The first Mother Road Marathon gained 1,645 competitors Sunday during the footrace from Commerce, Okla., through Kansas and finishing in Joplin, Mo., reported the Joplin Globe.
The event included a 5-kilometer run in Joplin’s Schifferdecker Park, a half-marathon that started in Baxter Springs, Kan., and the 26.2-mile main event. The entire course was on old Route 66 in the tri-state area.
Ryan Kramer of Des Moines, Iowa, won the full marathon in a time of 2 hours, 51 minutes, 57 seconds. The top female finisher was Katie Kramer of Oklahoma City in 3:13:31.
Vince Lindstrom of the Joplin Convention and Visitor Bureau proclaimed the event a triumph:
“It’s gone basically without a hitch — that’s what’s been the miracle of it,” he said. “I would call it a major, major success.”
He indicated that planning for next year’s races might already be under way.
“My dream from the beginning was that this would be annual, and we’re pretty much assured it’s going to be an annual event,” he said.
Participants gave the event a thumbs-up.
UPDATE: Here’s a video from the day:
An updated story from the Globe can be found here.
Results from the races can be found here.
wonderful the video of the baloon fiesta I havent seen something like that before greetings from my country ARGENTINA TO ALL OF YOU