News: Jan-Feb 2022

Feb 22

WHAT IS THE PANCAKE DAY RACE? The friendly little competition between Liberal, Kansas, and Olney, England, with women running 415 yards down the streets of each town flipping pancakes, has been going on for more than 70 years now. It is still the only race of its kind on the planet. This year it's on March 1st.
More on the Liberal Race.
More on the Olney Race.

2020 Liberal race winners

Fancy pancakes in Olney (2020) (Haydn P Langley photo)

Feb 4

Oatmeal for Runners - As you may recall from nursery songs, Mares eat oats and Does eat oats—and so do many runners. (The song is actually Mairzy Doats.) Questions arise about oatmeal:

Is oatmeal beneficial for runners? Are steel-cut oats better than quick-cooking oats? Does oatmeal really “stick to your ribs”? And for some, “Why would any athlete even want to eat oatmeal?? It’s so gluey … yuck! Let’s take a look at what you might want to know about this popular sports food. more (from the Colorado Runner, Jan 13, 2022)

Jan 23

Congratulations to our local runners at the 3M Half Marathon in Austin. (Yes, they did stand in front of the promo banner for the 2023 race)

**3M Half Marathon, Austin TX - Jan 23, 2022**
Time	Name	City	Div	Pl	Ovrl
1:41:55	Jackie Wilson	Lawrence	F50-54	11	583
1:45:51	Kristen Wiens	Lawrence	F50-54	16	773
1:46:27	Elim Myers	Lawrence	F50-54	17	803
2:02:54	Heather Krase-Minnick	Lecompton	F50-54	65	1835
2:04:58	Molly Wood	Lawrence	F65-69	5	1958
2:05:44	Dee Boeck	Lawrence	F70-74	1	1995
2:32:42	Becky McClure	Lawrence	F60-64	31	3047
1:29:56	Dominic Romano	Lawrence	M25-29	25	144

Jan 15

What Experts Say About Running After A COVID Diagnosis. Even after you've quarantined and are no longer infected, doctors recommend you run with caution.

When Jordan D. Metzl, MD, and his colleagues at the HSS Sports Medicine Institute published their guidelines to returning to activity after recovering from COVID-19 in August, he never imagined the response he’d get from patients.more
(Malissa Rodenberg, Trail Runner, Sept 3, 2021)

Jan 9

(Rob Hays photo by Mile 90 Photography)

From Kansas Road Racing Records:
Runners of the Year - Four runners were selected for runner of the year for 2021, reflecting a series of excellent performances over an abbreviated racing schedule due to the Covid pandemic.

Rob Hays, of Topeka; Joe Moore and Deb Torneden, of Manhattan; and Dee Boeck, of Lawrence, had particularly outstanding seasons. Torneden is a six-time selection since 1991. In addition, John Huchingson, of Lawrence, and Marcia Steele, of Wichita, were recognized for honorable mention for their records in the 80-84 age group.

More details on the runners of the year and others with significant accomplishments.

State of the State's Running, 2021

Road racing in Kansas recovered somewhat in 2021, but not to pre-pandemic levels.
Twenty 5K races were held on USATF-certified courses in 2021, up from five in 2020 but well below the 58 that were scheduled for that year.
A total of 48 certified races were held at other distances compared with 17 in 2020 of the 87 that were scheduled.
After the 5K, the most popular events were the half-marathon with 14 races, the 10K with eight, and the marathon with six.
In addition, three ultras were held with a total of nine races at distances from 50K to 100 miles.