4 FORE 30 INFINITY BACKYARD ULTRA (posted November 18th)

The final finisher for the final, swan song edition of the 4 Fore 30 Infinity Backyard Ultra was Nicholas Steel of Mankato, Minnesota. Nicholas, despite being only 23 years old, has a long, impressive list of ultramarathon and backyard ultra finishes.  In the fifteen events he's competed in within the last twelve months, he was the overall winner five times, and finished lower than fifth just once. He's registered for two more backyard ultras in coming months, including the Queeny Backyard Ultra in February. (Queeny is a silver ticket race for those hoping to  join the U.S. national team for the Big Dog's Backyard Ultra World Team Championship next fall.)

Nicholas needed 32 hours (133.3 miles) to dispatch his sole remaining competitor, Brett Rinehart of Chanute, Kansas and claim victory.  Brett went beyond his previous personal backyard best of 107 miles; Nicholas' personal record was 137 miles.  This was the first appearance at 4 Fore 30 for both.

What perhaps most distinguished this year's race from all previous ones is that the final two competitors battled alone for 13 hours, or 54 miles, after five competitors, including two-time winner Cody Eubanks, dropped out after 18 hours (75 miles).  In nearly every year but one, the final two competitors at 4 Fore 30 had company up to near the very end.  (The exception was a 9-hour (38 mile) duel just between Chris Boyle and Cody Eubanks in 2020.)

Another surprise at this year's race was the subdued showing for the women.  The top woman this year was Bobbi Snodgrass of Lake Ozark, who finished 22nd overall, covering 45.8 miles (11 hours).  Except for the first two years of 4 Fore 30, when the top women lasted 68 and 91.7 miles (or 17 and 22 hours), respectively, the top female has always gone 100 miles (24 hours) or more. 

This year's starting field of 58 competitors was down from 2024.  Here are the year-by-year totals:

2018      36
2019      59
2020    103
2021      61
2022      51
2023      77
2024      75
2025      58

The complete race results are posted here.

Twenty-five, or 43%, of the 58 competitors in this year's field were from the Lake area. Here are their results:

Place	Name	City	Miles Completed
3(tie)	Gunnar Rhoads	Camdenton	75
17 (tie)	Tucker Seise	Osage Beach	50
22	Bobbi Snodgrass	Lake Ozark	45.83
23 (tie)	Elaine Mallahan	Montreal	41.67
23 (tie)	Ava Canales	Camdenton	41.67
25	Averie Hotle	Sunrise Beach	37.5
30 (tie)	Dylan Tufts	Camdenton	29.17
30 (tie)	James Newell	Lake Ozark	29.17
36 (tie)	Payton Canales	Camdenton	25
36 (tie)	Natasha Boettcher	Camdenton	25
36 (tie)	Nobel Mallahan	Montreal	25
36 (tie)	Rosie Falter	Lake Ozark	25
44 (tie)	Rob Kucsik	Lake Ozark	20.83
44 (tie)	Logan Blackwood	Camdenton	20.83
44 (tie)	Gracie Ulam	Camdenton	20.83
44 (tie)	Brandon Goring	Camdenton	20.83
44 (tie)	Ellis Pitts	Camdenton	20.83
49 (tie)	Jennifer Renton	Camdenton	16.67
49 (tie)	Katie Roberts	Camdenton	16.67
49 (tie)	Nigher Alfaro	Eldon	16.67
49 (tie)	Curtis Wehmeyer	Camdenton	16.67
49 (tie)	Lauren Moriearty	Lake Ozark	16.67
56	Bret Hotle	Sunrise Beach	12.5
57	Chuck Pitts	Roach	8.33
58	Gary Thompson	Osage Beach	4.17

This year's competitors completed an average of 40.4 miles.  That compares to an average of 43.0 miles last year, and to the lowest average of 39.4 miles at the inaugural race in 2018. (The highest average was 52.2 miles in 2021.)

Expressed in terms of conventional race distances, exactly half the field ended up running a 50K or more.  The most common distance at which competitors called it a day was 25 miles (6 hours).  Eight decided to bow out at that point.

After eight years of 4 Fore 30, three competitors--Gavin Eubank (of Columbia), Rob Kucsik, and Tucker Seise--have the distinction of having participated in every race.

Mile 90 Photography's photos from the race can be found here.

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

A record field of 501 runners turned out on Saturday for the tenth annual Honoring Our Heroes Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K (Facebook page).  The marathoners started in Salem, the half marathoners started halfway between Salem and Rolla, and the 5K/10K runners started in Rolla.

Three runners were from the Lake area.

April Leonard finished her eighth Honoring Our Heroes marathon, finishing in 5:18:12 and placing third (of four) in the women's 55-59 age group.

Also competing in the marathon, Jordan Quick of Gravois Mills finished in 5:33:37.  That placed Jordan fourth (of six) in the men's 25-29 age group.

Jim McDermott ran the half marathon, and won the men's 70-74 age group by default, with a tim eof 2:17:40.

Two other race participants familiar to many of us, Melissa and Larry Sharp of Waynesville, finished the marathon and 5K, respectively, in 5:53:45 and 55:49.

The complete race results can be found here.

The number of finishers was up 41% from last year.  Here are the number of finishers, by distance, in the race's nine-year history.

Sentimental favorite, veteran Bob Gravley of Salem, Missouri returned to Honoring Our Heroes this year after a one-year absence, and finished it for the ninth time.  Now 88, Bob finished the 10K in 2:01:35. (That's not a Missouri state running record, though, for 88 year-old men.  The record is 1:46:29, set in 2008.)

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MO' COWBELL MARATHON, HALF MARATHON, 10K & 5K (updated November 10th)

Update: Because Athlinks.com makes it essentially impossible to search their results for large races, I didn't know that Joan Wolf had an outstanding race at MO' Cowbell on October 5th.  Joan finished the marathon in 3:47:25, and won the women's 50-54 age group over eight others.  Here's a link to Joan's splits (her pace was incredibly stead throughout the race) and photos.

A tip of the hat to Mark Matthews for bringing Joan's result to my attention.  If anyone else participated in the race and would like your results acknowledged, please let me know. Ratting out someone who's playing quiet about their result is also perfectly acceptable.

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World records fall at Tunnel Hill: The Tunnel Hill 100M/100K/50M/Marathon in Vienna, Illinois is a very popular trail race, and whose flat, certified courses attract runners hoping to set new records. Three women set new world or American records at this past weekend's race:

Women's 100-mile world record:  Catriona Jennings, 12:37:04 (not yet official)

Women's100K American record:  Courtney Olsen, 6:59:56

Women's 50-mile world record:  Anne Flower, 5:18:57

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BASS PRO SHOPS FITNESS SERIES' DOGWOOD CANYON TRAIL RUNS (posted November 10th)

Six Lake-area runners competed at the Bass Pro Shops Fitness Series' Dogwood Canyon Trail Runs on Saturday and Sunday.  As is usually the case, all of races at this year's event were sold out.

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

Complete race results can be found here.

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

Here are the results for our local high school cross country runners at the state championship meet held on Friday and Saturday at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.

In the Class 3 team standings, the Osage girls placed 7th of 16 teams. The Osage boys were 12th of 16 teams.

The fastest boys and girls state champs are usually in Class 5.  That was true again for the girls (18:06 was the winning time), but not for the boys.  This year's boys state champ was in Class 4, with a winning time of 14:49, followed closely by the Class 2 (14:51) and Class 5 (14:52) winners.

The fastest boys team was Liberty North, with an average time of 15:49. The fastest girls team was Blue Springs South, with an average time of 19:10.

The complete results for all classes can be found here.

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LOTO TURKEY TROT 5K (posted November 1st)

The 16th annual LOTO Turkey Trot 5K will take place on Thanksgiving Day (November 27th) at Camdenton High School.   A 1-mile fun run starts at 7:45 a.m., followed by the 5K at 8:30 a.m. Race-day registration opens at 7:00 a.m.

The entry fees are $20 for the 1-mile fun run and $25 for the 5K through Thursday, November 13th. On race day, the entry fees rise to $30.  (Discounts are available to families of four or more.)  Only those who register by November 13th will be guaranteed a t-shirt on race day. 

Online registration and additional race details can be found here.

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