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.

After the 5K, the most commonly held races were the half marathon with 15 and the 10K and marathon with eight each.

In addition, five ultras – two of them timed events -- were held with a total of 14 races at distances from 50K to 100 miles.

New this year were the Earth Day Buckle Mania run in Abilene with timed races of 12, 24, and 48 hours and Ollie’s Ultras in Chanute with timed races of one, three, six, nine, and 12 hours. The six-hour and 12-hour races are standard events that we maintain records for.

The Buckle Mania 48-hour was the first race at that distance in Kansas since the KUS Ultraganza in Hesston in 1997.

We encourage runners to support these new races, which can provide a good introduction to ultrarunning for newcomers or a fair test for veterans since they are held on loop courses that are convenient both for running and for administration.

No races were held this year at the standard distances of 8K, 12K, 15K, and 25K, and the Wichita Turkey Trot remains the only 10-mile in the state.

We encourage race directors to consider holding runs at these distances and perhaps to pair a two-mile or four-mile race with a longer event.

We also encourage race directors and sponsors to offer prize-money awards for top finishers and record-setters as the Bill Snyder Half-Marathon, the Irish Mile, the Salina Crossroads Marathon, and the runLawrence Thanksgiving Day run have done.

Please advise us of other races that award prize money so that we can give them appropriate recognition.

And once again, we encourage runners to give preference to races held on USATF-certified courses. Experienced race directors usually indicate on their websites if their courses are certified, which is an indication that the race is doing more than the bare minimum to provide a safe, accurate course that serves the runners’ interests.