33rd Annual Charleston Dogwood-Azalea Festival 5K

Charleston, MO -- April 17, 2011
(Results @ http://www.fleetfeetstlouis.com/racetiming/results/DOGWOOD_2011_OA.HTM )

Nice afternoon and nice turnout.  Overall winner, and ULTRARunning Magazine's April cover boy, Bryan Kelpe takes charge about 200 meters in and never looks back.  Bryan's perspective on today's race can be viewed on his blog at: http://kelpeb.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html.  This year's event; however, will probably most be remembered for the $1,000 throwdown / showdown bet between Delbert Marriott and Bruce Nie.  Bruce prevails after an unfortunate injury forces Delbert to race in a condition that would have put most mortal humans in a hospital.  Personally, I went out a few seconds too quick for the conditions and did not have as much control over how fast I could finish up.  Did manage to knock 40 seconds off my 2010 time, and age-graded, had second best performance of all runners.  As always, Wayne Corse, his wife Debbie, Tripp Logan, the Charleston PD, and the rest of their volunteers do a first class job.  Year after year one of the best races in the area.

-KBramlett



2011 field grows to 224.





Bruce Nie and Kevin Hammes




Taylor Vaughan and Delbert Marriott





Overall winner Bryan Kelpe finishes off his 17:04 performance.




L to R: Bryan Kelpe (1st Overall), Taylor Vaughan (3rd Overall), Tracy Vaughan,
Kevin Hammes (4th Overall), Dr. Mitch Gerber (1st 55-59), and Kevin Bramlett (6th Overall).



CGPS Foundation Run for Excellence 10K

Cape Girardeau, MO -- March 26, 2011
(Race photos available from Goddard Photography: http://www.goddardphotographyonline.com/f430416726 )

About 120 registered for 5K/10K in first-time event.  Not sure how many were actually at the starting line.  Race began and ended in the large Cape Central High School parking lot, but 10K course was still 6.4 miles long?  Excellent race between Taylor Vaughan and Josh Lester.  Josh made his move just prior to the south turn onto Sprigg Street; however, Taylor hung on and came back a short time later to take the overall win.  Front runners attacked by a dog just past Pike Lodge.  Lead bike fought him off Taylor and Josh.  I ended up spraying him with Halt which held him at bay until Kevin Hammes, who was following the race in his truck, was able to chase him back to his ambivalent (in other words..@$$hole) owner.

-KBramlett



Taylor Vaughan: Overall winner.




Josh Lester: 2nd Overall.




Kevin Bramlett: 3rd Overall.



Howard Aslinger Foundation Midnight 5K

Cape Girardeau, MO -- March 20, 2011
(Results @ Cape Road Runners: http://www.caperoadrunners.org/results.htm )

Adam McGee Memorial Mile

Blodgett, MO -- March 5, 2011
(Results @ SplitMaster Timing: http://www.splitmastertiming.com/assets/AdamMcGeeMemorialMileFinalResults.pdf )

A rainy morning in Blodgett, and the 43 brave runners will get to fight a 20+ mph headwind to finish the last half of the race.  Running 5th, I am lucky enough to get the front row seat for what turns out to be one of the best races in recent memory.  A final 800 meter dog-fight between Delbert Marriott, Kevin Hammes, Elliot Shearon, and Taylor Vaughan.  Traci snaps six photos of them coming back from the cemetary, and the runners have changed positions in four of the shots!  Taylor breaks away at the finish to not only take the overall, but also crack the 5:00 minute barrier with an impressive 4:57.  Charleigh Brookshire wins the female overall.  Ron Rosati, Jessica Rosati, and Dr. Mitch Gerber...two races in two different counties...all before lunch.  You guys are beasts!

-KBramlett



43 runners take the line on a rainy day in Blodgett.




Delbert Marriott, Elliot Shearon, Kevin Hammes, and Taylor Vaughan
battle it out for the overall.




Taylor Vaughan pulls away in the final meters to claim the win
with an impressive time of 4:57.




Female overall winner Charleigh Brookshire (R) and Jessica Rosati (L)
battle stride for stride to the finish line.



5th Annual Chaffee Race for the Cure 5K

Chaffee, MO -- February 26, 2011
(Results @ Cape Road Runners: http://www.caperoadrunners.org/results.htm )

A well organized event that's getting bigger and better every year, Race for the Cure features Race Director Travis Calkins' flat, fast, and accurate course that allows everyone to see who was running during the cold winter months, and who went into hibernation.  This year's field swells to nearly 300.  After almost four months of rehabbing my hamstring, I'm finally ready to take it out for a test drive.  Don't even try to stay close to all the fast folks up front, but rather start cautiously and look to speed up a little each mile.  Find that everything is functioning again as mile splits are 6:08 / 5:58 / 5:49 / and 0:35.  The "kids" whip up on all us this morning as Eric Schott and Ashley Schmittzehe win the overalls.  Another fine job by Travis and his crew.

-KBramlett 



Taylor Vaughan pulls away early from a field of nearly 300. 
Also pictured L to R: Joe Windeknecht, TJ Matthews, Kevin Hammes, Eric Schott,
Delbert Marriott, and Billy Leighton.




Overall winner and future Missouri Southern Lion Eric Schott.




Ashley Schmittzehe with a final kick to win the female overall. 
Chellie Jannin is second.





L to R: Kevin Bramlett, Jamie Sander, Shannon Aldridge, Shannon Daniels,
Brandon Bryant, Chellie Jannin, and Rhonda Windeknecht.



Fly with the Eagles Half Marathon

Marion, IL -- February 12, 2011
(Results @ River to River Runners: http://rrr.olm.net/results/fly11roa.htm)

I had been wanting to run this half marathon for a couple of years so decided to train through the winter for the race.  Beautiful refuge area half-way bewteen Carbondale and Marion, Illinois.  It was a nice day to race.  Weather was 32 degrees, sunny with a wind of 12-13 mph at the start.  Had snowed several days earlier and RD informed us much of the course, especially the gravel roads/trails, are snow and ice covered.  Also tells us 144 people are running the race. 

Head out on the blacktop at comfortable pace and wanting to run even three mile splits as long as possible.  Three miles splits end up being:  19:03/38:09/57:29/1:16:50 then last 1.14 miles in 7:38, all per garmin readings.  The last .15 miles was a muddy mess of a road by the time we finished as the sun had begun to melt the snow and frost from the ground.  We ran into the snow/ice on the gravel roads at 3.75 mile mark and ran through it until the 7 mile mark in which we then dealt with another mile on muddy/sloppy gravel roads until returning to the blacktop for the final 5.1 miles.  I slipped 3x between mile 5-7 and almost went down the third time.  Had to alter my gait on the snow and got a bad blister on my forefoot along with 2 black toes as a result.  Minor inconvenience for results.  Able to move into third overall by the 3 mile mark of the race and attempting to keep pace with guy ahead of me.  He held pace well and never able to catch him.

Winner was 26 year old Kyle Monroe, an ironman who ran at SIU while in college.  He was gone from the starting mile and cruised to a 1:16:14 finish.  Second overall was Evansville, Indiana's Graham Paxton with a time of 1:23:21.  I finished third overall with a 1:24:29.

Top three Female Winners were:

1.  Morgan Chaffin from Carbondale, Illinois with a 1:30:50.  She finished 7th overall in the race.

2.  Lacey Gibson, 18, from Carbondale, Ill ran 1:32:41

3.  Joanna Bean, 16, from Carterville, Ill finished in 1:36:28

Steve Schmittzehe, 47 year old marathon man from Cape Girardeau, MO ran the race as a training run and finished first in the 45-49 y/o age group in a solid 1:34:22 while placing in the top 15 finishers.  He is currently training for his first Boston Marathon effort.

--KHammes

Memphis Grizzlies House 5K

Memphis, TN -- December 4, 2010
(Results @ http://www.stjudemarathon.org/results/2010/2010_5K_Results_by_Place.txt )

Heartland 8K Run/Walk for Christ

Cape Girardeau, MO -- November 20, 2010

Starting line at River Campus sees over 200 participants for first annual event.

L to R - Brandon Bryant, Kevin Hammes, and Don Brown.

Adam Raines and Steve Schmittzehe.

Kevin Hammes: 2nd Overall.

Miles for Smiles 5K

Cape Girardeau, MO -- November 13, 2010
(Results @ Cape Road Runners: http://www.caperoadrunners.org/results.htm )
(Race photos available from Goddard Photography: http://www.goddardphotographyonline.com/f430416726 )

About 50 runners take off from SFMC.

Overall winners Ashley Schmittzehe and Kevin Hammes.

Run for One More 10K

Cape Girardeau, MO -- November 6, 2010
(Results @ Cape Road Runners: http://www.caperoadrunners.org/results.htm )

First year for this event, and Race Director Shelly Gerard has a fantastic 10K course to challenge the folks who are looking to break away from the 5K rut.  Lots of hills first couple of miles, then leveling off for a trip downtown and back on Broadway.  Re-tweeked my gimpy hamstring during warm ups and it started to cramp up on me climbing first hill on Cape Rock Drive.  The rest of the race is spent trying to run at a pace where the pain is manageable.  Land on about 6:30 minute miles.  Know now that I will not be racing for a while, so just letting the chips fall.  Probably would have slowed down more, but could hear Kevin Dorris breathing down my neck.  He was a big help in pushing me on.  Remember seeing overall winner Chad Sierman going through the first mile split coasting up the hill on Dunklin.  Don't see him again until the awards ceremony.  Chellie Jannin wins the 10K female overall.  5K overall winners were D.J. Priggel and Jacqueline Heath.  Great job by Shelly and her people on the course were real pros.

-KBramlett

Female Overall Winner Chell Jannin breaks away from pacer
Joe Windeknecht with a strong finishing kick.

Shannon "Rising Force" Aldridge.

Kevin Bramlett: 2nd Overall in 10K.

L to R - Chellie Jannin, Shannon Aldridge, Shannon Daniels, Emily Goode and Kevin Bramlett.

Harvest Festival 5K

Corning, AR -- October 23, 2010
(Results @ Ridge Rider Athletic Club: http://www.stearnsracetiming.com/Results/2010/10-23%20Harvest%20Festival/2010%20Overall%20Results.txt )

I had heard about this race for a couple of years. Bramlett verified it as a well organized race and an accurate, flat course. Brandon had a down week of XC so I decided to venture south to run against some ARK boys. Weather 65 degrees, sunny with a S wind of 12-15mph. We run the course before hand. It is definitely flat and appears accurate. My garmin shows 3.13 miles at the end of the race.

About a 100 people line up to run and I take off with the lead pack of 5 HS kids. The leader and eventual winner is easy to spot. He is about 6' tall, has a mohawk, and the words "Pack Leader" on the back of his lime-green shirt. I end up running my fastest 5K of the year with a 17:31, good for 2nd OA. Bramlett also runs a fast race and ends up 5th OA with a 18:30 finish. Two old men were pretty happy with their performances. Topped the day off with an awesome meal at Bram's grandmother's house prior to heading back north. It is a good out-of-state run to consider.

-KHammes



Meeting up "south of the border" this weekend with Kevin Hammes to face off against some Arkansas competition.  This race starts and finishes in front of my old elementary school classroom, and course runs in front of my 96 year old grandmother's house.  It is the only time she gets to watch me race, and seeing me race is the only way I can convince her that I'm this skinny on purpose.  Course is flat and fast, the hardware is awesome, and race usually draws large group of high school runners along with some of the top masters runners from Jonesboro and Paragould.  Today is perfect for racing.  I'd not rested properly after the half marathon, and tweeked a hamstring during my hill repeat workout on 10/15.  Hoping to get through this morning without problems.  Luckily, all the parts worked and things went well start to finish.  We both ran two of our best 5K times in months.

-KBramlett

About 100 runners start from Corning Central Elementary.

Kevin Hammes: 2nd Overall

Kevin Bramlett: 5th Overall

Truman State Homecoming 5K

Kirksville, MO -- October 16, 2010

Travel to my alma mater for the first time on Homecoming Weekend since 1988.  Plan on hitting  Paglias while in town for some delicious ronzas and running their Homecoming 5K prior to catching the football game.  Run the course pre-race and note the second half of the course has some difficult hills.  Talk to Andyman prior to the start of the race.  He is one of the Columbia, MO areas ultrarunners and also a NMSU grad.    Race Summary:  Take off behind the lead group of about 10 college guys;  the pack begins to thin out around 1.25 miles into the race.  Slowly working my way toward the front 5 runners.  Not exactly sure who all was racing as several of the front guys ended up being bandits and peeled off during the last 1/2 mile of the course.  Finish in 3rd place overall with an 18:03 and then enjoy the rest of the day watching the parade, talking with some old friends and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather.

-KHammes

City of Roses Half Marathon & 5K

Cape Girardeau, MO -- September 19, 2010

(Results @ SplitMaster Timing and Cape Road Runners: http://www.splitmastertiming.com/assets/2010-results/Splits_Corrected2.pdf and http://www.splitmastertiming.com/assets/2010-results/Results_5k2.pdf )
(Race photos available from Goddard Photography: http://www.goddardphotographyonline.com/f430416726 )

Nice turnout for 30th anniversary.  Chad Sierman and Shawn Brumfield run off from the field with Chad winning the overall in 1:18:30.  Aspiring pro ultimate frisbee athlete Mark Hahn takes the male masters division with a solid and well-executed effort.  Annie Bellantone from South Bend, IN wins the female overall in 1:29:59.  58 year old Kim Cheonae first in female masters.  High school runners did a first-class job working the course.  Their coaches should be proud.  My first half marathon.  Hope to take lessons learned and do it better next time out.

-KBramlett

The 215 runners take off at the 30th Annual City of Roses Half Marathon.

Half Marathon Overall Winner Chad Sierman.

L to R - Rob Dodson, Don Brown, Kevin Bramlett, Bruce Nie,
and Anthony Borth.

Joe Windeknecht

2010 City of Rose 5K. 

5K Overall Winner Billy Leighton and Kevin Hammes break
out of the pack.

5th Annual Forest Park 4K XC Run

St. Louis, MO -- September, 11, 2010
(Results @ http://www.bigriverrunning.com/FPF_OPENwsplits.htm )

Rookie run for me on a XC course.  Rained heavily for two days prior to meet and the course a rainy, and soon to be muddy, mess.  Open division run first on a slate of 7 races that Saturday and the mud and water is flying everywhere on the first 250m of the course.  Run a solid race and finish 18th OA and second master's finisher behind 50 y/o phenom Dan Rooney.  Had a great time running on the grass and mud course.  XC racing is definitely challenging but alot of fun. 

Brandon runs later in the day and begins to establish his place as one of the top runners in MO high school ranks with a 7th place OA finish in the large school division.

-KHammes

28th Annual Jour de Fete

Ste. Genevieve, MO -- August 14, 2010

83 degrees, 96% humidity, and 71° dew point...a perfect morning to run up Maxwell Hill.  Event draws about 150 this year.  Kevin Hammes 3rd overall, myself 5th, and Steve Schmittzehe 6th as gang from down south sweeps the Male 45-49 Division (still one of my favorite post-race photographs).  Shannon Aldridge drops 5:00 minutes off his 2009 time.  FORCE!!  Myself and Kevin Hammes had been subjecting our wives to a heavy dose of racing over the past few weeks, so we took them downtown for a nice lunch and some girl-time at the festival.  Gave us a few extra hours to chat...about running.  Was a great day.

-KBramlett

Kevin Hammes, Kevin Bramlett, and Steve Schmittzehe

Male 45-49 Age Group Winners.

13th Annual Jackson Homecomer 5K

Jackson, MO -- July 27, 2010
(Results @ Cape Road Runners: http://www.caperoadrunners.org/results.htm )

Race takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the middle of summer.  Never sure exactly what you're going to get with the weather.  What is certain is that Race Director Shane Anderson will take pride in making all the details "just right" every year.  A unique and challenging course, dry-fit shirts, great awards, and all for a $10 entry fee.  We get sun and 83 degrees this year, and event draws about 200.  Kevin Hammes continues his roll with another overall win.  Wasn't sure what my old-man legs would have left after Saturday, but they bounce back enough to carry me to a 7th place overall finish.  Betsy Buffington wins the female overall.

-KBramlett

About 200 take off at the 2010 Jackson Homecomer 5K.

Overall wnner Kevin Hammes

Kevin Bramlett looking for room to run.  Also pictured is Tomoaki Nomi

Hoops for Life 5K

Cape Girardeau, MO -- July 24, 2010
(Results @ Cape Road Runners: http://www.caperoadrunners.org/results.htm )

Event raises about $7,500 for Pediatric Brain Tumor Research in memory of Sahara "Hoops" Aldridge as participaton grows to 325 on race day.  Wasn't enough for Race Director Shannon Aldridge to have us running the toughest, meanest 5K course in the area code; today he expects us to do it with the heat index pushing 90.  Kevin Hammes survives the hills and the heat to take first overall.  Cassie Kipper is the top female overall finisher.  Shannon does a great job in his rookie effort, and the event is sure grow each year.  Runners joined together to sing Happy Birthday to "Hoops" to cap off the morning.

-KBramlett



First Annual Hoops for Life 5K
(photo from Hoops for Life facebook page)

Event draws 325 participants
(photo from Hoops for Life facebook page)

Brandon Shemonia and Billy Leighton take overall winner Kevin Hammes
to the finish line. 

Happy Birthday "Hoops".
(photo from Hoops for Life facebook page)