RUN FOR THE RANCH MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 6-HOUR RUN (posted December 28th)

Two runners from the Lake area traveled to Springfield on Saturday for the 20th annual Run for the Ranch Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon & 6-Hour Run (Facebook page).  Henry Gracia and John Sykes ran and finished together, in 2:17:26.

Listed below are results for our local runners, plus some of our more distant running friends.  Two other familiar names in the half marathon race results included overall women's winner Kimi Reed of Springfield (1:24:08), who'll be competing in the Olympic Marathon Trials on February 29th, and fourth-place female Mackenzie Mogollon of Whiteman AFB (1:33:08).  Mackenzie was women's winner of the last two Give 'Em the Bird 5Ks.  Bill Heath of Rogersville, who ran 58 miles at 4 Fore 30 three weeks ago, ran and finished the marathon in 4:30:49.

Complete race results can be viewed in .html and .pdf format.  Age-group results in .pdf format are available for the full marathon and half marathon.

Links to lots of race photos can be found at the race's Facebook page.

There were 218 solo finishers this year.  That was up from last year's decade-low of 194, but still far below average. 

One relay team blew any chance of winning the moment they picked their name:

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CANDY CANE COURSE 5K/10K (posted December 14th)  

Jade Fletcher appears to be the only Lake-area runner who raced this weekend, competing at the Candy Cane Course 5K/10K in Lee's Summit on Saturday. Jade ran the 10K and finished in 53:08, winning the women's 15-19 age group over one other runner.

Complete race results can be found here.

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4 FORE 30 (updated December 15th) 

Andy Emerson of Columbia, who won last year's inaugural 4 Fore 30, has won again.  Andy completed 27 hours, covering 112.5 miles, at this year's race held this past weekend.  (Last year, by comparison, he won after completing 22 hours, or 88 miles.)  Andy was down to just one competitor, Chris Hines of Springfield, for the last three hours of the race, but it looks like Andy's endurance and experience in "last man standing" races (this was his seventh such race) made the difference.  

Chris, who at 39 years of age is 12 years younger than
Andy, is no stranger to long races himself, having finished five 100-mile races in 2019.  

The duration of last man standing races always comes down to the tenacity of the two strongest runners, and this one came tantalizingly close to lasting the race maximum of 30 hours.  (Next year, there will be no such time limit.)

Complete results can be found here.

Race Statistics

There were 59 starters at this year's race, up substantially from 36 last year. Here are some detailed comparisions of this year's race to last year's:

It's not shown in the above table, but the only disappointing statistic to be found is that 13 of last year's 22 out-of-town runners didn't return this year. With a relatively small base of runners in the Lake area, attracting--and retaining--out-of-town runners is important for the race's future.

Distribution of Distances Covered

Expressed in terms of conventional race distances, about 40% of those who started ended up running between a 50K and 100K, as shown below:

Race Attrition

Here's a chart (click on it for a larger view) showing the number of competitors still in the race as the hours wore on. (Big's Backyard Ultra is shown by comparison, and shows just how elite that field is. Half of this year's 4 Fore 30 field was gone in 10 hours.  It took 29 hours to eliminate half the field at Big's.)

Results for Lake-Area Participants

John Shelby owns local bragging rights for the most hours and miles covered at this year's race, tallying 83.4 miles in 20 hours. Katie Roberts lays claim to being the top local woman, after nearly doubling her distance over last year, from 28 miles to 50.   Most would probably agree, though, that the most impressive performance of anyone on the day belonged to 10 year-old Charlie Boyle.  Charlie was a very late substitution for his dad, Chris Boyle, who decided to rest a troublesome hamstring.   With only some 5K races to his credit, Charlie ran 20.8 miles in five hours. This is a Lake-area record for the 14 & under age group that's could stand for a very long time--or at least until next year, if Charlie returns.  

Here's the list of our locals' results, with the names of those who set new personal distance records shown in red. (I think Nigher Alfaro also set a record, but I want to confirm it.)

Here are a few folks in the spotlight at this year's race, in no particular order:

Miscellaneous Race Notes

It was great to see Curtis Wehmeyer back in the game. (He completed 33.4 miles in 8 hours.) Curtis hadn't been seen in ages, leaving us to wonder what was up. It turns out he hurt his knee almost exactly two years ago while running the 50K at the now-defunct 36 Hours of Jack in Carthage. 4 Fore 30 was his return to racing.

Todd Raney completed his 50-state and 50-state-under-4- hours quests many moons ago, but since he's only five states away from completing a second 50-state go-round, he's planning to take care of that next year.

It was rather interesting to note that, at mid-day Saturday, nearly every runner ran on the asphalt cart paths. By late afternoon, though, many started running on the grass adjacent to them.

While editing the high-resolution race photos, I was able to see that the race bibs of a few runners displayed something other than their first names.  I can figure out "MFN Hills" and "Kipchoge", but have no idea what "Poop Bus" refers to, nor do I think I want to know.

For the record, the temperature at the 7:00 a.m. start was 21°. The afternoon high was 49°, and Sunday morning's low was 37°. Light south winds ranged between 5 and 8 mph throughout Saturday, but kicked up a little more late Sunday morning. All in all, the weather was as good as you could reasonably hope for in early December in Missouri.

Jeff Foxworthy, if you're looking for more "You may be a redneck ..." material, these two photos are for you:

Race Photos

Over 700 race photos can be viewed here.  

Photo Collage

Click here to download a high-resolution version of the photo collage pictured below..

Hopscotch Video 

Thought you might enjoy a short video of big kids acting like little ones (1:30 run time; 70MB):

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RUNNING OF THE ELVES 5K RUN/WALK (posted December 8th)  

Seven runners turned out at the Camdenton Square on Saturday for the fourth annual Running of the Elves 5K, hosted by the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce. The cold temperature (21°) presumably kept many more runners from showing, but the sunny skies and near absence of wind actually made for comfortable running conditions.

Anytime a young, unfamiliar face shows up for a race and goes through a stretching and warm-up routine, you know they're serious about competing. That new face at this race belonged to Molly Phillips, the Macks Creek High School cross country runner who's gone on to compete at the Class 1 state championships both this year and last. Molly finished in 22:56, breezing to a six-minute margin of victory.  

Here are the complete results:

Here are some photos of the runners and Chamber organizers:

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ST. JUDE MEMPHIS MARATHON WEEKEND  (posted December 8th)

One of our local runners, and a few familiar names, were among the 19,000 runners at Saturday's St. Jude Memphis Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K.   The enormously popular St. Jude is more than twice the size of Missouri's biggest equivalent, the Kansas City Marathon/Half/10K/5K.

Sherrie Hamner of Osage Beach, who's previously run the St. Jude Marathon three times over the last ten years, finished her fourth in 5:24:36. As she's done at other races (including St. Jude) in the past, she ran and finished side-by-side with friend Shandi Brinkman of West Plains.

Jani Tucker of Lebanon ran an outstanding, 2021 Boston Marathon-qualifying time of 3:45:54.  Jani qualified for and ran Boston in 2016 when she finished the 2014 Bass Pro in 3:57:22.  Knocking over eleven minutes off your marathon time from five years ago is pretty impressive.

Finally, Melissa Martinez of Crocker was at St. Jude to lead a marathon pace group.  Melissa crossed the line in 4:22:34.  The race information lists 4:20:00 and 4:30:00 pace groups, so it's unknown whether those in Melissa's charge finished earlier or later than hoped.  (Hopefully, earlier.)

Complete results can be found here.

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LAKER 5K TURKEY TROT (updated December 2nd)

It sure looked like the Laker 5K Turkey Trot was going to be rained for only the second time in its ten-year history (the first time being the inaugural race in 2010), but Lady Luck intervened and held off the rain until just after the race had ended. The threat of rain, on top of temperatures in the 30s, probably explains the steep decline in attendance from last year.  There were 108 finishers this year, compared to 137 in last year's sunny and warmer weather.

The Laker 5K Turkey Trot has always been dominated by current or former cross country runners at the high school or collegiate level, and this year proved to be no exception. Jeremy Ryan, a former Camdenton High School and Drury University cross country runner--and a 2:44:19 finisher at this year's Boston Marathon--broke his own Laker 5K record while claiming his third overall victory in Turkey Trot history.   Jeremy won in 16:57. That easily broke his previous record of 17:29 set in 2013, and was just four seconds shy of his record of 16:53 (set at the Night Glow 5K in 2014) on the Camdenton High School course. Jeremy trailed last year's winner, Tucker Seise, by 7 seconds at the 0.6-mile mark, but overtook him somewhere during the middle miles. Tucker, another former collegiate runner, finished in 17:12.

Elaine Mallahan was crowned the winner of the women's race after finishing in 22:15.   Camdenton cross country runner Clare Holmes finished slightly ahead of Elaine, in 22:06, but members of the cross country team weren't eligible for overall awards.

Here are the complete race results, courtesy of race timer extraordinaire Gary Thompson: 

Results by finish order:  .xlsx or .pdf
Results by age-group:  .xlsx or .pdf  

Another Turkey Trot record fell this year, as Nobel Mallahan became the youngest-ever winner of the pie-eating contest. Nobel downed his slice of pie in 1:13. That's the slowest winning time in race history--much slower than last year's poky 0:57--but competitors attributed it to the firmer crust in this year's pies. (Hy-Vee provided this year's pies following the retirement of the previous years' supplier.)

Here's the pie-eating contest video (1:39; 58MB):

About 400 race photos can be viewed here.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACE RESULTS (posted November 29th)

Listed below are the results for Lake-area runners at Thanksgiving Day races, excluding the Laker 5K Turkey Trot.  If I missed anyone, please let me know.  

The highlight among our local runners is 14 year-old Nathan Reynolds' overall victory at the Thanksgiving Day Pie Run 5K in Jefferson City.   Nathan beat 326 others to the finish line with a finish time of 18:25.   He's won several other races this year, most notably the Eldon Rock Island Road Race 5K in June, where he finished ahead of 62 others, in 20:35.  Expect to see his name more often in the next few years.  He ran on Eldon Middle School's cross country team this past season, and will presumably join the high school team as a freshman next fall.  (At this year's Class 3 District 4 boys meet, a time of 18:25 came close to earning a trip to the state high school championships.)

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACES  (updated November 29th)

The cold--and rain in some parts of the state--presumably explains the decline in participation at most of the turkey trots held this year.  Of the 20 races for which data is currently available at this time, only three experienced an increase over last year.  Some of the declines were pretty significant.

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WHITE RIVER MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 24th) 

Scott and Jayna Gray were in Cotter, Arkansas on Saturday for the sixteenth annual White River Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K. While the race isn't too popular among Lake-area runners--Scott and Jayna are the first local runners in five years to participate--it's quite popular for a  small-town (1,000 residents) race, and some of the distances often sell out. (I don't know why, but an unusually large contingent of runners from Lebanon and nearby Conway were there for Saturday's race.)

Scott set another half marathon PR, three weeks after breaking his previous record by two seconds at Bass Pro.  This time, he broke it by 15 seconds, finishing in 2:59:20.  (By breaking previous records so narrowly each time, Scott could be setting new PR's well into old age.) Jayna ran the 5K, finishing in 42:34. The results didn't show age-group placings. 

The full results can be found here.  

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ONE MORE 24 SOBER FUN RUN (posted November 24th)  

The inaugural, make-your-own-distance One More 24 Sober Fun Run was held in Springfield this weekend, starting at 6:00 a.m. Saturday and ending 24 hours later.   The event was a benefit for 1 More 24 Inc., a Springfield nonprofit that helps those recovering from addictions.

Scott Page was there, circling the half-mile gravel track at the Pat Jones YMCA a mind-numbing 84 times for a total of 42 miles, while preparing himself for the even more mentally and physically challenging 4 Fore 30 in two weeks.

Scott reports that Margie Gunter was there, as were our running buddies Ed Green of Lebanon and Randy Acklin of Marshfield.

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HONORING OUR HEROES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted November 17th)

Blessed with mild weather for the second year in a row (after miserably cold weather in the previous two years), and benefiting from very little competition on a slow race weekend across the state, the fourth annual Honoring Our Heroes Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K (Facebook page) saw another record crowd turn out for Saturday's race.  While most other races have seen declining participation the past four years, this race has done surprisingly well in bucking that trend.      

The Lake area has been represented at this race all four years but, for some unknown reason, only two of the twelve local runners who have ever competed here have done so more than once.  April Leonard, who ran the marathon in the inaugural race in 2016, is one of those two.  April finished this year's marathon in 5:22:58, placing second in her age group.  First-timers Jim McDermott and Alysia Maschino were age-group winners in the half marathon, finishing in 1:48:48 and 2:04:18, respectively.

Results for our Lake-area runners and a few others familiar to us are shown below.

Links to the complete race results can be found here.

Some familiar names from outside the Lake area were found in the race results, including Melissa Martinez (4:31:21) in the marathon, and Amy Frederick (1:47:20), who competed at last year's 4 Fore 30, and Jeanne Pfetsch (1:57:12), a five-year finisher of the Bridge & Dam half, in the half marathon. Joel Reed was a marathon relay runner.

After three marathon finishes (in 6:41:59, 7:12:25 and 6:58:44) in the race's first three years, military veteran Bob Gravley of Salem, Missouri stepped down to the 5K this year, and finished in 1:08:29.  Still, that's not too shabby for a guy in his 80s.

Participation was way up for both the marathon and half this year.  The 5K remained flat, and the newly-added 10K attracted 47 runners.  All told, the race was 50% larger this year than last.  Here are the total number of finishers, by distance, in the race's four-year history.

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LONGVIEW HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted November 10th)

One of our Lake-area runners was in Kansas City on Saturday for the Longview Half Marathon & 5K/10K.  Matt Buscher of Camdenton, who doesn't race often but is a multi-year past participant at Bridge & Dam, finished the half marathon in 2:31:15, placing 22nd (of 22) in the men's 25-29 age group.

Greg Linhart, who lives in Grandview but is a regular at Bridge & Dam and the Rock Island Road Race, placed 11th overall (of 586 half marathon finishers) and third in his age group with a 1:26:07 finish. (Hard to believe, but Greg ran faster than that in the soaking rain, cold and wind to win this year's Bridge & Dam half, in 1:25:37.) Update: Greg made it a two-fer weekend, running the Gobbler Grind Half Marathon on Sunday and crossing that finish line in 1:34:53.

The women's winner of the 2019 and 2018 Give 'Em The Bird 5K, Mackenzie Mogollon of Whiteman Air Force Base, finished second overall (of 426) and was the women's winner of the 10K.

Click for complete half marathon, 10K and 5K results.

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RUN TO THE LIGHTS 5K (posted November 10th)

Having been shut out of spots at the state high school championships on Saturday, five members of the Camdenton cross country team went down to Silver Dollar City on Friday night for the 14th annual Run to the Lights 5K. Jake Thoenen took second overall (of 666 total finishers) and won the 14-19 age group by finishing in 17:42, while Cambrie Kowal and Clare Holmes took second and third (of 30) in the women's 14-19 age group with 23:32 finishes.

Results for all of our local runners are shown below. (Please let me know if I missed anyone.) Complete race results can be found here.

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Laker 5K Turkey Trot course: I don't know why I never bothered to create a course map for the Laker 5K Turkey Trot (or the Night Glow 5K, since it's the same course), but a question about the course finally spurred me to create one. Click for a lower resolution .jpg file, or a high resolution .pdf file. Here's a thumbnail of what it looks like.

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V22 (updated November 10th)

The inaugural V22 (Facebook page), a 22-mile race for solo and 4-person team relay runners that was scheduled for next Saturday (November 16th) in Lebanon has been postponed until sometime next spring.

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THE MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER 340 (posted November 10th)

This year's Missouri American Water 340, the 340-mile paddling race from Kansas City to St. Charles on the Missouri River, has been cancelled.  The race, which was originally scheduled for July, had been postponed several times due to continuing high water levels on the river--a lingering result of record spring rains in the upper Plains. 

A limited-roster race with just 25 selected boats was scheduled to begin this coming Tuesday (November 12th).  It was still "on" as of early last week, but the cold temperatures now forecasted for this week presented a serious safety risk that required even more race cutbacks and logistical changes.  A few days ago, the race organizers decided (wisely, in everyone's opinion) to cancel the race.  Paddling nearly nonstop for nearly four days days in temperatures ranging from the low 20s to mid 40s would have been miserable, and if any boat overturned from the many hazards in the river, it could have been disastrous.

The race's Facebook page has more details regarding the cancellation.

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

Congratulations to our eleven Lake-area high school cross country runners who competed at the Missouri state championships held at the Gans Creek Recreation Area in Columbia on Saturday.  Their individual results are posted below. The Osage girls team finished 13th (of 16) in the Class 3 girls team standings. 

The full race results can be found here.

For the record, the top boys' and girls' runners in the state finished the 5K in 15:07 and 18:08, respectively.  Both were from Class 4 schools. Their finish times were each about 30 seconds faster than last year's winners, when the race was held--as it had been every year since 1976--in Jefferson City.

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BASS PRO SHOPS FITNESS SERIES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (updated November 13th)

For the sixth consecutive year, the Bass Pro Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K proved to be the most popular out-of-town race for Lake-area runners.   While this year's total of sixteen runners was down from last year's twenty-two, they still managed an impressive record, with two podium finishes and ten finishing in the top one-third of their age group.  Perfect running weather, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s under clear skies and slight breezes, made for a record day for some of our runners.

Here are some of the highlights:

Nigher Alfaro had an outstanding day, taking third (among 55 competitors) in the 45-49 age group with a new personal half marathon record of 1:30:34.  (His previous record was a 1:31:22 at Run for the Children in 2017.)  It's also the fastest half marathon by a Lake-area runner so far this year.  Nigher may not be the only one in the Alfaro household to have set a new PR at Bass Pro.  His daughter, Maria, ran the 5K in 23:13, taking fourth place in her age group.  Maria's fastest 5K during this fall's cross country season for Camdenton High School was 23:42.

Jim McDermott is a virtual fixture at Bass Pro.  He's been there every year since 2012--the most appearances for any Lake-area runner--running five marathons, one marathon relay, and now two half marathons.  He finished this year's half in 1:46:22, placing third (of 18) in the 65-69 age group.  This was Jim's fastest half marathon since a 1:47:37 finish at the Joplin Memorial Run in 2015, and he came within two minutes of his personal record of 1:44:48 set in 2014.

After completing her first and only marathon at Bass Pro one year ago, Lauren Moriearty came back and smashed last year's finish time of 4:10:01 by eighteen minutes.  Lauren finished in 3:51:42 and took second in the women's 25-29 age group.  (Lauren is shown in fourth place in the posted results, but the top two finishers in that age group were also the top two women in the overall race standings, and thus received overall awards in lieu of age-group awards.) Lauren also scored a few seconds of fame at this year's race when she was interviewed for a KOLR-TV news story about the race.

Dan Robertson was another Lake-area runner who PR'd in the half marathon.  (Tania Maschhoff and Denise Baker came very close, as well.)  Dan finished in 1:53:08, which is about ten minutes faster than his previous best.

By a mere two seconds, another PR was turned in by Scott Gray in the half marathon.  Scott finished in 2:59:35. Last year, he finished in 4:12:51.

We always like to acknowledge first-time achievements, and Bass Pro has given us many over the years. This year, we had just one (as far as we know): Kylie Webery of Eldon completed her very first half marathon, in 2:32:40.

Here are some of the familiar faces we saw on race day:

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners, as well as runners from elsewhere that many of us know.  If I missed anyone in the listing below, please let me know.

Complete race results can be found here.

The total number of finishers was up slightly from last year, with small gains in the full and half marathons offsetting a small decline in the 5K.  Bass Pro is one of the few big-city races in Missouri that hasn't suffered a notable decline in participation in the last five years.  Here are the total number of race finishers since 2015:

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OZARK TRAIL 100 ENDURANCE RUN (updated November 14th)

A huge "congratulations" goes to John Shelby and Thomas Mintun, who became only the second and third runners from the Lake area to complete a 100-mile trail race. John and Thomas join the elite company of two-time 100-mile finisher Chris Boyle after finishing the Ozark Trail 100 Endurance Run (Facebook page) in the Mark Twain National Forest near Steelville, Missouri this past weekend.

John finished in 29:02:30, and Thomas in 31:12:51, placing 32nd and 44th, respectively, among the 47 official finishers.  Seventy-eight runners started the race, and 31 failed to finish. Competitors were allowed 32 hours to complete the entire course, with intermediate cutoffs.

Ryan and Jaime Maher, who live in St. Louis but are frequent visitors to the Lake, had outstanding races, finishing in 3rd and 9th overall, in 23:20:27 and 25:32:09. Jaime was the top female finisher.

The overall race winner was 48 year-old, perennial race favorite Tommy Doias of Eureka, Missouri.  He won in 20:39:53, nearly an hour ahead of his nearest rival.  In his previous nine OT 100 races, he's won three times, placed second twice, placed third twice, and finished 4th and 8th.

Complete results can be found here.

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BG26.2 AND HALF MARATHON (posted November 3rd)

Another marathon finish, and another Lake-area record for Bill Pauls of Camdenton. Bill, who recently turned 70, is the oldest runner in the Lake area to complete a marathon, after finishing the bg26.2 in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Sunday.  Bill finished in 5:43:38, placing second (of three) in the men's 70-and-over age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

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KANSAS HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 3rd)

A Lake-area runner, Jackson Robbins of Sunrise Beach, ran the Kansas Half Marathon in Lawrence on Sunday. He finished in 2:31:00, placing 18th (of 18) in the men's 25-29 age group. Of some consolation is that he beat his personal best of 2:33:01 set at the Roots 'n' Blues Half in September.

Complete race results are here.  Participation in the half marathon was down for the fourth consecutive year, to a level less that one-half of that in 2015.  There were 515 half finishers this year, versus 1,133 four years ago.  This year's total was also only about one-third of the peak of 1,483 half finishers in 2012.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR NOVEMBER 2nd (posted November 2nd)

This was a crucial weekend for Missouri high school cross country runners, as the various sectional and district meets held around the state determined who will advance to the state championships next Saturday in Columbia.

Three Camdenton runners--seniors Jake Thoenen and Clare Holmes, and junior Cambrie Kowal--competed at the Class 4 sectionals in Joplin. Unfortunately, none were able to finish in the top 30 of their respective races and advance to the state championship.

There was both celebration and disappointment for Osage runners in the Class 3, District 4 meet.  A single point in the team standings made the difference between the girls team going to state, and the boys team missing out. (Team standings are determined by adding the finish positions of the top five runners for each team. The top team is the one with the lowest total.)

The Osage girls team will be making its third appearance in four years at the state finals. Their top finisher on Saturday was freshman Bayley Johnson, in 21:44. Had the team not finished second in the team standings, Bayley and Osage's second-fastest runner, Sara Wolf, would still have gone to state as solo runners, as they both placed in the top 15 of their race.

While the Osage boys team won't be advancing to state, their top two runners, senior Chase Grosvenor and junior John Markovitz, will.  They finished in 17:13 and 18:03, respectively, placing first and tenth overall.

Two Macks Creek girls will be advancing to the state championships.  Sophomores Molly Phillips and Adriana Mayer placed 4th and 15th in the Class 1, District 4 meet.

Names in red are runners going to the state championships.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 26th (updated October 28th)

Camdenton cross country runners Jake Thoenen (17:18; 16th), Clare Holmes (21:19; 24th) and Cambrie Kowal (21:29; 27th) all finished in the top 30 at the Class 4 District 5 meet in Nixa last Saturday, and will move on to the sectionals meet this coming Saturday.

Complete results from the Nixa meet can be found here.

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GIVE 'EM THE BIRD 5K RUN, 1-MILE WALK & KIDS RACE (updated November 6th)

The weather forecast for Saturday morning called for near-certain rain, but when that turned out to be wrong, the Give 'Em The Bird 5K had its ninth straight year of dry weather--a pretty remarkable streak for a race held this time of year in Missouri.  Still, the gloomy forecast appears to have kept some participants away this year.  There were 109 timed 5K runners and walkers at this year's race, compared to 173 last year.

For the second year in a row, runners from outside the Lake area claimed the overall victories.  In the men's race, a first-timer at GETB, Jeff Bundrick of Warrensburg, finished in 18:18, making Jeff the seventh different men's champion in nine years of this race.  (Julio Juarez and Joseph Frazier each have two men's victories.) Jeff was shadowing Versailles High School cross country runner Seth Newton at the one-mile mark, but pulled ahead later in the race for a 16-second margin of victory.  Seth was one of four Versailles cross country runners placing in the top ten.

The women's race saw last year's champion, Mackenzie Mogollon of Sedalia, return to win again, this time in 20:05, three minutes ahead of second-place female (and four-time GETB winner) Ashley Pryor.  Mackenzie was one minute slower this year (she finished in a women's course record of 19:04 last year), but that's quite understandable--and pretty impressive--after having given birth just two months ago.

One of the more surprising results was the fourth-place overall finish by dark horse competitor Aaron Koeppen, in 19:49.  Aaron, who focuses solely on longer-distance races, hadn't raced a 5K in years, yet he finished only 30 seconds behind Nigher Alfaro.

The full race results can be found here.

Thanks once again to race director and co-sponsor Tara Grantham of Versailles Total Fitness, and co-sponsor KS95 and its program director with a huge heart, J.T. Gerlt, for spearheading this year's Give 'Em The Bird.  This year's race raised $12,000, with one half going to Food for Morgan County, and the other to the City of Versailles to help implement the city's bicycle and pedestrian plan.  That brings the total amount raised during the race's nine-year history to $74,000.

Hundreds of additional photos from the race can be found here.

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TRICK-OR-TROT 5K RUN/WALK (posted October 26th)

Ten runners and walkers turned out on a wet, chilly Saturday evening for the Camdenton High School DECA chapter's second annual Trick-or-Trot 5K Run/Walk. In what may have been her very first overall win at a Lake-area 5K, Lauren Moriearty cruised to victory in 23:11.  It's worth noting that Lauren hasn't lost a step in seven years.  The former Camdenton cross country runner (and now an assistant cross country coach) beat her finish time of 23:37 recorded at the Laker 5K Turkey Trot in 2012.

Here are the complete results:

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BIG'S BACKYARD ULTRA (updated October 21st)

Maggie Guterl, a 38 year-old runner from Durango, Colorado was the last competitor standing at this year's Big's Backyard Ultra.  Maggie finished 60 hours, completing 250 miles, and now holds the second- and third-longest distances covered by a female competitor in BBU history.  Last year, she completed 183.33 miles in 44 hours. 

For more information about this year's BBU, check out:

UltraSignup.com page:  Big Backyard Ultra

Facebook page:  Big Dog's Backyard Ultra Run Group

Live results:  My Race Result

Livestream video link:  BigPush.org

Comparison of 2019 and 2018 races:

Our friend Andy Emerson of Columbia, who was making his fifth appearance at BBU, didn't make the cutoff for hour 26.  He officially finished 104.16 miles, or 25 hours, at this year's race.  Here are his five results at BBU:

2014     104.16 miles  (25 hours)
2016       91.66 miles  (23 hours)
2017     100.00 miles  (24 hours)
2018     112.50 miles  (27 hours)
2019     104.16 miles  (25 hours)

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BEAR CREEK RUN (posted October 20th)

Two Camdenton runners represented the Lake area well with podium finishes at the sixth annual Bear Creek Run trail half marathon (Facebook page) in Columbia on Saturday.  Jim McDermott finished in 1:49:09, taking second (of 11) in the men's 60-and-over age group.  (Two years ago, Jim won that age group, despite a slightly slower finish of 1:51:32.)  Carolyn Thompson took third place (of 9) in the women's 60-and-over age group with a 1:57:58. 

Full results can be found here.

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SOARING WINGS HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted October 19th)

Soaring Wings Ranch is a Christian-based organization in Conway, Arkansas that provides a home for children in crisis situations. On Saturday, they held their 12th annual Soaring Wings Half Marathon & 10K.  Scott Gray and Chris Hein (of Jefferson City) ran together, finishing in 3:02:33 and placing 47th/48th (of 55) in the men's 40-44 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

Sadly, despite having over 1,400 participants, this was the final year for the race. One of the reasons given is that attendance was falling due to an increase in the number of half marathons in central Arkansas. While more runners showed up for the final race, you can see the significant decline in half marathon participation since 2014--something we've seen at many races in Missouri, as well.

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KANSAS CITY MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted October 19th)

Despite being Missouri's biggest marathon and biggest half marathon, the Kansas City Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K/10K had just two participants from the Lake area--both from Eldon--at Saturday's race. (Last year, it was just one.)

Aaron Berendzen finished the half marathon in 1:52:01, placing 101st (of 321) in the men's 35-39 age group.  Also in the half marathon, April Leonard finished in 2:13:55. That placed April 46th (of 148) in the women's 50-54 age group.

Full results can be found here.

A total of 7,667 runners participated in this year's event., That's down 3% from last year, with most of the decline coming from the 5K.  Here are the year-by-year totals since 2015: 

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PRAIRIE FIRE MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 13th)

After three consecutive years of running the Prairie Fire Marathon in Wichita, and succeeding in qualifying for Boston on her third try, Bryna Edwards of Lake Ozark stepped down to the half marathon this year.  On Sunday, Bryna finished the half in 1:40:54, placing 6th (of 91) in the women's 30-34 age group.  It's now the fastest half marathon for Lake-area women so far this year.

Complete Prairie Fire race results can be found here.

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F*L*A*T*S TRAIL HALF MARATHON (posted October 12th)

Last year, it was rain and mud.  This year, it was the coldest weather (so far) of the season.  Despite the weather jinx, 154 runners, including two from the Lake area, took on the F*L*A*T*S Trail Half Marathon at Thousand Hills State Park just west of Kirksville in far northeastern Missouri on Saturday. (FLATS is an abbreviation for the Forest Lake Area Trail System, an all-volunteer community organization that promotes trail development in the Kirksville area.)

Aaron Koeppen, who ran and finished the race last year in 1:50:08, finished this year in 1:52:30 and placed 20th among the 90 male finishers.  Aaron finished just ahead of our running friend from Columbia, Andy Emerson.   (Andy travels to Bell Buckle, Tennessee later this week for a fifth appearance at Lazarus Lake's Big Backyard Ultra.)

Down in 25th place was Michael Classen of Versailles, who finished in 1:56:23.

Complete race results are here. 

As has happened before at this race, the overall race winner was a ringer.  This year it was North Face-sponsored ultra runner Coree Woltering, who breezed to victory in 1:31:51, more than four minutes ahead of his closest rival. Check out his past results at Ultrasignup.com, and you'll find a long list of overall race victories--21 in the last four years, in addition to about a dozen other high finishes.

*   *   *   *   *

HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 12th (posted October 12th)

Versailles and Eldon cross country runners competed at the Russellville Invitational. Their results can be found here.

Results for Camdenton runners at the Ozark Conference meet haven't yet been posted at Milesplit.com.

*   *   *   *   *

PINK UP THE PACE 5K (posted October 6th)

Jade Fletcher has been playing softball for Eldon High School this fall, thus explaining why we haven't seen her at our recent local races. She hasn't given up running, though. On Sunday afternoon, she ran the Pink up the Pace 5K in Jefferson City, winning the women's race and taking home a giant chrysanthemum for her efforts.

*   *   *   *   *

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

Congratulations to Dan Robertson for an outstanding finish in his very first marathon, and at the unlikely age of 59.  On Sunday, Dan completed the MO' Cowbell Marathon in St. Charles in 4:12:40.  Despite the great finish time, Dan placed 10th (of 17) in the 55-59 age group.  (That's further proof that, as you get older, you're competing against the more elite runners; the slower and injured runners are dropping out.)

Another of our great 59 year-olds, John Sykes, finished the half marathon in 1:58:54. He placed 23rd (of 70) in the 55-59 age group. 

Joyce Ryerson knocked 15 minutes off her time from last year, finishing Sunday in 2:29:36. 

Results for our Lake-area runners are sho wn below.  Athlinks.com has the worst race results search capability, so it's quite possible that I missed some runners.  If I did, please let me know.

Complete race results can be found here.  

Overall participation was down 7% from last year.  Slight increases in the marathon and 5K were more than offset by a decline in the half.  Here are the number of solo finishers of each distance since the inaugural race in 2014:

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 5th (posted October 5th)

Thirty high-school cross country teams, including those for Camdenton and Osage, competed at the 16th annual Camdenton Laker Invitational at Ha Ha Tonka on Saturday.  Complete  results can be found here.   

Highlights:

Top finishers for Camdenton were Jake Thoenen (16:45) and Clare Holmes (20:09).  Chase Grosvenor (16:43) and Sarah Porter (20:44) led the Osage runners.

The Ha Ha Tonka course is a notably fast one.  Nearly everyone's finish time was 30-60 seconds faster than in previous meets this season.  Ryan Page, for example, broke 19:00 for the first time, finishing in 18:57. He finished in 20:10 at the Hermitage Invitational last weekend. 

The overall boys and girls winners finished in 15:23 and 18:55, respectively.

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FROG HILL HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (updated October 6th)

Four of our Lake-area runners were in Waynesville on Saturday for the sixth annual Frog Hill Half Marathon & 5K/10K.

Jim McDermott was our fastest half marathon finisher, crossing the line in 1:48:54 (seven minutes faster than last year) and again winning the men's 60+ age group. After an injury-plagued race last year, April Leonard was able to shave over 30 minutes off of last year's time and finish in 2:26:05. This was Tesa Taylor's first time at Frog Hill; she finished the half in 2:37:28.

Kim Sovcik also improved over last year in the 10K.  She finished in 1:00:40--eight minutes better than last year.

Here are the results for Lake-area runners:

Complete race results can be found here.

Lots of photos have been posted to the event's Facebook page.  (Be sure to click on the "Photos" link on the left-hand side of that page.)  April Leonard passed along a photo of herself with fellow Eldonian Tesa Taylor.

Overall participation was up 30% from last year, due mostly to a sharp increase in the 5K.  Here are the number of finishers of each distance since the inaugural race in 2014:

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ROCK BRIDGE REVENGE TRAIL RUNS (updated October 6th)

Add John Shelby's name to the list of runners who beat last year's finish time at one of this past weekend's races.  John finished the Rock Bridge Revenge 50K trail race on Saturday in 6:12:48, a 23-minute improvement over last year. That placed John 23rd among the 37 male finishers.

Complete race results are available at the race's UltraSignup page.  (Soon, they should also be available at the results page on the race's website.)  

Tons of photos have already been posted at the race's Facebook page.

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PANTHER RUN 15K/10K/5K (posted October 5th)

There were no Lake-area runners at the Panther Run 15K/10K/5K in Springfield on Saturday, but one of our former locals whom many of you will remember, Andy Goessmann, finished sixth overall (of 158) in the 10K, in 43:47.  Finishing just ahead of Andy was Donlon McGovern, the 55 year-old from Jefferson City who won the Eldon Rock Island Road Race 15K in June.

Randy Acklin of Marshfield finished 34th overall in the 15K with a time of 1:15:21.

Complete race results can be found here.

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BELLEVILLE MAIN STREET MARATHON (posted September 29th)

Bill Pauls, the only Lake-area runner to complete a marathon in every state twice, broke his own record for being the oldest Lake-area runner to complete a marathon. At 69 years of age, Bill finished yesterday's Belleville Main Street Marathon (so-named because Belleville boasts the longest Main Street anywhere) in 6:14:04.   He placed third (of five) in the 65-69 age group. Complete race results can be found here.

Next up for Bill is the Bowling Green Marathon in Bowling Green, Kentucky on November 3rd.  Should he complete that race, he'll extend his record once again, this time at age 70.

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ROOTS 'n BLUES 'n BBQ HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted September 29th)

Like last year, we had seven runners from the Lake area at the Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ Half Marathon & 5K/10K in Columbia, but only one (Jamie Greber) was returning from last year's race.   Over the years, we've had lots of runners do Roots 'n' Blues, but few have done it more than once or twice.

Tops among the locals in the half marathon was Mallory Walsh of Lake Ozark. Mallory finished in 2:02:54, placing 11th (of 30) in the women's 35-39 age group.  In the 10K, Willard Haley beat his last five 10K finish times over the last 18 months with a 1:02:12.

Here are our locals' results:

Complete race results can be found here. 

Our racing buddy from Columbia, Andy Emerson, did very well.  Andy finished 13th overall, and first in his 50-54 age group, with a half marathon time of 1:35:48.  Two Bridge & Dam regulars, Kim Ream and Dan Rozum, ran the half in 1:51:26 and 2:38:56, respectively.

Participation was down 14% from last year.  Here are the totals, by distance, since 2014.  The half marathon was down to about half of its size five years ago.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 28th (posted September 28th)

Camdenton and Osage cross country runners competed at the Hermitage Invitational.  Results can be found here.   Top local finishers were Chase Grosvenor (Osage; 17:47) and Clare Holmes (Camdenton; 20:50).

Versailles competed at the inaugural Gans Creek Classic in Columbia.   Those results can be found here.  With 136 participating high schools, including many of the state's top schools, this was a virtual preview of the state championships in November. 

*   *   *   *   *

TROY BICENTENNNIAL 5K (posted September 23rd)

Scott and Jayna Gray were in Troy, Missouri (northwest of St. Louis/St. Charles) on Saturday for a 5K celebrating the city's 200th birthday.  They finished the Troy Bicentennial 5K in 42:42, placing 28th/29th of 46 total participants. 

*   *   *   *   *

THE RUNNING OF THE KNIGHTS 5K/1-MILE (posted September 22nd)

Results from Sunday's third annual Running of the Knights 5K at The King's Academy in Lake Ozark can be found here.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 21st (posted September 21st)

Camdenton and Osage cross country runners competed at the Southern Stampede meet at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin on Saturday.  Complete meet results can be found here, or you can check the results for Camdenton (two runners) and Osage (six runners) by team.

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PUB 2 PUB HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted September 21st)

Two of our Lake-area runners participated in the Pub 2 Pub Half Marathon & 5K on Saturday. The half marathon was a point-to-point run between the Public House Brewing Company locations in Rolla and St. James; the 5K started and finished at the St. James brewery.

Sondra Ellis of Richland and Tesa Taylor of Eldon were our two locals in the race, with both doing the half marathon. Sondra finished second overall among the 39 women in the race, crossing the line in 1:44:09. Tesa crossed in 2:32:16, and placed 14th (of 16) in the women's 20-29 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation in the four year-old race reached a record high.  Here are the year-by-year number of finishers, by distance:

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PB&J RUN (posted September 21st)

Add peanut butter & jelly sandwiches to the list of things (donuts, chocolate, bacon, beer, etc.) that our Lake-area runners will run for. On Saturday in Clearwater, Florida, Margie Gunter did the PB&J Run, earning a unique and very clever race medal that's not only made to look like a PB&J sandwich (two slices of "bread", hinged together, that reveals a message--"Running is my Jam!" when opened), but the medal is also scratch-and-sniff.  (You can see it at the race's Facebook page.)

Margie ran the 5K, finishing in 1:02:22, and placing 79th (of 84) in the 50-59 age group.  Complete results are here.

*   *   *   *   *

PREGNANCY HELP CENTER'S BRIDGING THE GAP WALK/5K RUN FOR LIFE (updated September 17th)

Photos from the race can be found here.

Here are the race results:

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 14th (posted September 14th)

Osage, Eldon, Macks Creek and Versailles varsity and middle school cross country teams competed at the Linn Invitational on Saturday.  Complete meet results can be found here. 

Highlights:

Chase Grosvenor of Osage finished in 17:34, placing second overall (of 124).  (He must have had a problem last week, when he ran 20:01 at the Richard Clark Invitational.)

The Osage varsity boys placed second of 15 teams.  The Osage varsity girls placed third of 11.

Two Eldon Middle School runners placed high in the middle school race:  Nathan Reynolds was the overall winner (of 174 competitors) in the boys' race, while Zoe Martonfi placed third (of 145) in the girls' race.

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COUPLES RUNNING RECORD BROKEN (posted September 8th)

Chris Boyle's 100-mile race finish yesterday has given Chris and Mary the record for the most miles raced (in races of 10K or longer) by a Lake-area couple in a year.   Here's their new record, along with that of previous record-holders:

Don't count out the Roberts from regaining the record before the end of the year.   This December's 4 Fore 30 could be decisive.  Who knows, they might even take this down to the wire with a year-end race like Run for the Ranch.  Break out the popcorn. This madness could be fun to watch.   (I must admit, it's kind of fun to be a trouble-maker. :) )

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SUPERIOR FALL TRAIL RACE (posted September 8th)

Congratulations to Chris Boyle for finishing his second career 100-mile race.   Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Friday and ending 28:38:48 later on Saturday afternoon, Chris completed the 100-mile (actually 103.3-mile) Superior Fall Trail Race in the Superior National Forest along Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, just 35 miles from the U.S.-Canadian border. Chris finished 32nd overall (of 180 official finishers), and 9th in the men's masters division. (The overall race winner crossed the line in a phenomenal 20:15:55--over an hour ahead of the second-place finisher.)

The 100-mile race features an astounding 21,000 feet of climbing, giving the race the reputation as one of the toughest in the country.   Despite its difficulty, interest in the race is so high that a lottery is used to fill the field. The race has a 38-hour time limit.

Complete race results can be found here.

Check out the race's Facebook page for lots of photos, including one of a couple in the 100-mile race that got married at an aid station at the 77.9-mile mark. (They crossed the finish line, side-by-side, in 35:02:47.)

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KATY TRAIL 50/50 (updated Septemer 9th)

Our good friend from Crocker, Melissa Martinez, was the women's winner of the 50-mile race at Saturday's Katy Trail 50/50 that started and ended in the tiny, unincorporated community of Dutzow, Missouri, not far from Washington.  Melissa finished in 10:14:07. (That wouldn't be a new Missouri state running record, even if the course were certified.  Melissa already owns a number of state records.)

Our Lebanon friend, Ed Green, finished the 50K in 6:42:24 (a bit slower than last year's 6:07:07) and placed 43rd overall (of 55). 

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation was up from last year, even excluding this year's addition of a 100K option.

Some photos, including one of Melissa with her awards at the finish line, have been posted at the race's Facebook page.

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MILES AGAINST MELANOMA 5K (posted September 8th)

We were represented well by our two Lake-area runners at Saturday evening's Miles Against Melanoma 5K in Jefferson City, as Jade Fletcher and Michael Ammerman (a Sunrise Beach runner not heard of before today) took home age-group victories and placed high in the overall results.

Jade finished in 26:19, and won the women's 19-and-under age group, while Michael finished in 28:22, topping the men's 50-59 age group.  They finished 7th and 13th overall, respectively, among the 122 participants.

Complete race results are here.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 7th (posted September 8th)

Here are results for Versailles runners at the Jim Marshall Cross Country Invite in Jefferson City:

Here are results for Camdenton, Osage and Macks Creek runners at the SBU/SWCCA Richard Clark Invitational hosted by Bolivar High School:

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HEART OF AMERICA MARATHON (posted September 3rd)

For the first time since 2016, we didn't have any Lake-area runners at Columbia Track Club's 60th annual Heart of America Marathon (Facebook page) in Columbia on Labor Day.   (At 60 years, HOA is reportedly the four oldest continuously held marathon in the U.S.)  A few runners familiar to us did race, however, including:

Michael McCulloch - 2:44:30 (a 2020 Boston Marathon qualifying time); 4th overall

Andy Emerson - 3:27:25; 12th overall; 1st M50-54

Joel Reed - 3:52:00; 7th M30-34

Amy Frederick - 4:16:01; 3rd F30-34

The complete race results can be found here.  There were 166 finishers at this year's race, up substantially from last year's 108, and the biggest total since 179 finished in 2014.

Official race photos can be found here.

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FORTITUDE 10K (posted September 3rd) 

Over 5,000 runners competed at the Fortitude 10K in Fort Collins, Colorado on Labor Day, including our own Willard Haley.  Willard finished in 1:05:21.  Age groups are single years, not ranges, so Willard placed 25th (of 35) among  58 year-old males.

Willard passed along a link to a race photo.  (To avoid copyright violations, I don't repost photos taken by official race photographers.)

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BUFFALO GROVE STAMPEDE 5K/10K (posted September 1st) 

At Chicago's Wrigley Field this weekend, rabid Chicago Cubs fan Scott Gray watched as his beloved Cubs lost two games--both by shutouts--and fell to three games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals.  At least Scott's and Jayna's weekend trip wasn't a complete disaster--they did manage to finish the Buffalo Grove Stampede 5K in suburban Chicago on Sunday. Jayna finished in 48:08; Scott in 48:10.

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NEW ENGLAND GREEN RIVER MARATHON (posted September 1st) 

Finally!  Perseverance and determination paid off for Todd Raney as he succeeded in achieving his lofty goal of completing a marathon in under four hours in every state in the U.S.   On Sunday, Todd added the 50th state--Vermont--by finishing the New England Green River Marathon in 3:54:38. 

It took Todd six trips over the last three years to finally get Vermont, easily making it the most problematic of all 50 states in his quest.

Done (in more ways than one)!  Todd Raney at the finish line.  (It's not just coincidence that he's wearing bib number 50.)

Congratulations, Todd!

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TRIFEST FOR MS (posted August 31st)

Jim McDermott scored his fifth age-group victory of this year's triathlon season at the TriFest for MS sprint triathlon on Saturday in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Jim finished the 400-meter pool swim, 15.6-mile bike and 5K run in 1:24:54.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        11:10  (2:50 per 100 meters)
T-1:             2:07
Bike:          44:27  (21.1 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:03
Run:          26:01  (8:24 per mile) 
Finish:    1:24:54

Complete results can be found here.

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FORREST GUMP CHALLENGE (posted August 31st)

Four runners from the Lake area, including Tesa Taylor and the Page family--Scott, Cindy and Ryan--were at the Branson Landing on Saturday for the newly-remade Forrest Gump Challenge benefiting Cross Country Missions,  Besides the new race location (it was formerly held in Reeds Spring), the 50K and marathon race options were dropped (almost certainly due to low participation), leaving just a half marathon and 5K.

Top honors in the Page family went to Ryan, who was the overall winner (of 107 total participants) of the 5K, in 21:52. It must have been a photo finish, as the second place finisher is shown with the same time.   (Coming in third was Gary Shaw, who raced at last year's 4 Fore 30, and who will be returning to race it again this year.)   Cindy did the 5K in a more leisurely and enjoyable 54:59. 

In the half marathon, Scott finished sixth overall (of 67 finishers), in 1:41:26.   That gave him the victory in the men's 40-49 age group over five others. Tesa Taylor finished in 2:21:14, placing fifth (of six) in the women's 20-29 age group.  It was a new half marathon PR for Tesa by a mere 6 seconds.

Complete race results can be found here.

Hundreds of race photos can be found at the race's Facebook page.   Scott posted a few of himself and his family here.

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GO GIRL RUN KANSAS CITY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted August 25th)

Total participation was up 14% over last year, with a sharp (56%) increase in the 5K more than offsetting a 16% decline in the half marathon.  Here are the number of race finishers for the last seven years:

*   *   *   *   *

SPRINT FOR SHOW-ME 5K RUN/WALK (posted August 19th)

Results and photos can be found at the event's Facebook page.

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TUNNEL VISION MARATHON (posted August 18th) 

It may have been his slowest marathon in over a year, but it was probably his most rewarding. On Sunday, in his first assignment as an official race pacer, Todd Raney successfully paced the 4:35:00 group to a 4:34:23 finish (Todd's chip time) at the Tunnel Vision Marathon in North Bend, Washington.   One member of his group, 68 year-old Martha Aarons of Aspen, Colorado pulled ahead to finish in 4:32:34. It was not only a Boston Marathon 2020 qualifying time for here age group (by 2:26), but--incredibly--it was Martha's very first marathon.

Boston-bound, first-time marathon finisher Martha Aarons
with Todd Raney.

The Tunnel marathons (there are two others in the series) are point-to-point races on net downhill courses, and are popular among those trying to qualify for Boston.  The average finish time for the 564 finishers on Sunday was a notable 3:59:09.  Typically, 30-40% of the finishers run Boston-qualifying times.

Complete race results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

ROUTE 66 FESTIVAL 6.6K RUN (posted August 11th) 

Four runners from the Lake area took to the streets of Springfield on Saturday for the fifth annual Route 66 Festival 6.6K Run.  

Tops among our local finishers was Marvin Bescheinen, who finished in 34:01.  Because this race for some reason attracts a lot of older runners--indeed, the men's 58-and-older age group was the largest of all age groups--that only placed Marvin 6th (of 28) in his age group.

Full results can be found here.  Age-group results can be found here.  There were 141 finishers in total--up one from last year.

*   *   *   *   *

REPUBLIC TIGER TRI (posted August 11th) 

It was another year and virtually the same result for Jim McDermott at the Republic Tiger Tri (300-yard pool swim, 12-mile bike and 5K run)  Jim won his age group over one other competitor in the men's 65-69 age group and finished in 1:13:25--only a minute slower than last year.   Here are Jim's splits, including comparisons to those in previous years.

The full race results can be found here.  There were 150 finishers of the sprint distance (versus 138 last year and 172 in 2017) and 62 of the super sprint distance (versus 52 and 50).

*   *   *   *   *

RUN FOR THE FALLEN (posted August 11th)

In 2008, a group of soldiers ran across the United States, placing a flag every mile in commemoration of a soldier who had lost his or her life in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).   That original Run for the Fallen led to hundreds of local runs being held the following year in cities around the country and overseas, including one in the Lake area.  While nearly all of those events have (sadly) disappeared, the Lake area's commemoration has endured--and is still going strong--thanks to Trish Creach of the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce.  Trish has spearheaded this event from the very beginning.

About 145 runners and walkers gathered at Camdenton Middle School on Saturday for the Lake area's tenth annual event.  Each participant ran or walked at least a mile in memory of one of the 149 Missouri soldiers (up two from last year) who lost their lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, or in ISIS-related operations. Also in attendance were several "Gold Star" familiies--families that had personally lost a loved one in one of the operations. 

More photos from the event can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

THE SHIPPEY ENDURANCE RUNS (posted August 4th)

The inaugural Shippey Endurance Runs were held on Friday and Saturday at the Beaumont Scout Reservation in High Ridge, bringing the first 100-mile, 100-mile relay, and 100K trail races close to the St. Louis area.

The 100-mile solo and 100-mile five-person relay races started Friday morning, followed by the 100K on Friday evening, and the 20-mile race on Saturday morning.

The Lake of the Ozarks Runners team of Chris Boyle, Gary Braman, Aaron Koeppen, Tucker Seise and John Shelby took second (of eight teams) in the 100-mile relay, finishing in 15:29:00.  They crossed the line about 50 minutes behind another team of ringers (and the only other all-male team in the race) that included three-time GO! St. Louis Marathon winner Karl Gilpin.

Chris Boyle stepped up to the starting line again on Saturday to do the 20-mile race.  He finished seventh overall, in 3:34:55.  The race winner, in 3:05:39, was Jon-Paul Laventure, who finished well after Chris at the Trail of Four Winds 25K in May.

Complete race results can be found here.  They can also be found at the race's UltraSignup page.

In all, there were three 100-mile solo finishers, eight 100-mile relay teams, four 100K finishers, and 43 20-mile finishers of the inaugural event.

*   *   *   *   *

MATT MASON MEMORIAL / COWBOY UP! TRIATHLON (posted August 4th)

Jim McDermott's streak of age-group victories in this year's triathlon season ended at four on Sunday, after he placed third (of five) among 60-and-older men in the Cowboy Up! Triathlon at Smithville Lake near Kansas City. The triathlon debuted in 2012 in honor of Matt Mason, a Kansas City native and Navy SEAL who lost his life in 2011 in Afghanistan.

Jim competed in the Oympic distance race and completed the 1000-meter swim, 18.8-mile bike and 10K run in 2:20:07.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        27:20  (2:44 per 100 meters)
T-1:              1:59
Bike:          56:48  (19.9 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:06
Run:          52:57 
Finish:    2:20:07

Full results can be found here.

There were 138 and 319 finishers of the Olympic and sprint distance triathlons.  The Olympic distance was newly-added this year. 

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WASHINGTON TOWN & COUNTRY FAIR 5K/10K (posted August 4th)

One of our Lake-area runners traveled to Washington (Missouri) for the Town & Country Fair 10K on Saturday. Sarah Hudson of Osage Beach finished in 1:05:05, placing third (of 3) in the women's 25-29 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

Sarah may be a newbie runner, or just new to the Lake area, as this is the first time we've seen her name in any race results.

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SHOW-ME STATE GAMES (posted August 4th) 

Jade Fletcher ran the Show-Me State Games 10K on Sunday, July 28th.  She reportedly was the overall female winner. 

On Saturday, Jade won the women's 14-and-under age group (over two others) at the Bushwacker 5K in Pensacola, Florida.  She finished in 26:12.

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JACK AND JILL'S DOWNHILL MARATHON (posted July 30th)

(A tip of the hat to Alysia Maschino (via Scott Page) for letting me know about this.)

Congratulations to Elaine Mallahan for finishing the Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon in Washington state on Saturday in an outstanding 3:39:22.  Elaine beat the 2020 Boston Marathon qualifying standard for the women's 40-44 age group by 38 seconds, putting her in the company of two other elite local runners--namely Bryna Edwards and Chris Boyle--with 2020 Boston qualifying times.

Elaine's marathon finish time is not only the fastest among Lake-area women so far this year, but as far as we know, it's the fastest ever run by a local woman in the 40-49 age group.

This aptly named marathon features a 2,000-foot drop in elevation from start to finish, as well as unusually cool temperatures (in the 50s and low 60s) for a midsummer marathon.   As a result, it's a popular race for those hoping to qualify for Boston.  Indeed, of Saturday's 693 marathon finishers, 178 (or 26%) ran a qualifying time.  Only a handful of races have higher percentages. 

Complete race results can be found here.

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THE RUNNING RECESSION: A MID-YEAR UPDATE (posted July 28th) 

(With the year now a little more than half over, it's time to take a look at the status of the "running recession" that started back in 2014.) 

There were some glimmers of hope early this year that the running recession was finally coming to an end, but, looking at the data for the first half of the year, it hasn't happened.   It appears that we're headed for a fifth consecutive "down" year, as the number of full and half marathon finishers is down 8% from last year.  (To make the year-to-year comparison more meaningful, I only tallied numbers for races that were held both this year and last.)  Since the first and second halves of the year are split nearly evenly with races, it would take a strong upsurge in the last half of 2019 to prevent a full-year decline.

Click on the thumbnail below to download an Excel spreadsheet with the data for races held in the first half of 2019.

Coincidentally, using data compiled for our "most miles raced" tally in the Lake Area Scoreboard shows that the number of miles raced by Lake-area runners (in 10K and longer races) was down 7% so far this year compared to last.

Triathlon, by the way, also continues to be in a continuing recession. The WIN for KC Triathlon, which was held on Saturday, is a good example. That race had nearly 900 participants at its peak in 2014.   On Saturday, there were just 341 finishers--down 25% from last year alone. Shown below is the number of finishers at that race since 2011.

Addendum:  In line with that mentioned above, The New York Times published a story yesterday reporting on the decline in triathlon participation. The article is hidden behind a paywall, but just the headline and subheadline say it all: "Triathlons Fight Decline and Seek Ways to Attract the Young: U.S.A. Triathlon’s membership dropped by about a quarter over a five-year period, and the largest age group in the sport is considerably older than it used to be."

Declining participation is a much more serious issue for triathlons than for running events. Triathlons are more expensive (and difficult) to organize, and raising entry fees to offset lower participation isn't a viable solution.   They can chase sponsorship money to help cover expenses, but as sponsors see the events continue to shrink in size, they put their money elsewhere.

I'm no longer sure it's accurate to call the decline that we've seen in running and triathlon over the last five years a "recession".  Recession implies something temporary and short-lived.   This is looking more and more like a secular decline that could last years longer.   

*   *   *   *   *

GIRLS JUST WANNA RUN 5K/10K (posted July 23rd)

A total of 566 women of all ages participated in the 15th annual Girls Just Wanna Run 5K/10K in Springfield on Saturday.   Jade Fletcher was the only runner from the Lake area.   She ran the 10K in 58:11--five minutes faster than last year--and won the 10-14 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

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ARGO 13.1 HALF MARATHON (posted July 16th)

The Argo 13.1 Half Marathon, which bills itself as the "Toughest Race in KC" due to hills and weather, held its semi-annual race on Sunday.  The organizers limit the race to just 50 participants. 

Jade Fletcher is now a three-time finisher, having finished Sunday in 3:00:11--ten minutes faster than last year's July race, though eight minutes slower than this year's January edition. Jade finished in 36th place (of 48 total finishers).

Complete results can be found here.

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SUMMER ROUNDUP TRIATHLON (posted July 15th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott, who on Sunday made it four-for-four in age-group victories at the four triathlons he's done this year.  His latest was at the Summer Roundup Triathlon in Jasper, Missouri.

Jim did the Oympic distance race and completed the 1500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run in 2:56:15--five minutes faster than his age-group victory last year.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        41:42  (2:47 per 100 meters)
T-1:             3:23
Bike:       1:11:48  (20.8 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:15
Run:          58:10  (9:23 per mile)
Finish:    2:56:15

Full results can be found here.

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HANNIBAL CANNIBAL 5K/10K/15K (posted July 7th)

With few other races from which to choose, nearly a thousand runners from Missouri and western Illinois showed up in Hannibal on Saturday for the 24th annual Hannibal Cannibal.  The race features a few gnarly hills, which explains its "It'll Eat You Up" tagline. (Check out last year's race photos, and you'll see a lot of suffering going on.)

If the hills don't eat you up, the finish line cannibals will.
(Facebook photo)

Two runners traveled from the Lake area to run the 10K. Willard Haley finished in 1:06:14, placing 5th (of 7) in the men's 55-59 age group.  Joyce Ryerson finished in 1:16:15.  That placed Joyce 4th (of 4) in the women's 45-49 age group. 

Complete results can be found here.  (A big "oops" in the race results that hasn't yet been corrected is the inclusion of 10K and 15K runners' e-mail addresses alongside their names, cities, ages, etc.) 

*   *   *   *   *

ELDON 4th OF JULY 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 7th)

The race photos can be found here.

Here are the top age-group finishers for male and female runners:  (Please note:  I used an audio recording of the awards ceremony to complete this table, so the spelling for many of the names was done phonetically.  I'll be happy to make any spelling corrections.)

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SIGNARAMA FIRECRACKER 5K RUN/WALK (posted July 5th)

Congratulations to Jade Fletcher for finishing atop the women's 10-14 age group at the Signarama Firecracker 5K yesterday in the northern California city of Redding. Jade finished in 22:51, ahead of 22 others in her age group.

Temperatures are regularly in the 90s this time of year in northern California, although the humidity is not nearly as high as in our Missouri steambath.

*   *   *   *   *

RUN FOR THE HORSES 5K/10K RUN/WALK (updated June 25th)

Close to forty runners and walkers came out to Linn Creek on Saturday for the Run for the Horses 5K/10K, a benefit race for the Missouri Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue and Sanctuary.

The men's and women's overall 10K winners were Pete Groce and Tesa Taylor in 49:56 and 1:08:55, respectively.  It was the first overall victory at a Lake-area race for both.

Tucker Seise and Toni Eaton easily won the 5K men's and women's races--Tucker in 18:40 and Toni in 23:29. 

Complete race results can be found here.

Many more race photos can be found here.   Marilyn Reilly passed along still more photos that can be viewed here.

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MAYOR'S MARATHON (posted June 23rd)

Congratulations (and ~~~~healing vibes~~~~) to April Leonard, who traveled to Anchorage, Alaska to run in Saturday's Mayor's Marathon.  This was April's second time running this marathon, after having completed it in 2013.  She was running this time as part of Team In Training, which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

Unfortunately, a pulled hamstring at mile 15 made for a long walk to the finish line, and a finish time of 6:31:38 for April.

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GRANDMA'S MARATHON & HALF MARATHON (posted June 23rd)

While those of us at the Lake were sweating profusely running in unbearable humidity on Saturday, some of our fellow runners ran in 48° temperatures and clear skies-- and on a flat course along Lake Superior, no less--at the Grandma's Marathon & Half Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota.   Feel free to hate them all.

Scott Gray, who chose this race to celebrate his entrance into the 40-44 age group, ran the half marathon, finishing in 3:30:32, and placing 288th (of 290).

Trail of Four Winds 25K women's winner Jaime Maher finished the marathon in 3:43:27, placing 116th (of 476) in the women's 35-39 age group.

Randy Acklin of Marshfield also ran the marathon, finishing in 4:25:36.  That placed him 357th (of 498) in the 35-39 age group.

Springfield's royal running couple, Marshall and Kimi Reed, ran the marathon and half marathon, respectively.  Marshall ran a Boston Marathon-qualifying 2:36:39, while Kimi, who's probably focusing more on next February's Olympic Marathon Trials (for which she's already qualified), ran the half, in 1:14:58.

Click for complete marathon and half marathon results.

Because of its cool mid-June weather and flat course, Grandma's is hugely popular, with 6,356 marathon and 7,492 half marathon finishers at this year's race. 

Scott Gray passed along a few photos taken at the finish line: 

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DC WONDER WOMAN RUN - KANSAS CITY (posted June 23rd)

The newly-introduced, nationwide series of women-focused running events based on DC Comics' Wonder Woman character, came to Kansas City on Saturday. The event had a large turnout, and was biggest race in Missouri this weekend, with 847 finishers of the 5K, and 225 of the 10K. (Ninety percent of the participants were women.)

Three locals were among those who participated in the inaugural Kansas City race. Heather Doyle took third overall in the women's 10K, finishing in 49:16. (That was the fastest 10K among Lake-area women so far this year.) Melissa Martinez finished the 10K in 1:08:30, placing 11th (of 31) in the 45-49 age group.  In the 5K, Stephanie Brand of Osage Beach finished in 52:56. She placed 99th (of 124) in the 35-39 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

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HALFMAX, QUARTERMAX & OCTOMAX TRIATHLONS (updated June 22nd)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for his second consecutive age-group victory at the Quartermax Triathlon (0.6-mile swim, 28-mile bike and 6.5-mile run) on Saturday at the Innsbrook Resort west of St. Louis.   Jim finished in 2:36:18, beating his lone competitor in the men's 65-69 age group.  Here are his splits:

Swim:         7:14*
T-1:            0:49
Bike:      1:27:12 (18.6 miles per hour)
T-2:            0:48
Run:      1:00:17 (9:17 per mile)
Finish:   2:36:18

*The swim was cancelled due to the weather, and the triathlon started with a run to help separate the field for the beginning of the bike segment.

Complete results can be found here.

Participation dropped a stunning 45% from last year, to a record low of 236 finishers.  The stormy, wet weather certainly gets the blame.  (This triathlon had over 700 finishers in its inaugural year of 2003, when it was among the largest in the state.)

*   *   *   *   *

CHILDREN'S LEARNING CENTER NIGHT GLOW 5K RUN/WALK (updated June 17th)

Wonderfully mild weather made for an enjoyable evening for those who came out to run or walk at the Children's Learning Center's 12th annual Night Glow 5K on Friday at Camdenton High School. Despite the nice weather, fewer participants turned out this year than last, and extended the event's steady decline in participation in recent years. Here are the number of finishers, by year, since 2012:

Last year's overall male and female winners, Nigher Alfaro and Jade Fletcher, lined up at the front of the starting field in search of repeat victories, but their hopes were dashed by two previously unknown high school cross country runners from outside the Lake area. Jacob Bennion, who'll be a senior this fall at East Newton High School in Granby, Missouri (about 12 miles south of Joplin) won the men's race in 19:08, while Madelyn Newson, who'll also be a senior at Waynesville High School, won the women's race in 22:15.

Here are links to the race results, provided by Gary Thompson:

By finish order
By age group

Many more photos from the race can be viewed here.

Tom and Michelle Kitchen, two local, professional photographers, were taking photos at the race.  Check out their Studio T Images website or Facebook page for the photos when they're posted.

This race has a history of being the one where runners do their very first 5K.  Two first-timers at this year were Lucas Phillips and Clayton Phillips. With finish times of 55:48 and 1:04:06, respectively, they wisely left themselves plenty of room to set new personal records in the future.

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ELDON ROCK ISLAND ROAD RACE (updated June 13th)

With 130 finishers at this year's race--nearly half of whom completed the newly-added 5K distance option--the Eldon Rock Island Road Race has joined the ranks of the biggest Lake-area races.  Just as impressive is that more than half (70) of the participants came from outside the area. Only three other Lake-area races (Bridge & Dam, 4 Fore 30 and Trail of Four Winds 25K) have a higher percentage of participation from out-of-town runners.

This year's growth extends the resurgence in participation from the race's predecessor, the Run for the Children Half Marathon & 10K.  That race, which was also organized by the Miller County Child Advocacy Council (Facebook page), saw steadily declining participation throughout its five-year history (to a total of just 23 finishers in 2017) before being dropped and replaced by the Rock Island Road Race in 2018.

For the record, here are the number of finishers, by year, for each race distance:

15K

Donlon McGovern, a 55 year-old Jefferson City runner not believed to have ever raced at the Lake before, won the men's 15K with a finish time of 1:02:08.  He beat last year's winner and pre-race favorite, Greg Linhart (and his five year-old canine companion, "Moose"), by 37 seconds.

Karlee Carlson, a 20 year-old, seasonal Lake visitor from Chugiak, Alaska, easily won the women's 15K, in 1:08:18.  

10K

Nigher Alfaro ran the fastest 10K among Lake-area men so this year in winning the race overall, in 42:34. He crossed the line a whopping 18 minutes ahead of the second-place runner. Nigher shaved over two minutes off his winning time of 44:42 last year and became the Rock Island Road Race's only two-time overall winner.

A mere six seconds separated the top two finishers in the women's 10K.  Kayla Nargang of Colona, Illinois finished in a winning (clock) time of 1:00:25.  Second-place finisher   Kristen Dickerson of Weiser, Idaho, had a four-second faster chip time, but overall race winners are determined by clock (or "gun") time. (That's all the more reason to be at or close to the front of the starting line if you're aiming for an overall victory.)

5K

The 5K was dominated by younger runners. Thirteen year-old Eldon runner Nathan Reynolds was the overall winner, in 20:35, seven minutes ahead of second-place finisher--and overall women's winner--14 year-old Kiera Finn of Belle, Missouri.   Kiera's clock time of 27:50 was seven seconds faster than that of 12 year-old Makayla Cordes of Jefferson City, though only two seconds faster than Makayla's chip time.

Complete race results can be found here.

Hundreds of race photos can be found here.  Still more can be found at the race's Facebook page.

A hearty "thanks" goes to the race organizers, volunteers and sponsors, as well as the Eldon police, fire and public works personnel, who made this a fun, well-organized and safe event.

The demise of the Run for the Children Half Marathon was a big disappointment since we have so few long races in the Lake area, and because longer races, once cancelled, are almost never resurrected.  Thankfully, it's been replaced with a more popular race that has a more secure and promising future.

*   *   *   *   *

HOSPITAL HILL RUN (posted June 3rd)

Kansas City's Hospital Hill Run--one of the oldest running events in the state--included eight runners from the Lake area at this year's 46th annual event.  

Tucker Seise was our top local half marathon finisher, finishing in 1:31:03 and placing third (of 46) in the men's 20-24 age group.  It was the fastest half marathon by a Lake-area runner this year.

Jim McDermott took third (of 25) in the 65-69 age group with a 1:49:23 finish.

Results for Lake-area participants are shown below.  (Since results weren't searchable for runners by city, I may have missed some local runners. If I missed anyone, please let me know.)  Complete race results can be found here.

Complete race results can be found here.

Total participation was up 21% over last year's weather-affected race, breaking a string of four consecutive years of declines.

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GO GIRL RUN COLUMBIA HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted June 3rd)

Three Lake-area runners traveled to Columbia on Saturday to compete in the women-only Go Girl Run Half Marathon & 5K.

Heather Doyle of Tipton placed third in the 40-44 age group with a 1:51:17 finish in the half marathon.  This was Heather's fastest half marathon since at least 2014.  A fellow Tipton runner, Amanda Twenter, competed in the 5K, finishing in 28:56 and placing 5th (of 51) in the 25-29 age group.

Tesa Taylor of Eldon set a new personal record with her 2:21:20 half marathon finish.  Tesa placed 14th (of 34) in the women's 25-29 age group. 

Complete race results can be found here.

Total participation was up 3% over last year, breaking a four-year decline.  Here are the number of race finishers for the last six years:

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RUN WITH THE COPS, NOT FROM THE COPS 5K/10K (posted June 3rd)

The Run with the Cops, Not from the Cops 5K/10K was held on Saturday.   Results haven't been posted, but you can find a few photos from the event at the Miller County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page.

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VERMONT CITY MARATHON (posted May 27th)

Today, Memorial Day, would have been a beautiful day for running the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont.  Clear skies, a morning low temperature of around 47°, and an afternoon high of just 61° is perfect weather for running. 

Unfortunately, the race was actually held yesterday, when the weather was a runner's nightmare--warm and muggy, with temperatures 15° warmer and, thanks to heavy rain the night before, a relative humidity of 84% at the start.

Todd Raney has to be thinking he's been cursed by Vermont.  He did this same race in 2016 when the race was stopped midway due to a combination of high (88°) heat and humidity.  He returned to the state three more times (before yesterday) in hopes of checking off Vermont on his quest of running a sub 4-hour marathon in all 50 states, but he came up short each time.

On Sunday, Todd finished his fifth attempt in 4:18:25. (Coincidentally, that was almost his exact same finish time at the GO! St. Louis Marathon last month, when the weather was also overly warm.)   Vermont remains the only state Todd needs to complete his goal.

Todd will no doubt beat that Vermont curse.  It's just a matter of when. (Remember, it took actress Susan Lucci nineteen nominations to finally win an Emmy.)

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BERRYMAN 50-MILE & MARATHON (posted May 19th)

Congratulations to John Shelby for his 13:46:37 finish at the Berryman 50-Mile trail race in the Mark Twain National Forest on Saturday.  John placed 32nd (of 36) overall.

This was John's first competitive Berryman 50-mile finish.  Two years ago, he, along with Chris Boyle and Gary Braman, was a "course sweeper" for the 50-mile race, and followed the final finisher to the line in 14:38:33.  

Our running friend from Columbia, Andy Emerson, finished second overall in the 50-mile with a time of 9:47:10.  This was Andy's seventh consecutive Berryman 50-miler.  (Prior to his first 50-miler in 2012, he did the marathon in 2011).  He's always placed sixth or better overall, and has now finished second-overall twice. 

There were 36 and 78 official finishers of the 50-miler and marathon, respectively.  (There appears to have been a lot of no-shows and/or DNFs in the 50-miler.  About 75 runners were registered for it.) 

Click for full results for the 50-mile and marathon.

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SPIRIT OF MISSOURI RUN (posted May 19th)

Perhaps due to its poor execution last year, the Striker Life Half Marathon, 10K & 5K at Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster was replaced this year by the Spirit of Missouri Run.  The race was held in the same location, and got its name from the name of the first B2 bomber to be stationed at Whiteman.

Tesa Taylor of Eldon was our only Lake-area runner at the race, and she represented us well with an age-group victory in the half marathon.  Tesa finished in 2:35:33 and won the women's 20-29 age group over one other. This was her first half marathon of the year, and only her fourth since stepping up to this distance with three half marathon finishes last November.

There were 60, 70 and 120 finishers of the half marathon, 10K and 5K, respectively.  Compare those to 79, 61 and 35 finishers, respectively, last year. 

Click for complete race results for the half marathon, 10K or 5K.

*   *   *   *   *

JOPLIN MEMORIAL RUN (posted May 19th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott, who, in his eighth consecutive appearance at the Joplin Memorial Run's half marathon, finally captured his first age-group victory.  Jim finished in 1:52:45, winning the 65-69 age group over two others.

The race results didn't list a city for many runners, so I may have missed some Lake-area runners.  Please let me know if I missed anyone.  (Heather Miller is listed in the results, but I'm not sure if it's "our" Heather.  There are several other Heather Millers in the state.)

Complete race results can be found here. 

Total participation dropped slightly from last year.  The addition of a 10K to this year's race appears to have been at the expense of the half marathon.  Here are the number of finishers over the last five years:

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BRIDGE THE GAP TO HEALTH RACE (posted May 19th)

Willard Haley finished in the nick of time at the Bridge the Gap to Health Race half marathon in Quincy, Illinois on Saturday.  Willard crossed the finish line in 2:22:03, and reports that heavy rain and lightning moved into the area  minutes later, causing the course to be closed.  (That, of course, didn't stop 45 crazy runners from crossing the finish line within the next 30 minutes.)  Willard placed 9th (of 11) in the men's 55-59 age group.

Cierra Hiland, a frequent Lake visitor from Augusta, Illinois, and who's won many Lake-area races over the years, finished second overall in the women's 5K.  Her finish time was 23:29.

Two 74 year-old men battled to the end for the 70-and-over age-group win in the half marathon. They finished just five seconds apart, with the winner finishing in 2:52:27.

Complete race results can be found here. 

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RUNNING WITH THE COWS HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted May 12th)

Two runners from the Lake area traveled to the bucolic setting of Bucyrus, Kansas on Saturday for the tenth annual Running with the Cows Half Marathon & 5K. 

Jade Fletcher finished the half marathon in 1:52:23--slightly faster than last year--and won the women's 14-and-under age group (over 3 others), just as she did last year. 

Michelle Waters of Camdenton finished in 2:45:59, placing her 51st (of 81) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Click for the half marathon and 5K results.

After declining for four years in a row, participation was up for the half marathon, with a 20% increase over last year.  Participation for the 5K rose for the second consecutive year, to a race record of 763 finishers.  

*   *   *   *   *

TRAIL OF FOUR WINDS 25K (updated May 11th)

Superlatives like "great", "outstanding", or any number of others just aren't adequate to describe the inaugural Trail of Four Winds 25K (Facebook page) held at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park last Saturday.  Everything about this race was well beyond expectations.  

The lakefront start/finish location in the pocket park adjoining public beach #1 was a perfect, comfortable place for the pre- and post-race activities. It's so peacefully quiet and serene that far back into the state park. There's very little boat or vehicle traffic.

Top photo:  A lake view from public beach #1 at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park.  Middle:  The view of the small park and public beach from the finish line.  Bottom:  The finish line, viewed from near the beach area.

While muddy, due to 3" of rain in the days leading up to the race, the race course was beautiful under the lush, green canopy of hardwood trees and the white dogwood trees still in bloom. 

The weather cooperated perfectly, with cool and cloudy conditions at the start turning to warm and sunny by the afternoon, making the post-race cookout and socializing well worth hanging around for. 

One particular nicety was the live performance by the six-person Out on a Limb bluegrass band from noon till 3:00.  It was the first time we've ever had live music at a local running race.

Finally, the racing action was exciting, with the men's and women's races both decided in final sprints to the finish. 

For those of us who live at the Lake, it's really great to see the Lake of the Ozarks play host to yet another homegrown race--in addition to Bridge & Dam and 4 Fore 30--that brings in runners from all over the state and beyond.

The race sold out all 150 slots, with 129 making it to the starting line. Over 90% of them came from outside the Lake area.

The entire field of 129 competitors at the starting line. (Click on above photo for a larger image, or click here to download a large, high-resolution version of the photo that you can save to your computer.  Feel free to use the photo as you wish.  No attribution is necessary.)

The men's race was a neck and neck battle from start to finish between two former collegiate cross country runners.

Michael McCulloch, who won last year's Ha Ha Half Marathon, and who one week ago ran a blistering 5:18 per-mile pace at the Trolley Run 4-miler in Kansas City, crossed the finish line in 1:52:14.  He pulled ahead in the final mile and won by a 15-second margin of victory.  Michael is a former Columbia College runner originally from Kansas City and now living in Columbia.

Second-place finisher Robert Bruns is a Waynesville native (now living in St. Louis) who ran for Judson University in Elgin, Illinois.  Most recently, he placed fourth overall--and first in the men's 20-24 age group--at last month's GO! St. Louis Marathon, finishing in a Boston Marathon-qualifying time of 2:52:12.

The women's race was also extremely close, with only 17 seconds separating the top two finishers.

Jaime Maher, from the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, and a frequent LOTO visitor (with husband--and sixth-place men's finisher Ryan Maher), took the top spot over friendly rival (and prolific trail and road runner) Karolina Zavisiute from St. Charles. Jaime crossed in 2:26:10; Karolina in 2:26:27.  Despite both living in the St. Louis area, these two women rarely race head-to-head.  Prior to the Trail of Four Winds, the only race in recent years in which the two have competed appears to have been the Quivering Quads Half Marathon Trail Run in March 2017.  Jaime finished that race in 2:11:27, and Karolina in 2:17:43. 

Complete race results can be found here, or at the race's UltraSignup.com page.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners, as well as a few of our nearby friends:

Congratulations to race founder and director John Shelby for organizing this successful event, and for not abandoning the pursuit of a replacement for the Ha Ha Half Marathon trail race after Missouri State Parks officials declined continued use of Ha Ha Tonka State Park following last year's event. (Frankly, I think that the new venue is better.)

Thanks also go to Mark Kempf and Mike Korst for their able assistance to John, much of it happening long before and after race day.   Mark's a longtime member of our local running community, while Mike's a more recent addition after moving to the Lake full-time following his retirement several years ago.

Last but not least, thanks also go to the race sponsors, as well as to the many volunteers provided by the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance. Without such support, races like this simply wouldn't happen.

The photos can be viewed here.   If you would like to download the entire gallery (864 photos), download this .zip file (it’s big—227 MB in size) to your computer and then unzip the file.  (On a Mac, simply double-click on the downloaded .zip file, and the photo file folder will be restored.)

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TRIZOU TRIATHLON / DUZOU DUATHLON (posted May 6th)

In a performance and result nearly identical to last year's, Jim McDermott won the men's 65-69 age group (over six others) at the TriZou Triathlon in Columbia on Sunday.  Jim competed in the sprint distance triathlon (400-meter swim, 14-mile bike and 3-mile run) and finished in 1:18:53.  Here are Jim's splits, with data from the previous five years for comparison. Note Jim's amazing consistency through the years.

Full results can be found here.

Participation fell slightly this year, to 476 solo finishers compared to 509 last year.   At its peak about seven years ago, this race had nearly 750 participants.

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

After winning the women's race at the Lake Regional 5K on Saturday, Jade Fletcher headed to Independence to run the fourth annual Independence Half Marathon & 5K on Sunday. She did the same races on a single weekend last year, as well.  

Jade finished the half in 1:59:20.  (That was about eleven minutes slower than last year.)  There was no 14-and-under age group, but Jade was the only female in the race younger than 15.

Complete race results can be found here.

With no apparent explanation, participation has declined every year for this race since its inception in 2016.  The half marathon had just 201 finishers this year--down 47% from last year, and a stunning 71% from 2016.  (Competition from Saturday's Rock-star Run half marathon in Kansas City wasn't a factor.  That race had only 94 finishers--just over half of last year's 181.)

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LAKE REGIONAL 5K FUN RUN/WALK (updated May 6th)

The turnout for the 12th annual Lake Regional 5K was noticeably smaller than in recent years, when this race was regularly among the largest 5Ks in the Lake area.  With only 116 timed participants (our official measure of race size) this year, plus a large but unknown number of (untimed) fun walkers, the race will fall significantly in the rankings of the area's largest. 

Nigher Alfaro continued his dominance at Lake Regional, with his third overall victory in a row, and his fourth in race history.  He finished in 20:19, a comfortable and distant 1:30 ahead of second-place finisher Gage Burnam of Versailles.  Nigher's time was arguably his fastest finish at Lake Regional.  He won last year in 20:57, and in 19:29 in 2017, but that course was clearly short.  (His first victory came in 2012 with a 22:13.) 

Since at least 2009--the earliest year for which records are available--the women's race at Lake Regional has never had a repeat winner, and that streak continued this year.  Jade Fletcher, who finished second last year after being passed late in the race last year by frequent Lake-area visitor Cierra Hiland of Augusta, Illinois, managed to hold off Cierra this year with a 24-second margin of victory.  Jade finished in 23:56--seven seconds slower than last year. 

Complete race results can be found here.

Many more race photos can be viewed here.

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SUSAN M. BARRY, 1959 - 2019 (posted May 3rd)

There's some very, very sad news to report today about one of our long-time Lake-area runners.   Sue Barry passed away on Monday at her home in Eldon following a long illness.  Sue was always friendly and outgoing, and often ran with her fellow School of the Osage teachers and staff members.   Our condolences go to her husband (and LOTO runner) David Barry and to her children, family and friends.

Her obituary can be found here.

Sue Barry with the large contingent of Lake-area runners at the Bass Pro Marathon & Half Marathon in 2013.

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NEW JERSEY MARATHON (posted April 28th)

The third time in New Jersey was the charm for Todd Raney.  After two previous attempts to run a sub 4-hour marathon in the state, Todd finally succeeded on Sunday at the New Jersey Marathon in Oceanport.  He finished in 3:52:46, placing 97th (of 195) in the men's 45-49 age group.

With 49 states now checked off, only Vermont stands in the way of Todd completing his 50-state quest.  Vermont, though, has been the most elusive state in his quest, with four previous attempts at four different marathons in the state all coming up short.  His fifth attempt will take place at the Vermont City Marathon on May 26th.

Complete results can be found here.

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DOGWOOD FESTIVAL / THE ARC OF THE LAKE 5K FUN RUN (posted April 28th)

After a long, awful winter, we're not getting much of a break in the weather this spring.  Saturday's Dogwood Festival 5K became the third of our six local races held so far this year to be marred by rain--the worst start to the race season in memory.  Despite the weather, nine runners and walkers came out to race and to support the race's beneficiary, The Arc of the Lake, a local organization supporting those with developmental disabilities.

Tucker Seise and Carolyn Youngbery, both relative newcomers to the Lake area, were the overall winners of the race.  Tucker finished in 18:53; Carolyn in 30:50. Jim McDermott won the 50-and-over age group and, despite not feeling 100%, Zach Wilson won the 19-and-under age group. 

Here are the complete race results.

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THE EPIC (posted April 28th)

Just over 200 cyclists competed at The Epic (Facebook page) gravel road bicycle race at the Lake of the Ozarks on Saturday.  Besides the endless hills, they endured rain in the early part of the race, followed by strong winds once the skies cleared. The weather for this race only seems to reside at the extremes.

There were 206 finishers among the 150-, 90- and 50-mile races.  The total was up from 111 last year, but, strangely, was only about half the nearly 400 who were registered for this year's race.  (There's no apparent explanation for so many no-shows.)

Here are the results for our Lake-area participants:

Complete race results can be found here.

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JAY DIX CHALLENGE TO CURE (posted April 20th)

For the second year in a row, Jade Fletcher won the women's 14-and-under age group by default on Saturday at the Jay Dix Challenge to Cure 10K in Columbia. Jade finished in 49:40 and finished fifth overall among the women.  (Last year, she ran almost three minutes faster and finished second overall.)

The phenomenal 59 year-old Gerald Holtmeyer of Bonnots Mill, who won the All In challenge at Bridge & Dam three weeks ago, took second overall in the 10K with a 39:28 (a pace of 6:23 per mile).   He finished two minutes behind the winner, and a comfortable four minutes ahead of the third-place finisher.

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation at this year's event was up slightly for the 5K, but down for the 10K.  Here are the number of finishers for each of the last six years:

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MAINLY MARATHONS' RIVERBOAT SERIES (posted April 16th)

Congratulations to the newest marathon finisher in the Lake area, William Brown of Camdenton. Last Friday, April 12th, William ran his first marathon in Cape Girardeau at Mainly Marathons' Riverboat Series Day #6 race. (The Riverboat Series consists of seven marathons and other distance races held in seven states over a seven day period. Mainly Marathons offers thirteen other similar series throughout the U.S. each year covering all 50 states, making it especially convenient for those wishing to become a 50-state finisher.)

William finished in 3:37:57--a remarkable achievement for a first-time marathoner, but he was also the overall winner of the race (over 33 others).  He did, though, have an age advantage over nearly the entire field.  At age 39, only three runners were younger, and the average age of the field was 59.8 years.  (Mainly Marathon's races have no time limits, making them especially appealing to the geriatric crowd.)

Complete results for the Cape Girardeau race can be found here.

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BOSTON MARATHON (updated April 16th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for finishing the 123rd edition of the Boston Marathon on Monday.  Jim finished in 4:57:19.   According to a post his Facebook page, Jim tripped and fell at mile 11 while "high-fiving" some spectators.  He hit his head in the fall and suffered a large gash.   EMTs nearby came over and bandaged him up, and he continued on, despite their recommendation to stop. This was Jim's second Boston finish--he ran in 2014, one year after the horrific bombing at the finish line.  

A number of other familiar names were among the finishers.

Jeremy ("JJ") Ryan, a former Camdenton High School and Drury University cross country runner now living in St. Louis, finished in 2:44:19.  Jeremy qualified for this year's race at last year's GO! St. Louis.  He qualified for 2020 by finishing in 2:49:55 at last November's Bass Pro Marathon. 

A multi-year overall winner at Bass Pro, Kimi Reed of Springfield, was the 25th female to finish, in 2:40:12.  (She's already qualified to compete in next year's Olympic Marathon Trials.) Her husband, Marshall Reed, finished in 2:55:11.

Two Bridge & Dam winners were among today's finishers.  Greg Linhart of Grandview, Missouri, who won this year's Bridge & Dam Half Marathon, finished in 3:07:15, while last year's All-In challenge winner, Jill Wagner of Sullivan, finished in 3:24:50.

Kristen Glassmaker, a former School of the Osage teacher now living in Lee's Summit, and her husband Jeremy ran together and finished in 3:33:06.   

NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson, appropriately wearing bib number 4848, finished in 3:09:07. Check out the video clip of him crossing the finish line that he posted on his Facebook page.

The women's race was won by Ethiopian Worknesh Degefa after a bold move to pull ahead of the lead group at the six-mile mark.  She finished in 2:23:31, 42 seconds ahead of 2017 winner Edna Kiplagat of Kenya.

The men's race was an exciting photo finish, with Lawrence Cherono of Kenya winning the sprint to the finish line by two seconds over Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa. (It was the closest Boston Marathon finish since 1988.)  Those two seconds were worth $75,000--the winner receives $150,000 in prize money, while the second-place finisher receives $75,000.  (You can read more about the top finishers here.)

Boston Marathon viewing party 

A big "thanks" goes to those who came out to Redhead Lakeside Grill for our first Boston Marathon viewing party.   We had a terrific time, and plan to do it again next year.  The venue was perfect for viewing the race (thanks again to seven-time Boston Marathon finisher Mike Korst for helping arrange it), and we stayed afterward for lunch. Here are a few photos:

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GO GIRL RUN SPRINGFIELD HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 14th)

Acting like a vindicative ex-boyfriend or ex-husband, Old Man Winter unleashed another bout of wintry weather on Sunday morning, much to the dismay of over 700 runners at the women-only Go Girl Run Springfield Half Marathon & 5K.  Temperatures in the low to mid 30s, light snow and rain, and winds of 15-20 mph (gusting to 30) made for miserable running conditions. 

Ten women from the Lake area, including seven alone from Versailles, ran despite the weather.   The top half marathoner was Sondra Ellis of Richland, who finished in 1:51:42 and took 9th place (of 78) in the 35-39 age group.  A name new to us, Millicent Cowgill of Camdenton, finished 14th overall (of 394) and 2nd (of 20) in her 20-24 age group with a 27:42 in the 5K.

Race photos of the Versailles runners can be found at the Versailles Area Runners Facebook page.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners, along with those for Joel Reed, who paced the 1:45:00 group for the second year in a row:

Complete race results can be found here. 

Total participation was down 18% from last year, due at least in part to the awful weather.  Here are the year-by-year numbers:

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GARMIN MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted April 14th)

Only one runner from the Lake area, Heather Doyle, ran at the Garmin Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K on Saturday in the Kansas City area, but she had plenty of company.   Just as she did at Bass Pro last November, Heather paced Ashley Smith, a friend from Holts Summit, in the half marathon. Heather finished in 2:21:09, placing 36th (of 83) in the women's 40-44 age group, while Ashley placed 52nd (of 92) in the 35-39 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

After holding steady for three years, total participation was down 27% from last year, with all three distances showing declines.  The steepest decline was in the half marathon (37%), which is probably due to significantly larger Rock the Parkway Half Marathon being held across town on the very same day.  (Last year, they were held one week apart.)  Here are the year-by-year number of finishers:

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MOLLY'S MILES 5K/10K (posted April 13th)

The third annual Molly's Miles 5K/10K, named in honor of Molly Bowden, a Columbia police officer who was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop in 2005, was held in Columbia on Saturday with a record turnout of over 900 runners, including nine from the Lake area.  Proceeds from the event benefit Camdenton-based Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.).

Pete Groce won the men's 50-59 age group with a 48:58 finish time in the 10K.  Another Pete we know, Pete Leyva,ran the 10K in full uniform, and finished in 1:02:29--16 seconds behind Anita Leyva.  A brief video clip of Pete can be found on the Molly's Miles Facebook page.

Mike Malone of Jefferson City, who finished second overall at this year's Polar Bear Strut 5K and Bridge & Dam 5K, took fifth overall in the 5K and second (of 72) in the men's 30-39 age group with a 20:53 finish.

Complete results can be found here.

There were 776 and 135 finishers of the 5K and 10K, respectively.  Those were up from 540 and 98 last year, representing a 42% increase in total participation.

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

The second-largest half marathon in Missouri, the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon, celebrated its tenth year on Saturday in Kansas City.  Five runners from the Lake area were among the 5,300 who ran either the half marathon or 5K.

Doug Kueker was our fastest finisher.  He crossed the line in 1:49:17, shaving over six minutes off of last year's time of 1:55:43.  Despite finishing nearly seven minutes slower than last year, Jade Fletcher still won the women's 14-and-under age group (over two others), in 1:50:58.

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation in the half marathon fell to the lowest level since the race's inaugural year of 2011.  The 5K, on the other hand, had the largest number of finishers since 2013, when 1,975 runners participated.

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GO! ST. LOUIS MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & MARATHON RELAY (updated April 9th)

Eleven Lake-area runners traveled to St. Louis last weekend for the GO! St. Louis Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K.  It was the biggest Lake-area contingent at the race since 2013, and included the largest number of runners (7) taking on the marathon.  (This marathon is popular among Lake-area runners.  Over the last 15 years, Lake-area runners have completed more marathons at GO! St. Louis than any other marathon.) 

It was a momentous day for a few of our runners. 

We always like to herald first-timers, and Katie and Stacy Roberts finished their very first marathons, running side-by-side every step of the way (well, until Katie stepped in front of Stacy to cross the finish line first  :)  ).  They finished in 5:19:46 and 5:19:47, respectively.  While Katie and Stacy have both run longer than 26.2 miles in a single race--they each ran 28 miles at last December's 4 Fore 30--this was their first standard marathon.

Chris Boyle had an exceptional race, and achieved his lofty goal of running a Boston Marathon-qualifying time. This was Chris' fourth--and fastest--GO! St. Louis Marathon (he ran 4:26:26  in 2006, 3:51:43 in 2012, and 3:26:35 in 2017), and he shaved 15 minutes off his previous marathon best of 3:23:49 set last September at the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia.  He finished Sunday in 3:08:10, and won the men's masters (40-and-over) division over 262 others.

Chris ran and finished alongside Colin Cronin, a 2017 Boston Marathon finisher from Ft. Leonard Wood.  Chris' 3:08:10 finish time beat the 2020 Boston Marathon qualifying standard for 40-44 year-old males of 3:10:00 by 1:50.  To run in the 2019 Boston Marathon, runners had to beat their qualifying standard by 4:52.  However, because the 2020 qualifying standards for all age groups were lowered by 5 minutes, Chris will be almost certain to be accepted into the race.  (Note:  Colin's 3:08:10 finish was over the 3:05:00 standard for 35-39 males in 2020.)

One more of our local runners had a momentous day.  Despite the unfavorable weather, Scott Page finished in 3:40:24, establishing a new personal record over his previous best of 3:48:34 set in December 2016 at St. Jude.  Scott placed sixth (of 57) in the men's 45-49 age group.

Weather has been an issue at nearly every GO! St. Louis, the past 18 years, and this year was no exception.  Last year, race-time temperatures were in the low 30s.  This year, they were mostly in the 60s.  Combined with high humidity and mostly sunny skies, though, they made for brutal running conditions. Things might have been worse, as race-time showers that had been forecasted right up until race morning, failed to materialize. The dry, warm weather did helped bring out lots of spectators, which is always welcome.

Here's a nice race recap from STLtoday.com:  Go! St. Louis Marathon runners plow through heat, humidity

You can view many more photos from the race here.  (To help viewers who may not be familiar with St. Louis or the course, I've annotated some of the photos that would benefit from an explanation.)

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners, plus a couple of our friends:

Complete race results can be found here.  

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BADGE OF HONOR BENEFIT RUN (posted April 7th)

Pete and Anita Leyva traveled to Poplar Bluff on Saturday for the fifth annual Badge of Honor Benefit Run.   Both ran the 10K, with Anita winning the women's 50-54 age group by default in 58:25, while Pete took third (of four) in the men's 50-54 age group in 54:22.

Complete race results can be found here. 

The race had a total of 39 half marathon, 54 10K and 68 5K finishers.  That compares to last year's total of 50 in the half marathon, and 38 and 72, respectively, in the 10K and 5K.

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DO OR DIE HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 6th)

Jim McDermott made it two half marathons in two weekends, and topped off his training for the Boston Marathon (coming up on Monday, April 15th) by running the Do or Die Half Marathon in Boonville on Saturday. Jim finished in 1:54:19, placing second (of four) in the men's 61-65 age group.

There were a number of other familiar names in the race.  Michael McCulloch, who won last year's Ha Ha Tonka Half Marathon and who'll be at the Trail of Four Winds 25K next month, was the overall half marathon in a blazing 1:16:53.  Greg Linhart was third overall (in 1:27:19), followed in fourth by Andy Emerson in 1:30:27.  A little further down the list were Randy Acklin (1:58:21), and one-half of The Sedalia Sisters, Lori Hurt, in 2:05:35.

Complete race results can be found here.

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

For years to come, the 2019 Bridge & Dam Half Marathon, 10K & 5K will be remembered mostly for the miserably wet, windy and cold weather that overshadowed an otherwise record year.  More runners (575) had registered for this race than last year's record total of 525, but, unfortunately, the weather kept many away from the starting line.  Still, with 439 official race finishers, down from 486 last year, Bridge & Dam remains the biggest running race at the Lake of the Ozarks, and by a very wide margin.  It's bigger than the next two-largest races--combined.  The continued success of this race is a testament to the hard work and dedication of co-race directors Alysia Maschino and Scott Page, as well as the strong support of volunteers and Lake-area businesses, civic organization and local governments that make the race possible.  The race's direct beneficiary is the Lake of the Ozarks chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but the real beneficiaries are the students who participate in the organization's faith-based athletic programs.

Shown below are the number of finishers, by distance, at Bridge & Dam since its inception in 2015.  Bridge & Dam has become one of the largest running races in Missouri outside of a major metropolitan area.

For the record, at Lee C. Fine Airport, the temperature at the 7:30 a.m. start of the race was 44°, with winds of 6 mph (gusting to 16) and a wind chill of 41°.   By 11:00 a.m., the temperature had dropped to 37°, and the wind chill to 34°.

Race Results

Complete race results can be found here. 

All-In Challenge

Seven runners competed in the All-In Challenge, which consists of a half marathon followed by a 10K and a 5K.  (Added together, the three distances are 3.8 miles short of a full marathon.)  Last year, the race was won by one of our fastest local runners--17 year-old Payton Bartlett.  This year, it was the phenomenal, 59 year-old Gerald Holtmeyer of Bonnots Mill, Missouri.  Gerald is no stranger to Bridge & Dam.  He won the inaugural half marathon in 2015, placed second to Heather Oddo in the half in 2016, and won the Double Down in 2017.  He not only won this year's All-In (in 2:44:11), but he smashed the overall course record of 2:56:18 owned by Jill Wagner of Sullivan, Missouri. 

The top female in the All-In was Jennifer Dickson from Chillicothe, Missouri.  Jennifer, who ran last year's half, won in 2:56:30, and missed Jill Wagner's women's course record by a mere 12 seconds.  Jill finished just behind Jennifer in 2:59:56.  (Jill won the inaugural All-In in 2017, but skipped last year's Bridge & Dam to prepare for the Boston Marathon.)  

Double Down Challenge

There were seven finishers in the Double Down Challenge, which consisted of a half marathon and 10K.

The top two finishers were first-timers at Bridge & Dam--Trent Kersey and Amy Frederick.  (Amy isn't a stranger to Lake events, though.  She competed at last December's 4 Fore 30.)  Trent won in 2:58:51, with Amy finishing less than a minute later, in 2:59:34.  Their respective half marathon and 10K splits were so close, it was almost as if they ran together until a finish line sprint. 

Half Marathon

After placing fourth overall in 2015 and 2018, Greg Linhart from Grandview, Missouri, won his first Bridge & Dam half marathon. Greg, who may best be remembered for running with his diminutive dog, "Moose", last year, crossed the line in 1:25:37, a comfortable four minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.

The women's half marathon, on the other hand, was the closest race of the day. Kristin Durkin, who resides in the Chicago area but who's a regular at the Laker 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, erased a two-minute deficit early in the race to edge out Blair Kurtz by a mere four seconds. Kristin finished in 1:50:06, and Blair in 1:50:10.

10K

Miki Loos of Shickley, Nebraska dropped down from the half marathon last year to the 10K this year, and it paid off with an overall victory--the only Bridge & Dam race to have a female overall winner.   Miki finished in 45:59, which was the second-fastest women's 10K in race history, topped only by course record-holder (and then high school cross country runner) Micah Hill's 43:41.

Lake-area runner Sam Casella took top honors in the men's race.  Sam finished in 47:24, about a minute ahead of second-place male Justin Farrell.

5K

Cierra Hiland of Quincy, Illinois was the overall winner of the women's 5K for the third year in a row, which means--since the 5K option was only added in 2017--she's the only winner the women's race has known, as well as the women's course record-holder.  Cierra, who's a frequent Lake visitor and is believed to have won more Lake-area races than any other out-of-towner, finished in 24:44.  She won in 22:52 in 2017, and 23:34 last year.

Kelly Sallee of Blue Springs, Missouri finished second overall last year in 21:21, and claimed the top spot this year with a 20:57 finish.  Kelly spoiled Lake-area runner Mike Malone's hope for local glory.  Mike finished third overall in 2017, third in 2018, and second this year, despite registering faster finish times: from 21:59 in 2017 to 21:53 in 2018 and 21:10 this year.  Mike's only consolation is breaking his own age-group record for 30-39 males.

Course and Age-Group Records

Fourteen course, age-group or age records were either broken or established this year.  The most notable was Gerald Holtmeyer's new course record for the All-In challenge.  His finish time of 2:44:11 broke Payton Bartlett's record of 2:56:21 set last year.   Mike Malone broke his own male 30-39 age group record in the 5K for the second year in a row.  After setting the record of 21:59 in 2017, he ran a 21:53 in 2018, and a 21:10 this year.

Here's the complete list of new records:

Legacy Half Finishers

Sixteen runners can still lay claim to having finished Bridge & Dam's half marathon every year since its debut in 2015.  (Two runners let their streaks end this year.)  Here's the list of the remaining diehards:

Nigher Alfaro (Montreal)
Karen Backes  (Jefferson City)
Russell Burkett (O'Fallon, MO)
Jeanette Pfetsch (Kansas City)
Alisha Eldridge (Eldon)
Tobby Eldridge (Eldon)
Ryan Garlock (Lincoln, NE)
Lindsay Garlock (Lincoln, NE)
Lori Hurt (Sedalia)
Jason Kolb (Tipton)
Doug Kueker (Lake Ozark)
Angela Martin (Osage Beach)
Sherri Mundwiller (Washington, MO)
Kim Ream (Sedalia)
Heather Skouby (Eldon)
Janet Weber (Dittmer, MO)

Photos

Nearly 1,000 more photos can be found here.

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HOPE RAY DUNKLEE MEMORIAL RUN/WALK (posted March 24th)

The sixth annual Hope Ray Dunklee Memorial Run/Walk was held on Saturday in Versailles.

I don't have any news other than that Jade Fletcher was the overall women's winner.  (If anyone has anything else they'd like to share, please pass it along.)

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

Willard Haley was the only Lake-area runner at this year's Sedalia Half Marathon & 5K.   Willard ran the half marathon and finished in 2:27:29. One other familiar name in the results was that of Andy Emerson of Columbia, who placed sixth overall, in 1:29:30.

Complete race results can be downloaded here.

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SHAMROX COLUMBIA & SHAMROX SPRINGFIELD 15K/5K (posted March 17th)

Ultramax Sports held its ShamRox 15K/5K runs in Springfield and Columbia on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and the Lake area was represented at both.

Our top 15K finisher was Emily Smith, in 1:31:28, at the Columbia race, while Amy Hadfield was our top 5K finisher, in 29:17, at Springfield.  Amy was also our highest age-group placer, taking second (of 33) in the women's 45-49 age group.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners:

Click for complete race results for Columbia and Springfield.

After upticks in 2018, participation was down for both events this year.  Here are the total number of finishers in each location ace for the past six years.

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ST. PATRICK'S DAY SHAMROCK SHUFFLE 5K RUN/WALK (posted March 17th)

About 75 runners and walkers toed the starting line in Eldon on Saturday for the St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Shuffle 5K Run/Walk. It was a chilly morning, with temperatures at the start hovering in the 30s, but the "bomb cyclone" winds of the previous two days were completely gone, and the sunny skies helped make conditions quite comfortable.

The overall male and female winners were Gary Lile and Jade Fletcher in 22:03 and 22:56, respectively.  This made for what's believed to be the largest-ever age gap--46 years--between overall winners at a Lake-area 5K.  (Gary is 60; Jade is 14.)  Gary won despite suffering from the flu all week.

Here are the top age-group finishers for male and female runners:

Many more photos from the race can be found here. 

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LITTLE ROCK MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted March 3rd)

Runners at the Little Rock Marathon & Half Marathon must be wondering if and when they'll ever get a break.  For three years in a row now, they've faced nearly identical (lousy) weather conditions: rain, temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s, and light winds.  They're willing to pay that price, though, for one of Little Rock's famously huge finisher's medals. 

Bill Pauls of Camdenton was our only Lake-area finisher.  (If I missed anyone, well, you know the drill.)  Bill finished the marathon in 5:32:50 and, as he now does with every marathon finish, continues to set the record for being the oldest Lake-area runner to complete a marathon.   Bill is 69 years old, and has completed a marathon in all 50 states.  Twice, in fact.

Randy Acklin of Marshfield was in Little Rock the last two years to pace the 5:00:00 marathon group.  Randy was there again this year, and finished in 4:29:14.  He wasn't officially listed as a pacer for the 4:30:00 group, but it sure looks like he may have been.  Randy's a pacer extraordinaire (he's paced at Bass Pro for years), and it seems he always brings his group to the finish line with seconds--not minutes--to spare.

Click for full results for Sunday's marathon and half marathon, or Saturday's 5K/10K.

Participation in the marathon and half marathon was down about 11% from last year, and about one-third less than the peak in 2013-2014.

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OCEAN'S RUN MARATHON (posted March 3rd)

It took three tries, but Todd Raney finally got his sub 4-hour marathon finish in Rhode Island, bringing his 50-state, sub-4 quest down to just two states to go--Vermont and New Jersey.  On Sunday, Todd finished the Ocean's Run Marathon at Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly, Rhode Island.  He finished in 3:51:21, giving himself some time to spare, after coming up 37 seconds shy of a sub-4 in his first Rhode Island attempt, and 5:35 in his second.

Todd plans to check New Jersey off his list in April, and complete his nearly four-year quest in Vermont in May.

Complete results for the marathon aren't yet available.

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WHOBILATION 5K RUN/WALK (updated March 3rd)

Twenty-five runners and walkers braved the cold on Saturday for the Tri-County YMCA's first annual Dr. Suess-themed Whobilation 5K Run/Walk.  The race was a benefit for the Y's childrens' programs.

Overall male and female winners, pictured below, were Brady Caran, in 25:29, and Paula O'Connor, in 28:43.

The complete results are shown below. (There were several names I had trouble reading from the handwritten results.  Please e-mail any spelling corrections to me.)

Margie Gunter won the award for best costume. Check out lots of photos of Margie and the rest of the Whobilation participants here.

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ROCHEPORT ROUBAIX (posted March 2nd)

Running in 30° weather isn't much fun, but cycling in it is a finger- and toe-freezing nightmare.  Saturday's freezing temperatures may explain the 54% drop in participation at the Rocheport Roubaix gravel road bicycle race.  (The race, originally scheduled for February 23rd, had been postponed one week due to icy conditions on the course.)

Only one Lake-area cyclist was among this year's competitors, compared to five last year.

Casey O'Connor, who was the overall winner of last year's 20-mile race, stepped up to the 70-mile race this year, and finished 14th overall (of 31) and 6th (of 7) in the men's 29-and-under age group with a finish time of 4:36:09 (an average speed of 15.2 mph). 

All three races had close finishes, with the 50- and 70-mile races both decided by one second or less.  The 70-mile race winner crossed the line in 3:39:40.14--a mere 0.8 of a second ahead of the second-place cyclist.

Full results can be found here.

Here are the number of finishers for each race, by year:

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LIBERTY HOSPITAL HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted March 2nd)

(Note: The half marathon results didn't list the cities for those who finished, so I may have missed some Lake-area runners. Please let me know if I missed anyone.)

Three Lake-area runners traveled to the Kansas City area for Saturday's third annual Liberty Hospital Half Marathon & 5K.  All competed in the half marathon.  Here are their results:

Also spotted in the results were three half marathon finishers who'll be coming to the Lake for Bridge & Dam in four weeks:  four-time B&D finishers Kim Ream and Lori Hurt from Sedalia, and Bridge & Dam Ambassador Dan Rozum. Ashley Howerton, who used to live in Lake Ozark, was another familiar name in the half marathon results.

Click for complete race results for the 5K and half marathon.

The Liberty Hospital Half continues to grow significantly in popularity.  It had 456 finishers at its inaugural race in 2017, 753 last year, and 1,069 this year, despite much colder weather.  It's one of the few large half marathons still growing in size.  It was the tenth largest in the state last year, and may move up a place or two this year.

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LAKE OUACHITA VISTA TRAIL ENDURANCE RUN 100-MILE/100K (updated March 3rd)

Congratulations to Chris Boyle, who was the overall winner of the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail Endurance Run's 100K race on Saturday in western Arkansas.   Chris finished in 11:13:54.  It was his first 100K race, though he's gone longer (a 100-miler last October, and 84 miles at 4 Fore 30 in December).

Full results can be found here.  Check out the photos at the race's Facebook page.

Forty runners finished the 100K, and 24 finished the 100-mile.

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CASTLEWOOD CUP 15K (posted February 23rd)

For the second year in a row, the Castlewood Cup 15K Trail Race at Castlewood State Park in west St. Louis County was shortened due to trail conditions.  Last year's race was shortened to 13K (8 miles), and Saturday's race was reduced to an 11K (7 miles).

John Shelby was our only Lake-area runner in the race. John finished in 1:08:33 (9:48 per mile), placing 9th (of 32) in the men's 50-54 age group.

A total of 380 runners finished the race, down from 411 last year and 474 in 2017.  Complete results can be found here.

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POLAR BEAR STRUT 5K RUN/WALK (updated February 24th)

Long-time Strutters have endured cold, wind and snow over the years, but Saturday's 18th annual Polar Bear Strut will go down as the first one where the Strutters got as wet as the Plungers.  While it was foggy and gloomy at the start, the weather was fine for running, and there was no sign of the rain that had been in the forecast.  Ten minutes later, though, the rain moved in (along with a few rumbles of thunder) and everyone--except for that one prescient walker who brought an umbrella--got soaked. 

Despite his usual pre-race claims about being out-of-shape and not ready to race--which we've learned to completely ignore--Nigher Alfaro cruised to his fifth overall win--the most in Strut history  Nigher crossed the line in 21:32, about a minute ahead of second-place finisher Mike Malone (22:18), who topped the men's law enforcement division.  Mike reports that he ran the full length of Nichols Rd., which alone is a pretty impressive accomplishment for any runner.  That hill is a monster. 

For the first time in four years, we had a different winner of the women's race.  Brooke Ziegler claimed her first Strut victory in 22:43, finishing third overall, and a whopping six minutes ahead of her nearest female rival, "Empress" Zim Schwarze.  (That's how Zim's name appears in the race results and, being that this was Zim's 17th Strut (she missed one year due to the flu), and her tenth consecutive female law enforcement victory, "empress" seems quite fitting.)

Thanks to our race timer extraordinaire, Gary Thompson, here are the complete race results:

By finish order
By division

There were 73 finishers at this year's Strut.  That's up from 61 last year, which was the lowest number in at least 10 years.  This rebound in participation gives us hope that this "granddaddy" of local 5Ks will one day return to its former size.

Overall, this year's new course wasn't as hilly as the old one, despite the approximately 150-foot climb (in a mere 1000 feet) up Nichols Rd.   A comparison of the finish times under the new and old courses wouldn't be fair due to the wet weather that marred this year's race. With that proviso, though, finish times for those front- and middle-of-the-pack runners who have done this race over the past several years were consistently one to two minutes slower this year than before. Hopefully, better weather next year will give us a better comparison.

Many more photos from the race can be found here. 

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RUN FOR THE CHOCOLATE 5K (posted February 10th)

Well, we know there are at least two chocoholics in the Lake area.  Christopher and Kylie Webery drove from Eldon all the way to St. Louis to participate in Saturday's Run for the Chocolate 5K.

Competing in the "Off the Market" race, Kylie finished in 31:21, and Christopher in 31:27.  Kylie placed 6th (of 23) and Christopher 4th (of 9), in their respective 25-29 age groups.   

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 265 participants in the "Off the Market" race, versus 101 in the "On the Market".  Of the "On the Market" participants, 82 were women.

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GROUNDHOG RUN 5K/10K (posted January 27th)

Over 3,000 runners, including seven from the Lake area, went underground on Sunday for Ability KC's 37th annual Groundhog Run.  The race, which includes 5K and 10K distance races, was held at the Hunt Midwest SubTropolis in comfortable 65-70 degree temperatures.  Staggered starts allowed runners to do both races.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners:

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

There were 2,331 and 963 finishers of the 5K and 10K, respectively.  The total of 3,294, which includes some runners who did both races, was up slightly from 3,152 last year.

Kent Lang of Sedalia, who won last November's Give 'Em The Bird 5K in Versailles, took 13th overall in the 10K with an outstanding 39:48, and won the 55-59 age group over 41 others.

Jade Fletcher pictured with the official mascot .

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RHETT'S OUTDOOR CHALLENGE 7K TRAIL RUN (updated January 27th)

Three runners from the Lake area joined 126 others at the sixth annual Rhett's Outdoor Challenge 7K Trail Run at Cosmo Park in Columbia on Saturday.

Sarah Wood of Eldon was our first local to finish, in 58:11. That placed Sarah second (of 13) in the women's 20-29 age group.

Finishing seconds later were Shanna Stark of Olean and Rosalie Dear of Versailles, who took 5th and 6th, respectively, among the 20 women in the 30-39 age group.  Shanna's finish time was 58:12; Rosalie finished seven seconds behind Shanna. 

Complete race results can be found here.

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DAVID'S TRAIL ENDURANCE RUN (posted January 19th)

Eight of our Lake-area runners traveled to Mountain Home, Arkansas on Saturday for the fourth annual David's Trail Endurance Run (Facebook page).  It was a brutally cold race, with temperatures dropping from near 40 at the start to the upper 20s by early afternoon.  Adding to the misery were rain, light snow and strong winds that brought wind chills down to the upper teens. 

Chris Boyle took third overall (of 35) in the 50K, finishing in 5:21:27.  (Amazingly, the overall winner crossed the finish line one hour ahead of Chris.)  

The next of our locals to finish was Aaron Koeppen, who finished in 6:38:32. This was Aaron's first ultramarathon.

John Shelby stepped up to the 50K distance this year, after doing the 25K the past two years.  It paid off with a victory in the men's 50-59 age group with a 6:49:57 finish.

In the 25K, Mary Boyle, Katie Roberts and Stacy Roberts ran and finished together, in 3:47:00.  This may have been Mary's first-ever 25K.

Scott Page passed along a few photos:

Complete results can be found here.  They should soon appear here on UltraSignup.com.

There were 112 finishers at this year's race.  That was down from 156 finishers last year, and 218 in 2017.

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ARGO 13.1 HALF MARATHON (posted January 6th)

The winter edition of the semi-annual Argo 13.1, which bills itself as "Kansas City's Toughest Race", was held in Kansas City on Sunday.  Jade Fletcher, who ran the race's summer edition last July, made it her first race since being hit by a car three weeks ago.   Jade finished in 2:52:00, placing 45th (of 52) overall.  (She finished last July's brutally hot race in 3:10:45.) 

Complete results and lots of photos can be found at the race's Facebook page.

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2019 FIRST FINISHER  (posted January 1st)

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LOCAL RUNNERS AGING UP IN 2019  (posted January 1st)

With the dawn of a new year, here's an admittedly incomplete list of those who'll be joining new age groups sometime during 2019:

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