RUN FOR THE RANCH MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 6-HOUR RUN (posted December 19th)

Her persistence has paid off.   After coming up a minute short a few years ago, Elaine Mallahan is going to the Boston Marathon in 2023.

In July 2019, Elaine finished the Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon in Washington state in 3:39:22--38 seconds below the Boston Marathon's 2020 qualifying standard of 3:40:00 for the women's 40-44 age group. However, to be accepted into the 2020 race, runners had to beat their qualifying standard by 1:39, meaning that Elaine was 1:01 shy of getting in. (Granted, the 2020 Boston Marathon was never held in person, but Elaine was still unable to run the race virtually and claim a finisher's medal.)

On Saturday, at the 22nd annual Run for the Ranch Marathon, held on a certified course in Rogersville (after the usual Springfield course was unavailable due to construction), Elaine ran an outstanding race, finishing in 3:40:04. Since Elaine, now 44, would be competing in the 45-49 age group at the 2023 Boston Marathon, her qualifying standard is 3:50:00, meaning that she now has a comfortable 9:56 margin over the standard. (The most a runner has ever needed to beat a qualifying standard to get into the marathon is 7:47, and that was for the 2021 race when the field size was limited to 20,000 from its normal 30,000.   In most years, it's only around one or two minutes.  For 2022, runners didn't have to beat their qualifying standard at all--every qualifier was accepted.  That hasn't happened since 2013.)

Elaine was the women's masters (40+) overall winner. She also now owns the two fastest marathon finish times for a Lake-area woman in the 40-49 age group.

Complete race results can be found here. (Don't be confused by seeing "Sarah Mallahan" in the results. "Sarah" is Elaine's first name.)

Perhaps it was the change in venue, or the cold weather (though it's been colder for RFTR in the past), but participation was down from the past several years, and much further down from years before then. Here's a breakdown, by distance, for the last 11 years.

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JINGLE BELL 5K (posted December 12th)

Sixty-six runners and walkers braved the cold, windy conditions on Saturday for the Camdenton High School Pride of the Lake Marching Band's (Facebook page) second annual Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk.

The overall winners were Joey Buoni and Micah Peebles, in 28:19 and 30:54, respectively. 

Complete results can be found here. 

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4 FORE 30 INFINITY BACKYARD ULTRA (updated December 7th)

Cody Eubanks was simply not going to be denied.   After being the last competitor to drop out (at 37 hours, or 154.2 miles) and concede victory to Chris Boyle at last year's 4 Fore 30 Infinity Backyard Ultra, he was not going home empty-handed this year.  

Cody outlasted 60 other competitors this weekend, winning this year's 4 Fore 30 in 30 hours, or 125 miles.  Garett Carolus of Leesburg, Indiana, was Cody's last remaining contender.  Cody decided age advantage (he's 38; Garett is 56) and sheer determination to win were apparently too much for Garett to overcome.

The complete race results can be found here.

You can find Rick Mayo's (of Mile 90 Photography) photos here.

Below is a chart showing this year's rate of attrition, with prior years' shown by comparison. The sharpest dropoff this year occurred right after the 8th hour (33.36 miles), when 12 competitors chose not to continue. Half the field was gone by the 12th hour (50 miles).

Twenty of the 61 competitors in this year's field were from the Lake area. Here are their results, plus those for a few others:

Notable results: To the best of my knowledge, Aaron Koeppen, Tucker Seise, Ellie Webb, Blake Roettgen, Rob Kucsik, Charlie Boyle, Georgi Carolus, Payten Luaders, Jim McDermott and Connor Boyle all set personal distance records.  (Send any additions or corrections here.)  Aaron Koeppen topped his previous record of 70.8 miles (set last year at this race) by a whopping 30 miles.  The youngest competitors at this year's race, Charlie Boyle, age 12, and Connor Boyle, age 10, beat their 2020 records by 8.3 and 4.2 miles, respectively. 

The field of 61 completed an average of 52.2 miles.  That was up from last year's 47.4, 2019's 44.2, and 2018's 39.4.

Expressed in terms of conventional race distances, the biggest percentage of the field (about 41%) ended up running between a 50K and 100K, as shown below:

The die-hards:  Six runners extended their streaks of having run in every 4 Fore 30. They are: Shannon Briscoe (of Archie, MO), Gavin Eubank (of Columbia), Rob Kucsik, Katie Roberts, Tucker Seise and John Shelby.

After four years of 4 Fore 30, the runners who have logged the most cumulative miles weaving their way around the Lake Valley golf course are:

An Excel spreadsheet containing searchable and sortable results for every 4 Fore 30 since inception can be downloaded here.

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LAKER TURKEY TROT 5K (updated November 27th)

Despite the chilliest race-day weather in years, the Laker Turkey Trot 5K drew its largest crowd (of 149 finishers) since 2016, and the fourth-largest in the race's 12-year history.  It was also one of just four turkey trots among the twenty that were held across the state that reported higher participation this year than in the pre-COVID year of 2019. 

Since the very first race in 2010, the Laker Turkey Trot has always been dominated by current and former high school and collegiate cross country runners. Of this year's top 10 finishers, at least nine fell into one of those categories, including five current or former Camdenton High School runners (Jake Thoenen, Michael Vitelli, Clare Holmes, Ellie Webb and Georgi Carolus), Charlie and Tad Gray from St. Louis University High School (the fourth-ranked team at this month's Class 5 state championships), and Caleb Phillips, a Class 1 state championship qualifier for Macks Creek.

Persistence finally paid off for Jake Thoenen.  After finishing second overall (twice to both Jeremy Ryan and Tucker Seise) in each of the last four years, he finally claimed an overall victory, winning in 17:17.  Last year's winner, Tucker Seise, held the lead for the first mile, but Jake overtook him by mile 2 and held on for the win.  Jake's winning time was the third-fastest in race history, surpassed only by Jeremy Ryan's record of 16:57 set in 2019 and Tucker's 17:15 finish last year.

The women's race was won by now three-time winner Clare Holmes, a former Laker cross country runner currently running for Missouri S&T.   (She's now tied with four other Turkey Trot competitors--Jeremy Ryan, David Prather, Chelsey Van Hook and Heather Oddo--with three overall victories.) Clare crossed the line in 20:42--her fastest winning time--with an 8-second margin of victory over Ellie Webb, a Laker junior cross country runner who ran in the state championships earlier this month.

The complete race results can be found here.

Many more photos can be found here.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RACES  (posted November 23rd)

The biggest race day of the year in the United States is going to be a lot bigger this year than last, with every race that was cancelled or which went virtual last year due to COVID returning to in-person status this year, with one, notable exception--Springfield's Turkey Trot 5K--normally the largest turkey trot in the state. 

Locally, the 12th annual Laker Turkey Trot 5K starts at 9:00 a.m. at Camdenton High School.  Complete information can be found further down this column under "Upcoming Events".

The following table shows what races are being held across the state.

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LITTLE ROCK MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted November 23rd)

For the second year in a row, nobody from the Lake area participated in Sunday's Little Rock Marathon & Half Marathon.  However, a couple of our friends were there, both of whom ran the marathon.

Greg Linhart finished in 3:21:15.  Randy Acklin, who was presumably pacing the 4:50 group (as he's done at least for the past four years), finished in 4:50:23.

Complete results are posted here.

Perhaps it was due to the postponement of the race from its usual March weekend (when competition from other races is minimal), but participation in both the marathon and half marathon were down substantially from 2020 and 2019.  (The race returns to March next year.)

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HONORING OUR HEROES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted November 20th)

After a week of windy, chilly weather, sunny skies and warmer temperatures made for a beautiful day at the sixth annual Honoring Our Heroes Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K (Facebook page).  The weather helped bring out the largest field in the race's history, with 354 solo runners, including four from the Lake area, toeing the starting line.

April Leonard finished her fourth Honoring Our Heroes marathon, crossing the line this year in 5:01:52.  It also extended her Lake-area women's record for completing a marathon at the oldest age (54).  

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners:

The complete race results can be found here.

Melissa Martinez finished the marathon in (5:24:51), two weeks after running the Bass Pro Marathon.and Amy Frederick (23:12) in the 5K.

Honoring Our Heroes' sentimental favorite, 84 year-old veteran Bob Gravley of Salem, Missouri, returned to extend his streak of having finished this race every year.  He finished the marathon in 2016, 2017 and 2018, before stepping down to the 5K in 2019, then stepping back up to a 10K last year and this.  He finished this year in 1:55:24.

As mentioned above, total participation hit a new record.  Here are the total number of finishers, by distance, in the race's six-year history.

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WHITE RIVER MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 20th) 

Perhaps it was the competition from the Little Rock Marathon & Half, which was postponed to this weekend from its usual weekend in March, but participation dropped sharply for Saturday's White River Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K in Cotter, Arkansas from both last year and 2019.

For the seventh year in a row, the final marathon finisher was Kathryn Grace of Mountain Home, Arkansas.  She finished this year's race in 10:36:00.  She's 82 years old.  Bless her heart. 

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DOGWOOD CANYON TRAIL RUNS (posted November 14th)

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

Of the 500 competitors in Saturday's races, just one was from the Lake area.  Mark Matthews finished the 25K in 2:51:36, placing 11th (of 24) in the 45-49 age group.  Strangely enough, Mark finished three minutes slower last year, yet that was good enough for 6th place in the same age group.

There were 432 and 77 finishers of the 25K and 50K, respectively.  The 15K had 492 finishers.  Of those 492, 175 had also competed in one of Saturday's races. 

Complete race results can be found here.

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CHATTANOOGA MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 14th)

Scott Gray's and Chris Hein's latest road trip took them to Tennessee this weekend for Sunday's Chattanooga Marathon & Half.   Scott did the half, finishing in 3:18:30 (75th of 79 in the 40-49 age group), while Chris did the full marathon, finishing in 5:40:59 (20th of 21 in the 40-49 age group).

Complete race results can be found here.

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ST. LOUIS HALF MARATHON & 5K  (posted November 7th)

For the first time in five years, a Lake-area runner competed at the St. Louis Track Club's St. Louis Half Marathon & 5K. 

Mark Haumschilt of Lake Ozark finished the half marathon in 1:58:06, placing 5th (of 19) in the men's 60-64 age group.

Full results can be found here.

There were 755 half marathon and 188 5K finishers this year.  That was way up from 290 and 46 finishers in last year's COVID-affected race.  (For 2019, there were 582 and 175 finishers, respectively.)

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BASS PRO SHOPS FITNESS SERIES MARATHON, MARATHON RELAY, HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted November 7th)

Ten Lake-area runners competed at Sunday's Bass Pro Shops Fitness Series marathon, half marathon and 5K, making this the most popular out-of-town race for Lake-area runners for the eighth year in a row.

In the marathon, Jim McDermott won the men's 65-69 age group by default.  Jim's finish time was 4:17:49.  (This year's Bass Pro race falls within the qualifying period for the 2022 Boston Marathon, but the qualifying standard for 65-69 year-old men is 4:05:00.) 

Kelsey Wallis of Eldon set a new Lake-area record with her 4:18:12 marathon finish.  That was the fastest marathon by a Lake-area female 19 years of age or younger.  (It's believed that this was her first marathon, as well.  Two other Lake-area finishers, Nathanael and Kendra Moe, may have also been first-timers. They're both registered for 4 Fore 30.) 

Former Lake-area runner Heather Oddo, now of Springfield, took fourth place overall in the women's marathon, and third in the 35-39 age group. She ran a remarkable 3:03:47. (Only one Lake-area female, Lizzy Handschy, had ever run a faster marathon--2:57:04 in 2015.  Lizzy moved from the Lake area the following year.)

In the half marathon, Dan Robertson knocked 45 minutes off of last year's finish time, finishing this year in 1:55:08.

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

An extremely rare result occurred in the marathon.   A husband and wife were the overall men's and women's champions.  Ryan and Jacqui Giuliano of Oakwood Hills, Illinois won in 2:26:53 and 2:53:32, respectively.

Springfield's sensational Kimi Reed, a past winner of Bass Pro's women's marathon and half marathon, and who qualified for and ran in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials back in February 2020, stepped down to the 5K this year and won it, in 18:01.

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation was up substantially from last year's COVID-limited field size.  Compared to 2019, the total number of race finishers was down 18%. Here are the total number of finishers, by distance, since 2015:

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

Here are our local high school cross country runners' results at the state championship meet at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia this weekend.  

Here are the team results:

Osage girls - 7th of 16 teams
Osage boys - 14th of 16 teams
Eldon girls - 15th of 16 teams
Macks Creek boys - 13th of 16 teams

The fastest boys' winning time across all classes was 14:52 by sophomore Andrew Hauser of Rock Bridge in Class 5. (Last year's fastest boy was his brother, Matthew Hauser. Andrew placed 12th in that race.)

For the girls, it was Grace Tyson, a junior at Lafayette (suburban St. Louis), who won Class 5 in 17:42. She was the second-fastest at last year's Class 5 championship, and third in 2019.

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KANSAS CITY WEEKEND RACES (posted November 12th)

Here are the number of finishers at the three big races in Kansas City last weekend.   All three had fewer finishers than in 2019, with declines ranging from 30% to 39%.

Garmin Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K:

Longview Half Marathon and 5K/10K:

Gobbler Grind Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K/10K:

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GIVE 'EM THE BIRD 5K RUN, 1-MILE WALK & KIDS RACE (updated November 4th)

All good things eventually come to an end and, regrettably, that now includes the Give 'Em The Bird 5K.  Race founder and organizer Tara Grantham made the startling announcement during the pre-race ceremonies at the eleventh--and final--edition of the race held last Saturday.

The "Super Bowl of Lake-area 5Ks", which I branded the race in 2015 because of its over-the-top features and unmatched community support, was originally organized to help a local food pantry at a time when they were small and desperate for assistance. Since then, grants and corporate donations have greatly improved the funding for food pantries, thus diminishing the need for fundraising events like Give 'Em The Bird.  Still, over the last ten years, this race has generated about $100,000 in donations--a remarkable amount that could very well be the record for Lake-area races over that time period, and a testament to the generosity of the Versailles community.

Give 'Em The Bird will be terribly missed.  Our fall race season has lost its best race. 

In its later years, Give 'Em The Bird started to attract elite runners from cities far outside the Lake area.  Indeed, since 2017, not one male or female overall winner at this race was a local runner.  Fortunately, at the race's final edition, local runners redeemed us by taking both of the overall victories. 

Nigher Alfaro, who's had third- and fourth-place finishes at previous GETB races, finally claimed an overall victory.  Nigher won in 20:23, over a minute ahead of Mark Hampton of Tipton.

The women's race was won by 13 year-old Elysha Wilkin of Versailles, in 24:05.  Elysha was the second-youngest women's winner of GETB.  Only Alexis Fischer, who won in 2013 at age 11, was younger.

For the record, the fastest winning times in GETB history were Casey O'Connor's 16:05 in 2013, and Janelle Harrison's 19:07 in 2020.   To this day, Casey's 16:05 is believed to be the fastest 5K ever run in the Lake area, outside of a high school cross country race.

There were a total of 63 timed finishers of the 5K run.  That was down from 101 in 2020, and 109 in 2019.  The full race results can be found here.

Placing third overall, in 21:42, was Jason Rahn of the Dallas, Texas suburb of Southlake.  Jason came to GETB to run in memory of his father, Versailles resident Eugene Rahn, who passed away two days after last year's race.  

Here are a few photos of other notables at the race:

Many more race photos can be viewed here.

On a personal note, a huge "thanks" goes to Tara, Steve, J.T. and everyone else involved with Give 'Em The Bird these past eleven years. To be honest, in recent years, this was one of only a handful of races that I really looked forward to attending.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY DISTRICT MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 30th (posted October 30th)

At Saturday's district meets, fifteen of our Lake-area high school cross country runners qualified as individuals for the state championships to be held next Friday and Saturday at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.   Four of our teams also qualified, so another dozens or so other runners will be going fill out those teams' rosters.

The Class 4 and Class 5 championships are on Friday; the Class 1, 2 and 3 championships are on Saturday. Click here for links to more information regarding the championship races, including information for spectators.

The top 30 boys and girls individual finishers, and the top four boys and girls teams, in each district race qualified for state.  Here are our Lake-area individual qualifiers:

In the team competition, the Osage girls and boys finished first and third, respectively, in their district, so both teams will be going to state. This marks the fourth year in a row that Osage's girls team has advanced.  Eldon's girls team took third in their district race, and the Macks Creek boys placed fourth in theirs, so both qualified for state.

Just a note:  In past years, only the top 15 individual runners and top two teams from each of the 8 districts in each class qualified for state.  This year, MSHSAA established only 4 districts per class, so they doubled the number of qualifiers to 30 individuals and four teams per district to produce the same number of total competitors at the state championships.

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KANSAS RAILS-TO-TRAILS EXTRAVAGANZA (posted October 24th)

The 50+ mile Spirit Prairie Trail is a converted railroad line in eastern Kansas, and the home of the Kansas Rails-to-Trails Extravanganza (Facebook page) trail race.  The seventh annual race was held this past weekend, offering 100M, 100K, 50M, 50K, marathon and half marathon distance options.

Scott Page won the men's 50-54 age group (over three others) in the 50-mile race, finishing in 9:06:09, a pace of 10:55.  That was 3-1/2 hours faster than his only other 50-miler, which dates back to 2013.  Alysia Maschino was also in the 50-mile starting field, but called it a day somewhere after the 36-mile mark.

The overall winner of the 50-mile race was Cody Jones, who went 30 hours (125 miles) at last December's 4 Fore 30, surpassed only by Chris Boyle and Cody Eubanks.  He finished in a very impressive 5:45:16, a pace of 6:54 per mile. (Since Cody lives in Kansas, and since this was a Kansas race on a certified course, Cody should now own the Kansas state running record for the men's 35-39 age group.  The previous record was 6:20:32, which was set at this same race five years ago.)

Randy Acklin of Marshfield did the 100K, and finished in 19:30:21.  I don't recall ever seeing Randy's name in the results for anything longer than a marathon, so there's a chance that this was his first 100K. Whether or not that's the case, in terms of finish time, this was almost certainly his longest race ever.  (He reached mile 22 in four hours, and took four more hours just to go the next 9 miles.  The second half of the race was even slower.)

Complete race results can be found here.

Mile 90 Photography will be posting photos from the race.

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GUMBO FLATS PUMPKIN RUN 5K/10K (posted October 24th)

Decades before the Chesterfield Valley was filled with big-box stores, outlet malls, office buildings and sports fields, it was nothing but farms for miles on end, and known as the Gumbo Flats. The last of the pumpkin farms are now gone (only some corn fields remain), but the Gumbo Flats Pumpkin Run keeps alive a reminder of the valley's agricultural heritage.

Saturday's race brought out 520 for the 5K, and 197 for the 10K. One Lake-area runner, Julie Simaytis of Sunrise Beach, ran the 10K, finishing in 1:02:05 and plcing 7th of 16 in the women's 50-54 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

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GREAT FLORIDIAN TRIATHLON (posted November 28th)

The Great Floridian Triathlon is one of the oldest triathlons around, having completed its 30th annual race in October. Jim McDermott became the second Lake-area triathlete to compete in the race, decades after Mike Duncan was the first.

Jim McDermott competed in the "one-third distance" option, so-called because competitors only do one lap of the swim, bike and run courses, each of which is one-third of a standard iron-distance race.  (Two-thirds and full iron-distance options are offered.)   Jim finished the 0.8-mile swim, 42-mile bike and 8.3-mile run in 4:30:12, winning the men's 65-69 age group over one other competitor.   Here are his splits:

Swim:         36:23  (2:35 per 100 yards)
T-1:              5:29
Bike:        2:18:23  (18.2 miles per hour)
T-2:              5:30
Run:        1:24:26  (10:10 per mile) 
Finish:     4:30:12

Complete race results can be found here.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 21st & 23rd (posted October 24th)

The Camdenton and Macks Creek cross country teams competed against five others at the Waynesville District Warmup meet on Thursday at Fort Leonard Wood. Top varsity finishers for Camdenton were freshman Evelyn Marr (14:31; 11th of 33) and Benjamin Hauck (11:23; 10th of 33).  Molly Phillips (14:20; 10th of 33) and Caleb Phillips (11:14; 9th of 33) were the top Macks Creek finishers.  Complete results for that meet can be found here.

Eldon's sensational sophomores--Nathan Reynolds and Zoe Martonfi--were the overall winners of the boys and girls races at the Fatima Invitational in Westphalia on Saturday.  Nathan won in 17:37, beating 70 others to the line, while Zoe finished in 19:29, ahead of 58 others.  (Complete results can be found here.)  Both are shoo-ins to return to the state championship meet on November 6th, though they'll first have to qualify at this coming Saturday's Class 3, District 4 meet in St. Joseph.

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BIG DOG'S BACKYARD ULTRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP  (posted October 19th)

It's finally over.  Ohio ultrarunner Harvey Lewis won this year's Big Dog's Backyard Ultra world championship in an extraordinary 85 hours, or 354.2 miles.  That was 10 hours longer than anyone had ever needed to go to win a backyard ultra. (One can only wonder if it would have gone longer than that had COVID-related visa problems not kept many international competitors from participating.)

The ultimate duration of a backyard ultra is determined not by the winner, but by the second-strongest competitor in the race, and this year that was Chris Roberts of Kirkwood, Missouri.  Chris lasted 84 hours (350 miles). 

Terumichi Morishita of Japan lasted 80 hours (33.3 miles), providing the only competition for Harvey and Chris for 18 hours.   

Chris Boyle, who earned his spot in the championship by winning last year's 4 Fore 30 (in 38 hours, or 158.3 miles), lasted 29 hours.

Links:

Live Leaderboard and Results

Lazarus Lake's Facebook page

Big Dog's Backyard Ultra Run Group Facebook page

Ultrasignup page

Here's a chart (click on it for a larger image) showing the rate of attrition for this year's field compared to the 2019 and 2020 races.  

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

It's rare for a long-time runner to set new personal records, but 57 year-old Pete Groce of Eldon did just that at Sunday's Great GO! St. Louis Halloween Race in Eureka. Pete finished the half marathon in 1:40:52, beating his previous best by several minutes. Had Pete crossed the line 30 seconds faster, he would have won the men's 55-59 age group. He took second place, finishing ahead of 14 others.

Complete race results are here.

Participation was up from last year, but only about half of 2019's total.

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F*L*A*T*S TRAIL HALF MARATHON (posted October 17th)

Aaron Koeppen headed to Kirksville for the third time in four years to run at the F*L*A*T*S Trail Half Marathon at Thousand Hills State Park this past 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 finished in 1:50:08 in 2018 and 1:52:30 in 2019, and split the difference this year, finishing in 1:51:33.  He placed 16th overall (of 94 competitors).

Complete race results are here.  The race had 94 finishers this year, versus 92 last year and 154 in 2019.

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GARMIN KANSAS CITY MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted October 17th)

The Garmin Kansas City Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K/10K retained its bragging rights as the largest full and half marathons, despite suffering a large 36% decline in total participation from its last race in 2019.  (The 2020 race was cancelled due to COVID.)

Aaron Berendzen shaved a minute off his half marathon finish time two years ago, finishing in 1:51:07 (versus 1:52:01), and placing 48th (of 147) in the men's 40-44 age group.

Full results can be found here.

Here's a breakdown ot the race's participation by distance and year since 2015: 

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 14th (posted October 17th)

The Tri-County Conference held its cross country meet on Thursay at Eldon Golf Club. Complete results can be found here.

Here are the top varsity boys and girls runners for Eldon, Osage and Versailles:

In the team standings, Osage took second place in both the boys and girls races.  The Eldon boys took sixth, and the girls placed fourth.

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BOSTON MARATHON (posted October 13th)

Searchable results have now been posted for Monday's Boston Marathon. It turns out we had one runner from the Lake area at this year's race--Bryna Edwards, who finished in 6:20:42.

A few runners from elsewhere who frequent our Lake-area races were also among this year's finishers, including Andrew Bartelsmeyer (3:31:53) and Greg Linhart (3:38:44). Jill Wagner was listed with no finish time, probably indicating a DNS.

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TRAILFEST (posted October 10th)

Once again, we had just one Lake-area runner appearing at an out-of-town race. This time, it was an unfamiliar name, as well. Cassidy Palan of Osage Beach ran the 5K at the Trailfest event held on Sunday at the Two Rivers Bike Park in Highlandville, south of Springfield. She finished in 44:53, placing 6th (of 12) in the women's 25-29 age group.

In the 6-hour race, Chris Hines of Springfield took third overall among nine competitors.

Nearly 400 participated in the race, including 189 in the 5K, 136 in the 10K, 60 in the half marathon and 9 in the 6-hour challenge.

Complete results are here.

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BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON (posted October 10th)

None of our locals ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, but a couple of our running friends did.  Former Camdenton High School and Drury University cross country standout Jeremy Ryan, who lives in St. Louis, ran a 2:40:19.  That placed Jeremy 147th overall, and 47th in the men's 25-29 age group.

Randy Acklin finished in 5:08:50, placing 1,735th in the 40-44 age group.  Randy, who's often been a 2:00:00 half marathon pacer at Bass Pro, reached the 13.1-mile mark in 2:06:55.   

It turns out that NBC Sports did broadcast the race.  (I swear, it wasn't on their listings when I checked online last Tuesday.)  Among the Americans, past Chicago winner Galen Rupp (2:06:35) finished second overall, and Emma Bates (2:24:20) and Sarah Hall (2:27:19) took second and third in the women's race.  Emma Bates was particularly impressive--she looked as fresh in the final miles as any marathoner I've ever seen.  She's only in her late 20s, so she should be a contender for years to come.  (Rupp and Hall are in their late 30s.)

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 9th (posted October 10th)

Camdenton was one of nine cross country teams that competed at the inaugural Capital City Invitational on Saturday in Jefferson City. 

Camdenton had six girls in the varsity race.  Georgi Carolus was the top finisher among them, finishing in 22:23 and placing 8th (of 42) overall.  Benjamin Hauck was the only representative in the boys' varsity race.  He finished in 19:08, placing 16th (of 40).

Camdenton had one runner in each of the junior varsity races. Adrienne Hafley placed 10th (of 12) in the girls race, finishing in 33:40, while Levi DeAngelis placed 16th (of 29) in the boys race with a 21:58 finish time.

Complete results can be found here.

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GLADE TOP TRAIL RACE (posted October 10th)

The Glade Top Trail Run is held so deep within the Mark Twain National Forest in south/southwest Missouri that the directions to get to the race are enough to scare off would-be participants.  Still, 113 runners, including Carolyn Thompson of Camdenton, showed up to run the 1.25-, 4.25- or 10-mile race distances offered.

Carolyn competed in the 10-mile race, winning the women's 60-69 age group (over one other competitor) in 2:00:33.

Complete race results can be found here.

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

With just over 3,000 finishers, Sunday's MO' Cowbell Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K in St. Charles was the biggest running race in the state held so far this year.  (That distinction shouldn't last long, though, with the Kansas City Marathon & Half coming up in two weeks.) 

Two runners from the Lake area, neither of whom has appeared in any of our past local race results, ran the half marathon. 

Brittany Riley of Lake Ozark finished in 2:31:28, placing 87th (of 131) in the women's 25-29 age group.

The following is what was posted originally (an update follows):

---

Frankly, the results for the other runner don't make any sense.  (I've never had this level of doubt about anyone's race results in the past.)  Shirley Enochs of Linn Creek (and formerly of St. Charles) is reported to have finished the half in 1:51:55, winning the women's 70-and-over age group over seven others.  If true, that would be an astonishing finish time for someone in that age group.  (The second-place finisher in that age group, by comparison, finished nearly an hour later, in 2:48:03.  Also, the top 70-and-over male finished in 2:00:13.)  Shirley Enochs has two previous finishes of MO' Cowbell's half marathon, in 2016 and 2018, where she finished in 3:47:00 (at age 67) and 3:56:17 (at age 69), respectively--both near the very bottom of her age group.  Shaving two hours off a half marathon finish time in a matter of a few years, especially at an older age group, is hard to believe. All of her reported splits at Sunday's race are consistent with her finish time, indicating that this isn't a case of course-cutting.  My best guess is that someone else ran the race using her race bib. (If that's indeed the case, it's a very serious matter to a race organizer.)  To see if that's the case, I looked up her finish line photos at MO' Cowbell.  Take a look at the finish line photos in 2021 and 2018, shown side-by-side below. Maybe I'm terribly mistaken, but I don't think it's the same person in the two photos.  (If nothing else, does the woman at left look to be 72 years old to you?)  I'll keep an eye out to see if the race organizers make any changes to the results.

 

---

Update on questionable results: I e-mailed MO’ Cowbell on Monday night, relaying my doubts (detailed in the race report below) regarding the women’s 70+ age-group results. They didn’t respond to me, but they've quietly made a number of corrections that have resolved the situation. I don't know if the race or the timing company was to blame, but the two runners in question were both listed in the results as having the very same bib number--#860.  (One of them actually wore #870.)  That appears to explain the problem.  I don't understand how this could have happened, though, since the RFID tags on the backs of the race bibs would presumably have reflected the correct bib numbers, and prevented such an error.  (I'll bet there was a human error of some kind that caused this.) 

Thankfully, there was no bad behavior on the part of any runner contributing to this mess.  No one ran wearing another runner's bib, as I had originally thought might explain it.

For the record, here are the changes made to the results:

Shirley Enochs finished in 3:53:23 and placed 7th (of 8) in the 70+ age group. Her actual bib number was 870--NOT 860, as you can plainly see in her finish line photos.

The woman who wore bib number 860 was a 49 year-old from Springfield, Illinois. (If she were really 72 years old, even Elizabeth Hurley would be jealous.)  She placed 5th (of 175) in her age group.

If I get a response from MO’ Cowbell explaining exactly how the screw-up happened (I’d welcome one, but I’m not counting on it), I’ll post it.

---

Here are the total number of race finishers, by distance, since the race's peak participation in 2014.

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ST. JUDE IRONMAN 70.3 MEMPHIS TRIATHLON (posted October 20th)

(Note: My apologies for reporting this nearly three weeks late.   The top of my desk is littered with numerous notes-to-self, and today I unearthed one written months ago reminding me to look for Jim McDermott's results at the upcoming Ironman 70.3 Memphis in October.)

Jim McDermott was one of 1,764 triathletes competing at the inaugural St. Jude Ironman 70.3 Memphis Triathlon held on Saturday, October 2nd. Jim placed 7th (of 21) in the men's 65-69 age group, finishing in 6:44:43. Here are his splits for the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run:

Swim:         1:01:42
T-1:               10:10
Bike:           3:00:48
T-2:                 5:19
Run:           2:26:45 
Finish:        6:44:43

The weather in Memphis that day was similar to that at the Lake, with light to heavy rain in the morning before turning dry in the afternoon.

*   *   *   *   *

ROCK BRIDGE REVENGE 50K/25K TRAIL RUNS (posted October 3rd)

The Columbia Track Club's Rock Bridge Revenge Trail Runs had 96 finishers on Saturday, with 32 and 64 doing the 50K and 25K, respectively. Michael Classen of Versailles was the only participant from the Lake area. Michael finished the 50K in 6:33:04, placing 16th among the 32 finishers.

Two familiar names, both from Columbia, were among the 25K finishers.  Andy Emerson took 6th overall (of 64) with a 2:24:04 finish, and Gavin Eubank was 51st with a 3:54:57 finish.

Complete race results can be found here.  Lots of photos can be found at the race's Facebook page.

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR OCTOBER 2nd (posted October 3rd)

Camdenton, Osage and Macks Creek cross country teams competed at the Laker Invitational at Ha Ha Tonka State Park on Saturday. The complete results can be found here. 

Here are the top boys and girls runners for each of the schools:

In the team standings, the Camdenton and Osage girls teams place 16th and 17th, respectively, of 23 teams. The Osage boys team placed 19th of 29 teams. (With just two runners, the Camdenton boys team didn't meet the required minimum of five runners to qualify for the team competition.)

*   *   *   *   *

PREGNANCY HELP CENTER'S 5K WALK/RUN FOR LIFE (posted October 3rd)

Sam Casella made it three in a row, with his overall win at the Pregnancy Help Center's 5K Walk/Run for Life (Facebook page) on Saturday.   Presumably due to the wet weather, Sam finished two minutes slower than in 2020 and 2019 (22:10 this year, versus 19:58 and 20:01), which gave him a much narrower margin of victory--just 17 seconds over Gary Richardson of Osage Beach. 

For the fourth time in four years, the women's race had a first-time winner.  Malissa Lynxwiler of Osage Beach won in 26:50.

Complete results can be found here.

There were 44 finishers of the race.  That was a up from 40 last year, and the most in the race's history, despite this year's wet weather. 

*   *   *   *   *

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

Wet weather didn't prevent a record-tying turnout for Friday night's and Saturday morning's eighth annual Frog Hill Half Marathon & 5K/10K in Waynesville, with 251 finishers among the three distances. (About two dozen registered runners failed to show, so the record could easily have been broken.)

Sarah Wood of Eldon was our lone Lake-area representative at the race this year.  Sarah took 6th (of 11) in the women's 30-39 age group in the 10K, finishing in 1:11:35. (Scott Gray, formerly of Eldon but now a Columbia resident, also did the 10K, finishing in 1:34:13.) 

Complete results can be found at the race's Facebook page, as well as the SplitMaster Timing website.

Here are the number of finishers of each distance since the inaugural race in 2014:

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FORREST GUMP CHALLENGE HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted October 3rd)

Steve Brennaman of Osage Beach was in Branson on Saturday for the Forrest Gump Challenge.   Steve ran the 5K, finishing in 32:24 and placing third (of five) in the men's 60-69 age group.

Our running friend from Marshfield, Randy Acklin, ran the half marathon in 1:50:38.  Chances are, he's tuning up to once again be a pacer at the Bass Pro half marathon in five weeks.

There were 27 half marathon and 44 5K finishers this year, versus 48 and 50 last year.  Last year's race also included a marathon that had 11 finishers.  That distance wasn't offered this year.

*   *   *   *   *

HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 25th (posted September 25th)

All of our Lake-area cross country teams competed at the Hermitage Invitational on Saturday. The complete results can be found here. 

Here are the top boys and girls runners for each of the schools:

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ROOTS 'n BLUES 'n BBQ HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted September 25th)

Just one Lake-area runner, Sarah Hudson of Osage Beach, competed at the Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ Half Marathon & 5K/10K in Columbia on Saturyday.  Sarah ran the half marathon, finishing in 2:19:07 and placing 6th (of 10) in the women's 30-34 age group.

Just as he did two years ago (last year's race was cancelled), our running buddy from Columbia, Andy Emerson, placed 13th overall (of 176) and won the men's 50-54 age group.  Andy finished in 1:32:57--three minutes faster than two years ago. 

The inseparable triumvirate from Sedalia--Millie Cavanagh (1:48:20), Kim Ream (1:49:41) and Lori Hurt (2:08:11)--ran the half marathon.

Complete race results can be found here. 

Participation was down 44% from 2019.  Here are the totals, by distance, since 2014. 

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 18th (updated September 21st)

At the Fulton Invitational, the top runners for Eldon were Nathan Reynolds (18:35; 6th of 126) and Marena Tellman (31:56; 82 of 93).

The huge Missouri Southern Stampede meet in Joplin had nearly 800 college, and another 800 high school, competitors. The top Camdenton runners were Benjamin Hauck (18:23; 121 of 262) and Georgi Carolus (22:01; 101 of 234) in the Green division, which consists of larger schools.  In the smaller-school Gold race, the top Osage runners were Colin Misenheimer (18:09; 29 of 175) and Bayley Johnson (21:42; 15 of 119).  Complete results for the meet can be found here.

Versailles competed at the Smith-Cotton Invitational in Sedalia.  Matthew Radefeld (20:31; 14 of 45) was the school's top male finisher.  Results for the girls still aren't shown.

*   *   *   *   *

GIVE BACK RUN (posted September 12th)

Formerly known as the Jay Dix Challenge to Cure, the Columbia Multisport Club's Give Back Run added a half marathon this year to the 5K/10K distances that had been offered since the race's inception in the mid 2000s.

Our own Dan Robertson was one of just ten finishers of the half marathon.  Dan finished in 2:04:17. His chances of winning the men's 60-69 age group were dashed by the phenomenal Gerald Holtmeyer of Bonnots Mill, who finished in 1:32:29. Gerald was also the overall winner of the race. (In case you don't recall who he is, Gerald has been a multi-year winner at Bridge & Dam.)

Participation was disappointing, with only 60 total finishers among the three distances offered  Here's how that compares to prior years.  (The 2020 race was cancelled.)

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 11th (posted September 12th)

Camdenton, Osage and Macks Creek runners competed at the Lebanon Invitational cross country meet on Saturday. The top boys and girls finishers for Camdenton were Benjamin Hauck (18:50; 25th of 83) and Ellie Webb (23:01; 11th of 64). For Osage, the top runners were William Faulconer (18:13; 11th of 83) and Bayley Johnson (21:46; 3rd of 64). Caleb Phillips (18:26; 15 of 83) and Molly Phillips (24:04; 27th of 64) led the Macks Creek runners.

Complete results for that meet can be found here.

Eldon and Versailles runners competed at the Linn Invitational. This was Eldon's first meet of the season, and the team's sensational sophomores, Nathan Reynolds and Zoe Martonfi, both of whom went to the state championships last November as freshmen, started the season with outstanding performances. Zoe was the overall winner of the girls race, finishing in 19:09 and beating 107 others to the line. Nathan took third overall (of 114) in the boys race, finishing in 17:53.  While the season is still young, Nathan and Zoe have the fastest boys and girls finish times of all Lake-area cross country runners this season.

The top runners for Versailles were Matthew Radefeld (21:11; 62nd of 114) and Alesha Garvey (33:24; 100th of 108).

Complete results for the Linn Invitational can be found here.

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HEART OF AMERICA MARATHON (posted September 5th)

Lady Luck shined down on the 103 competitors at the 62nd annual Heart of America Marathon (Facebook page) in Columbia on Labor Day.  The cold front that blew in on Saturday brought them a temperature of just 61° at Monday's 6:00 a.m. start--well below the morning lows during last week's hot, humid weather. (Don't break out your fall clothes just yet; the heat and humidity will be returning this weekend.)

No one from the Lake area was among the 103 finishers, marking the third year in a row we weren't represented at the race. Our good friend from Columbia, Andy Emerson, was there, and he had another great race. Andy finished 6th overall, in 3:28:36, and won the men's 50-54 age group, as he also did in 2019. He finished second overall last year, in 3:22:22.

The complete race results can be found here. 

The total of 103 finishers was up from last year's COVID-limited field of 56, but down from 2019's 166.  Excluding last year, this year's total was the lowest in the last 10 years for the race. (It peaked at 237 in 2013.)

Mile 90 Photography should soon have the official race photos posted.

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KATY TRAIL 50/50 (updated Septemer 5th)

Despite the rain and muggy conditiions, a record crowd turned out at the tiny, unincorporated community of Dutzow, Missouri, on Saturday for the fourth annual Katy Trail 50/50

April Leonard was the only Lake-area runner in the race. April finished the 50K in 7:24:35, placing 74th overall among the 95 finishers.  (The third-place overall 50K finisher, in 4:18:00, was Rich Luers.  Rich owns Final Lap Race Management, and does the timing for the Trail of Four Winds 25K.)

In the 50-mile race, three-time finisher Melissa Martinez crossed the line in 12:24:33, placing 7th (of 11 female finishers). Ed Green, at age 61 the second-oldest competitor in the race, finished just ahead of Melissa, in 12:21:04. Ed was a 50K finisher in 2018 and 2019.

The full results can now be found at the race's Facebook page, although they'll eventually also make it to the Ultrasignup.com page.

Here are the number of finishers for the race, by year and distance. This race is one of only a few races in the entire state to have had increasing participation in each of the last several years, even ignoring any COVID cancellations..

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HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY MEET RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 4th (posted September 4th)

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

Here are the results for Camdenton, Osage and Macks Creek runners at the SWCCCA Richard Clark Invitational hosted by Bolivar High School.  (Complete results are here.)

Here are results for Versailles runners at the Jim Marshall Cross Country Invitational in Jefferson City.  (Complete results are here.)

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LEAKY HOURGLASS ULTRA (posted August 30th)  

A last man standing race--one of five to be held in the state this year--debuted this past weekend north of Springfield in the tiny village (population: 173) of Half Way, aptly named because of its location halfway between Bolivar and Buffalo. The Leaky Hourglass Ultra had 19 competitors at the start, including two, Alysia Maschino and Tucker Seise, from the Lake area.  One special, crucial twist to this race was that the time limit to complete the 4.17-mile lap (and be able to proceed on to the next) was reduced by one minute on each successive lap.

Robert Bruns, a St. Louisan who's finished second at the Trail of Four Winds 25K in 2019 and 2021, was the last man standing, completing 20 hours (83.3 miles).  That exactly matched his result at last December's 4 Fore 30.

Tucker Seise lasted 13 hours (54.2 miles)--also matching last year's 4 Fore 30.  He was third overall.  Alysia Maschino lasted 3 hours (12.5 miles), placing 17th.

Other past 4 Fore 30 competitors included Dena Carr (7 hours; 29.2 miles) and Chris Hines (6 hours; 25 miles).  Both are registered for the upcoming 4 Fore 30, as is Robert Bruns.

Results can be found here.  Mile 90 Photography has posted race photos here.

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REPUBLIC TIGER TRIATHLON (posted August 1st)

The Lake area had two competitors at the Republic Tiger Triathlon in Republic on Saturday.

Jim McDermott was there for the fifth time since 2012, and managed to beat his previous best (recorded in 2013) by 24 seconds.  It was also Jim's fourth consecutive age-group victory at the race, this time over one other competitor in the 65-69 age group.   Here are his splits:

Swim:          6:37  (2:13 per 100 yards)
T-1:             1:32
Bike:         36:45  (19.9 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:13
Run:          24:20  (7:51 per mile) 
Finish:    1:10:24

In what's believed to be his very first triathlon, Pete Groce placed 5th (of 6) in the 55-59 age group.   Here are Pete's splits, all of which are quite respectable:

Swim:         7:58  (2:40 per 100 yards)
T-1:             2:30
Bike:         41:59  (17.4 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:28
Run:          25:58  (8:23 per mile) 
Finish:    1:19:50

Complete race results can be found here.

There were 83 and 77 finishers of the sprint and super sprint distances, respectively. By comparison, there were 150 and 62 in 2019, the last year the triathlon was held.

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NEVER SUMMER 100K/60K TRAIL RACE (posted August 7th)

Two of our Lake-area runners beat the Missouri heat by heading to northern Colorado last weekend to race high up in the Rocky Mountains at the Never Summer 100K.  The course, which started and ended near the 9000' foot level, had a monumental 14,450 feet of climbing, and topped out at a lung-busting 11,852'. 

Chris Boyle and John Shelby finished in 16:53:51 and 21:25:45, respectively, placing 59th and 158th among the 204 finishers.

Andy Emerson, who must fear turning to stone if he ever goes a weekend without racing, was there, too, and finished in 17:25:11, placing 74th.

The complete race results can be found here.

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY 5K RUN/WALK (updated July 28th)

Thirty-seven runners and walkers turned out Saturday morning for the Tri-County YMCA's fourth annual Christmas in July 5K, where they enjoyed an early Christmas present in the form of a wonderful, cooling breeze--something that definitely wasn't in NOAA's weather forecast. (Thank you, Santa!)  Without the breeze, the race would have been just the latest in a series of brutally hot races we've had this summer, each one seemingly hotter than the previous one.

Tucker Seise made it four in a row for overall victories at YMCA 5Ks, winning in 17:42. (Tucker won this spring's Whobilation 5K in 17:10, and last year's Whobilation and Christmas in July races in 17:38 and 17:53, respectively.) Tucker handily beat Angel Aviles, a Puerto Rico native now stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, by over two minutes.

The women's race was won by 16 year-old Eva Heimsoth of Ottawa, Illinois, who was vacationing with her family at the Lake for the past week.  She won in 23:26, two minutes ahead of her nearest rival.  Eva is a cross country runner at Ottawa High School, and joins a long list of high school cross country runners from elsewhere who have claimed an overall victory at one of our local events.   

Here are the complete race results:

Many more race photos can be found here.

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RIVER ROCK TRIATHLON (posted July 17th)

Jim McDermott took second (of three) in the men's 60-and-over age group at Saturday's inaugural River Rock Triathlon in Ozark.  There were 37 total participants in the sprint distance race (350-meter Finley River swim, 14-mile bike and 5K run).

Jim finished in 1:19:40, placing seventh overall.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        10:23  (2:58 per 100 meters)
T-1:             1:15
Bike:         41:46  (20.1 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:17
Run:          25:01  (7:22 per mile) 
Finish:    1:19:40

Full results can be found here.

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SUMMER ROUNDUP TRIATHLON (posted July 11th)

Jim McDermott scored an age-group victory by default at Sunday's Summer Roundup Triathlon in Jasper, Missouri.

Jim did the Oympic distance race, completing the 1500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run in 2:55:47--nearly 50 minutes ahead of his only competitor in the men's 65-69 age group.  Here are his splits:

Swim:        46:28  (2:42 per 100 meters)
T-1:             3:09
Bike:       1:10:52  (21.1 miles per hour)
T-2:             1:50
Run:          53:29  (8:36 per mile) 
Finish:    2:55:47

Full results can be found here.

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SWEATFEST 5K & 6.6M (posted July 10th)

Carolyn Thompson of Camdenton was our lone Lake-area representative at Saturday's Sweatfest trail race at Fellows Lake in Springfield. Carolyn did the 6.6-mile, finishing in 1:15:28 and placing second (of four) in the women's 60-69 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

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VOL STATE 500K (updated July 18th)

One of the most remarkable performances in endurance sports in recent memory was turned in by Bob Hearn at this year's Vol State.  Bob finished the 500K (314-mile) race in a new record of 3 days, 4 hours and 9 minutes.  He broke his own uncrewed record (set last year) by 10 hours, and even managed to break the crewed record by 3 hours.  What makes this even more impressive is that he's 55 years old.

To help bring this performance into perspective, let's do a little comparison between what Bob did at Vol State to what Chris Boyle did so impressively at last December's 4 Fore 30.  Chris completed 158 miles in 38 hours to win 4 Fore 30.  Bob completed twice as many miles, in twice as many hours, without a support crew, and in very warm, muggy and sometimes rainy weather.  To help further illustrate the point, Bob essentially equaled the incredible Big's Backyard Ultra record performance of 283 miles in 68 hours set three years ago by 44 year-old Johan Steene.  (Bob finished 31 more miles in 8 more hours.)

Bob isn't currently listed on this year's Big's roster, but Laz ought to invite him after this remarkable performance.       

---

Scott Page and Alysia Maschino finished on Friday in 8 days, 5 hours and 9 minutes. 

Race statistics:

There were 106 starters. 78 finished, ranging from 3 days, 4 hours and 9 minutes, to 9 days, 22 hours and 9 minutes.

Interestingly, there was no appreciable difference in finishing success between the crewed and screwed divisions.  Eighteen (78%) of the 23 who were crewed managed to finish, while 60 (72%) of the 83 screwed participants reached the finish line.

The finishers ranged in age from 29 to 80.   The average age of the finishers was 51.7 years.   

Here are some links for the race:

Race tracking

Vol State Facebook page

Race website

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RUN FOR THE HORSES 5K/10K RUN/WALK (updated June 27th)

It rained on the way to the Run for the Horses 5K/10K in Linn Creek on Saturday, and it rained on the way home, but, miraculously, it didn't rain a drop during the race. The bad news, though, was that the relative humidity was at or near 100%, so it felt like running in a steam bath. It was brutal. So brutal that only one person--Sam Casella--who signed up for the 10K didn't decide to step down to the 5K. Sam was the one and only 10K competitor, finishing in a very impressive 47:50 in those tough conditions.

In the 5K, Tucker Seise and Amanda Ivey (from Milo, MO; a Bridge & Dam 5K two-time finisher) were the overall male and female winners, in 18:21 and 23:57, respectively.

Here are the full results:

It sounds hard to believe, but two runners, Todd Scott and Nick Nelson, came all the way from Nashville to do this race.  They drove seven hours to get to the Lake on Friday, and were heading back to Nashville on Sunday.  (Nashville, like most major cities, has been tough on races.)

The Dissen gang--Josh, Elena, Nick, (matriarch) Heather, and Brittni--showed up en masse to race, just as they did two weeks ago (along with Ben) at the Rock Island Road Race. 

We always like to herald first-timers, and Sam Wedig finished his debut 5K in 41:56.  It took a lot of encouragement along the way from his mom, Jill Wedig, but Sam finished it, with a sprint to the finish line to boot. 

It was good to see Mike Toth back in the saddle.  Due to hip pain, Mike hadn't raced since February's Polar Bear Strut.

More race photos can be found here.

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CHILDREN'S LEARNING CENTER NIGHT GLOW 5K RUN/WALK (updated June 25th)

Thanks to super sleuth Scott Page, the official results have been found.  Check them out here.

The overall male winner was Connor Flesner of Kennard, Nebraska, in 21:19.  Just-graduated Camdenton High School cross country runner Cambrie Kowal was the top female, in 23:04.  In a sprint to the finish line, Cambrie came from behind to defeat Emily Marriott of Sikeston, Missouri by three seconds.  (Emily is the daughter of SplitMaster Timing's owners, Delbert and Brooke Marriott.) 

The race photos can be found here.

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LOTO ENDURANCE (updated June 17th)

Twenty-three runners sacrificed their beauty sleep for a long, late-night run at the inaugural LOTO Endurance race at Osage National Golf Resort on Saturday night/Sunday morning, benefiting Wonderland Camp.

There were 14 competitors in the 6-hour race, with Cody Eubanks of Jefferson City topping the list with 38.65 miles. Andy Emerson came in a close second, with 35.05 miles.  April Leonard was our top local finisher, with 28.4 miles.

The marathon had six finishers, with Jeff Foes of the far southern Missouri town of Alton finishing first, in 3:58:36. Top local finisher was Rob Kucsik, in 4:42:48.

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

*   *   *   *   *

ELDON ROCK ISLAND ROAD RACE (updated June 14th)

One hundred and fifty runners and walkers turned out on Saturday for Eldon's fourth annual Rock Island Road Race (Facebook), organized by the Miller County Child Advocacy Council to support its various childrens' programs.

That total was down from last year's record of 184, but the decline wasn't totally unexpected, as last year's turnout clearly benefited from a one-time boost from lockdown-weary runners who came from all over to run in the first in-person race of size to be held in the state of Missouri in three months. Still, it was encouraging that this year's turnout was larger than 2019's total of 130. Here's how this year's turnout compares to previous years, by race distance:

A mid-June race in Missouri is bound to be brutal due to heat and humidity, and this year's race was no exception. Cloudy skies lingering from the storm system that rolled through Friday night actually gave us hope that the weather wouldn't be too bad after all, but, as luck would have it, the clouds moved out just before the race started, and the heat was on. The first few miles of the race, when there was no shade along the course to speak of, were particularly hard.

For the record, the temperature was 68° at the 7:15 a.m. start, and rose steadily to 78° by the race's conclusion at 10:00 a.m.  That was only slightly warmer than last year's race conditions.

Results

The complete race results can be found here. (An Excel file of the results can be downloaded here.)

15K:

The biggest story at this year's race was the overall 15K victory by Henri Coeme of Neosho, in 1:07:11.   The reason is that Henri is 68 years old, and it's almost unheard of for a runner his age to be an overall race winner at any distance. It's not a complete surprise that he won, though, since Henri has set thirty-seven Missouri state running records for his age in the last six years at distances ranging from 1 mile (5:48) to 100K (10:19:33).  Henri is a prolific racer, particularly of trail races and ultramarathons.  If you were at the Trail of Four Winds 25K last month, you may recognize him.  At that race, he placed 24th overall among 134 participants. (On a side note, Henri was among the first to come to the aid of, and begin CPR on, a competitor who was struck and killed by lightning at the Flat Rock 50 trail race in southeastern Kansas in September 2019.)

The overall women's 15K winner is no stranger to Lake-area races. Kim Ream of Sedalia, who's among the few who have completed every Bridge & Dam Half Marathon since its inception, won in 1:15:16. Her margin of victory was a mere one second over her running friend from Sedalia, Millie Cavanagh.  (Kim and Millie ran the race together, but you have to wonder if they knew that they were leading the women's race, since whoever stepped over the finish line first would be the overall winner, while the other would have to settle for an age-group victory.)

10K:

Nathan Reynolds became the Rock Island's first two-time overall winner, although at different distances.  In 2019, at the age of 13, Nathan won the 5K in 20:35--a full seven minutes faster than his nearest competitor.  He skipped last year's race (his sister, Nicole Reynolds, took his spot and was the women's overall 10K winner, in 51:53), but returned this year to win the 10K in 43:11, more than eight minutes ahead of the second-place finisher, women's overall winner Kelsie Lineback (51:46) of Waynesville.  Kelsie broke Nicole's women's 10K course record by a margin of jjust seven seconds.

5K:

This was the first year that Lake-area runners failed to win either of the overall 5K victories. It was also the very first time that the women's winner of a Rock Island race beat the men's winner to the finish line.  Lilly Blaufuss of Overland Park, Kansas earned that distinction by beating Chase Perry of Ankeny, Iowa to the finish line by exactly one minute--21:46 to 22:46.

Photos

Lots of photos taken by Debbie Fair have been posted to the race's Facebook page. My photos can be found here.

Kudos

Congratulations and thanks go to everyone involved in organizing this outstanding race, including co-race directors Scott Gray and Christy Kidwell, the Miller County Child Advocacy Council staff and board members, the numerous volunteers, and all of the Eldon police officers and city employees stationed throughout the course.  This race was truly a community effort, and all of the accolades it gets are well-deserved.

In case you hadn't heard, Scott and Jayna Gray are moving to Columbia.  Thankfully, they'll continue to be involved in this race.        

A dose of inspiration

I've said many times over the years that, if you want to see great athletes, be at the finish line of a race and watch the first ones cross, but if you really want to be inspired, stick around to see those in the back of the pack.

Pictured above are Aaron Stover (right), and his son, Nick, of Jefferson City.  They ran the entire race together, finishing in 2:14:23, ahead of just one other runner in the entire race.  Running a 15K wasn't much of a challenge for Nick, who's a cross country and track runner at Blair Oaks High School, but it was a huge challenge for his dad. 

Aaron spent 28 years in the military.  It ended when he suffered serious injuries due to exposure to dangerous chemicals.  He participated in ultramarathons and adventure races during his service years, but all of that came to an end.  He was using this race to begin to get back in his life some of what he had lost.  He was clearly suffering every time I saw him on the course, but he never gave up.    

Now, how's that for inspiration?   

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GO GIRL RUN COLUMBIA HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted June 6th)

Two Lake-area runners, Clare Herriman and Tammy Lawrence, both of Eldon, traveled to Columbia on Saturday to compete in the women-only Go Girl Run Half Marathon & 5K.   Their results are shown below:

Complete race results can be found here.

Total participation was less than half that of 2019.  (Last year's race was cancelled to due Covid-19.)  Shown below are the number of race finishers since 2014.  (Based on its history of cutting events that are losing viability, it wouldn't be surprising if Ultramax Events pulls the plug on this event next year, or reduces it to just a 5K.)

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HOSPITAL HILL RUN (updated June 15th)

The 48th annual Hospital Hill Run--Kansas City's oldest race and one of the oldest running events in the state--was held on Saturday. 

The results are posted at Athlinks.com.  The results don't list the participants' cities, so it was necessary to do just a cursory look for Lake-area participants' names in the results.  

The only local runner found was Michelle Waters, who ran the 10K in 1:25:33 and placed 35th (of 45) in the 45-49 age group.

Update:  Two more Lake-area runners participated in the event.  MIssy Burnau and Bridgid Davis ran the 5K, finishing in 41:34 and 41:46, respectively, and placing 14th and 15th (of 24) in the women's 45-49 age group.

If I missed anyone, please let me know. 

Complete race results can be found here.

Total participation was down 36% from 2019, and continues a long-term downward spiral for the race.

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IRONMAN TULSA TRIATHLON (posted May 24th)

Congratulations to Jim McDermott for becoming a three-time Ironman finisher. On Sunday, Jim finished the inaugural Ironman Tulsa Triathlon on an overcast, slightly wet day with temperatures mostly in the low 70s and very light winds. (That was milder than the warm (80s), sunny, humid day, with much more wind, forecasted earlier in the week.)

Jim finished the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run in 14:27:26. He took 8th (of 17) in the men's 65-69 age group. Here are his splits:

At age 67, Jim now indisputably holds the Lake-area record for finishing an Ironman Triathlon at the oldest age.  (The late Denny Gillen may have held, or shared with Jim, the previous record at the age of 63.)

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TRAIL OF FOUR WINDS 25K (posted May 1st)

Before the gun went off, this year's Trail of Four Winds 25K (Facebook) looked to be pretty much a repeat of the 2019 race.  It ended up far different.

Michael McCulloch, a former collegiate track and cross country runner from Columbia now living in the Kansas City area, was the obvious favorite in the men's race. Michael won the 2019 race, the 2020 virtual edition of the race, and even the Trail of Four Winds' precursor event, the Ha Ha Tonka Half Marathon, in 2018. Michael's only real challenge was expected to come from Robert Bruns of St. Louis, who finished just 15 seconds behind him in 2019.

Robert managed to again take second, despite finishing 16 minutes slower than in 2019. But this time it was Nathan Allen, a Jefferson City native now living in Berkeley, California (with an interim stay in Colorado), who took the overall crown. Nathan won in 1:57:53.  That was almost six minutes slower than Michael's 2019 winning time (1:52:14), but still 10 minutes ahead of Robert's 2:08:30.  (Michael took fifth overall, finishing in 2:20:19.  He obviously had a tough day, like so many others.)

The women's race appeared to belong to Jaime Maher of Fenton ( suburban St. Louis).  Jaime won the 2019 race in 2:26:10, only 17 seconds ahead of her (friendly) rival, Karolina Zavisiute of St. Charles.  Karolina wasn't at this year's race, so Jaime looked to have a lock on the victory.  However, a TOFW first-timer, Hilary Campbell of Springfield, who's also a former cross country runner for Kickapoo High School, not only beat Jaime to the finish line, but shattered Jaime's course record by over five minutes.  Jaime also had a tough day, but still took third, in 3:00:37.  (She also earned bragging rights in the Maher house for the next year, after husband Ryan crossed the line 10 minutes behind her, in 3:10:22.  To his credit, though, Ryan was able to do that a few months after undergoing back surgery.)

The big story of this year's race was the weather.  While it was a beautiful day to be hiking, paddling or cycling in the state park, it was too warm for a trail race, especially for those not yet acclimated to running in warm weather.  How warm was it?  This year's race day was nearly 20° warmer than 2019's.  Here are the numbers:

You need only look at the cloudy skies and long-sleeved jerseys and jackets pictured in the 2019 race photos to see just how different the conditions were.

The heat contributed to noticeably slower finish times.  The average finish time this year was 3:33:xx, or 12 minutes longer than the 3:21:xx average in 2019.

For the record, here are some miscellaneous race statistics:

Two of our Lake-area women claimed victories in the 30-39 and 40-49 age groups--by far the largest and most competitive age groups at this and most other running races.  Brittney DeFrates won the 30-39 age group (over 16 others), in 3:08:42, while Jessica Clark topped 14 others to win the 40-49 age group, in 3:16:55.  (As an aside, both Brittney and Jessica have seemingly come out of nowhere. The only race history I can find for either of them is Brittney's second-place, age-group finish at this year's Bridge & Dam 10K and a 1:52:14 half marathon finish at the Bear Creek Run in Columbia in 2018.  If indeed they are relative newcomers, their victories at this very challenging, competitive race are all the more impressive.)

Two of our local men also earned podium spots. Tucker Seise took second (of 7) in the 20-29 age group, as well as 12th overall, with a 2:31:50 finish. Chris Boyle finished in 2:37:09--24 minutes slower than in 2019. Still, that was good enough for third (of 26) in the 40-49 age group.

The complete race results can be found here. Results for our local runners and a few of our friends from other places are shown below.

Congratulations to all who toed the starting line and gave it their all on a very tough day on an equally tough course.  Thanks and congratulations, too, to race director John Shelby and his great group of able volunteers for organizing a race of such high quality.  This race, like Bridge & Dam, is a real asset to the Lake of the Ozarks running community.   

The photos taken by Kristi Mayo of Mile 90 Photography can be found here.

My photos can be viewed here.

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THE 24 HOUR LIONS ROAR  (updated April 27th)

The 24 Hour Lions Roar (Facebook page) results have been posted at the race's Ultrasignup.com page. Here are some results of particular interest:

Lots of photos from the race have been posted here.

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FRISCO RAILROAD RUN  (updated May 4th)

The resurgence from COVID-19 continues.  The 13th annual Frisco Railroad Run (50M/50K/marathon/half/8K) held on Saturday in Willard had 596 total finishers, up 39% from the 2019 total of 430.  (Last year's race was cancelled due to COVID-19.)  It was the second largest turnout in the race's history, topped only by the 611 finishers in 2018.

Three runners from the Lake area were among this year's finishers, all in the half marathon:

Versailles High School cross country runner Carmen Lemell finished in 2:21:40, placing third (of six) in the women's 19-&-under age group.

Tim Malen of Osage Beach crossed the line in 2:26:05, placing 9th (of 16) in the men's 60-69 age group.  Minutes later, Paul Burris, also of Osage Beach, finished in 2:28:13, placing 26th (of 32) in the 40-49 age group.

Complete results can be found here.

Here are the number of race finishers each year since 2014:

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OZARK FOOTHILLS  (posted April 12th)

While GO! St. Louis had a less-than-stellar return after last year's cancellation (see below), the Ozark Foothills 100-mile, 50-mile, 50K, marathon and 25K trail race, held at Greensfelder Park in far west St. Louis County, had a record turnout. There were 241 finishers across the five race distances at this year's race, up from 181 in 2019 and 140 in 2018.

No one from the Lake area was at the race, but some familiar names spotted in the results will be at the Trail of Four Winds 25K on May 1st--Craig Calkins (50M; 6th overall), Andy Emerson (50M; 17th overall), Allan Benjamin (50M, 37th overall), and a few others in the shorter distance races.

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GO! ST. LOUIS MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 10K (posted April 12th)

This weekend's GO! St. Louis provided the year's first test of how well one of the biggest races in the state would bounce back after being cancelled last year due to COVID-19.  As the table below shows, in terms of number of finishers, the marathon and 10K were only half the size of the 2019 race; the half marathon was down a hefty 70%. Granted, this year's race still wasn't a normal GO! St. Louis event, what with all the changes and limitations imposed on it.  

If there's any good news, it's that the race was actually allowed to take place.  The City of St. Louis basically shut down all racing inside the city limits at around this time last year.  Only a few, scaled-down races were allowed to proceed.  (A few others picked up and moved to more amenable pastures in St. Charles County.)

The only familiar name found in the results was that of Robert Bruns of St. Louis.  (Robert will be returning to the Trail of Four Winds 25K in three weeks.  He finished only 15 seconds behind the race winner, Michael McCulloch, in 2019.) He took 24th overall in the marathon, finishing in 3:08:47. 

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BRONCOBUSTER LAST MAN STANDING (posted April 5th)

A small field of eleven competitors, including our own Tucker Seise, started the inaugural BroncoBuster Last Man Standing race at the Sac River Mountain Bike Trail in northwest Springfield on Saturday morning. (Alysia Maschino was registered, but had to skip the race.)

The race had a 24-hour time limit, but it took just 18 hours (74.1 miles) for Jonathan Murphy of Long Lane, Missouri to put away the last of his competitors.  Tucker placed third in the standings, completing 14 hours (57.6 miles).  That was one hour longer than he completed at last December's 4 Fore 30, but it fell shy of his personal best of 17 hours (70.9 miles) at the 2019 4 Fore 30.

For the very first time, Tucker leads in our "most miles raced" standings.  He's now at 111.2 miles so far this year. 

The complete results can be found at the race's Ultrasignup.com page. 

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BRIDGE AND DAM HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted March 28th)

Bridge & Dam:  It just keeps getting bigger and better.

Over the last seven years, this page has chronicled the declining participation at running races throughout this state and beyond.  Many races, including some very large ones (e.g. Rock & Roll St. Louis), have disappeared entirely.  The vast majority of those that have survived have suffered declines in attendance--some quite substantial, in fact.  Even factoring out the devastating effect of COVID-19 on running races these past twelve months, it's virtually unheard of for a race to have actually thrived over these past seven years.  Bridge & Dam is one of those very rare exceptions. 

Bridge & Dam's success is a testament to the people in the Lake of the Ozarks community who, in many different ways, have supported this race organized by the Lake of the Ozarks chapter of the non-profit Missouri Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

This year's race set another new record for size, with 551 total finishers.  Every single race distance saw an increase in participation.  Shown below are the number of finishers, by distance, since the race's inception in 2015.   (The 2019 race was on pace for a record based on registrations, but the worst weather in race history kept many from participating on race day.)

At 551 finishers, Bridge & Dam is one of the largest running races in Missouri held outside of a large metropolitan area.  (Only the Hannibal Cannibal is known to be larger.)  Interestingly, by a slim margin, this year's Bridge & Dam ranks as the largest, in-person running race held in the state so far this year, thanks to COVID-related field limits imposed on several large St. Louis-area races. (That distinction, though, should only last several more weeks.)

What has always set Bridge & Dam apart from all other races in the state is the percentage of runners who come from distant cities to do this race.  The running community at the Lake of the Ozarks isn't big enough to field a 500-person race (even a 5K would be a big stretch), so the need to attract runners from elsewhere is critical.  As the table below shows, fully 79% of the participants at this year's race were from outside the Lake area.  (That beats the previous record of 74% set in 2016, despite the susequent addition of the 5K and 10K options that tend to have higher percentages of local runners.)   Some of the increase is almost certainly a result of the widespread COVID-related race cancellations and restrictions elsewhere that encouraged runners to seek out races in more "open" locations like the Lake of the Ozarks.

BRIDGE & DAM BREAKDOWN OF PARTICIPANTS BY LOCATION
Distance	Lake area	Outside Lake area	Total	% from outside the Lake area
All-In	1	8	9	89
Double-Down	0	10	10	100
Half Marathon	28	203	231	88
10K	37	102	139	73
5K	49	113	162	70
Total	115	436	551	79

Race Results

Complete race results can be found here. 

All-In Challenge

Nine runners competed in the All-In Challenge, which consisted of a half marathon followed by both a 10K and a 5K.  (Added together, the three distances are 3.8 miles short of a full marathon.)  Jill Wagner of Sullivan, Missouri, was the overall winner, for the second time.  A Boston Marathon qualifier and finisher, Jill managed to break her own women's All-In course record of 2:56:18 (set in 2017) by less than a minute, finishing this year in 2:55:32. 

The top male was Bridge & Dam first-timer Matt Chinn of Jefferson City.  Matt finished in 3:04:13--less than two minutes ahead of three-time Bridge & Dam finisher Kennen Hootman of Addison, Illinois.  The age-defying, local phenomenon Jim McDermott took fifth, in 3:23:32. Even at the age of 67, Jim is still setting personal records--he finished the 2018 All-In in 3:30:14. (It's high time we demand Jim provide a certified birth certificate to show his true age.  He's making us real geezers look pathetic.)

Double-Down Challenge

There were ten competitors in the Double-Down Challenge, which consisted of a half marathon and 10K.

The top two finishers were both first-timers at Bridge & Dam--Kenny Miller of St. Joseph and Dawn Forbes of St. Charles.   Kenny won in 2:30:25, while Dawn broke the women's course record (previously held by Kim Ream of Sedalia) by 11 minutes, finishing in 2:35:16. 

Half Marathon

Anthony Wells of Amboy, Illinois set a new course record in his overall victory in the half marathon.  Anthony finished in 1:21:26, breaking Colin Cronin's record of 1:22:11 set in 2018.  Lisa Sauter of Fayette, Missouri was the overall women's winner, in 1:25:52.  That was the second-fastest women's finish since Lizzy Handschy's race-winning--and still course record--time of 1:23:20 at the inaugural Bridge & Dam in 2015. (Lizzy's is one of the very few 2015 records that has yet to be broken.)

Two past half marathon winners, Greg Linhart (2019) from Grandview, Missouri, and the incredible 61 year-old Gerald Holtmeyer (2015) from Bonnots Mill, Missouri, were among the top 12 finishers.   Greg finished 7th overall, in 1:27:10, and Gerald 12th, in 1:30:02. 

10K

The 10K victories were snatched up by teenagers.

Sixteen year-old Osage High School cross country runner William Faulconer of Lake Ozark saved the local running community from a complete shutout by giving us our only overall victory at this year's race. William won the 10K in 38:48.  That's a new course record, and it broke Will's previous 11-19 age-group record of 48:25 set in 2018. 

Among the women, 14 year-old Lauren Mathews of Jefferson City took the overall 10K crown in a winning time of 46:50. 

5K

Cierra Hiland of Augusta, Illinois remains the only one to have ever won the Bridge & Dam's 5K women's race.  (2020 is disregarded due to being virtual only.)  Cierra claimed her fourth victory (the 5K was introduced in 2017) by finishing in 21:21.  She also broke her longstanding women's course record of 22:52 set in 2017.

Robert Saunders of nearby Richland, Missouri was the only runner to beat Cierra to the finish line, taking the overall victory in 21:03.

Not surprisingly, the 5K included lots of participants at both ends of the age spectrum.  Notable among them was Carol Cange of Lake Ozark, who now owns the record for the oldest female finisher, at age 81.  (The men's record is 82.) Carol finished in a leisurely 55:53.

Records

Twenty-three course, age-group or age records were either broken or established this year.  (That, too, may be a record.)  Here's the list of new Bridge & Dam records:

Legacy Half Finishers

Only nine runners can still lay claim to having finished Bridge & Dam's half marathon every year since its debut in 2015. (2020 is excluded from the tally since the race was virtual only.)  Here's the list of the remaining legacy runners:

Russell Burkett (O'Fallon, MO)
Jeanette Pfetsch (Kansas City)
Alisha Eldridge (Eldon)
Ryan Garlock (Lincoln, NE)
Lindsay Garlock (Lincoln, NE)
Lori Hurt (Sedalia)
Doug Kueker (Lake Ozark)
Kim Ream (Sedalia)
Heather Skouby (Eldon)

And, just for the record, here's the list of the seven whose streaks ended this year:

Nigher Alfaro (Montreal)
Karen Backes  (Jefferson City)
Tobby Eldridge (Eldon)
Jason Kolb (Tipton)
Angela Martin (Osage Beach)
Sherri Mundwiller (Washington, MO)
Janet Weber (Dittmer, MO)

Weather

Bridge & Dam finally got the perfect weather that always eluded it--no snow flurries (2015), no chilly monsoons (2019), and no dry-but-threatening weather (almost every year in between).  This year's race was blessed with beautiful, clear skies, light winds and mild temperatures that ranged from 50° at the start to 65° at the finish.   To top it off, the full moon provided a special visual treat as it set over the lake soon before the race started.

Special message to the out-of-town participants

First, thank you for coming to the Lake of the Ozarks to race with us and to support the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Those of us lucky enough to live at the Lake love this place, and we're happy to have our fellow runners from elsewhere come here and enjoy what we get to enjoy every day of the year.

There's one thing about this race that you may not know, but really need to.  What makes this race so outstanding and special is that it's put on by our local running community, with the support of the Lake-area community in general.  You probably already know that the co-race directors, Alysia Maschino and Scott Page are longtime, accomplished runners (and, in more recent years, the greatest race directors ever!), but among all of those volunteers you saw on Saturday--and some you didn't see--was the bulk of our core group of runners in this area.  They've all done this race before, and they would probably have preferred to run it rather than to man a street corner, set out traffic cones, etc.  But, they stepped up and pitched in to help make this the best event possible.  Personally, I've never been more proud of our local running community than I was on Saturday. You won't find a better group of people.   Anywhere.

We hope to see you again next year, and many more years after that!

Photos

1,077 photos have been posted here. Note that these are photos of just the half marathon, All-In and Double-Down runners.

As always, feel free to use or post the photos as you wish, and no photo credit is necessary. Also, if you would like a photo deleted from the gallery for any reason, please let me know which one(s).

Results for Lake-area runners

Here are the results for our Lake-area runners, by race distance and finish order:

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WHOBILATION 5K RUN/WALK (updated March 7th)

The photos can be viewed here.

Here are the results:

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QUEENY BACKYARD ULTRA (updated March 7th)

The inaugural Queeny Backyard Ultra at Queeny Park in suburban St. Louis started at noon on Friday with 57 hopefuls aiming to outlast all others.

Tim Barbee of Columbia, Illinois needed 25 hours (104.17 miles) to shake off the last of his competitors to become the race's last man standing.  Along the way, Angela McKnight of St. Louis was the last of the women to bow out, after 14 hours (58.83 miles).

Photos and video clips can be found at the race's Facebook page, as well as that of Janzow Photography.

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

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LAKE OUACHITA VISTA ENDURANCE RUN  (posted February 28th)

The Lake-area record for the most number of solo ultramarathons completed is now tied at 14.  John Shelby tied Chris Boyle's record by finishing the very challenging Lake Ouachita Vista Endurance Run (100K/100M) near Hot Springs, Arkansas on Saturday.  John completed the 100K race in 14:20:13, placing 22nd overall among the 31 finishers.

The winner of the 100K absolutely smashed the course record. The previous record was 9:35:00.  It now stands at an incredible 8:12:15.  (To put that in perspective, Chris Boyle was the 100K overall winner in 2019 in 11:13:54.)

The beautiful weather we had at the Lake on Saturday wasn't shared in Hot Springs.  They had overcast skies with fog and mist much of the day, with temperatures not rising above the mid 50s.

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

Fifty-three runners and walkers turned out for the 20th annual Polar Bear Strut 5K in Osage Beach on Saturday.   Disappointingly, that represented the smallest turnout for the Strut in at least twelve years, despite the sunny, mild (50°) weather.

With no current or former cross country runners in this year's field, Nigher Alfaro was able to claim his sixth overall victory--the most in Strut history.  Nigher won in 19:20 on a noticeably shorter, 2.8-mile course.  (He took third last year in 21:40.)   The top female was a first-time Strut winner.  Jacinda Espinosa crossed the line in 21:53.

The race photos can be found here.

The complete race results can be found here.

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TAME THE DRAGON (posted March 2nd)

The St. Louis Orienteering Club held its second annual Tame the Dragon orienteering race at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park on Saturday.  A total of 68 competitors turned out, including 17 competing solo, and 51 spread among 20 teams.

Competitors planned their own routes to collect as many of the 36 checkpoints as possible within the 8-hour time limit, so the distance that each covered will vary.  Many, though, reported covering 20-25 miles. (The checkpoints have varying point values, so you can still finish ahead of a competitor if you collect more-valuable checkpoints.)

Like last year, no one collected all of the checkpoints, although they did come tantalizingly close.  Jason Bettis, the overall solo winner, and the top team--42 Down, consisting of Jeff Ryan, Josh Borgmeyer and Jason Noakes--were able to to collect 35 of the 36.  On average, each solo/team competitor collected 18 checkpoints.

Solo competitors generally placed higher in the overall standings than the teams.  About two-thirds of the solos finished in the top half of the standings, versus only one-third of the teams.  (In a race like this, where the team must physically stay together for the entire duration, the team's outcome is generally determined by the slowest team member.)

This year's race was the first foray into orienteering by seven Lake-area runners.  The Might Survive team of Chris Boyle, Tucker Seise and Jefferson City's Cody Eubanks commendably placed 6th among the 20 teams.  They collected 19 of the 36 checkpoints in 7:44:48.

The Dragon Asses team of Scott Page, Gary Braman, Mark Matthews, Rob Kucsik and Stacy Roberts collected the 8th most points among the 20 teams, but the severe point penalty for finishing a mere 11 minutes over the 8-hour time limit dropped them all the way down to 14th place.

The complete race results can be found here.

Many more photos can be found here. 

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CABIN FEVER RELIEVER 5K/10K/20K (posted February 7th) 

Matt Weatherford of Eldon was the only Lake-area runner to toe a starting line on this cold, dreary and snowy weekend.  Matt was in Rogersville (10 miles east of Springfield) on Saturday for the Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners' 6th annual Cabin Fever Reliever. He finished the 10K in 1:11:08. He placed second in the men's 20-29 age group, missing out on a victory in his age group by a miniscule 0.35 seconds.

There were 268 finishers on the day, including 111 in the 5K, 79 in the 10K, and 78 in the 20K.  Our former LOTO running buddy Andy Goessman took 4th overall (and first in men's 30-39 age group) in the 10K, finishing in 42:27.  Randy Acklin of Marshfield placed 6th in the 40-49 age group in the 20K with a 1:41:11 finish.

Complete results can be found here.

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ROC7K TRAIL RUN (posted January 24th)

Three Lake-area runners were in Columbia on Saturday vying to become the very first local runner to cross a finish line in 2021.  Sarah Wood of Eldon won those bragging rights by finishing the ROC7K Trail Run at Cosmo Park in 42:21. Sarah won the women's 30-39 age group over 21 others.

Brian Frederick of Kaiser finished in 49:31, taking 7th (of 13) in the men's 50-59 age group.  Another Eldon runner, John Brody, finished in 58:23, placing 15th (of 16) in the 40-44 age group.

Our Columbia running friend Andy Emerson finished 5th overall among the 128 total competitors, in 35:35.

Less than two seconds separated the top two finishers. Complete results can be found here.

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DAVID'S TRAIL ENDURANCE RUN (posted January 24th)

Thirteen of our Lake-area runners traveled to Mountain Home, Arkansas on Saturday for the sixth annual David's Trail Endurance Run (Facebook page). Five managed to pull off podium finishes.

In the 50K, Chris Boyle won the 40-49 age group, with a 5:38:41 finish that also placed him 4th overall (of 52 finishers). John Shelby and Gary Braman took 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the 50-59 age group.

In the 25K, Tucker Seise knocked 13 minutes off of last year's 3rd-place overall finish time, but his 1:54:19 was still only good enough for another 3rd-place overall.  (It should be noted that the second-place finisher was also credited with a 1:54:19 finish time, so Tucker apparently missed out on that spot by a fraction of a second.)  Rob Kucsik, who aged up to the 50-59 group this year, took 3rd place with a 2:45:22 finish time.

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

Complete results can be found here. 

Lots of photos have been posted on the race's Facebook page.

There were 241 finishers at this year's race (versus 225 last year), including 52 for the 50K, 126 for the 25K and 63 for the 7K.  

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