By Debby Woodin
news@joplinglobe.com
JOPLIN, Mo. —
Nearly 1,000 runners from 34 states, Puerto Rico and Canada have registered for Mother Road Marathon events to be held Oct. 10 on Route 66, organizers said Thursday.
“This event is really the talk of the running world,” said Dean Reinke, president of Reinke Sports Group of Winter Park, Fla. He was hired to help the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Joplin Sports Authority put on the event.
Reinke said the race is attractive to runners because it is being held on what is considered an unusual setting on Route 66 through three states: Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. There will be a full 26.2-mile marathon, a half-marathon, a five-kilometer run and a fun run for children.
As of Thursday morning, nearly 1,000 runners had registered: 442 for the marathon, 461 for the half-marathon and nearly 80 for the 5K run. Reinke said the event, in its debut year, could attract as many as 1,700 runners by the day of the race.
‘Very impressed’
Ruth Sawkins said she is amazed by the numbers, especially for an inaugural event.
The owner and founder of Rufus Racing, based in Joplin, she has been an endurance athlete since age 17, competing in running and cycling events and triathlons. Now 27, she plans to run on Oct. 10, and she is leaning toward the half-marathon.
“I’m very impressed with the numbers,” she said Thursday. She said she has organized similar events before and knows how hard it can be. Besides being an event production company, Rufus Racing also has a “racing team” with 80 members, many of whom will run in Mother Road events.
“It’s not as intimidating as it may sound,” she said of the team.
Only about 10 percent are competition-level elite athletes; most are beginners of all racing and skill levels. The team actually provides some motivation and accountability for people who want to run, and provides social interaction through group training activities.
Mother Road
The Mother Road Marathon will begin in Commerce, Okla. It will follow Route 66 northeast through Quapaw tribal lands, cross the state line to Baxter Springs, Kan., and go through Riverton and Galena in Kansas before finishing at the Joplin Athletic Complex entrance at First Street and Tri-State Road.
The half-marathon will start on the Rainbow Bridge landmark on Old Route 66, now 50th Street, north of Baxter Springs, and follow Beasley Road to Riverton, where it will join the main route.
The 5K run will start at Schifferdecker Park in Joplin. All the runs will start at 8 a.m.
There also will be a one-mile fun run for children, said retired Missouri Southern State University baseball coach Warren Turner, a member of the marathon planning committee. He said that to encourage fitness for children, Joplin schools are encouraging students to run during recesses. They will be allowed short distances at school through September, then will run another short distance to cross the finish line at the marathon on the day of the race, Turner said.
Regional effort
Marathon co-chairman Patrick Tuttle of the Joplin Sports Authority said representatives of all the cities, counties and states have been involved in planning and coordination. He said the race has served to unite the various interests along Route 66.
“It’s been quite a regional effort to pull all this together,” he said.
Joplin police Lt. Darren Gallup said law enforcement authorities will be working to stop traffic along the marathon routes as runners progress.
The idea for the event came from Vince Lindstrom, director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, who serves with Tuttle as co-chairman.
“If anything, the marathon has produced a working relationship of all those who live on Route 66,” Lindstrom said. “That’s why we’re excited.”
Some communities will have Route 66 festivals on Saturday, Oct. 9, as a prelude to the inaugural marathon.
Volunteers are needed, organizers said, and spectators will be welcome the day of the event to cheer on participants.
The finish line will be at the roundabout at the Joplin Athletic Complex, where area residents are invited to help celebrate the race and congratulate runners, Reinke said.
On the Net
To get more information, register for the race or sign up as volunteers, people may go to the marathon’s website at www.runmotherroadmarathon.com.
