RUN FOR THE RANCH MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 6-HOUR RUN (updated December 20th)

Eight runners from the Lake area made the trip to Springfield on Saturday to compete in the 21st annual Run for the Ranch Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon & 6-Hour Run. 

Jim McDermott won the men's 60-69 age goup in the marathon with a winning time of 4:12:03.  (That's 7 minutes over the 2021, and the likely 2022, Boston Marathon qualifying standard for men 65-69.) In the half marathon, Gary Thompson took sixth (of 11) in the 60-69 age group with a 1:57:29 finish.  Two half marathoners from Eldon, Nathanael Moe and Larissa Carroll, ran and finished together, in 2:23:34. 

Fresh off their outstanding day at 4 Fore 30 two weeks ago, four Camdenton Laker cross country runners--Cambrie Kowal, Blake Roettgen, Alexis Stroup and Jake Thoenen--reunited for a go at the marathon relay as the "Silly Llamas".  The team finished in 3:06:35, placing third (of nine) in the co-ed team division.  Interestingly, two years ago, another Laker co-ed team, which also included Cambrie and Jake, plus Clare Holmes (now running for Missouri S&T) and Zach Davis, finished twenty minutes slower, yet won the co-ed division over six other teams.  

Other familiar names in the results included five from 4 Fore 30 and three from other Lake-area races:

1-Mile:  Eric Johnson (5:20)

Half: Jeanne Pfetsch (2:04:56), Jani Tucker (1:59:40), Christi Cange (2:25:07) and David Murphy (2:01:02)

6-Hour: Melissa Bland (29.475 miles), Randy Acklin (29.475 miles) and Keaton Garrett (26.2 miles)  

Complete race results can be found here.  Results by age group are here.

Lots of photos should soon appear at the race's Facebook page soon.

There were 233 solo finishers this year.  Here are the number of finishers, by distance, for the past ten years.

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MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST MARATHON (posted December 13th) 

Congratulations to the Lake area's newest marathon finisher, Scott Gray.  On Sunday, Scott finished the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon (Facebook) in Biloxi, Mississippi, running stride-for-stride with Chris Hein of Jefferson City. They crossed the line together, in 7:04:19.

This marks the completion of a goal that Scott first set well over a year ago, but which was delayed when his original planned first marathon--Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota--was cancelled last June due to COVID-19.

Des Linden, the women's winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon, finished the half marathon in 1:15:25, placing third overall among the women. Despite the warm, humid weather, course records were set in both the marathon and half marathon, and in both the men's and women's races.

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SPRINGFIELD SANTA RUN 5K (posted December 12th) 

Well, at least one 4 Fore 30 participant wasn't resting on her laurels this weekend. Camdenton High School cross country runner Alexis Stroup, who completed 16.68 miles at 4 Fore 30, placed 10th overall, and first (of four) in the women's 15-19 age group, at the Springfield Santa Run 5K on Saturday. (All participants received a five-piece Santa suit in which to run.) Alexis finished in 23:47.

There were 239 finishers in total. Complete results can be found here.

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4 FORE 30 INFINITY (updated December 9th) 

The longest, greatest running race ever held at the Lake of the Ozarks is finally over.  Chris Boyle outlasted about 100 competitors, including an extraordinary challenge by Cody Eubanks of Jefferson City, to win the third annual 4 Fore 30 at Lake Valley Country Club.

By winning, Chris earned a "golden ticket" to next October's Big's Backyard Ultra--essentially the world championship of last man standing races--to compete against some of the most elite endurance runners from all over the world.

Chris completed 158.3 miles in a race that lasted 38 hours-- far longer than the 22 and 27 hours that Andy Emerson (himself a four-time Big's competitor) completed to win the 4 Fore 30 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. (Two years ago, Chris finished second to Andy after dropping out at 21 hours.)

This year's race is believed to have been the longest running race in Missouri history.  The longest distance for which Missouri running records are maintained is 200K (124 miles). 

The race results are available at the race's UltraSignup.com page.

Of the 103 competitors at this year's race, 69 were first-timers.  Of the 34 returning competitors, 9 came back for a third time.

Twenty-six, or just about one-fourth, of this year's field were from the Lake area. Here are their results:

The average distance covered by competitors was 47.4 miles, up from 44.2 last year.

Expressed in terms of conventional race distances, the biggest percentage of the field (about 43%) ended up running between a 50K and 100K, as shown below:

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--the same as in 2019.  It took 29 hours to eliminate half the field at Big's in 2019.)

One of the highlights of this year's race was the performance by four current or former Camdenton High School cross country runners.  Jake Thoenen (75 miles), Cambrie Kowal (50 miles), Blake Roettgen (50 miles), and Alexis Stroup (16.7 miles) all did extremely well and set personal distance records.  Blake's story, which was told to me by Gary Thompson, is well worth repeating.  Blake, who is a member of the high school band, joined the cross country team in August after learning the band's season was cancelled.  He had never run even a 5K at that point.  Now, four months later, he's done a 50 miler.  That's pretty darn impressive, and every time I saw him he was sporting a huge grin.   

Pictured (from left):  Lauren Moriearty, Cambrie Kowal, Jake Thoenen, Blake Roettgen and Tucker Seise.

You'll find 1,150 race photos posted here.

The Lake Sun reported on the race in its December 17th edition: Runners raise thousands of dollars for Kids' Harbor in Last Man Standing race at Lake Valley Golf Club

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THANKSGIVING DAY PIE RUN 5K/10K (posted December 1st)

The chip timing malfunction at the Jefferson City Road Runners' Thanksgiving Day Pie Run 5K/10K apparenly wasn't a complete disaster. On Monday, the race posted results for 80 of the 82 10K finishers, and 155 of 294 5K runners and walkers. Two of our Lake-area runners, April Leonard and Dan Robertson, finished the 10K in 57:30 and 1:02:34, respectively. Jesse Shields, whom we haven't seen in ages (perhaps he's moved away from the Lake area?), was listed in the 5K results, though his time was missing.

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LAKER 5K TURKEY TROT (updated November 28th)

Like the overwhelming majority of races held in this COVID-19-ravaged year, participation at the Laker 5K Turkey Trot was down substantially from last year.  There were just 60 finishers at this year's race, versus 108 last year.  It was also the lowest total in the race's 11-year history.

The Laker 5K Turkey Trot has always been a battle among current or former high school or college cross country runners.  Indeed, every male winner, and nearly every female winner, of this race in the past ten years has fallen into that group.  This year's race extended that record. 

The overall men's winner was former Southwest Baptist University cross country runner Tucker Seise, in 17:15.  That was three seconds slower (on a different course) from last year, when Tucker was beaten by three-time race winner (and former Drury University runner) Jeremy Ryan. Tucker is now a two-time champion, after winning in 2018 in 18:15.

The women's winner was former Camdenton High School, and now Missouri S&T, cross country runner Clare Holmes.  Clare finished in 21:28--the fastest of her four Laker 5K finishes.  She's now a three-time winner, after winning in 2017 and 2019.  (The 2019 declared winner was Elaine Mallahan, since Clare, who was a Camdenton cross country runner at the time, was deemed ineligible to take the overall victory.)  However, it should be noted that Clare and Camdenton senior cross country runner Cambrie Kowal ran the race side-by-side, with Cambrie crossing the finish line a small fraction of a second behind Clare (21:28.64 for Clare; 21:28.86 for Cambrie).

Here are the complete race results:

By finish order
By age group

Many more photos from the race can be viewed here.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACES  (posted November 24th)

The biggest race day of the year in the United States is going to be a lot smaller this year, if what we see Missouri is any indication.  Only 11 turkey trots--nearly all of them in smaller cities, and only about one-third of last year's total--will be happening this Thanksgiving Day across the state of Missouri.  The biggest races have all gone virtual.

Locally, the 11th annual Laker 5K Turkey Trot starts at 9:00 a.m. at the baseball field concession stand at Camdenton High School.  Race-day registration opens at 7:30 a.m.  Note:  This year's course is very different from past years.  You may want to view the course map before race day.  It can be found on this page.  Complete information can be found further down this column under "Upcoming Events".

The traditional Jefferson City, Lebanon and Rolla turkey trots will also be held in-person.

The following table shows what races are being held. In-person races are marked "yes".

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DEAD HORSE ULTRA (updated November 22nd)

If you're a trail runner or mountain biker, Moab, Utah is nirvana.  The spectacular scenery and endless miles of trails have virtually no match elsewhere in this country. 

John Shelby was in Moab on Saturday for the Dead Horse Ultra trail race.  The race had about 550 runners competing in the 50-mile, 50K and 30K distances offered.  John finished the 50K, which featured 3,000 feet of climbing, in 5:48:52, placing him 118th of 252 finishers.  (To his credit, of the 117 runners ahead of John, only three were older.)

The complete race results can be found here.

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WHITE RIVER MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 21st) 

The small, northern Arkansas town of Cotter, with a population of about 1,000, was invaded by an army of 615 runners on Saturday for the 17th annual White River Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K.   Mark Kempf was our lone participant from the Lake area.  Mark ran the half marathon, finishing in 2:11:41, and placing 10th (of 19) in the 50-54 age group.

Some other familiar names were spotted in the results.  Todd Raney finished the marathon in 4:23:21.  Bridge & Dam 2017 All-In winner Jill Wagner finished in 3:36:48. Steph Pendegraft ran the half in 2:11:41. 

The full results can be found here.  

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HONORING OUR HEROES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted November 21st)

It was a chilly, dreary and wet day for the fifth annual Honoring Our Heroes Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K (Facebook page), but neither that nor COVID-19 stopped 322 runners--the second highest total in race history--from toeing the starting line.  Three of those runners were from the Lake area:

April Leonard finished the marathon in 4:55:13.  This was April's third Honoring Our Heroes marathon, and extends her Lake-area women's record for completing a marathon at the oldest age (53). Scott Gray ran the half marathon, finishing in 3:17:01, and, Michelle Waters, returning from last year, ran the 10K in 1:20:06.  Here are the details:

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 Ed Green (5:02:00) and Melissa Martinez (5:29:18) in the marathon; Jeanne Pfetsch (2:05:26) in the half marathon; and Amy Frederick (23:12) in the 5K.

After three marathon finishes (in 6:41:59, 7:12:25 and 6:58:44) and last year's 5K finish, 83 year-old veteran Bob Gravley of Salem, Missouri stepped up to the 10K this year, finishing in 2:01:08.

Total participation was down about 7% from last year. Here are the total number of finishers, by distance, in the race's five-year history.

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BAD DAWG ENDURANCE RUN (posted November 15th)

Sixty-five runners turned out in Dixon on Saturday for the first annual Bad Dawg Endurance Run.  Due to weather-related issues affecting the race, the results posted by the timing company make little sense, so here are results for our Lake-area runners, as provided by Scott Page:

In the 100-mile race, Scott Page and Katie Roberts finished in about 27 hours. Alysia Maschino finished the 50-mile in a little under 12 hours, and Stacy Roberts ran the 50K in a bit under 8 hours. Todd Raney was registered for the 100-mile race, but stepped down to the 50-miler.

With the combined 150 miles tallied at this race, Stacy and Katie regained the record as the Lake-area couple to have raced the most miles in a single year, after having lost it last year to Chris and Mary Boyle.

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DOGWOOD CANYON TRAIL RUNS (posted November 8th)

The Bass Pro Fitness Series concluded this weekend with the sold out Dogwood Canyon Trail Runs at the privately-owned Dogwood Canyon Nature Park southwest of Table Rock Lake near Branson.  (Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris contributed the first parcels of land to form the park nearly 30 years ago.) 

The 25K and 50K races are held on Saturday; the 15K is held on Sunday.

Two of our Lake-area runners competed in the 25K. Mark Matthews finished in 2:54:56, placing 6th (of 18) in the 45-49 age group. Nathan Leurquin of Macks Creek crossed the line a few minutes later, in 3:01:53. That placed Nathan 10th (of 17) in the 30-34 age group.

A few other familiar names were found in the 25K results--Melissa Bland (2:59:26), Jani Tucker (3:00:23) and Melissa Martinez (3:58:43).  A 19-year Polar Bear Strut finisher, Zim Schwartze, finished the 50K in 8:35:58.

Complete race results can be found here.

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LONGVIEW HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted November 8th)

One of our Lake-area runners was in Kansas City on Saturday for the Longview Half Marathon & 5K/10K. Kylie Webery of Eldon finished the half marathon in 2:19:21, placing 14th (of 22) in the women's 30-34 age group.

Frequent LOTO visitor Greg Linhart placed 23rd overall (of 415 half marathon finishers) and fifth in his age group with a 1:30:41 finish.

Results can be found here.

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

Due to COVID-19, this year's state high school cross country championships are being spread over three days.

Complete results can be found here.

Thursday - Class 3

The Class 3 girls championship featured a photo finish.  Two runners from St. Louis area schools finished one-tenth of a second apart--in 18:54.3 and 18:54.4.  The boys race was also close, with the winner crossing in 15:41.1, and the second-place finisher a mere 1.1 seconds behind.

Zoe Martonfi, a freshman at Eldon High School, was the fastest finisher among our local girls. She finished in 19:42, and placed 7th overall (of 153).  John Markovitz, an Osage senior, was our fastest boy, at 17:05.

The Osage girls team finished 7th (of 15) in the Class 3 girls team standings. The Osage boys were 15th (of 16).

Friday - Class 4

Camdenton's Cambrie Kowal and Madelyn Coffelt finished in 21:03 (74th place) and 21:36 (95th), respectively.

Saturday - Class 5 and Class 1

The Class 1 championship race included four Macks Creek runners.  Molly Phillips must have been either hurt or ill--she usually finishes in about 23-24 minutes.

For the record, the top boys' and girls' runners in the state finished the 5K in 15:34 and 18:03, respectively.  Both were from Class 5 schools. (The boys' fastest was turned in by Matthew Hauser of Rock Bridge High School in Columbia. He was the boys winner of the Camdenton Laker Invitational on October 3rd, when he ran a 15:12.)

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BASS PRO SHOPS FITNESS SERIES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 2nd)

Only nine Lake-area runners competed at Sunday's Bass Pro Shops Fitness Series marathon, half marathon and 5K, but that still appears good enough to again make this the most popular out-of-town race for Lake-area runners for the seventh year in a row.

The biggest highlight of the race is what one of our former area runners achieved. Jeremy Ryan, a former Camdenton High School and Drury University cross country runner now living in St. Louis, took second overall in the marathon. Jeremy finished in 2:38:22, knocking over 11 minutes off his 2:49:55 at Bass Pro in 2018, when he took fifth overall. (He may have also set a new personal record as well.  He took sixth overall when he ran 2:38:39 at the 2018 GO! St. Louis Marathon.)  Jeremy easily beat the likely qualifying standard for the 2022 Boston Marathon, so he may be heading back to Boston in about 18 months.

Jeremy's wasn't the only familiar name on Sunday's leaderboards. Janelle Harrison, the Fulton runner and coach who was the overall women's winner at the Give 'Em The Bird 5K in Versailles on Saturday, scored a second victory this weekend by winning Bass Pro's women's 5K.  Janelle won in 19:07 on Saturday, and in 19:25 on Sunday.

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners. If I missed anyone in the listing below, please let me know.

A bunch of our friends were also there to either race or pace:

Marathon racer:

Steph Pendegraft (4 Fore 30) - 4:22:41

Marathon pacers:

Joel Reed (now from Normal, IL) - 3:43:09
Jeff Wehling (4 Fore 30) - 3:59:34
Shannon Briscoe (4 Fore 30) - 4:44:31
Melissa Martinez - 4:44:33
Ed Green - 5:26:57
Melissa Bland (4 Fore 30) - 5:59:03

Half marathon pacer:

Randy Acklin 1:58:28

The overall women's marathon winner, in 2:51:20, was Springfield's sensational Kimi Reed. Kimi is a past winner of both the Bass Pro marathon and half marathon, and qualified for and ran in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials back in February of this year.

Complete race results can be found here.

This year's race was purposefully limited in size due to COVID-19, and was completely sold out.  The total number of race finishers was down by half compared to last year, although the number of marathon finishers held steady. Here are the total number of race finishers since 2015:

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GIVE 'EM THE BIRD 5K RUN, 1-MILE WALK & KIDS RACE (updated November 3, 2021)

For the third year in a row, Lake-area runners got skunked out of the overall victories at the Give 'Em The Bird 5K in Versailles.   And, to add insult to injury, the visitors' four- and five-minute margins of victory made the locals look rather pathetic.

The overall men's winner was Heiko Thiele, a 26 year-old from Suessen, Germany. Heiko is in the U.S. studying at Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal, and runs for the school's cross country team.  (Incidentally, Chase Grosvenor, who ran cross country for Osage High School prior to graduating last spring, is also on the team.)   He won in a blazingly fast 16:14, and came within 10 seconds of beating Casey O'Connor's GETB course record of 16:05 set in 2013.  (Casey's 16:05 is believed to be the fastest 5K run in the Lake area in the last 15+ years outside of a high school cross country meet.)

(Corrected in November 2021. Mackenzie Mogollon previous record time was stated as 19:04. It was actually 19:08 according to the official race results.)  The women's winner set a new course record, by a single second.  Janelle Harrison, a former high school and collegiate cross country runner who now coaches at Fulton High School, crossed the line in 19:07, beating Mackenzie Mogollon's previous record of 19:08 set in 2018.

Complete results can be found here.

The race photos can be found here.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY DISTRICT MEET RESULTS (posted November 1st)

This was a huge weekend for high school cross country teams around the state.  Each of the five Missouri high school classes held eight district meets to determine who gets to compete at the state championships next week.

The top 15 boys and girls finishers, and two top boys and girls teams, in each district race qualified for state.  Here are our Lake-area qualifiers:

In the team competition, the Osage girls and boys finished first and second, respectively, in their district, so both teams will be going to state. This marks the third year in a row that Osage's girls team has advanced, and the fourth consecutive trip to the state championships for Sara Wolf.  That's a very rare achievement.

Miscellaneous notes:

In past years, there were only four cross country classes in the state.  The lumping of what are now the class 5 schools--the largest in the state--with the class 4 schools made it especially difficult for Camdenton runners to advance to the state championships.  Indeed, only one Camdenton runner--Garrett Mason--was able to qualify for state in the last four years.  The split into two classes has helped Camdenton send two runners--Madelyn Coffelt and Cambrie Kowal--to state this year.

The fastest 5K times turned in at all of the district races among all the classes were 15:48 for the boys, and 18:47 for the girls.

For reasons unknown (at least to me), West Plains High School, which competes in class 4, is a cross country powerhouse. At the district meet, the boys took the top two places in their race, with four in the top ten, and all seven team members in the top 21.  The girls are even more dominant.  They took the top four spots, and six of the top ten. 

Complete meet results can be found here.

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BEAR CREEK RUN HALF MARATHON (posted November 1st)

They'll soon be heading to Biloxi, Mississippi for next month's Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon, so Scott Gray and Chris Hein (the latter from Jefferson City) used the Bear Creek Run half marathon in Columbia as a training run on Saturday.  Scott and Chris ran and finished side-by-side, in 3:02:22.  (~~~~ Healing vibes~~~~ to Scott, who tripped over a rock on the course and bruised some ribs.)

Complete race results are here.

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BIG'S BACKYARD ULTRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (posted October 20th)

It's (finally) over:  The Big's world champion is Karel Sabbe of Belgium.  He completed 75 hours and 312.5 miles, demolishing the previous race record of 68 hours and 283.3 miles. 

The top finisher in the USA race was Courtney Dauwalter of Golden, Colorado.  She ended up tying the previous 68-hour/283.3-mile race record.  She went one hour longer than her second-place finish in 2018.    

Facebook page

Live tracking (for USA competitors only)

Worldwide scoreboard

Live streaming video  (If that doesn't work, go to Daniel Bowie's Facebook page.)

Ultrasignup page (helpful for viewing past results)

Here's a chart (click on it for a larger image) showing the rate of attrition for USA competitors at this year's Big's Backyard Ultra versus last year's open field and, by comparison, the attrition rate at 4 Fore 30.  

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 15th & 17th (posted October 18th)

Here are the results for Camdenton runners at the Ozark Conference Championships at Lake Springfield on Saturday:

Complete results for that meet can be found here.

Results for the Tri-County Conference meet that was held in Eldon on Thursday were reported by the Lake Sun.

All of the high school teams will be competing at their respective district meets on October 31st.   The district meets will determine who advances to the state championships the following week.

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FROG HILL HALF MARATHON & 10K and LEAPFROG 5K (posted October 3rd)

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

Pete Groce was our fastest half marathon finisher, crossing the line in 1:43:11.  Pete also won the men's 50-59 age group over one other competitor. Jim McDermott (1:51:25) and April Leonard (2:18:25) each took second-place in their respective divisions.

Here are the results for all of our 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.) 

The total number of finishers was up 17% over last year.  Here are the number of finishers of each distance since the inaugural race in 2014:

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CAMDENTON LAKER INVITATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY MEET (posted October 3rd)

Saturday's Laker Invitational cross country meet at Ha Ha Tonka had perhaps the fastest field in the event's history, and featured some of the state's top high school runners.  Last year's Class 4 girls state champion (Carolyn Ford from Rock Bridge High School in Columbia) was there, as was the Class 4 third-place boys finisher (Matthew Hauser, also from Rock Bridge), who will likely contend for the boys' state championship this year after the two seniors who finished ahead of him graduated this past spring.  (Not surprisingly, they were the overall winners at the Laker Invitational--Carolyn Ford in 17:52 (almost a minute ahead of her nearest competitor) and Matthew Hauser in 15:12.  

To illustrate the strength of this year's field, 12 boys finished the 5K in under 16 minutes; last year, there were just 4.  The girls' field was just as strong: 19 finished in under 20 minutes, versus only 6 last year.   The top two teams in both the boys and girls standings--Rock Bridge and Kickapoo--were newcomers to the Invitational.

It may have been the biggest field in the race's history, as well.  Last year's boys and girls varsity races had a total of 315 competitors.  This year, there were 476.  (370 runners competed in the junior varsity and C team races.)  

Complete meet results can be found here.

These were the top runners for each of our local teams represented at the meet.

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PREGNANCY HELP CENTER'S BRIDGING THE GAP WALK/5K RUN FOR LIFE (updated October 4th)

Despite a pandemic and a chilly (50°), overcast day, 40 runners--exactly twice as many as last year--turned out for the Pregnancy Help Center's 5K Run for Life in Lake Ozark on Saturday.   Organizers also attributed the increase to the offering of online registration for this year's race.

Sam Casella earned his second consecutive overall victory, finishing in 19:58 this year (versus 20:01 last year). In 2018, he finished second overall, but was the top male finisher, in 22:53.

For the third time in three years, the race had a different women's winner.  Jill Wedig was this year's winner, in 25:44.

Here are the race results:

Many more race photos can be viewed here.

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RUNNERSWORLD TULSA URBAN ADVENTURE (posted September 29th)

Congratulations to Scott Page and Stacy Roberts for becoming first-time 100-mile and 50-mile race finishers, respectively, at the RunnersWorld Tulsa Urban Adventure this past weekend.  True to its name, the race is held on the streets (sidewalks, actually) of Tulsa, with competitors guided only by a course map handed to them at the start.  Each loop of the course was 25 miles.

Scott won the 100-mile race over six others, finishing in 26:55:51 (16:09 per mile; 6:43:xx per 25 miles).  Stacy finished in 19:31:02.  He ran one lap of the course, then purposely waited to help pace Scott on Scott's third lap.

Complete results can be found here. 

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GREAT LAKES VALLEY CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY MEET (posted September 29th)

Two of Camdenton High School's top cross country runners in recent years began their collegiate running careers for Missouri University of Science & Technology last Friday at a Great Lakes Valley Conference meet hosted by Southwest Baptist University at Bolivar Golf Course.

In the men's 8K race, Garrett Mason finished in 29:26, placing 28th of 36.  Among S&T's 16 runners, he was 9th fastest.

Clare Holmes took 15th (of 21) in the women's 5K race. She was 3rd fastest among S&T's 11 runners.

Click for the men's and women's complete results.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 26th (posted September 29th)

These were the top runners for each of our local high school cross country teams that competed at the Hermitage Invitational last Saturday:

Complete meet results can be found here.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 19th (posted September 20th)

Camdenton High School's cross country meet in Joplin was cancelled weeks ago, so Camdenton held a "Last- Minute Invite" meet at Ha Ha Tonka on Saturday, inviting Osage, Waynesville, Rolla and Pleasant Hill high schools.

Rolla runners took the overall individual boys and girls victories, as well as the boys and girls team victories. The top local finishers were John Markovitz from Osage (17:36; 3rd of 35 boys) and Cambrie Kowal from Camdenton (20:34; 2nd of 30 girls).

Complete meet results can be found here.

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BOSTON MARATHON 2020 - LAKE OF THE OZARKS VIRTUAL EDITION (updated September 18th)

The postponement and subsequent cancellation of this year’s Boston Marathon due to the coronavirus pandemic was a terrible blow to our three Lake-area runners—Bryna Edwards, Chris Boyle and Ashley Pryor—who qualified for the race, all for the first time.   The Boston Marathon is the most prestigious running race in the world, and participating in it is a great honor that most runners can only dream about.

While not nearly as meaningful as running the actual race, the Boston Marathon organizers allowed registered participants to receive their official finishers medals, bibs and t-shirts if they submitted proof of running a marathon in under six hours during a limited window of opportunity.

On Sunday morning, the Lake of the Ozarks Runners organized a low-key "virtual" Boston Marathon morning to give our local qualifiers a chance to run their marathon in front of a familiar, supportive crowd.   Two of our qualifiers, Bryna Edwards and Chris Boyle, were able to attend, and they were accompanied on course by 14 others. Here's a list of those who participated in the run, along with the distances they covered, and the finish times for those who ran the full marathon.  (Marathon finish times were calculated from the time stamps on the photos taken at the start/finish line.) For those whose distance is either missing or incorrect, if you wish, you can e-mail your mileage to me and I'll add it both to the table below and to the miles raced tabulation in our Lake Area Scoreboard.

Many more photos from the event can be found here. 

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 12th (posted September 13th)

These were the top runners for each of our local high school cross country teams at the September 12th meets:

Linn Invitational (complete results):

Lebanon Invitational (complete results):

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 5th (updated September 8th)

Lots of new names on this year's Lake area's high school cross country teams, with a notable abundance of freshmen and sophomores. 

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

Here are results for Camdenton and Macks Creek runners at the SWCCCA Richard Clark Invitational hosted by Bolivar High School:

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TRAIL OF FOUR WINDS 25K (posted September 7th)

Results for the virtual edition of this year's cancelled race can be found here.

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TRIFEST FOR MS (posted September 7th)

For the second year in a row, Jim McDermott won his 65-69 age group (this time, over three others) 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 1:23:25, over a minute faster than last year's 1:24:54.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        10:35  (2:39 per 100 meters)
T-1:             1:45
Bike:          44:10  (21.2 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:51
Run:          25:07  (8:06 per mile) 
Finish:    1:23:25

On Sunday, Jim competed in the Olympic distance race, consisting of an 800-meter pool swim, a 5K run, and then a repeat of the swim and 5K.  Jim won his age group over one other competitor in a time of 3:04:35.  Here are his splits:

Swim 1:        21:52  (2:44 per 100 meters)
Run 1:          26:39
Transition:      1:59
Swim 2:        24:39 
Run 2:          28:12
Finish:       3:04:35

Complete results can be found here.

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THE MISSOURI AMERICAN WATER 340 (posted August 8th)

The Missouri American Water 340, the 340-mile paddling race from Kansas City to St. Charles on the Missouri River, started on Tuesday morning (August 4th).  The race officially ended on Friday night at midnight.

Final report: 

Of the 357 boats registered for this year's race:

257 finished
  75 started, but failed to finish
  25 failed to start

A 3-person team was the first to finish the race, in 35:42:14, an average speed of 9.5 mph.

Bob Meyer of Camdenton became a three-time MR340 finisher, finishing this year in 63:02:26.

Complete results can be found here.

The race's Facebook page is always an excellent source of information and photos, as well as interesting stories.  Perhaps the most interesting was that of the final official finisher.  It was his first MR340 finish, after failing to finish in his first three attempts.  He cut it close--he finished in just over 84 hours, giving him only four hours to spare.  

*   *   *   *  *

CHRISTMAS IN JULY 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 26th)

The YMCA's Christmas in July 5K on Saturday was like picking up where we left off five months ago. The YMCA's Whobilation 5K on March 7th was the last local race before the coronavirus shut down all racing--and much of the world's economy--for months. What a difference those five months have made.

There was no difference, though, in the outcome for the men in the two YMCA races:  Tucker Seise was again the overall winner, in 17:53 (versus 17:38 in March), with Aaron Koeppen again taking second, in 20:25 (versus 20:58).

The women's race was won by Cierra Hiland, in 20:37.  Cierra, a frequent Lake visitor from western Illinois, has more victories at Lake-area 5Ks over the years than any other visitor.  Fifteen year-old Lilly Blaufuss took second, in 21:56. 

More photos from the race can be viewed here.

*   *   *   *   *

SUMMER ROUNDUP TRIATHLON (posted July 12th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for an easy age-group victory at Sunday's Summer Roundup Triathlon in Jasper, Missouri.

Jim did the Oympic distance race, completing the 1000-meter swim (shortened from 1500 meters last year), 40K bike and 10K run in 2:33:27--nearly 50 minutes ahead of his only competitor in the men's 65-69 age group.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        26:52  (2:42 per 100 meters)
T-1:             3:10
Bike:       1:09:08  (21.6 miles per hour)
T-2:             2:02
Run:          52:19 
Finish:    2:33:27

Full results can be found here.

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VOL STATE 500K (updated July 19th)

On Thursday morning (7/9), LOTO runner Scott Page and 65 others will board a ferry at the tiny town of Dorena, Missouri and cross the Mississippi River to Hickman, Kentucky. From there, they will begin a 314-mile running adventure across Tennessee, with a final destination of "The Rock" in the Sand Mountain region of northwestern Georgia. The Last Annual Vol State 500K is one of "Lazarus Lake's" races, and gives competitors up to 10 days to complete the course, although there are intermediate cutoffs. (The course record is just over 79 hours.)

Here are some links to follow the race and Scott's progress:

Vol State Facebook page

Scott Page's Facebook page

Race tracking links (This is the best one)

Here's a very brief summary of the race:

-- Francesca Muccini was the overall winner, finishing in 3 days, 10 hours and 49 minutes, smashing the women's course record by over 20 hours.  She's now a two-time overall winner, having won in 2017 in 4 days and 4 hours.
-- The men's winner, Bob Hearn, finished one hour and fifteen minutes behind Francesca.
-- Scott dropped out at the 60-hour mark, after completing 125 miles.
-- Of the 66 starters, 50 finished, and 16 failed to do so.

Here are the final results.

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

A couple runners from the Lake area were in Hannibal on Saturday for the Hannibal Cannibal 5K/10K/15K. 

Joyce Ryerson, who participated at last year's race, finished the 5K in 37:27, placing 16th (of 35) in the women's 45-49 age group. Amy Hadfield of Camdenton, whom we haven't seen listed in any race results the past few years, took 7th in the 45-49 age group with a 31:42 finish in the 5K.

A former Lake-area runner, Julio Juarez, who now lives in Hannibal, took second overall (of 108 competitors) in the 15K, finishing in 1:00:57.  Julio was the overall winner (in 17:59) of the 2017 Give 'Em The Bird 5K.

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 894 total finishers at this year's race, about 10% below last year's total of 989. That makes Hannibal Cannibal the biggest race held in Missouri since the start of the pandemic.  It will likely hold that distinction until the fall racing season arrives.

*   *   *   *  *

ELDON ROCK ISLAND ROAD RACE (updated June 17th)

Coronavirus lockdown-weary runners from everywhere showed up in Eldon on Saturday to compete in the first real (i.e. not virtual) race of size to be held in the state of Missouri in nearly three months. The pent-up itch to race resulted in a record field for Eldon's third annual Rock Island Road Race (Facebook).  The race was organized by the Miller County Child Advocacy Council and benefits its various childrens' programs.

There were a record 184 finishers at this year's race, up 40% from last year's 130, and almost quadruple the 50 finishers at the inaugural race in 2018. (There were 222 registered participants for this year's event.)  Here's a breakdown of those finishers, by distance.

Of the 184 finishers, only 66, or 36%, were from the Lake area.  Jefferson City and vicinity, combined with the Waynesvillle/Crocker/St. Robert region, accounted for about half of the 118 out-of-town runners.

Interestingly, all six of this year's overall race winners were not only first-time winners at Rock Island, but were competing at the race for the very first time.

The complete race results can be found here.

15K:

Caleb Martonfi, a graduating senior and cross country runner at Eldon High School, won the men's 15K in 1:02:22, with about a one-minute margin of victory. He missed setting a new 15K course record by 15 seconds.  In the women's race, Sadie Smith of St. Louis cruised to victory in 1:08:44, almost four minutes ahead of her nearest rival.

10K:

Nigher Alfaro, who won the Rock Island 10K in both 2018 and 2019, got skunked in this attempt for a three-peat. Alex Dukes of Mexico, Missouri, who's in his 20s (versus Nigher's 40s), took advantage of the age difference and walloped everyone, winning in a blistering 35:33--a pace of 5:44 per mile. That smashed Nigher's course record by a whopping seven minutes. Payton Kirchhoff (pictured in the green jersey in the center of the above photo) of Jefferson City placed second, in 39:07, followed by Nigher, in 45:38.

In the women's 10K, Nicole Reynolds, who stepped into a race slot vacated by her brother--last year's 5K winner Nathan Reynolds--kept the family's winning streak alive by winning in 51:53. That, too, was a new 10K course record, by over four minutes.

5K:

Tony Rigdon of Columbia won the men's 5K in 20:26, breaking Nathan Reynold's course record of 20:35.  Making it all the more impressive is that Tony is about 30 years older than Nathan.  Rachel Shadrick knocked an impressive seven minutes off the women's 5K course record, winning in 20:52.  She helped the Lake area end up with an even split of the six overall victories at this year's race.  (Last year, Lake-area runners took home just two overall victories.) 

Race director Scott Gray gives plenty of well-deserved credit to the many people who help organize this event, but Scott deserves a big round of accolades as well.  He's done a remarkable job these last three years in taking a race (the Run for the Children Half Marathon) that was likely headed for extinction, and spearheading its reinvention and growth into what is now one of the biggest running races in the Lake area, and the preeminent race in the city of Eldon.  It wasn't that many years ago when Scott was just a spectator at Eldon's races, cheering on his wife, Jayna Gray.  Since then, he became a walker, then a runner, and now a respected race director. Kudos to Scott and all of the staff and volunteers for a great race. Their hard work has been rewarded by a long list of local sponsors now supporting the event.

Photos:

You'll find 690 more photos here.

 

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WHOBILATION 5K RUN/WALK (posted March 8th)

Thirty runners and walkers showed up on a sunny Saturday morning for the second annual, Dr. Seuss-themed Whobilation 5K put on by the Tri-County YMCA in Osage Beach. It was one of those runs where the wind made all the difference--it was downright cold in the headwind on the way out, but comparatively tropical with a tailwind on the way back.

After winning last week's Polar Bear Strut 5K, Tucker Seise made it two overall victories in a row.  He finished in 17:38, beating second-place finisher Aaron Koeppen by over three minutes.  The women's race was also a rout, with Cindy Ford (29:28) finishing more than two minutes ahead of Abby Sloan (31:42).

Here are the complete race results:

Many more race photos can be found here.

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OZARK HIGHLANDS ENDURANCE RUN (posted March 8th)

Two years ago, Chris Boyle claimed an overall victory--by a dominating margin of 30 minutes over his nearest competitor--in the 50K at the Ozark Highlands Endurance Run in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest in north-central Arkansas.  But, with three times as many competitors in this year's 50K compared to 2018 (39 versus 13), Chris was only able to come up with a fourth-place finish on Saturday.  He crossed the line in 5:24:14--23 minutes behind his 2018 pace, and 30 minutes behind this year's winner.

Frequent Lake visitor Ryan Maher and two other St. Louisans finished the 50K side-by-side, in 5:50:42, taking 9th, 10th and 11th places.

In the 21-mile race, John Shelby took third overall (of 27 competitors), finishing in 3:42:13. 

Complete race results can be found here.  

*   *   *   *   *

WEEKEND RACE RESULTS FOR MARCH 7 - 8

Here are some additional results and notes from this past weekend:

Scott Hinkle of Lake Ozark ran the Creve Coeur St. Paddy's Day Half Marathon in St. Louis, finishing in 2:44:58, and placing 25th (of 25) in the men's 50-54 age group.  This three year-old race has bucked the trend of declining interest in running by posting increases in participation in both its second and third years--from 268 in the inaugural race in 2018 to 420 last year and 528 this year.

Dan Ralston of Rocky Mount ran the Liberty Hospital Half Marathon (Facebook page) near Kansas City on Saturday.  He finished in 2:15:22, placing 31st in the men's 50-54 age group. The Sedalia duo of Kim Ream and Lori Hurt, both five-year finishers at Bridge & Dam, ran the half, as well, presumably tuning up for March 28th.

There were no Lake-area runners at the Quivering Quads Trail Race at Cuivre River State Park in Troy, Missouri on Sunday, but one name very familiar to us at the Lake was the overall winner of the 50K.  Andy Emerson of Columbia finished ahead of 44 others, in 4:41:31.  Worthy of note is that the first 15 runners who finished behind the 51 year-old Andy were all younger than him. 

*   *   *   *   *

PUBLIX GEORGIA MARATHON (posted March 1st)

Yee-OUCH!! That's Todd Raney's ankle pictured above, a day after rolling his ankle while walking from the Publix Georgia Marathon's race expo. Todd gritted out the marathon on Sunday and finished in 4:36:42, placing 77th (of 138) in the men's 50-54 age group.

The overall marathon winner was Ben Kopecky from St. Louis.  He won in 2:29:49.   Meb Keflezighi paced the 1:40:00 half marathon group, finishing in 1:39:37. 

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LITTLE ROCK MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted March 1st)

Apparently, the ginormous finishers medals weren't enough to draw any Lake-area runners to Sunday's Little Rock Marathon & Half Marathon. 

Randy Acklin of Marshfield was there, though, presumably to pace a marathon group to the finish line, as he's done (at least) the last three years.  Randy finished this year in 4:46:46.

Participation in the marathon and half marathon was down 7% from last year, and just over a third less than the peak in 2013-2014.

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TAME THE DRAGON (updated March 1st)

Perfect weather brought 43 competitors from Missouri and surrounding states--though none from the Lake area--to the inaugural Tame the Dragon orienteering race at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park on Saturday. The top points finishers covered about 26 miles on their treks around the rogaine course.  None were able to reach all of the checkpoints within the alloted 8 hours.

Nothing but rave reviews about the race were heard from the competitors at the finish line.

Check out the race photos here.

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CASTLEWOOD CUP 15K (posted March 1st)

For the third year in a row, the Castlewood Cup 15K Trail Race at Castlewood State Park in west St. Louis County was shortened due to wet trail conditions.  This year's race, like last year's, was only 11K (7 miles) long.  Two years ago, it was only a 13K race (8 miles).

Mark Matthews was our lone Lake-area runner in the race. Mark finished in 1:10:06, placing 31st (of 51) in the men's 45-49 age group.

There were 478 finishers at this year's race.  That ties the 2016 total, and reverses a three-year decline that fell to 380 finishers last year.  

Complete results can be found here.

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U.S. OLYMPIC MARATHON TRIALS (updated March 1st)

The Olympic Marathon Trials were held in Atlanta on Saturday to determine the runners who will represent the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Here are those runners:

Men
1. Galen Rupp — 2:09:20
2. Jacob Riley — 2:10:02
3. Abdi Abdirahman — 2:10:03

Women
1. Aliphine Tuliamuk — 2:27:23
2. Molly Seidel — 2:27:31
3. Sally Kipyego — 2:28:52

2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden, who represented the U.S. in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics marathons, missed the third spot on the women's team by 11 seconds.

The top Missouri finisher, Julia Kohnen of St. Louis, ran 2:30:43 and placed 10th (of 390) in the women's race. Kimi Reed of Springfield finished 62nd, in 2:42:04.  Jamie Vest of Lebanon qualified for the Trials but didn't compete.

You can read more about Saturday's race here.

For a closer look at the Missourians in the race, read this:  Missourians Compete Well At Olympic Marathon Trials

Searchable results are available here.

Todd Raney is in Atlanta, and passed along a photo:

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POLAR BEAR STRUT 5K RUN/WALK (updated March 1st)

Seventy-four runners and walkers turned out for the nineteenth annual Polar Bear Strut 5K on Saturday. That was about the same number who turned out for last year's race, which was marred by chilly and rainy weather. In stark contrast to last year's weather, this year's weather was ideal for running, with sunny skies and little wind making the chilly temperatures in the upper 30s still quite comfortable.

Tucker Seise's overall winning time of 18:46 came within one second of tying the fastest Strut finish in the last eleven years.  (Casey O'Connor's 18:45 in 2011 came on the previous Strut course.  I don't have the data to confirm it, but Casey's 18:45 may also be the fastest finish in Strut history.)  Camdenton High School cross country runner Jake Thoenen came in a distant second (20:59), followed by five-time Strut winner Nigher Alfaro (21:40).

The women's winner, for the second year in a row, was Brooke Zeigler.  Brooke finished in 23:42, one minute slower than last year.  Finishing about a minute behind Brooke was Cierra Hiland from the Quincy, Illinois area.  Cierra has more overall women's victories at Lake-area 5Ks than any other out-of-town runner.     

Complete race results can be found here.

About 200 more photos from the race can be viewed here.

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PSYCHO WYCO RUN TOTO RUN (posted February 23rd)

It's been six years since the Lake area has been represented at the popular, mid-winter Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run trail race in the Kansas City area. Jamy and Abby Sloan of Linn Creek broke that long dry spell by competing in the 10-mile race this past Saturday. Jamy finished in 2:20:36, placing 32nd (of 46) in the men's 40-49 age group, while Abby finished in 2:33:12, placing 15th (of 21) in the women's 30-39 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

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POLAR BEAR RUN (posted February 23rd)

Jade Fletcher finished in 1:00:36 and placed second (behind a Bolivar High School cross country runner) in the women's 15-19 age group at the Polar Bear Run 10K in Bolivar on Saturday. The overall winner was a Bolivar High School sophomore who finished in a speedy 35:02.

Complete results can be found here.

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POST OAK LODGE CHALLENGE (posted February 21st)

Here are our local runners' results at the Post Oak Lodge Challenge (Facebook page) in Tulsa over the weekend:

Complete results can be found here.

Scott Page passed along a photo taken before Saturday's races:

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HEART OF THE OZARKS HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted February 15th)

Congratulations to Pete Groce for his age-group victory at the Heart of the Ozarks Half Marathon in West Plains on Saturday.  Pete finished ahead of five others in the 50-59 age group, in 1:46:18.

Full race results can be found here.

Heart of the Ozarks is very unusual in that it has a much younger than average field.  (Dixon Camps, which holds running-focused camps for young athletes, is a race sponsor.)   Of the 121 half marathon finishers, 35 were 19 years old or younger.  They're not just young, but fast, too.  In the half marathon, they took nine of the top ten places.  For a school located in a community of just 11,000, West Plains High School is a cross country powerhouse.   

Slightly over half the field finished the half marathon in under two hours. That compares to only 30% of the field at the Bass Pro and Kansas City half marathons.

*   *   *   *   *

MISSOURI LOTTERY RUN FOR YOUR BEADS 5K (posted February 15th)

Former Camdenton High School cross country runner Jeremy Ryan did us proud once again. Three weeks after finishing fourth (among 2,800 runners) at the NHL All-Star 5K, Jeremy took second overall (among 1,110) at the Missouri Lottery Run for Your Beads 5K. The race was held in the Soulard neighborhood south of downtown St. Louis, and was part of the neighborhood's Mardi Gras festivities.

Complete results can be found here.

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SWEETHEART SHUFFLE 5K/10K (posted February 9th)

After skipping last year's race, Jade Fletcher returned to Independence to run the Sweetheart Shuffle 10K on Saturday. Jade finished in 52:54--about a minute faster than 2018--and took second in the women's 15-19 age group.

Finishing right behind Jade was Jeanne Pfetsch of Lexington, Missouri.  Jeanne is one of just sixteen runners who has finished every Bridge & Dam Half Marathon.  

Complete race results can be found here.

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GROUNDHOG RUN 5K/10K (posted January 29th)

Willard Haley was our sole Lake-area runner who toed a starting line last weekend. Willard was among nearly 3,000 runners who ran on Sunday at the Ability KC's 38th 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. 

Willard finished the 10K in 1:07:24, just a shade slower than last year's 1:06:09. That placed him 22nd (of 38) in the 55-59 age group.

Click to view the full results.  

There were 2,091 and 879 solo finishers of the 5K and 10K, respectively.  The total of 2,970 was down from 3,294 last year.

*   *   *   *   *

NHL ALL-STAR 5K (posted January 26th)

The biggest race of the weekend--in fact, the biggest race in the state since Thanksgiving Day--took place in St. Louis on Saturday morning.  Over 2,800 runners participated in the  All-Star 5K, which was one of the festivities celebrating the National Hockey League's All-Star Game hosted this weekend by the St. Louis Blues.

Former Camdenton High School and Drury University cross country runner and Boston Marathon finisher Jeremy Ryan, who lives in St. Louis, placed fourth overall, finishing in 16:38.  

There were two photo finishes in the race.  The top two finishers are listed with identical 15:45 finish times.  The third place finisher was only one second ahead of Jeremy, and the fifth place finisher had the same finish time as Jeremy.  (Obviously, more decimal places were used in determining the exact finish order.)

The complete race results can be found here.

*   *   *   *   *

ARGO 13.1 HALF MARATHON (updated January 25th)

It was a bitterly cold--but at least, sunny--day for the winter edition of the semi-annual Argo 13.1 Half Marathon in Kansas City last Sunday.  The air temperature was near 10°, with a wind chill near zero.

Two regulars at the small, always sold-out race returned for more misery.  Jade Fletcher finished in 2:37:37, placing 32nd (of 51 competitors).  Our friend from Grandview, Greg Linhart, took fourth overall with a 1:48:14 finish.

Results can be found at the race's Facebook page.

*   *   *   *   *

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

Thirteen of our Lake-area runners traveled to Mountain Home, Arkansas on Saturday for the fifth annual David's Trail Endurance Run (Facebook page).  They faced much milder weather conditions than those at last year's race, although still far from ideal.  Temperatures hovered around 50°, but breezy winds (with gusts up to 25 mph) and overcast skies made it feel colder. 

Scott Page took home local bragging rights in the 50K, finishing in 6:27:26--13 minutes ahead of last year.  In the 25K, Tucker Seise took third overall (of 102 competitors), finishing in 2:07:25.

Katie Roberts and John Shelby earned podium spots in their age groups in the 25K and 50K, respectively.

Here are results for our Lake-area runners, plus a few runners familiar to us:

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

There were 225 finishers at this year's race, including 60 for the 50K, 102 for the 25K and 63 for the 7K.  The total is twice the 112 finishers last year. 

*   *   *   *   *

BIG NEWS AT ULTRAMAX SPORTS (posted January 15th)

The big decline in participation at running and triathlon events in the last five years continues to claim victims.

A few weeks ago, when I was updating the long list of 2020 events that appears at the bottom of this column, I noticed that Ultramax Sports hadn’t yet posted on its website the 2020 dates of a number of its company-owned events. In years past, they always did this around the beginning of the year, so I didn’t think much of it.  

Now that we’re midway into January, and with the 2020 event dates still not posted, I was getting curious as to what might be going on.  Today, I discovered that they posted a major announcement on their Facebook page on January 3rd. You can read the announcement for yourself here.

In short, they’ve cancelled a number of events, including Go Girl Run Kansas City and Springfield (Go Girl Run Columbia survives), ShamRox Columbia (ShamRox Springfield survives), and the TriZou and Halfmax Triathlons. The loss of TriZou and Halfmax are especially sad. Halfmax has been around since 2003 (and on a personal note, it was my very first triathlon), and TriZou goes back even further. For years, they were the biggest triathlons in the state.

The announcement didn't specifically mention the Rocheport Roubaix bicycle race or AdventureMax trail run, but those are gone, too. The Kansas City Triathlon will continue, although under new owners.

Ultramax at one time had the largest offering of events in the state. They also owned and operated retail stores in Columbia and Springfield that were closed in the early 2010s, when Internet retailers started killing off brick-and-mortar stores.   Now, they’re basically an event timing and services company.

Mark and Amy Livesay started Ultramax Sports in the mid 2000s. About five years ago, they moved their family from Columbia to Montana, but kept Ultramax’s headquarters in Columbia. That obviously made it difficult to manage an event-organizing business from so far away. The separation may explain part of Mark and Amy’s decision to restructure and downsize the business, but there’s no doubt that the major, years-long decline in participation in running and triathlon was a major impetus for it.   Most of their events were a fraction of the size they once were.

Joplin-based TwelveOne Group is another for-profit company that has transitioned from race organization to race timing and services.  (You may recall that in 2019 they cancelled the 36 Hours of Jack and Angry Bull Sizzling Six Shooter races to focus on race services.)  With the for-profit organizers cutting back, the only races that seem to have a future are those that: (1) have the support of a major sponsor (e.g. Bass Pro); (2) are put on by or for non-profit organizations; or (3) are trail-based races, which are generally less costly and easier to organize than road races.

*   *   *   *   *

ACROSS THE YEARS MULTI-DAY RUNNING FESTIVAL (updated January 7th)

The Across the Years Multi-Day Running Festival (UltraSignup page) started on Saturday, December 28th in Phoenix. (It's organized by the same group that put on the Desert Solstice 24-Hour and 100-Mile track event two weeks ago). In this race, runners circle a 1-mile course for their choice of 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 2 days, 3 days, 6 days, 10 days (newly-added this year; 46 crazies are in for it), 100 miles, 200 miles, a last person standing race, or various relays.

The overall winner of the 10-day race was 47 year-old Annabel Hepworth of Sydney, Australia.  She completed a phenomenal 740 miles.  Philip Eberts, the top male competitor, logged 660 miles.

Pete Kostelnick won the 6-day race, completing 444 miles.

Complete results can be found here.

Here are the miles completed by the men's and women's winners in each race:

Race	Top Male	Top Female
24 Hours (ended)	141 miles	117 miles
48 Hours (ended)	175 miles	158 miles
3 Days (ended)	221 miles	235 miles
6 Days (ended)	444 miles	342 miles
10 Days (in progress)	660 miles	740 miles

The record for the 6-day race is 555 miles.  For the 3-day race, a mere 329 miles. 

*   *   *   *   *

UPDATE ON THE RUNNING "RECESSION"

2019 marked the fifth consecutive year of declining participation in full and half marathons in Missouri.  There were 35,464 finishers at the 72 events held last year, a decrease of 8% from 2018.  Participation was 38% below the peak of 57,242 in 2014.

For the first time, the number of events declined from the prior year--from 76 in 2018 to 72 in 2019.    All four that were cancelled had experienced declining attendance in recent years. (One race has already been cancelled for 2020--the Sedalia Half Marathon.  A few others are in jeopardy.)

I don't have data prior to 2012, but my guess is that we're now down to participation levels not seen since the mid 2000s, meaning that most of the growth in running that occurred during its boom years between 2005 and 2014 has now been erased. 

Here's the summary data for the last eight years: 

*   *   *   *   *

WEEKEND RACE RESULTS FOR JANUARY 4 - 5

At the Fresh Start 5K/10K in Springfield on Saturday, Jade Fletcher finished the 10K in 57:23 and won the women's 15 & under age group over one other competitor.

In St. Louis, Scott Hinkle of Lake Ozark ran the Snowball Series 5-Mile and finished in 56:33. He placed 81st (of 115) in the men's 50-59 age group.

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LOTO RUNNERS' NEW YEAR'S DAY RUN  (posted January 1st)

A beautiful New Year's morning brought out a baker's dozen of our Lake of the Ozarks Runners to the Lake of the Ozarks State Park to run the Rocky Top Trail (and points beyond). The die-hards ran a symbolic 20.20 miles; the mere mortals ran substantially less. Check out some photos of the runners and the trail scenery here.

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2020'S FIRST FINISHER  (posted January 1st)

Roughly thirteen minutes kept Margie Gunter from repeating as the Lake area's first race finisher of the year. Margie earned that distinction last year when she finished the Chilly 5K in Joplin on New Year's Day--indeed, she was the only Lake-area runner to race that day. 

Margie returned to Joplin for Wednesday's Chilly 5K, but Cheyenne Fish of Camdenton spoiled Margie's party by finishing the 5K in 42:40, versus Margie's 55:46.

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