can read more about Helene and her inspiring story at her webpage and Facebook page.

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GRANDMA'S MARATHON (posted June 17th)

Congratulations to Todd Raney for scoring his tenth consecutive sub 4-hour marathon in ten different states so far this year. On Saturday, Todd completed Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota in 3:53:44, placing 105th (of 344) in the 45-49 age group.

Minnesota marks the 37th state in which Todd has competed a sub 4-hour marathon.  His state total, including states with finishes over four hours, still stands at 49.

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SUMMER NIGHT GLOW 5K RUN/WALK (posted June 11th)

The Lake area's biggest--and most kid-friendly--5K of the year, the Children's Learning Center's Summer Night Glow 5K Run/Walk, had 226 finishers at its tenth annual event on Friday evening.  That was down from last year's total of 270, and well below the 327 in 2014 (which still stands as the all-time record for a timed Lake-area 5K), but you can't blame the weather: The weather was the best in memory for the event.  Temperatures and humidity were mild, and a beautiful full moon graced the sky soon after dark. 

Former Camdenton High School and Drury University cross country runner J.J. Ryan, who won this race in 2013 and 2014, added a third victory to his total by finishing in 17:47.  J.J. holds the course record of 16:53, set at this race in 2013.

Fifteen year-old Nevaeh Page, who finished second at last year's race, took the top spot this year with a 23:45 finish--two minutes faster than last year.

Complete race results can be found here:

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

Members of the Alfaro running dynasty each took home an age-group medal, except for youngest daughter Addison (#102), who still managed to flash a gracious smile.

Anytime Fitness in Camdenton brought a big group to the race, and posed for a post-race photo.   A fond "farewell" to Tina (second from left), Michael (yellow shirt) and Gabriella Cicerelli (orange shirt), who will soon be moving to the Los Angeles area.

It may look like just another street light in the background,
but Margie Gunter finger-hearted the full moon for the camera.

Another 250 photos can be found here.  (Hint: If you want to learn the name of someone who appears in a photo, just look up their bib number in the race results.)

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JEFFERSON CITY TRIATHLON & DUATHLON (posted June 11th)

The second annual Jefferson City Triathlon & Duathlon, sponsored by the Jefferson City YMCA and the city's parks & recreation department, was held on Sunday.

Our lone Lake-area participant at the event was Jim McDermott. Jim opted for the triathlon, which included a 400-meter pool swim, 12-mile bike and 3.2-mile run.  He finished in 1:23:43, placing third (of seven) in the men's 55-64 age group. Here are his splits:

Swim:       10:11 (2:33 per 100 meters)
T-1:            2:17
Bike:        37:37 (19.1 miles per hour)
T-2:            1:13
Run:         32:30
Finish:   1:23:43

There were 77 and 3 finishers of the triathlon and duathlon, respectively.  Complete results can be found here. 

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WW MILITARY MILES HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted June 11th)

While in warm and windy Dallas, Texas this morning, Scott Gray participated in the WW Military Miles Half Marathon & 5K/10K.   About 2,000 runners participating in the nine year-old race, which benefits military-related charities.

Scott did the 10K, finishing in 1:33:21 and placing 32nd (of 34) in the men's 35-39 age group.  Complete race results can be found here.

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FORT LEONARD WOOD'S VOLKSLAUF 10K MUD RUN (posted June 11th)

Six mud lovers from the Lake area were among the 612 finishers of the 18th annual Volkslauf 10K Mud Run at Fort Leonard Wood on Saturday.  Here are their results:

Full results can be found here.

Participation was down 9% from last year's total of 675 finishers, and down 35% from the 2015 total of 938.

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OSAGE HOWLER PADDLE RACE (updated June 17th)

The inaugural Osage Howler on the Osage River drew a total of 41 boats (with 47 paddlers aboard) for the 61-mile paddle race and 14 boats (with 19 paddlers) for the 14-mile fun run.

The particpants' cities weren't listed in the results, but at least two locals were among the competitors.

Trevor Dowdney won the solo stand-up paddleboard division (over one other competitor) in the 61-mile race, finishing in 10:16:xx--an average speed of 5.93 miles per hour.

By four minutes, Corey ten Bensel eked out a victory (over four others) in the men's solo under-20-feet kayak division in the fun paddle, finishing in 3:19:xx.   His average speed was 4.10 mph.

The complete results can be found here (or here, in .pdf format).

Below are a couple photos from the race start. (In the first photo, that's Trevor Dowdney in the white long-sleeved jersey on a paddleboard.)

More photos can be found here.

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

Thirty-four runners and walkers turned out for the third annual Lake Race 5K Run/Walk in Lake Ozark on Saturday.  Disappointingly, the field was only about half the size of last year's total of 64, which in turn was below the 77 who turned out for the inaugural race in 2015.

Nigher Alfaro, who won the inaugural race but finished second last year, returned to the winner's circle by finishing in 18:41.  This was technically a new personal 5K record for Nigher, although Nigher wasn't calling it official due to uncertainties about the course's actual distance.  (His previous best--18:48 at the 2017 Ta-Ta Trot--was on a course long known to be about 1/10th of a mile short.)

The women's winner was Cierra Hiland, in 20:51.  Cierra also won the women's 5K at this year's Bridge & Dam in 22:52.

Complete race results can be found here.  

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HOSPITAL HILL RUN (posted June 4th)

Kansas City's Hospital Hill Run--one of the oldest and biggest running events in the state--included seven runners from the Lake area at this year's 44th annual event.  

Jim McDermott and April Leonard had stand-out races.  Jim ran his fastest half marathon in two years and took third place (of 48) in the men's 60-64 age group with a 1:49:46 finish.

April ran Friday night's 5K and Saturday morning's 10K, finishing in 27:40 and 57:02, respectively.  Those times  placed her seventh (of 98) and fourth (of 69) in the women's 50-54 age group.

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

Here are a couple of post-race photos that were passed along:

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GO GIRL RUN COLUMBIA HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted June 4th)

Eight local runs traveled to Columbia on Saturday to compete in the women-only Go Girl Run Half Marathon & 5K.

Ashley Pryor turned in the most notable performance, taking third place (of 69 competitors) in the women's 30-34 age group by finishing in 1:53:43. 

Results for our local runners can be found below.  (If I missed anyone, please let me know.)   Complete race results can be found here.

Participation in the half marathon was up slightly from last year, while the 5K continued its long-term decline.  (The half marathon might have also had another down year if not for this year's cancellation of the marathon distance due to low turnout at last year's race.)

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BERRYMAN 50-MILE & MARATHON TRAIL RUNS (posted May 20th)

Congratulations to Chris Boyle, Gary Braman and John Shelby, who on Saturday became the Lake area's newest ultramarathon finishers.   The trio completed the 50-mile race at the St. Louis Ultrarunners Group's Berryman 50-Mile & Marathon Trail Run in the Mark Twain National Forest near Steelville .

Their names don't appear in the results since they were running in a semi-official, volunteer capacity as course sweepers, making sure that the last runners were OK and accounted for.  The final 50-mile finisher crossed the line in 14:38:33, or shortly after 9:00 p.m. Saturday night.

Gary reports that the weather wasn't bad until a downpour hit with just two miles to go.

Click to view the complete results for the 50-mile and marathon.   There were 30 and 84 finishers of the two sold-out races, respectively.

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JOPLIN MEMORIAL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted May 20th)

This year's Joplin Memorial Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K commemorated the sixth anniversary of the devastating tornado that ripped through the heart of the city, killing 161 people.  Just over 1,600 runners participated in the event, including three from the Lake area. 

Jim McDermott ran and finished the marathon in 4:28:58, placing second (of seven) in the men's 60-64 age group. This was Jim's sixth consecutive appearance at the race.

Melissa Martinez of Crocker was the tenth overall female in the marathon--and won the women's 45-49 age group-- finishing in 4:05:56.

In the half marathon, Pete Leyva finished in 1:52:04 and took fifth place (of 26) in the 55-59 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

A famiiar name in the half marathon results was that of Gerald Holtmeyer of Bonnots Mill, who's always finished near the front at Bridge & Dam.  He was the 8th overall finisher and men's 55-59 age group winner at Joplin, crossing the line in 1:30:17.

Participation was down substantially this year, in all race distances.  There were 1,620 finishers in total this year, down 37% from 2016. 

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FARGO MARATHON (posted May 20th)

He must have had to stimulate some long-dormant memory cells in his head to do so, but Todd Raney proved that he still knows how to stop running after 3.1 miles.

On Friday night, Todd ran the 5K Hero Run in Fargo, North Dakota, finishing in 22:54 and placing sixth (of 111) in the men's 45-49 age group.

The 5K Hero Run is just one of a week-long series of sporting events in Fargo that culminated with the Fargo Marathon on Saturday.  Todd ran that, too, finishing in  3:47:32.  That placed him 48th (of 113) in the 45-49 age group, and makes North Dakota the 36th state in which he's finished a marathon in under four hours.

Complete results can be found here. 

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TA-TA TROT 5K RUN/WALK (posted May 14th)

A little over 100 runners and walkers came out for the sixth annual Ta-Ta Trot 5K in Eldon on Saturday.  This year's race, which is a fund-raiser for the Avon 39 Walk to End Breast Cancer, was held in honor of Sandy Horton, a Tuscumbia resident who passed away in January following a battle with breast cancer.  

For the second time this year, as well as for only the second time in Lake-area history, a father-daughter duo took the overall men's and women's victories.  Nigher Alfaro won in 18:48, and Maria Alfaro in 25:22.  Both finished 25 seconds faster than their victories on this course at the St. Patrick's Day 5K in March.  It was also a 5K personal record for Nigher (and possibly for Maria, as well). 

This race had never had a repeat male or female overall winner until Nigher broke that string this year.  He won the race in 2013.

Many more photos from the race can be viewed here.

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KANSAS CITY TRIATHLON (posted May 14th)

One of our Lake-area athletes competed at the Kansas City Triathlon on Sunday.   Joan Kelley of Gravois Mills finished the sprint distance triathlon (500-meter lake swim, 20K bike and 5K run) in 2:07:56, placing third (of three) in the women's 65-69 age group.  Here are Joan's splits:

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 722 solo finishers at this year's race, up 1% from last year's total of 715.

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RUNNING WITH THE COWS HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted May 13th)

For the second year in a row, April Leonard opted for the Running with the Cows Half Marathon's virtual race. Smartphone and shoe woes, and her cows not greeting her at the finish line, made for a forgettable race for April, but she finished, and that's all that really matters.

There were 1,160 finishers of the half marathon, down 16% from last year and the third decline in three years.  Click for the half marathon and 5K results.

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

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for taking 12th overall (of 115 finishers) and second (of nine) in the men's 60-64 age group at the Jay Dix Challenge to Cure 10K in Columbia on Saturday. Jim finished in 47:34--the fastest 10K run by a Lake-area male so far in 2017, breaking Dan Robertson's mark by 40 seconds.

This was Jim's third appearance at this race, following a long four-year absence. He finished the 2012 race in 39:58 and the 2011 race in 49:02.

Complete 2017 results can be found here.

This was the 15th year for this race, named in honor of Dr. Jay Dix, who passed away from cancer in 2002.  The race was started by his fellow members of the Columbia Multisport Club.  (It was a bit shocking to see in the race results the age groups that some of the runners who were there at the beginning are now competing in. Time sure flies.)

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INDEPENDENCE HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted May 9th)

The second annual Independence Half Marathon & 5K in Independence, Missouri on Sunday included two runners from the Lake area.

Ed Doney, running in only his third half marathon, ran a personal best of 2:14:31, beating his previous best by nearly three minutes.  Ed placed fifth (of ten) in the men's 65-69 age group.

Ed's better half, Elizabeth Doney, did the 5K, finishing in 48:15 and placing fourth (of five) in the women's 60-64 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 568 and 86 finishers of the half marathon and 5K, respectively.  Those totals were down from 683 and 129, respectively, last year.

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TRIZOU TRIATHLON / DUZOU DUATHLON (posted May 7th)

Three Lake-area athletes traveled to Columbia on Sunday to compete in one of the longest-running triathlon/duathlon events in the state--the TriZou Triathlon / DuZou Triathlon. 

Jim McDermott and Mark Kempf competed in the triathlon (400-meter pool swim, 14-mile bike and 5K run), while Josh Schrock opted for the duathlon (1-mile run, 7-mile bike and 1-mile run). 

This was the fourth consecutive year at the race for Jim.  He finished in 1:19:50, placing second (of 9) in the men's 60-64 age group this year.  Here are his splits, with data from previous years.

Mark Kempf finished in 1:29:41, placing 12th (of 24) in the 45-49 age group.  Here are his splits:

Josh Schrock arguably had the best day of our three athletes, with an overall victory (over 31 others) in the duathlon. Here are his splits:

Full results can be found here.

Ultramax Sports, which owns TriZou/DuZou, must be pleased that, after years of steady declines, participation held steady from last year.  There were 512 triathlon finishers (versus 510 last year) and 32 duathlon finshers (versus 30).  When triathlon was near its peak in popularity about five years ago, this race had nearly 750 participants.

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LAKE REGIONAL 5K FUN RUN/WALK (posted May 7th)

One hundred eighty four runners and walkers turned out on Saturday for the 10th annual Lake Regional 5K Fun Run/Walk in Osage Beach.  Despite perfect race weather--a rare occurrence at races across the state during this unusually wet spring--the total was down from the 231 participants at last year's race.

This is a first (at least in my memory) for starting-line photos:  The five runners at the very front of the starting line were also the first five to finish.  From left:  Andy Fisher (fourth place), Scott Page (fifth), Colten Jones (second), Nigher Alfaro (first) and Coleman Roberts (third).

Nigher Alfaro captured his third overall victory of the year with a time of 19:29. (He finished a close second at his two other races this year.)   It was also his first win at the Lake Regional 5K since 2012, after finishing behind David Prather (a no-show at this year's race) in three of the last four years.  Eighteen year-old Colten Jones finished second, in 20:09.

Jodi Wolfe was the overall women's winner, in 24:43.  This was Jodi's first win at Lake Regional, after finishing third last year. (By the way, she was the women's second-place finisher at this year's Bridge & Dam 10K.)  Katie Hensley, who lives in Quincy, Illinois but who frequently spends weekends at the Lake, finished second, in 25:49.

Overall winners Jodi Wolfe and Nigher Alfaro.

  
Second-place men's and women's finishers
Colten Jones and Katie Hensley.

Because of a course change that shortened the course by roughly one-quarter to one-third of a mile, this year's finish times were noticeably faster than last year.  The four top-ten finishers who also ran this race last year all finished between 1:31 and 2:22 faster this year.

Complete race results are available here.

This year's race featured an inspiring comeback story. The sixth-place overall finisher was 49 year-old John Wolfe, who crossed the line in 23:52.  (Women's winner Jodi Wolfe is either John's daughter or daughter-in-law.)  Exactly one year ago, John was recovering from triple bypass surgery that was called for after significant blockages were found in three arteries.  He had been training for last year's 2016 Bridge & Dam Half Marathon when he started experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath that led to his diagnosis and surgery.  (You can read the full story here.) He's obviously made a remarkable recovery.  He also finished this year's Bridge & Dam Half Marathon in 1:59:44. 

Just behind John, and finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, were two other outstanding older runners: 65 year-old Marvin Bescheinen (24:02) and 57 year-old Dan Robertson (24:27). Dan has only been running about two years, and it was only a little over a year ago that he was hoping to break 30:00 in a 5K. 

   
Three marvels who finished sixth, seventh and eighth overall (from left): Triple bypass patient John Wolfe, Marvin Bescheinen, and Dan Robertson. They beat a ton of younger runners to the finish line.

Nearly 400 photos from the race can be found here.

Other notable people and performances:

Seven year-old Charlie Boyle finished in 27:25 and won the boys' 12-and-under age group.  Younger brother Connor took second, finishing in 34:55.  This is the third time this year the brothers finished first and second in their age group at a local 5K.

Addison Alfaro was, at age 6, the youngest female finisher.  Addison finished in 32:40, four seconds behind older sister Mya.

After nearly a year's absence, it was great to finally see Lawson Barclay back to running with us, but his hip is still causing him pain.  He finished in 35:06.

One name missing from this year's results, but who nevertheless attended the race, is 70 year-old Thom Wilkins.  Thom has been doing this race for years, but a sore hip kept him from running this year.  He's training again and says he'll be back next year.  (We may see him a bit sooner than that--he's interested in the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon.)

Runners were encouraged to wear heart-themed costumes, since the beneficiary of the race was Lake Regional's Cardiac Rehab department.  Winners of the best costume award were Margie Gunter (left) and Jewels Bartley (right).

My vote for worst costume goes to this runner who, for the sake of his family, shall not be identified. His wife, understandably, is hiding behind him.

LakeNewsOnline.com published a submitted story about the race.

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

The pancakes were great, too.

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OKLAHOMA CITY MEMORIAL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 30th)

Congratulations and a hearty "welcome back" to J.J. Jones of Osage Beach, who completed today's Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon. J.J. finished in 2:33:21, placing 190th (of 511) in the women's 45-49 age group.

J.J. last appeared in our race results in 2013, when she ran the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon, which was just her second half marathon.

Oklahoma City was spared from the severe weather that hit the Lake area yesterday, but today's race weather wasn't too pleasant.  Light drizzle fell early in the race, but that eventually gave way to sunny skies.  Temperatures remained in the 40s, and--to remind you that you're racing in Oklahoma--the winds blew from 17-26 miles per hour, with gusts to 38.

Check out the marriage proposal at the finish line.  And the hat that makes every old guy a real hit with the ladies.

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TROLLEY RUN (posted April 30th)

Light rain, gusty winds and cool temperatures were no doubt to blame for a 50% drop in participation at this year's Trolley Run, held on Sunday in Kansas City.  The 4-mile race had 3,239 finishers, barely half of the total of 6,361 in 2016.

This race brings out some very fast runners, and this year was no exception.  Sammy Rotich, who finished fourth last year in 18:36, won this year, despite a slower finish time of 19:19.  (That's still a remarkable 4:50/mile pace.)  The fourth place female (among 1,764 total females) was Lindsey McDonald, who finished in 23:41.  Lindsey placed second (behind Lizzy Handschy) at the 2015 Bridge & Dam Half Marathon. 

Full race results can be found here. 

There were apparently no Lake-area runners participating in this year's race.  (If I missed anyone, please let me know).   For those of us who knew the late Denny Gillen, the Trolley Run is a sad reminder of his early passing in 2016.  Denny made the race a family affair for years.   There were no Gillens at this year's race.

The Gillen gang at the 2015 Trolley Run: Denny Gillen
with son Tim and grandsons Joey and Josh.

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THE EPIC (updated April 30th)

Lightning and heavy rain didn't stop The Epic (Facebook page) gravel road bicycle race from starting as scheduled on Saturday morning, but impassable roads due to flooding and power lines that came down over the roadway following a blast of strong winds in the afternoon forced the race to be stopped. 

Results have only been posted (so far, at least) for the top six "finishers" at the stopping point.   Chris Orr is the only Lake-area cyclist appearing in the top-six results.

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RUN FOR THE CHILDREN HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted April 23rd)

An air temperature of 40°, light rain, and a brisk north wind greeted the twenty-three brave runners who came out on Saturday for the fifth annual Run the for Children Half Marathon & 10K in Eldon.  Thankfully, an hour after the race began, the rain stopped and the winds diminshed, making conditions much more comfortable for runners and volunteers alike.   The sun even peeked through the sky shortly after the race ended.

There were 13 half marathon and 10 10K participants at this year's race.   The number of half marathon participants was down nearly two-thirds from last year's total of 37, and down even more dramatically from the 90 participants in the race's inaugural year of 2013.   The 10K was added in 2017.

Despite the small field, the race wasn't lacking in great stories. A very close finish in the men's half marathon, and a number of first-time finishes, made for an interesting race.

In the men's half, Osage High School junior cross country runner Payton Bartlett, running in his first competitive half marathon, beat Nigher Alfaro to the finish line by three seconds.  Payton finished in 1:31:19, and now lays claim to the fastest half marathon by a Lake-area runner so far this year. 

You have to feel a bit sorry for Nigher, who was the overall winner of Run for the Children the last three years.  This was the sixth time in just the past two years that he lost a local race to a high school cross country runner.

In the women's half, April Leonard edged out Heather Skouby by about a minute and half, finishing in 2:03:15.

Alisha and Tobby Eldridge were the women's and men's winners of the 10K.  They finished in 53:51 and 55:27, respectively.

Also in the 10K, Katie Roberts finished one second ahead of husband Stacy Roberts, avenging his one second victory over her last month at the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon.

Complete race results can be found here.

There were a number of "firsts" achieved at this year's race.  In addition to Payton Bartlett, Colten Jones, Morgan Greenwalt and Larry Flaugher all finished their first half marathon, while Alexis Rowcliff finished her first 10K.  Morgan Greenwalt, who's 11 years old, also tied Megan Rice's record as the youngest female in the Lake area to have finished a half marathon.

More race photos can be found 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, safe race.  This really is a wonderful event on a nice, quiet course through mostly residential streets of Eldon, and is worthy of our support. 

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NORTHLAND HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 23rd)

The inaugural Northland Half Marathon & 5K was held in the Kansas City suburb of Riverside on Sunday.  The race, which was organized by the Running Well Store, attracted 306 half marathon and 112 5K participants, including a couple from the Lake area.

Alysia Maschino finished the half in 1:58:25 and placed 33rd (of 52) in the women's 40-44 age group.

Jen Wiethop crossed the line ten minutes later, in 2:08:20, to take 12th place (of 36) in the 30-34 age group.

Two other familiar names were among the half marathon finishers.  Jeanette Christeson, a two-time finisher of the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon and the women's 40-49 age-group winner in 2017, finished in 1:45:55.  That placed her third (of 52) in the 40-44 age group.  Melissa Hart, another Bridge & Dam 2017 finisher, finished in 2:26:47 and placed 27th (of 51) in the 35-39 age group. 

Complete race results can be found here.

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GLASS CITY MARATHON (posted April 23rd)

Todd Raney checked Ohio off his list of sub 4-hour marathon states on Sunday, finishing the Glass City Marathon in 3:46:53.   He placed 34th (of 81) in the men's 45-49 age group.

This leaves Todd with fifteen states to go to finish his sub 4-hour goal.

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IRONMAN TEXAS TRIATHLON (updated April 22nd)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for finishing the Ironman Texas Triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run) on Saturday.  This was Jim's second Ironman finish, after completing Ironman Louisville in 2015.  

Jim finished in 14:08:21, nearly an hour faster than Ironman Louisville, which he finished in 15:01:00.  (Comparisons of finish times between different triathlons aren't very meaningful due to significant differences in courses, weather conditions, and other factors.)  In the men's 60-64 age group, Jim placed 28th among 57 starters. 

Here are Jim's splits:

Swim:            1:41:56  (2:40 per 100 meters)
T-1:                  18:50
Bike:              6:33:53  (17.0 miles per hour)
T-2:                  16:20
Run:              5:17:22   (12:07 per mile)
Finish:         14:08:21

Complete race results can be found here. 

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ILLINOIS MARATHON (posted April 22nd)

Two years after completing his first marathon at the Illinois Marathon, Curtis Wehmeyer returned to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, for another go of it on Saturday.  This time, Curtis came up just shy of another sub 4-hour finish, crossing the finish line in 4:00:07.  (He finished in 3:51:42 in 2015.)  Curtis placed 50th (of 92) in the men's 40-44 age group.  Complete results can be found here.

The Illinois Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K is a big race, despite the city's population being smaller than Columbia, Missouri, and despite being hours (by car) away from Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis.  This year, there were 1,215 marathon finishers, 3,782 half marathon finishers, and 2,486 10K finishers.

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BOSTON MARATHON (posted April 17th)

There were 203 runners from Missouri who competed in today's Boston Marathon, including two past participants of the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon.

The incredible Jamie Vest of Lebanon finished in 2:50:23. Jamie was the third fastest woman at the 2015 Bridge & Dam Half, where she finished in 1:30:22.

Jill Wagner, who lives in Sullivan and who won this year's Bridge & Dam "All-In Challenge" (i.e. a half marathon plus both a 10K and 5K) in 2:56:18, finished Boston in 3:38:35.

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RUN FOR CLEAN WATER 5K/15K (posted April 16th)

None of our Lake-area runners participated in the Run for Clean Water 5K/15K on Saturday in Lebanon, but a few familiar names appeared in the 15K results.

Dan Malik of St. Robert was the overall winner, in 1:08:18.  Dan finished second at this year's Bridge & Dam's Double Down Challenge.

In perhaps the race's best performance, Jani Tucker, competing in the women's 50-59 age group, finished less than a minute behind Dan, in 1:09:06, to take second overall.

Sherry Wilson of Waynesville finished in 1:27:01, Katie Markert--a 2017 Bridge & Dam half finisher--crossed in 1:28:47, and Jody Taylor of Waynesville, who's a regular at the Polar Bear 5K Strut, finished in 1:38:50.

There were 47 and 13 finishers of the 5K and 15K, respectively.

The complete results are available in a downloadable Excel spreadsheet.

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

Congratulations to our ten Lake-area runners who competed at Saturday's (April 15th) Go Girl Run Springfield Half Marathon & 5K.  

The complete race results can be found here. 

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners, along with a a couple other familiar names:

Total participation was down 25% from last year.  Here are the year-by-year numbers:

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VERNONIA MARATHON (posted April 10th)

Forty-nine down.  One to go.

Todd Raney finished the Vernonia Marathon on Sunday (April 9th), making Oregon the 49th state in which he's completed a marathon.  Todd finished in 3:47:10, placing ninth (of 19) in the 45-49 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

Oregon also marks the 34th state in which Todd has completed a marathon in under four hours.

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GO! ST. LOUIS MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 7K & MARATHON RELAY (updated April 11th)

The GO! St. Louis Marathon, Half Marathon, 7K & Marathon Relay underwent some major changes in 2017 with a new start/finish location and significant course changes.   Over 7,200 solo runners and approximately 300 relay teams competed in one of the four races offered on Sunday (April 9th). 

The weather was very mild and breezy, under overcast skies up until about 10:00 a.m., when the sun finally came out and quickly raised temperatures to the mid 70s by noon.  The winds grew stronger as well, with gusts up to 25 mph. Those who competed in the half marathon or 7K had near-perfect race weather.   The full marathoners weren't nearly as lucky.

This year's marathon established a new record of sorts for the Lake area, with three of our area's best runners turning in outstanding marathon performances and finishing in under 3:45:00. (Only one other marathon comes close to being this notable--the 2013 Garmin Marathon, where four area runners finished in under four hours.)  Each of these runners beat the fastest marathon that had been run by a Lake-area runner thus far this year.

Chris Boyle led all of our locals, with a 3:26:35 finish that placed him 18th (of 115) in the 35-39 age group.   Only three other local runners--none of whom still live in the Lake area--have run a faster marathon.

First-time marathoners often end up at the extremes.  Some have horrible experiences, while others do exceptionally well.  For Gary Braman, it was the latter.  Gary finished in 3:36:21, and placed 13th (of 73) in the 45-49 age group.  In the Lake area, Gary now holds the marathon record for his age group.

John Shelby finished four minutes behind Gary, in 3:40:37 and took 10th place (of 65) in the 50-54 age group.  No other runner in the Lake area age 50 or over has ever finished a marathon faster than John.  (He beat the previous record held by the late Denny Gillen by 46 seconds.)

Unfortunately, none of the three above-mentioned runners met the Boston Marathon qualifying standard for his respective age group.  They each missed by about 10-15 minutes.

In the half marathon, John Wolf of Lake Ozark finished in 2:35:19, knocking 13 minutes off of his finish time from last year.

Our friend from Crocker, Melissa Martinez, appears to have had a tough day, finishing the marathon in 4:16:36.  Two years ago, Melissa finished in 3:38:26.

Complete race results can be found here.  Below are the results for our Lake-area runners.

Photos:  About 130 photos taken at the race can be viewed here.

Miscellaneous notes:

GO! St. Louis' new start/finish location along the riverfront near the Gateway Arch appeared to be well-received after being located near St. Louis City Hall for 16 years. The change, however, didn't stem the long, continuing declines in participation in the full and half marathons.  There were 5,711 full and half finishers at this year's event--58% below the peak of 13,461 in 2011.

There were changes to the full and half marathon courses this year that made them arguably the least scenic in race history.  One thing's for certain, though: the number of spectators along the course--despite the best weather (at least for spectators) in years--was the lowest we've ever seen.  Other than near the start/finish line and the adjacent Eads Bridge, there were shockingly few spectators.

Julius Koskei of Morristown, New Jersey, who won the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon in Kansas City on Saturday, traveled to St. Louis to run the GO! St. Louis Half and finished fourth overall behind three other native Kenyan runners.  He finished in 1:05:09--a mere second slower than his winning time the day before.

The National Black Marathoners Association held their annual convention in St. Louis over the weekend, and an estimated 350 members came out to run one of the races offered on Sunday. They were among the most spirited runners we've ever had at GO! St. Louis.

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MOLLY'S MILES 5K (posted April 8th)

The inaugural Molly's Miles 5K, named in honor of Molly Bowden, a Columbia police officer who was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop in 2005, had a great turnout, with 783 participants.  Proceeds from the event benefit Camdenton-based Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.).

Three Lake-area runners were among the participants. Clay Bernhard of Camdenton was first to the finish line, finishing in 31:12 and placing 10th (of 33) in the men's 14-and-under division. Joseph Bernhard finished in 31:58, placing 8th (of 18) in the 50-54 age group. Finally, John Brody of Eldon finished 20th (of 35) in the 40-44 age group with a 32:54.

Complete results can be found here.

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ROCK THE PARKWAY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 8th)

Two Lake-area runners traveled to Kansas City for Saturday's (April 8th) Rock the Parkway Half Marathon & 5K.    

Angela Martin ran the half marathon and finished in 2:04:44. That placed Angela 37th (of 218) in the women's 45-49 age group.

In the 5K, Cindy Martin finished in 41:08, placing 47th (of 80) in the women's 50-54 age group.

Participation in the half marathon was down for the second year in row, although the total for the 5K was up. There were 3,722 half marathon finishers (versus 4,223 last year) and 1,433 5K finishers (versus 1,345).

Click for the complete half marathon and 5K results.

The men's half marathon had one of the fastest finish times in recent history. Julius Koskei, a 35 year-old from Morristown, N.J. won in 1:05:08.  The women's race was won by one of the fastest women in the state--Kimi Reed of Springfield--in 1:18:10.

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DO OR DIE HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 2nd)

Nearly 200 runners participated in Saturday's Do or Die Half Marathon & 5K put on by Boonville High School and the Boonslick Heartland YMCA.  The half marathon was a point-to-point race on the Katy Trail, beginning at the famous train tunnel in Rocheport and ending in Boonville.

Josh Schrock of Versailles and Heather Doyle of Tipton ran and finished the half marathon together in 2:09:46.  That placed Josh sixth (of six) in the men's 30-34 age group, and Heather sixth (of 25) in the women's 35-39 age group.

The overall race winner was a name familiar to some of us--Greg Linhart of Kansas City, who finished in 1:28:06.  Greg placed fourth overall at the 2015 Bridge & Dam Half Marathon. 

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

There were 139 half marathon and 52 5K finishers.

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BADGE OF HONOR BENEFIT RUN (posted April 2nd)

Four Lake-area runners, including three runners from three generations of the Rice family, traveled to Poplar Bluff on Saturday (April 1st) to compete in the third annual Badge of Honor Benefit Run half marathon & 10K/5K.  

Megan Rice, who at this same race last year became the youngest Lake-area female to ever run a half marathon at age 11, finished in 2:43:04 and won the women's 14-and-under age group by default for the second year in a row.  Matt Rice finished in 3:13:06, taking third place (of three) in the men's 35-39 age group.  Tami Rice took second (of two) in the women's 55-59 age group with a 2:56:43 finish.

Matthew Kettenbach of Camdenton ran the 5K and finished in 29:56.  That placed him second (of four) in the men's 25-29 age group. 

Full results can be found here.

The race had a total of 42 half marathon, 37 10K and 56 5K finishers.  That compares to last year's total of 67 in the half marathon, and 27 and 55, respectively, in the 10K and 5K.

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BIG PARTY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 1st)

Congratulations to Aaron Koeppen and daughter Emma Koeppen for great showings at the Big Party Half Marathon & 5K in Springfield on Saturday.   The race is a benefit for Camp Barnabas, which conducts camps for kids with special needs and chronic illnesses.

Aaron set a new personal record in the half marathon with a 1:40:20 finish, breaking his previous best of 1:42:05 set just one week earlier at Bridge & Dam.  He placed 16th overall (of 278 finishers) and third (of 22) in the men's 40-49 age group.

Emma finished the 5K in 29:08 and took third place (of 15 competitors) in the women's 14-19 age group.

There were a few other familiar names in the results. Randy Acklin, who paced the 2:00:00 half marathon group, finished in 2:00:01.   Sherri Mundwiller of Washington, Missouri, who ran the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon last weekend (as well as in 2015 and 2016), finished in 2:48:41. 

Complete results can be found here. There were 278 finishers of the half marathon (down slightly from 289 last year) and 281 of the 5K (versus 366).

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HAVIN' A CRAPPIE DAY 5K & 1-MILE (posted April 1st)

Two Camdenton runners participated in the 8th annual Havin' a Crappie Day 5K trail race at Stockton State Park on Saturday. Proceeds from the race help support trail maintenance in the park.

Dionne Torrence finished in 43:47, placing seventh (of nine) in the women's 40-49 age group.

Dennis Whittmore finished in 43:49, placing third (of three) in the men's 20-29 age group.

Complete results can be found here.   Age group results can be found in .pdf format here.

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QUEENS MARATHON (posted March 26th)

Chalk up state number 48 for Todd Raney in his 50-state quest.  On Sunday, Todd finished the Queens Marathon in New York City in 3:52:48, placing 10th (of 37) in the men's 40-49 age group. Todd plans to complete his 50-state quest with the Vernonia Marathon in Oregon on April 9th and the Honolulu Marathon on December 10th.

New York also marks the 33rd state in which Todd has finished a marathon in under four hours.

Complete results can be found here.

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BRIDGE AND DAM HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (updated April 2nd)

The third annual Bridge & Dam Half Marathon & 10K (Facebook page), which this year added a 5K and two extra-distance challenges, was by far the biggest running race ever held at the Lake of the Ozarks. Nearly 500 runners were registered for the race, although some presumably decided to stay home following days of bad-weather forecasts for race morning. The 416 runners who showed up were greeted with beautifully sunny skies and ideal running temperatures, although the last of the finishers did get wet as showers moved in late in the morning. Call it luck or divine intervention, but the Lake of the Ozarks chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which holds the race to benefit its faith-based athletic programs for students and their coaches, was a grateful recipient.

All-In Challenge

The biggest story of the day is one you probably weren't even aware of.   The All-In Challenge, which consisted of a half marathon, a 10K, and a 5K--completed in that order--was won by 40 year-old Jill Wagner of Sullivan, Missouri in a remarkable 2:56:18.  In terms of distance, the All-In is about a 5K shy of a full marathon.  Jill ran her final 5K in 24:31, and if you tack on one more 5K at that pace, she would have run a 3:20:00 marathon.  That's very impressive. 

Jill won over six other competitors, including the Lake area's Curtis Wehmeyer.  Curtis finished third, in an outstanding 3:20:32.  Seventh place was claimed by 65 year-old Mike Lewer of Leawood, Kansas who crossed the finish line (in the rain) in 3:40:17.  Mike was the day's final finisher.

Double-Down Challenge

The Double-Down Challenge consisted of a half marathon and 10K, and was handily won by the phenomenal 57 year-old Gerald Holtmeyer of Bonnots Mill, Missouri in 2:11:09.  Gerald was the overall winner of the inaugural Bridge & Dam Half in 2015, and finished second to our equally phenomenal local runner Heather Oddo last year.  (Heather didn't race this year.)  Gerald's Double-Down included a 1:28:57 half and a 42:12 10K.  

Yet another phenomenal local runner, Jim McDermott, placed 7th (of 11 overall) in the Double-Down, finishing in 2:53:29.  (In four weeks, Jim heads to Houston for the Ironman Texas Triathlon.)  Also up for the challenge was Willard Haley, who finished in 3:27:15 and took 10th place.

First among the five women who took on the Double-Down was Kim Ream of Sedalia.   She finished in 2:46:14.

Half Marathon

Nigher Alfaro ran within one minute of his personal half marathon best and won the half marathon over 154 other competitors.  Nigher finished in 1:32:42, just 12 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

On the women's side, Kimberly Rizzo from Lake St. Louis won in 1:42:54.

Two local runners, Josiah Peterson (1:38:33) and Todd Pasley (1:43:08), took home age-group victories.  Todd was the overall 10K winner in 2015, and placed fifth in the 40-49 age group at last year's half marathon.  Aging up to the 50-59 group this year proved helpful to him.

10K

The 10K races both featured record-breaking performances.

School of the Osage sophomore cross country runner Micah Hill smashed the women's10K course record by a whopping seven minutes while winning the women's race in 43:41. Her nearest rival, local runner Jodi Wolfe, was also running at record pace, but finished over four minutes behind Micah, in 47:54.

In the men's race, Charlie Gomez, a 38 year-old runner from Kansas City, knocked ten minutes off the 10K course record, finishing in 38:55.  He, too, was four minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

Three Lake-area runners--April Leonard (49:37), Angie Quist (50:12) and Ed Doney (59:10)--won their respective 10K age groups.

5K

Another School of the Osage cross country runner, 15 year-old Cooper Vickers, won the first-ever Bridge & Dam 5K with a time of 18:23.

The women's reigning champ is now Cierra Hiland, who won in 22:52.  Cierra is from Augusta, Illinois.

Three other Lake-area runners won their respective age groups.  Reece Waters won the men's 12-13 age group by default in 25:22.  Maria Alfaro, 12 year-old daughter of half marathon winner Nigher Alfaro, won the women's 12-13 age group in 26:48.  Crystal Vickers, mother of 5K winner Cooper Vickers, won the 40-49 age group (over 15 others) in 28:15.

The complete race results can be found online at RacesOnline.com.   You can also download an Excel spreadsheet of the results here.   It includes a separate sheet for each race distance.

Listed below are the results for Lake-area runners, followed by a look at some race statistics.  If I've missed anyone, feel free to e-mail me or post their names in the chat box at right, and I'll gladly add them to the list.  The same goes for any corrections.

Regular visitors to the website know that we like to herald our first-timers.   Harrison Adams of Osage Beach finished in 1:46:59, and at age 15 became the third-youngest finisher in the race's three-year history.   Congratulations to Harrison, as well as belated ones to Gary Braman, Joe Register, and the husband and wife team of Stacy and Katie Roberts for their first half marathons, and Dan Robertson and Linda West for their first 10Ks.

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Miscellaneous race statistics:

There were 416 finishers among the five race distances offered, broken down as follows:

All-In Challenge             7
Double-Down               11
Half Marathon            155
10K                             119
5K                              124
Total                           416

Participation in the three longest distances totaled 173--one more than last year's total of 172 half marathon finishers.

There were 119 finishers of this year's 10K, versus 90 last year, so the addition of the 5K to this year's race obviously didn't cannibalize participation in the 10K.

The threat of rain probably hurt participation in the 5K, as 5K participants tend to sign up late.

The most competitive age group was the 30-39 women in the 10K, with 30 participants.  For the men, it was the 30-39 age group in the half marathon, with 23 participants.

Women outnumbered men by a substantial majority in the 10K and 5K, and consequently for the event overall--257 to 159.

More runners were in the 30-39 age range than any other.

In nearly every race, there were more participants over 50 years of age than under 30.

Because the participants' cities aren't listed in the results, it's not possible to say exactly how many runners came from outside the Lake area for this year's event.  However, it appears that there were many more this year than last.  This year's race had 154 more finishers than last year, yet the number of Lake-area runners that we can identify stayed roughly the same.   If most of the increase is indeed attributable to out-of-town runners, that's great news, because it means that this race is getting noticed outside the Lake area.  It also bodes well for future growth of the race, as the pool of potential participants outside the Lake area is exponentially larger than our local running community.

Photos: 

You can view 597 race photos here.   They're all free to download and use as you wish. Since virtually all of the photos were taken at the Lake Area Runners cheering zone, only the half marathon and All-In/Double-Down Challenge runners were photographed, as the 5K and 10K runners had turned around before reaching the cheering zone.   

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Media Reports: 

The Lake Sun published an article on April 8th about this year's Bridge & Dam: "FCA Bridge and Dam run continues to grow"

Lake TV made Bridge & Dam the top story in its March 27th weekly news report. You can view it on their website or on YouTube.

You can view Nigher Alfaro's complete interview by clicking on the image below. 

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Post-race comments (posted March 25th):

WOW!!!  Superlatives like "best", "greatest", "worst", etc., get tossed around pretty freely these days, but today's Bridge & Dam event was not only the biggest running race we've ever had in the Lake area, it was also the best.   I've been a participant, volunteer or spectator in probably 200 races in the Lake area over the last 15 years, and today's race topped them all.  By a lot. 

Co-race directors Alysia Maschino and Scott Page and their race staff did a fantastic job in organizing this year's race. They've set for themselves a very tough job in making next year's race bigger and better.

The volunteers, the Lake Ozark Police Department, the Camden County Sheriff's Department and the many sponsors deserve a HUGE thank-you for their support of the race, as well.

For years I've lamented that our local races don't get much attention by local governments, the business community, or our Lake-area residents.  Perhaps today's race, with nearly 500 registered participants, will cause them to sit up and take notice. 

The weather for today's race couldn't have been better.  Well, at least until about 10:15 a.m., when the showers that had been forecasted--and which caused lots of anxiety in the days leading up to the race--finally arrived.  Still, it seemed like it was divine intervention that gave us sunny skies and perfect temperatures instead of what we had been dreading for days on end.  

Congratulations to everyone who ran in one of today's races.  These were tough courses.  Other than the road atop Bagnell Dam, nothing was flat.  

Today's race results can be found here.

Over the next few days, I'll be posting photos--probably totalling several hundred--taken at the cheering zone.  I also recorded some video footage, but that will take some time to edit and post.

Unbeknownst to the race organizers, I hired two professional cameramen to capture video footage at the race.  One was filming near Bagnell Dam, and the other near the Community Bridge.  I plan to share that footage, too.  (One of the camermen works for LakeTV, so look for some of his footage to appear in an upcoming LakeTV news story on the race.)

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Bridge & Dam trivia (posted March 30th):  How many runners have completed the Bridge & Dam half marathon distance all three years? The answer is 23.  Of those, twelve are from outside the Lake area.  Here's the list:

Nigher Alfaro
Karen Backes  (Jefferson City)
Russell Burkett (O'Fallon, MO)
Jeanette Christeson (aka Jeanne Sellars in 2015)
Alisha Eldridge
Tobby Eldridge
Ryan Garlock (Lincoln, NE)
Lindsay Garlock (Lincoln, NE)
Maureen Glidewell (St. Louis)
Robert Hammel (Belleville, IL)
Angela Harmon (Peoria, IL)
Gerald Holtmeyer (Bonnots MIll, MO)
Lori Hurt (Sedalia)
Jason Kolb
Doug Kueker
Angela Martin
Sherri Mundwiller (Washington, MO)
Kim Ream (Sedalia)
Heather Skouby
Corey tenBensel
Roxanne tenBensel
Valerie Weber (Dittmer, MO)
Curtis Wehmeyer

Forty-eight runners finished both the 2015 and 2016 half marathons.  Less than half of them extended their streaks in 2017.

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SEDALIA HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted March 21st)

Three of our Lake-area runners ran the Sedalia Half Marathon on Saturday, March 18th.  

Curtis Wehmeyer led our locals to the finish line, finishing in 1:51:10, and shaving nearly a minute off of last year's 1:52:01.

April Leonard finished in 2:05:59, placing fourth (of 8) in the women's 40-49 age group.

Finally, Willard Haley finished in 2:13:10, about two minutes shy of last year's time. 

The Sedalia Half is an unusually competitive race.  More than half the field finished in under two hours.  Willard's 2:13:10 placed him near the bottom (16th of 17) in the men's 50-59 age group.  Also, for unknown reasons, this race attracts an older crowd.  Nearly half of this year's field of 78 finishers were over 50 years of age, with nine runners age 60 or older.  The oldest was 75--and he finished in 2:20:29.

Full results can be found here.   There were 78 half marathon finishers, up from 67 last year.

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

Forty-five runners and walkers--about the same number as last year--turned out for the City of Eldon's St. Patrick's Day 5K on Saturday.

For the very first time (at least in my rusty memory), we had a father-daughter combination as the overall men's and women's winners.  Nigher Alfaro and oldest daughter Maria crossed the finish line in 19:23 and 25:47, respectively.  Nigher finished ahead of the phenomenal, 58 year-old Gary Lile, who was the overall race winner in 2009 (18:34), and men's age-group winner in 2012 (19:32) and 2015 (20:21).

The Alfaros--Nigher, Shellie and Maria--all took home medals.  Shellie's was for winning the women's 30-39 age group.  Keep an eye on Maria at next weekend's Bridge & Dam.  She and her mom, Shellie Alfaro, will be doing the 10K, and Maria's St. Pat's finish time portends a high place in the results.

Unofficial results can be found here.  They were prepared from an audio recording of the awards ceremony, so there are likely some spelling or other mistakes.  (I'll be happy to make any corrections--just e-mail me.)

The Boyle brothers, Charlie (26:37) and Connor (just over 32:00), took home first- and second-place nine-and-under age-group medals, just as they did at the Polar Bear Strut three weeks ago.  These kids are really impressive.

Many more race photos can be viewed here.

I've joked to volunteers many times during long, tough races that I look like the coroner should be placed on standby.  Maybe they're taking me seriously now.

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SHAMROX COLUMBIA 15K/5K (posted March 12th)

Temperatures near the freezing mark, plus the loss of an hour's sleep due to the switchover to Daylight Saving Time, didn't deter six of our Lake-area runners from making the drive to Rocheport to run in Sunday morning's ShamRox Columbia 15K/5K. Here are their results:

Complete race results can be found here.

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BIG 12 RUN (posted March 11th)

Kansas City is hosting the Big 12 Conference's men's basketball championship this weekend, and commemorated it with a 12K/5K Run on Saturday.

Sara Deere of Lake Ozark was the only runner from the Lake area in the race. Sara finished the 5K in 43:59, placing 26th of 35 in the women's 45-49 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

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LUCKY 13.1 HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted March 11th)

The Lucky 13.1 Half Marathon & 5K held on Saturday in Peculiar, Missouri was anything but lucky. The bad weather cut attendance in the half marathon by more than half (40 this year, versus 86 last year), while the number of 5K participants fell from 56 to 42. No one from the Lake area appeared in the results.

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DUBLIN'S PASS SHAMROX 15K/5K (posted March 11th)

Angela Martin was our lone Lake-area runner at Saturday's Dublin's Pass ShamRox 15K/5K in Springfield. Angela ran the 15K, finishing in 1:23:24 and placing fourth (of 18) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Randy Acklin of Marshfield must have been there to pace a fellow runner: How else could he finish 20th (of 21) in the men's 35-39 age group? Randy finished in 1:47:11.

Complete results can be found here.

Poor weather probably explained some of the drop in attendance this year. There were 322 and 416 finishers of the 15K and 5K, respectively, this year, versus 289 and 499 last year.

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ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE RUN (posted March 11th)

The St. Patrick's Day Parade Run in St. Louis has been one of the largest races in the state, but snow and cold no doubt contributed to a whopping 38% drop in attendance over last year.

Despite the weather, five Lake-area runners participated in the 5-mile race--the same number as last year. Their results are shown below:

Complete race results can be found here.

The drop in attendance at this year's race continues a three-year trend of declining participation.

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

No one from the Lake area participated in the Little Rock Marathon & Half Marathon on Sunday, but a few of our friends did. Randy Acklin of Marshfield must have been there to pace the 5:00:00 marathon group, as he finished in 4:54:19.   Allen and Shandi Brinkman of West Plains ran together and finished in 5:34:16.

Full results can be found here.

The on-again, off-again drizzle and 50° temperature didn't keep many runners away. Total participation was up 6% from last year, with 5,875 finishers (versus 5,524 last year).  Last year's total was down 14% from 6,394 in 2015. 

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LIBERTY HOSPITAL HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted March 4th)

Congratulations to the Lake area's newest half marathon finisher, Rosalie Dear of Versailles.  On Saturday, Rosalie finished Missouri's newest half marathon, the Liberty Hospital Half Marathon in the Kansas City suburb of Liberty.  Rosalie finished in 2:17:53, placing 45th (of 87) in the women's 30-39 age group.  She jumps to the lead of the most miles raced so far this year by Lake area women, and by default has the women's fastest half marathon time.

Rosalie Dear (pictured at right) with Ashley Pryor and April Boicourt at the Give 'Em The Bird 5K in Versailles last November.

Complete results can be found here.

There were 456 and 652 finishers of the half marathon and 5K, respectively.

Interestingly, a group of ringers from the village of Shrivenham, England took six of the top twenty finishes in the half marathon, including the overall men's victory (by four seconds). Their top woman took third place in the women's race.

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MYRTLE BEACH MARATHON (posted March 4th)

Cool--but perfect for running--weather enabled Todd Raney to not only achieve his goal of running a sub 4-hour marathon at the Myrtle Beach Marathon in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday, but he was able to set a new personal record as well.  Todd finished in 3:43:15, beating his previous marathon best of 3:45:30 set in 2016 by over two minutes.  It placed him 37th (of 103) in the men's 45-49 age group.  (When a 3:43:15 finish doesn't even get you into the top third of your age group, you know you're up against a very competitive field.)

This marks the 32nd state in which Todd has finished a marathon in under four hours.

Complete results can be found here.

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

Seventy-seven runners and walkers braved the 31° air temperature and 14 mph winds to support Special Olympics Missouri at Saturday's Polar Bear Strut 5K in Osage Beach.  This was the 16th edition of the Strut, which makes it one of the oldest races in the Lake area.

The starting line.  This year's Strut had the smallest field in at least nine years.  It peaked at 171 participants in 2010.

Nigher Alfaro, the overall winner of the last four Struts (the most overall wins in Strut history), finished second this year behind Cole Brenneke, a junior high school cross country runner from Blair Oaks High School in Wardsville (just south of Jefferson City). Nigher could have crossed the finish line first, but, in a great show of sportsmanship, he waited for Cole to return to the spot near the finish line where Cole had taken a wrong turn.  Cole finished in 20:17, and Nigher in 20:18--a big improvement over his winning time of 21:34 last year.  (Cole ran an 18:58 at the state class 3 districts last October.)

On the women's side, Emily Yaeger won for the second year in a row, crossing the line this year in 22:32.  Like Cole, Emily is also a junior cross country runner at Blair Oaks.

Overall winners Cole Brenneke and Emily Yaeger.

Click to view the complete race results by finish order or by division.

We had plenty of familiar faces, and some new ones, at this year's race. The Jolly Rogers crew showed up in force, as did many of the Super Plungers, the Frosty Felines, and Zim Schwarze, who's only missed one Strut (due to illness) in 16 years.  The newest runners were also the youngest in the race--Charlie and Connor Boyle, both of whom did well.

Over 200 other photos can be found here, including my personal favorite, shown below.

Miscellaneous observations:

Did anyone else notice the little boo-boo on the race t-shirts? This was the 16th annual Strut, not the 17th, as printed on the shirt.  Oops!

It was both surprising and disappointing that Pete Leyva, who had organized every Strut since the very first one in 2002, couldn't be with us this year.  Pete had to work his shift, and was very much missed.

You know you're getting old when you've done a race for so many years that you've gone from being an average-age competitor in 2003 to the single oldest competitor fifteen years later.

Here are the number of finishers of the Polar Bear Strut since 2009:

Year	# of finishers
2009	132
2010	171
2011	136
2012	140
2013	115
2014	120
2015	79
2016	97
2017	77

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CLINTON HISTORIC HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted February 25th)

The inaugural Clinton Historic Half Marathon & 5K had 115 finishers for the half and 102 for the 5K on Saturday. There were no Lake-area runners listed in the results (half / 5K).

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FORT LAUDERDALE A1A MARATHON (posted February 19th)

Heat and humidity are perhaps the two biggest enemies of marathon runners.  Todd Raney, who's had some disappointing races in warm, humid conditions, knew he was taking chances on yet another one by signing up for Sunday's Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon in southern Florida, where the weather is always warm and humid.  ("A1A" is a scenic state highway that runs along Florida's east coast, and on which the race is held.) 

Despite a temperature of 72°, relative humidity of 97% and clear skies at the 6:00 a.m. start, Todd managed to have a good race and meet his primary goal of running a sub 4-hour marathon.  He finished in 3:55:43, making Florida the 31st state in which he's run a sub 4.  He placed 18th (of 61) in the 45-49 age group. 

Complete results can be found here.

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SWEETHEART 5K RUN (posted February 12th)

Several of our Lake-area runners took advantage of the mild weather and headed to Dixon on Saturday for the Sweetheart 5K Run. Jim McDermott finished fourth overall (of 26 participants) in 24:59.   Margie Gunter took third in the women's 45-49 age group with a 40:40 finish, while Melissa Martinez of Crocker won that age group, in 36:36.

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RUN FOR THE CHOCOLATE 5K (posted February 12th)

575 chocaholics satisfied their cravings at the Run for the Chocolate 5K in downtown St. Louis on Saturday, including one from the Lake area--Marcia Reed of Camdenton. Marcia finished in 55:29, placing 28th (of 31) in the women's 55-59 age group.

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MISSISSIPPI RIVER MARATHON (posted February 12th)

Unseasonably warm weather made it nail-biter, but Todd Raney managed to run a sub four-hour marathon on Saturday at the Mississippi River Marathon by a very slim margin.  Todd finished in 3:59:09, and placed seventh (of 20) in the men's 45-49 age group.  Complete results can be found here.

The race started in Lake Village, Arkansas and finished in Greenville, Mississippi.  Todd already has a sub four-hour finish in Arkansas, so Mississippi now marks his 30th sub-four state.

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SURF CITY MARATHON (posted February 5th)

Todd Raney checked California off his list of states in which he's run a marathon in under four hours. Nearly a year after coming up just short (with a 4:03:38 finish at the Big Sur International Marathon), Todd finished Super Sunday's Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach in 3:46:52, bringing his sub-four state total to 29.   He placed 32nd (of 152) in the 45-49 age group.   Complete results can be found here.

Todd beat his own 2017 top marathon finish time among Lake-area runners by almost a minute.

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CHILDREN'S TLC GROUNDHOG RUN (posted January 29th)

Over 2,800 runners, including three from the Lake area, took to the underground on Sunday at the 35th annual Children's TLC Groundhog Run in Kansas City.  The race, which includes 5K and 10K distance races in staggered starts, was held at the Hunt Midwest SubTropolis in comfortable 65-70 degree temperatures.  

In the 10K, Angela Martin knocked seven minutes off of last year's finish time, crossing the line in 55:26 and placing ninth (of 42) in the women's 45-49 age group. Cindy Martin finished in 1:27:02 and placed 45th (of 50) in the 50-54 age group.

Our lone 5K runner was Joan Kelley of Gravois Mills, who finished in 38:56 and took sixth place (of 17) in the 65-69 age group.

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

With 2,859 finishers, participation at this year's event was up slightly from last year's 2,802, but down 13% from 3,293 in 2015.

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ROCHEPORT ROUBAIX (posted January 29th)

Cold, breezy and mostly cloudy weather greeted the 145 cyclists competing at the Rocheport Roubaix bicycle race on Sunday. It was a far cry from last year, when unusually mild weather brought out a record crowd of 173 cyclists.

Three Lake-area cyclists were among the competitors in the 70-mile race distance.

Chris Orr finished in 4:10:49, placing sixth (of 20) in the men's 40-49 age group.

Like last year, Josh Schrock finished minutes behind Chris, in 4:24:34. Josh placed tenth (of 16) in the 30-30 age group.

Finishing twelve seconds behind Josh was Ron Bentch, in 4:24:46. That placed Ron fourth (of seven) in the 50-59 age group.

Full results can be found here.

Here are the number of finishers for each race:

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DAVID'S TRAIL ENDURANCE RUN (posted January 23rd)

Three runners represented the Lake area very well on Saturday at David's Trail Endurance Run (Facebook page) at Lake Norfork in northern Arkansas. The race had a total of 218 finishers among the 50K, 25K and 7K distances offered.   

Chris Boyle led our local runners with a 2:26:20 finish in the 25K.  That was good for fourth place overall (among 117 finishers), and third (of 33) in the men's 36-50 age group.

In his very first solo race over 5K in length, Gary Braman finished the 25K in 2:31:33, placing 13th overall, and seventh in the 36-50 age group.

John Shelby finished in 2:46:31, placing fifth (of ten) in the 51-65 age group, and 24th overall in the 25K.

Complete results can be found here.

Three lucky you-know-whats: John Shelby, Gary Braman and Chris Boyle lucked out with dry, 60-degree weather for a mid-January race in the Ozarks. (Photo provided by Gary Braman.)

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ROCK 'N' ROLL ARIZONA MARATHON (posted January 15th)

Todd Raney returned to Arizona this weekend in hopes of running a sub 4-hour marathon, and he succeeded in doing so with his fourth-fastest marathon (of 71 to date).  Todd finished Sunday's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in 3:47:49, and made Arizona the 28th state in which he's finished a marathon in under four hours. He placed 41st (of 167) in the 45-49 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

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HANGOVER HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted January 1st)

Todd Raney jumped to an early lead in 2017's Most Miles Raced ranking for Lake-area runners by finishing the inaugural Hangover Half Marathon in Kansas City on New Year's Day.  The low-frills, low-cost event, which was organized by the KC Running Company, drew 194 half marathon and 128 5K participants. 

Todd finished in 1:57:44, and was the 38th male (of 71) to cross the finish line.

Despite the ultra-low $20 entry fee, participants received a custom knit hat and glass, modeled here by Todd Raney.

Full results can be found here.

(I thought for sure that Todd would have raced Saturday to bring his 2016 total miles raced to just over 800, but he was apparently satisfied to leave it at his Lake-area record of 793.8 miles.)

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