Kansas Road Running Records home page

Intro
Requirements
Target Times
Age Groups
Abbrev

2023 Runners of the Year

Our 2023 selections for Kansas runners-of-the-year feature two veterans and a newcomer to the top rank.

Deb Torneden of Manhattan, Noah Stevenson of Prairie Village and formerly of Kansas State University, and Fred Torneden of Manhattan turned in outstanding performances in 2023 that included age-group records and world- and national-class times. Twelve other runners were also recognized for their achievements.
More details on runners of the year and others with significant accomplishments.

State of the State's Running, 2023

Thirty 5K races were held on courses certified by USA Track & Field in 2023, up from 28 the year before but still well below the 58 that were scheduled for 2020, before the pandemic restrictions. Eighteen of these races were stand-alone 5Ks, not held in conjunction with other events.

A total of 54 races at all other distances were held, compared with 53 the year before. More

Introduction

Our primary objective in making this data available is two-fold:

To give more recognition for racing achievements by our Kansas runners,

To give more publicity to the Kansas racing scene for the hard work of both runners and the race sponsors & directors.

Although not a lot of national or world class times have been run on Kansas roads, still a lot of high quality performances have been achieved. A secondary objective, is to encourage all race directors and/or sponsors to certify their race courses and submit the race results to the State Statistician. This provides publicity for the race itself as well as for the top achievements of all runners around the state regardless of the size of the race event. The certification of race courses assures all runners that they are running a course that is legitimate and accurate, whether it be for state recognition or for their own personal records or objectives. Submittal of results to the State record keeper is critical; we are aware that there have been some excellent times run on Kansas certified courses that were not submitted. Runners who know that they have achieved times that are better than the Honor Roll Target Times shown in the Honor Roll listings, can help to correct this situation by contacting the race director and requesting that they submit them to Gene Wee at runlawrence@gmail.com.

Also, some of the results submitted were not complete and some did not list exact ages, hometowns or even enough information to determine the proper Age Group. We also urge both runners and race directors to please furnish corrections to the data listed. Many, many hours of research have gone into making the data as complete and accurate as possible.

State Records Note (Sept 2023)

Some runLawrence club members compile and maintain state road-running records as a service to the Kansas running community.

Qualifying performances must meet the standards listed on the “state records” link on the club’s website and must be run on a course that has been certified as accurate by USA Track & Field.

Courses that meet the requirements may be found on the USATF website at: https://certifiedroadraces.com/search

Races must be run on the course as certified, according to the map that accompanies course information on the USATF website.

We encourage runners to familiarize themselves with course maps and ask that they inform us of races that are not run as certified. We do our best to maintain standards to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the records list.

Typical problems include misplaced turnaround points and runners who might not understand course markings and fail to run the course as certified. Race directors should be notified immediately in such cases so they can take corrective action.

In past years there were a few reports of qualifying times by runners who were linked to the possible use of performance-enhancing drugs. None of these that we are aware of involved Kansas runners, and we do not include any of those times on the state list.

We invite your questions and comments

Requirements for State Records

A road race course must be accurately measured by a USATF certifier and his certification papers filed with the USATF Road Running Technical Council. Each race director must also assure that their race is run on that course as certified with no deviations due to construction, missed turns, or other types of extenuating circumstances. Race directors must also assure that the race was properly timed. Chip timing is now allowable. Times must be calibrated to round times "up”, not down. (See 3. below)
Only the following distances are currently certifiable for Kansas records:
1 MILE, 2 MILE, 5 K, 4 MILE, 8 K, 10 K, 12 K, 15 K, 10 MILE, 20 K, 25K, 30 K, HALF MARATHON, MARATHON and several ultra distances.
There are currently no known certified 20 K or 30 K courses.
All times are maintained only in whole seconds. Fractional times must be rounded UP to the next whole second, even if it is only 1/100th. For example, 12.01 seconds = 13.00 seconds. Race results received that are already rounded to seconds are assumed to have been rounded down, and one second will be added to each time unless the race director notifies us that the proper rounding procedure was used.
Aided Courses: An "Aided Course" is defined as a certified course that is run from point-to-point, such that a runner could benefit from a significant downward elevation change or obtain aid from a prevailing wind over most of the race course. Marathons and half marathons are generally excluded from this rule. Also a race director or certifier may petition to have any course declared "difficult" enough to be excluded from the rule. Honor Roll times achieved on an "Aided" course will be listed, but with an "A" tag next to the time (Col. K) and no aided time will be considered for a state record.
State Records can easily be noted when viewing the Honor Roll listings - there is also a summary of records by distance and age group in a separate file. If the state record was set by a non-Kansas resident or foreign runner (coded as FN), the Kansas Resident Record is also listed with a star (*) in column "K" of the listing. Times achieved in relay events are not eligible for State Records, but are listed on the Honor Roll, provided that the times were properly rounded "UP" for each team member.
Corporate Challenge Ages -(July 2016) - There have been several races where the exact age (on race day) of the runner isn't listed. We will no longer record times that meet honor roll standards unless the exact age is listed. If your time qualifies for the honor roll, please contact us and we will be glad to add your name. Some races only list the age categories. Corporate Challenge results base the age on Dec 31st of the year. Researching Athlinks can be unreliable as ages can sometimes be made up; e.g., everyone in the age 60-69 category are sometimes given the age 60. We ask event directors to please include race day ages as well as home towns.

Honor Roll Target Times

All individual times that meet or better the listed "Target Time" established for each age group and distance, will be listed in the state Honor Roll files. However, these Target Times (T.T.) are subject to being updated from time to time to stay in line with changes in the World Masters Athletics published factors for each distance and age within that distance.

Our regional T.T.'s are then adjusted to be more attainable than the World factors. Our regional factors are also sometimes adjusted when it becomes obvious that our T.T.'s are too lax or too difficult to attain.

All times are listed that bettered the T.T.'s in any single age group during the current racing season. This is followed by the "ALL TIME BESTS" list that showsup to the five "best" times that each individual has achieved since the start of course certification in Kansas in the 1970's.

In some instances we list some BEST TIMES that are inferior to the Target Time. These are usually older times in events with few results.

Age Groups

12 & under
13-15
16-19
OPEN - this grouping includes all ages, but is the only group in
which ages 20 through 34 can be listed
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
74-79
80-84*
85 & up**

* At present, most distances except the 5K have only an 80 & UP group and some of the longer distances may not have any qualifiers in this group.

** A 90 & UP group may be established for some distances (see 5K)

In some events and age groups, a “Kansas Additions” list has been added to recognize Kansas residents who don’t meet the primary standard.

Abbreviations

A	= Aided Course. An "A" in the K column means this time was run on an aided course and is not eligible for a State Record. (See definition under "Requirements")
FN	= Foreign National. Non-US citizens are given this designation in the ST column of the Honor Roll.
K	= An asterisk (*) in this Honor Roll column means that this time is the Kansas Resident record.
RACE C	= Race Code. A short "9 digit or less” identifier assigned to each race event. If more than one distance is run for that event, each distance may be given the same code.
T.T.	= Target Time. Target Times have been established for each age group by sex and each distance. A time achieved by a runner that equals or beats this T.T. is listed in the Primary Honor Roll. Only the five best times per person per age category are listed. (For greater visibility in some age groups, times that do not attain this T.T. may be listed at the discretion of the State Statistician.)
*	= (See K definition above)
@	= This "at" sign in the K field designates a relay time that is not eligible for State Records.
p	= partial. In the List of Races, a "p" following a year means that only partial results were received for that race in that year.