REND LAKE MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 1/4 MARATHON (posted March 30th)

For Lake-area runners, the biggest racing news of the weekend--and of the year so far--was made at Rend Lake in Benton, Illinois, located about 100 southeast of St. Louis.

Tucker Seise was the overall winner, of 90 total competitors, at the Rend Lake Marathon on Saturday, finishing in an extraordinary 2:41:18, a pace of 6:09 per mile, and beating his personal best by over 13 minutes. Tucker's was among the fastest marathons ever run by anyone from the Lake area, with only two runners--Gary Thompson and Jeremy Ryan (now of St. Charles)  --known to have gone faster.  (Gary ran multiple marathons in the 2:21:01 to 2:26:04 range while at the peak of his racing career in the early 1980s, and Jeremy ran marathons of 2:33:45 and 2:37:54 last year alone.)

More importantly, Tucker virtually guaranteed himself entry into the 2027 Boston Marathon, after a big disappointment several years ago.  He had beaten his 2024 Boston age-group qualifying standard of 3:00:00 by 5:13 at the Big Beach Marathon in early 2023, but the cut-off time (to apply for entry) was 5:29, meaning he missed out by just 16 seconds.  By beating the 2027 qualifying standard of 2:55:00 by 13:42, he's almost assured of entry, since the cut-off times to apply have been no more than 7:47 in the last 14 years.

Congratulations, Tucker! 

Complete Rend Lake results can be found here.

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THE RUNNING OF THE KNIGHTS COLOR RUN 5K & FUN RUN (posted March 30th)

A total of 70 runners and walkers turned out Sunday afternoon for The King's Academy's Running of the Knights Color Run 5K and Fun Run in Lake Ozark.

A mere one second was the margin of victory for 10 year-old Colton Ioan in the 5K.  Colton finished in 17:10, just ahead of Tim Glavin.  Betsy Spica won the women's race, in 27:52. 

Complete results can be found here.

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Other weekend races (March 28 - 29):

While many races are seeing a resurgence of interest compared to previous years, the Run Liberty Half Marathon & 5K/10K (formerly the Liberty Hospital Half Marathon & 5K) in Sedalia continues to experience a steady decline in participation. At Saturday's race, there were 969 finishers--the lowest total in the race's eight-year history, and only half of 2020's peak of 1,976.   (Liberty Hospital merged with the University of Kansas Health System in 2024. The University's Cancer Center remains a sponsor, but the City of Liberty is now the main sponsor.)

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TIME TO PADDY 5K/10K & LUCKY 13.1 (posted March 23rd)

Sometimes, getting on the podium has nothing to do with speed, but just showing up and being in the right age group. (Ask me how I know. :) ) Such was the case with two Lake-area runners, the mother/daughter combination of Kelly and Lily Miller of Lake Ozark. They both ran the 10K at the Time to Paddy race in Springfield on Saturday, finishing dead last, but still earning second-place finishes in their respective age groups.

Kelly, competing in the women's 45-49 age group, finished in 1:42:34. Lily, in the 15-19 age group, finished in 2:00:48.

There were 129, 58, and 38 finishers of the 5K, 10K and half marathon, respectively. The total of 225 was up from 199 last year.

Complete results can be found here.

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Other weekend races (March 21 - 22):

The relatively few races this weekend all had higher turnouts than last year. The largest race of the weekend, the Chain of Rocks 6K near St. Louis, had 469 finishers, up from 389 last year. The St. Peters edition of the Time to Paddy 5K/10K/half had 294 finishers this year, versus 267 last year.

The results from the inaugural American Bottoms 100 (110- and 55-milers) won't be posted for a few days. Melissa Sharp was registered for the 110-miler.

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CENTRAL OZARKS MEDICAL CENTER'S "PACING FOR PATIENTS 5K COLOR (posted March 12th)

The Central Ozarks Medical Center's second annual Pacing for Patients 5K Color Run will take place on Saturday, April 4th at the Tri-County YMCA in Osage Beach.

As of this writing, I can't find any clear mention of the 5K's starting time, but it may be 9:00 a.m. (It started last year at 7:30 a.m.)

After the color run, COMC will have a health fair and farmers market from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.  

For more information or to register for the color run, click here.  The event's Facebook page has additional information.  COMC's Facebook page is here.

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BRIDGE AND DAM HALF MARATHON & 5K/10K (posted March 12th)

The twelfth annual Bridge and Dam Half Marathon, 10K & 5K (Facebook page) is happening on Saturday, April 11th, in Lake Ozark. All races start at 7:30 a.m. at the Bagnell Dam scenic overlook.

Visit the race's website to get all of the event details.

If you can't race, please consider volunteering.  It's easy, rewarding, and helps makes this race possible. Sign up by sending an e-mail to heyguys@fundruns.org.

Online registration is available here. (Online registration closes on Wednesday night; after that, you can still register in person at packet pickup, or on race morning.)

Check out who's already registered here.

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