THE 24 HOUR LIONS ROAR  (posted April 28th)

The 24 Hour Lions Roar (Facebook page) results have been posted at the race's Ultrasignup.com page. Here are the results for our Lake-area participants:

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MOLLY'S MILES 5K/10K & 5.1-MILE  (posted April 28th)

John Brody of Eldon was the sole Lake-area participant at the Molly's Miles 5K/10K & 5.1-Mile in Columbia on Saturday.  John ran the 10K, finishing in 1:12:30 and placing 10th (of 11) in the men's 40-49 age group. 

Zim "Chief Empress" Schwartze, who lives in Rocheport and has finished all but one Polar Bear Struts here at the Lake, also did the 10K.  Zim took 3rd (of 8) in the women's 50-59 age group with a 59:58 finish time.

Complete results can be found here.

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GARMIN OLATHE MARATHON, HALF MARATHON &10K  (posted April 28th)

One runner from the Lake area competed at the Garmin Olathe Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K in Kansas City on Saturday. 

Callie McDonald of Eldon, who ran the 10K last year, stepped up to the half marathon this year, and finished in 2:47:57.  That placed Callie 34th (of 48) in the women's 50-54 age group.

Total participation at this year's race was down 11% from last year.  Here are the number of finishers, by race distance, since 2015:

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BRIDGE AND DAM HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (updated April 19th)

The Bridge & Dam (Facebook page) results can be found here.

The photos I took can be found here. These were taken from the Community Bridge and points west, so only the half marathon and 10K runners appear in the photos. As always, feel free to download and repost the photos as you wish, with no need for attribution. Also, if you would like any of your photos removed from the gallery for any reason, please let me know, and the photo(s) will be removed--no questions asked.

I hope to post more about the race when I get a chance.

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TCS London Marathon results: Sabastian Sawe of Kenya and Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia were the men's and women's winners of Sunday's TCS London Marathon, winning in 2:02:27 and 2:15:50, respectively. Eliud Kichoge, who turned 40 years of age in November, finished in 2:05:25, placing 6th.

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GREATER ST. LOUIS MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K  (posted April 28th)

The Greater St. Louis Marathon, known as the GO! St. Louis Marathon from 2008 to 2023, registered its fourth consecutive increase in participation, and had its biggest turnout since 2017.  There were 6,166 finishers at Saturday's race, up 7% from last year's total of 5,777.  It's still down 60% from the peak of 14,981 finishers in 2011, when the boom in running started to fade.

The results are posted on the dreaded Athlinks.com website, where results are are searchable only by name or bib number.  Their results are the least searchable results I've ever come across (and I've told them that, to no avail).  Scrolling through 123 pages of results--at 50 finishers per page--to find Lake area runners' results is simply not worth the hours it would take.   If you ran the race and wish your results to be posted, pass them along to me, and II'll post them.

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OZARK GREENWAYS FRISCO RAILROAD RUN  (posted April 28th)

The 17th annual Ozark Greenways Frisco Railroad Run (50M/50K/marathon/half/8K) held on Saturday in Willard had 421 total finishers, down 4% from last year, and the first down year since 2021. No one from the Lake area competed at this year's race.

Complete results can be found here.

Here are the number of race finishers each year since 2016:

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Boston Marathon results: Hellen Obiri failed to win a third consecutive Boston Marathon, but she did take second after finishing 19 seconds behind fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi. Lokedi broke away with a mile to go, and finished in 2:17:22, breaking--by two and a half minutes--the previous women's course record of 2:19:59 set in 2014. Even the third-place finisher broke the previous course record.

The men's race was a bit of a snoozer.  John Korir of Kenya pulled away from the lead group with about five miles and held on to win in 2:04:45.

Conner Mantz was the fastest American finisher. He took fourth in the men's race, crossing the line in 2:05:08.  That appears to be the second-fastest marathon ever run by an American.  (Ryan Hall ran 2:04:58 at Boston in 2011.)   In Houston this past January, Mantz broke the American record for the half marathon with a 59:17 finish.

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Humans win!:You may recall the story a few months ago about China hosting the world's first half marathon with humans competing against robots. That race was held yesterday (Saturday), and it wasn't even close. The first robot finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes, and needed three battery changes.  The men's winner finished in just 1 hour and 2 minutes. You can read more about it here.

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BREW TO BREW 5K RUN/WALK (posted April 19th)

The worst of the morning storms had passed, but light rain hung around for those who came out for the inaugural Brew to Brew 5K in Osage Beach on Saturday.  The course was an out-and-back between two breweries on Osage Beach Parkway--The Sanctuary Brewery near city hall, and the Lake of the Ozarks Brewing Co. on the west end of the city,

Seventeen showed up for the event--thirteen drinkers, and four non-drinkers.

Among the drinking crowd, Tucker Seise and Natasha Boettcher were the top male and female finishers, in 22:25 and 28:01, respectively.  The non-drinking winners were Jason Autry of Mexico in 26:25 and Stephanie Ewers of Fulton in 45:58.

The complete results can be downloaded by division:

Drinking
Non-drinking

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

The Springfield edition of the women-only GO Girl Run Half Marathon & 5K series took place on Saturday. The Lake area was represented by one runner--Heather Miller of Camdenton.  Heather ran the half marathon, finishing in 2:47:40, and placing 17th (of 20) in the 40-44 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

Total participation was up 54% from last year, and the largest since 2019, before COVID reared its ugly head.

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ROCK THE PARKWAY HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted April 14th)

A name that I haven't seen in race results in years was spotted in the results for last Saturday's Rock the Parkway Half Marathon & 5K in Kansas City. 

Angela Martin of Osage Beach ran the half marathon, finishing in 2:47:37 and placing 50th (of 67) in the women's 55-59 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

Rock the Parkway scored its fourth consecutive year-over-year increase in participation, with a 7% rise over last year. Another year or two with an increase like that would finally bring the race back to its size before COVID.  (The number of 5K finishers is already higher; the half marathon is still shy of its pre-COVID numbers.)  Here are the number of finishers, by distance, over the last nine races.

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CENTRAL OZARKS MEDICAL CENTER'S "PACING FOR PATIENTS 5K COLOR (posted April 5th)

The Central Ozarks Medical Center's first annual Pacing for Patients 5K Color Run had a surprisingly strong turnout on a chilly, dreary Saturday morning at the Tri-County YMCA. in Osage Beach.  Sixty-eight runners and walkers braved the weather and flying, colored corn starch to participate. (Fortunately for them, the rain held off until later in the morning.)

Unlike most color runs, the event was timed.  The overall winner was 12 year-old Logan Zumdome of Eldon, who finished in 27:20. Kayla McNabb of Camdenton crossed the finish line in 28:32 to win the women's race, six seconds ahead of Amorita Jenkins, the women's winner of February's Polar Bear Strut 5K.

The complete race results, provided by FundRuns, can be found at the event's RunSignup page, or can be downloaded here by division, or by finish order.

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RECOVERY ROCKS 5K/10K (posted March 30th)

One of our Lake-area runners traveled to Springfield on Saturday to compete in the inaugural Recovery Rocks 5K/10K, benefiting Better Lives in Recovery.

In the 5K, Glen Kralina of Versailles took 7th overall (of 82 runners), and 2nd (of 7) in the men's 30-39 age group with a 24:46 finish.

In addition to the 82 5K finishers, 25 finished the 10K.  Complete race results can be found here.

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LIBERTY HOSPITAL HALF MARATHON & 5K (posted March 30th)

The Lake area was represented at the 2017 (inaugural), 2018 and 2019 Libery Hospital Half Marathon & 5K races, but never since then, until this year's race on Saturday. Presumably as a warm-up to the Bridge & Dam Half Marathon in two weeks, Jim McDermott ran the Liberty Half, finishing in 2:13:08. That placed Jim second (of four) in the men's 70-74 age group, behind the phenomenal Henri Coeme of Neosho, who finished in 1:38:09.  (That gave Henri yet another Missouri state running record to add to his numerous existing records at various ages for race distances ranging from one mile to 100K.  You may recall Henri from the Rock Island Road Race in Eldon in 2021, where he was the overall winner of the 15K.)

Complete race results can be found here.

Participation at this year's race was down 6% from last year, and extended the trend of declining participation since the peak year of 2020.  Here are the number of finishers, by race distance, since the race debuted in 2017.

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TIME TO PADDY 5K/10K/HALF MARATHON (posted March 24th)

Five of our local runners traveled to Springfield on Saturday for the Time to Paddy 5K.  The Time to Paddy St. Patrick's Day-themed races are put on by Kansas City-based event organizer Bodies Race Company in cities across the country.  The Kansas City edition was held one week earlier.

Here are our locals' results:

Complete race results can be found here.

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SHAMROCK SHUFFLE 5K/15K/BEER MILE (posted March 17th)

A 15 year-old runner from Texas spoiled Tucker Seise's goal of a second overall 5K victory at the Shamrock Shuffle in Springfield on Saturday. Three years ago, Tucker ran an 18:49 and took first among 280 competitors. He shaved more than a minute off that this year, finishing in 17:30, but that was 11 seconds behind the winner--though still ahead of 335 others.

Brittany Parrish also ran the 5K, finishing in 26:57. That placed Brittany fourth (of 38) in the highly competitive women's 30-39 age group.

Complete race results can be found here.   Below are the number of finishers, by distance, since the race's inception in 2022.

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Other weekend races:

St. Louis' St. Patrick's Day Parade Run on Saturday had 1,817 finishers in the 5-mile race, and 548 in the 3K. Both were down slightly from last year.  This was once one of the biggest races in the St. Louis area, with over 9,000 finishers.

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WHOBILATION 5K RUN/WALK (posted March 1st)

Here are the results from Saturday's race:

By finish order
Division winners
Runsignup.com results page

Photos from the race can be found here.

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ELDON ROCK ISLAND ROAD RACE (posted February 28th)

Sad news: After seven great years, one of our biggest annual Lake-area races, the Rock Island Road Race 5K/10K/15K is now history. Rock Island was the welcome replacement to the Run for the Children Half Marathon and 10K (2013-2018), which was cancelled after its sixth year due to declining participation.

Among many things, Rock Island will be remembered as one of the first in-person races to be held in the state of Missouri in 2020 after nearly all others had been cancelled due to COVID-19. Runners itching to race came to Eldon from all around the state and beyond to participate.

We'll miss Rock Island terribly.  It was so well-organized, and always a fun race to do.  A huge thank-you goes to all involved in putting on the race. 

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Queeny Backyard Ultra results:  Sixty two competitors (down from 94 last year) started the race on Friday afternoon in suburban St. Louis, and seven were still in contention at the 23rd hour.  Four were left for the 24th hour, and just two started the 26th--and ultimately final--hour.  The sole finisher completed 113 miles for the win.  

No familiar names were spotted in the results.  Complete results are here.

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TAME THE DRAGON (posted March 3rd)

Not surprisingly, due to the heavy snowfall four days before the St. Louis Orienteering Club's Tame the Dragon orienteering race at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park, none of the 29 solo or 11 team competitors managed to clear the entire course.  It's rare, even under good weather and course conditions, for all the checkpoints to be reached within the 8-hour time limit.  Eight inches of snow and temperatures in the 20s and 30s made it impossible.

The complete race results can be found here.

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POLAR BEAR STRUT 5K RUN/WALK (updated February 25th)

Approximately 70 runners and walkers turned out Saturday for the 24th annual Polar Bear Strut 5K benefiting Special Olympics Missouri.  That was down slightly from last year's field of 84, when the weather was noticeably warmer.  The temperature at the start on Saturday was 30°, making this one of the chillier Struts on record.

Two first-time winners were crowned at this year's race. Camdenton High School junior cross country runner Luke Webb and, from Rocky Mount, Amorita Jenkins, were the overall winners, in 18:36 and 28:23, respectlvely.

       
Overall men's and women's winners Luke Webb and Amorita Jenkins.

Notable faces in the crowd included Zim Schwartze (aka the "Chief Empress", according to her race bib), who has finished 23 of 24 Struts (tying her for the record), and Margie Gunter and granddaughter Katalaya, who only planned to walk up the mountain on Nichols Rd. to Osage Beach Parkway and then back to the finish line, but who, amazingly, persevered to do the entire course.

Many more race photos have been posted here.

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RUNNING FROM YETI MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (posted February 23rd)

Tucker Seise passed on a chance for a potential fourth Polar Bear Strut 5K victory and headed to Springfield on Saturday to compete at Running for Yeti.  The result, though, was the same--Tucker was the overall winner (of 142 participants), finishing in 1:37:02.  He had a four-minute lead at the finish line.

Complete race results can be found here.

Thirteen other runners from the Lake-area also competed.  Here are all of our locals' results:

There were 472 total finishers at this year's race, down 15% from last year, and the first decline in the race's four-year history.  Here are the annual number of finishers, by distance:

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Weekend race results (February 15 - 16):

Our only local to race this past weekend was Sherrie Hamner of Osage Beach. Sherrie ran the 10K at the Heart of the Ozarks Half Marathon & 10K in West Plains. (West Plains is a hotbed of cross country running. Its high school team took second at last fall's Class 4 state championship. Of the 92 half marathon finishers, 33 were under the age of 20.) Sherrie finished in 1:20:02, placing 7th (of 12) in the women's 40-49 age group. Her usual race partner, Shandi Brinkman, finished in the same time.  Complete results are here.

There were 34 finishers at Saturday's Flat Branch 50K in Columbia.  That was up from 25 last year, but the increase would have been far bigger if 21 registered participants hadn't failed to show, presumably because of the weather.  Complete results are here.

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Weekend races (February 8 - 9):

Some of the weekend races had big turnouts, although I didn't find anyone from the Lake area in the race results.  The final Frostbite Series race of the season in St. Louis had nearly 800 finishers, and the sold-out Kickoff 5K in Kansas City had 644.

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Weekend race results (February 1 - 2):

Our Jefferson City friend Cody Eubanks won the Beulah Challenge 9-hour race at Greensfelder County Park in suburban St. Louis last Saturday. Cody and two others (among the 25 total competitors) completed 10 laps of the 4.2-mile course within the alloted 9 hours. Cody finished the final lap 7 minutes ahead of his nearest rival to take the victory.

Cody has a remarkable record of winning most of the races he's done. Check out his record here.

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BIG BEACH MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 7K (posted January 28th)

Tucker Seise returned to Gulf Shores, Alabama last weekend for the Big Beach Marathon.  Two years ago, Tucker finished fourth overall and first (of 27) in his age group with a 2:54:47 finish (which I believe is a personal best).

This time, Tucker finished in 3:13:08. That placed him 17th overall, and fourth (of 38) in the men's 30-34 age group.

Brittany Parrish of Camdenton competed in the half marathon.  Brittany finished in 2:12:35, placing 16th (of 53) in the women's 30-34 age group.

Tucker and Brittany both ran the 7K on Saturday, with podium finishes. Tucker crossed the finish line in 25:04, good for second overall and second in his age group, and Brittany in 36:14, good for second in her age group.

Complete race results can be found here.

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Weekend race results (January 25 - 26):

Brandon Sparks of Versailles took third overall (of 25 finishers) at the Alternate Chili Ten Mile Trail Run in Kansas City on Sunday. He finished in 1:45:10.

The Alternate Chili race is a shadow of its former size. Take a look at its number of finishers by year since 2013:

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Weekend race results (January 18 - 19):

Half the field for the 100-miile, 100K and 40-mile races at The Shippey Endurance Runs either failed to start or finish in the brutal wind chills on Saturday and Sunday. The marathon was won by Chris Roberts of the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood. He won in 22:30:44--three and a half hours ahead of the second-place finisher. (He's competed at Big Dog's Backyard Ultra several times.) Complete results are here.

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