Fourteen runners braved the relatively cool temperatures and early morning clouds, their only risk being they might actually win the Great Sandbagger trophy and have to defend it next year. Richard Boggs, last year's winner, missed a repeat victory, in a dramatic finish with Myoung Kaylen crossing the finish line 9:30 minutes sooner than she anticipated and far ahead of her competition. Not bad given that her first road race, a 5K, was the week earlier at the Show Me State Games.
We had many highlights: the official club race clock was left on all night in my car, the ground was too dry to accept the directional arrows we 'borrowed' from another CTC club race with much better graphics (Rock Bridge Revenge), so we hoped everyone remembered the last loop; Patrick Hanson finished his last 2 miles or so barefoot as his shoes, (which he emphasizes were not fitted nor purchased from Tryathletics) were giving him a bit of trouble.
In starting order of estimated finish time, the runners were:
Myoung Kaylen 66:30:00 Richard Boggs 69:13:00 Debbie Karwoski 68:31:00 Hugh Emerson 61:21:00 Brenda Leuenberger 49:02:00 Jim O'Dell 54:31:00 Mike Kaylen 45:52:00 Oscar Chavez 50:40:00 Rick McAllister 50:10:00 Kurt Kennett 45:04:00 Chris Little 44:50:00 Andy Emerson 42:36:00 Julie Lessas 41:01:00 Pat Hanson 44:20:00
Many thanks to Peggy Horner and Kala Jennings for their excellent management of the timing and water/snack stations, and Alejandro Chávez for his finish line photography and graphics. Mark your calendars now for next year's race.
- Pat Fowler