Weekend race results (January 17 - 18):
Three weekends into the year, we're still waiting to crown the Lake area's first 2026 race finisher. No one was crazy enough to race in subfreezing temperatures this past weekend. Maybe you guys are smarter than I thought. :)
The brutally cold weather didn't deter the diehards who competed at The Shippey Endurance Runs on Saturday-Sunday. There were 137 total finishers in the 100M100K/40M/20M races, and only 30 DNFs. Not surprisingly, eighteen of those DNFs were in the 100-mile race. That race was won--for the third time--by the phenomenal Chris Roberts of Kirkwood (check out his race history here), in a race-record 18:45:51, more than four hours ahead of his nearest rival. The final finisher crossed the line in 33:32:29. During that time, the temperature ranged from 10° to 25°, and the wind chill from 1° to 22°.
* * * * *
Greater GO! St. Louis Marathon news: For the very first time in its history, the Greater GO! St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon is offering a one-hour, early-start option. This is an excellent opportunity for slower runners or walkers who would like to do a marathon or half marathon, but who have doubts as to whether they could finish within the usual time necessary (6:30 for the marathon, 3:15 for the half) to be an official finisher. (There are few things more anxiety-producing on a race course than having to play beat-the-clock, especially in the later miles.) For anyone with a decent level of training, a 7:30 marathon is certainly doable, although it's still going to hurt.
There are some eligibility requirements for the early start. You can find them on this page.
The race takes place on Saturday, April 11th.
* * * * *
Houston Chevron Marathon and Aramco Half Marathon: The first big U.S. marathon and half marathon of the year U.S. took place on Sunday in Houston. (Normally, the Houston Marathon and Half is held on the Sunday before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but this year's race was held one week earlier. In 2027, it moves back to its traditional day.) There were about 9,000 official marathon finishers (before the 6-hour cutoff), and about 14,300 half finishers (before the 4-hour cutoff). The race continues to remain popular. Ten years ago, when interest in running was peaking in the U.S., this race had about 7,000 marathon and 11,600 half finishers.
The large prize purse always brings out some fast runners. The men's races had new course records, with the winners finishing in 2:05:45 and 59:01 in the marathon and half, respectively. The women's race winners crossed the line in 2:24:17 and 1:04:49.
If you're interested in a mid-winter marathon, gives this race a look. The flat course winds through the nicest, most scenic parts of the city. Check out lots of photos taken at the 2015 race.
* * * * *
RACE PARTICIPATION UP SLIGHTLY IN 2025
Interest in running grew a little last year, using the total number of half marathon, marathon and ultramarathon finishers at Missouri races as our gauge. There were 32,957 finishers at such races in 2025, in Missouri, up 3% from 2024. It still falls 8% short of the 35,731 finishers in 2019--the last year before COVID reared its ugly head.
Will we ever see participation reach the record levels of the early/mid 2010s? That's looking less and less likely as time goes on.
Here's a graph for the years 2012 through 2025. (Click on it for a larger image.)
* * * * *
Weekend race results (January 1 - 4):
Lots of runners across the state crossed a finish line this past holiday weekend, although I didn't see the names of any Lake-area runners among them. (Similar to those first newborn baby of the year announcements, I'm always curious as to who among our locals will be the first to race in the new year. In 2025, it wasn't until January 26th that we finally crowned our first finisher.)
There were 1,670 total finishers at the five races held this past weekend. Here's the list, ranked by size.
| Snowball Series 5K (St. Louis) | 770 |
| Hangover Half Marathon & 10K (Kansas City) | 312 |
| SHiTR Trail Race (Half/10K/5K/1M) (St. Louis) | 274 |
| Time Travel Half Marathon & 5K/10K (Parkville) | 255 |
| Doomsday 5K Trail Race (St. Louis) | 59 |
| Total | 1,670 |
* * * * *