More than 200 runners participated, meaning that more than 1,000 took to the area streets to race on the Fourth.

OK, end of mini-lecture. Now, onto results.

Jeremy Doherty of Big River Running won the Macklind Avenue Mile in 4 minutes, .9 second. Pretty close to a sub-4, though the number isn’t so magical in a road race as it is on the track. Still, job well-done. Ben Rosario was a close second in 4:01.8; Brian Lyons was third in 4:04.7. Stephanie Hood was the first woman across the line in 4:45.4. Hood finished 10th at the Boston Marathon and first at this year’s St. Patrick’s Day 5 Mile. Jess Flynn was second in 4:52.9, and Margaret Lyons was third in 4:57.4.

You can check age results here. Or, if you prefer, here are overall results. The event drew almost 500 participants.

Matthew Laye won the Firecracker 5K in O’Fallon, Mo., in 15:45. Matt Estlund second, Patrick Hanson third. Amy Marxkors of Wildwood won the women’s division in 19:55. Sarah Lowe was second in 20:11, Debbie Kerber-Rehr was third in 20:18.
Take your pick of results formats: overall or age group. The race drew 369 finishers.

Results aren’t available yet for the 4-mile Salmon Run in Forest Park. We’ll get you results in a few days, as soon as the Track Club publishes them.

The Hannibal Cannibal 5K on Saturday drew a state-wide field. Overall winner was Michael Aitken of St. Ann in 16:19. Bryan Sherwood of St. Louis was second; Hayden Legg of Mexico, Mo., was third. The women’s winner was Emma Burditt of New Londson, Mo., in 20:38. Cindy Grauel of Macon was second, Marisa Brown of Hannibal third.

Check here for complete results.

Then, a sigh, but a show of appreciation.

Tyson Gay is cool with his “actions speak louder than words” approach and his homage to Jesse Owens with the stripe on the uniform.

But the crowd at  Hayward Field is so knowledgeable and passionate, as opposed to the corporate gatherings at Super Bowls and athletic events of that ilk.  I envy my colleague, Bryan Burwell, for his front row seat.  The good thing is, he appreciates being there, and it shows in his work.

Brigette’s comeback continues. She isn’t walking as well as she’d like, but she continues to make progress and hopes to run again as well as return to SLU.

Here’s the full story. 

In effort to build bridges _ as opposed to tollways _ here are a couple notes from our running brethren who see the sunrise first with news of some races you should check out.

1. The Hoyleton Community Club is sponsoring the second annual Hofbraufest 5K  and half-mile youth run at 8 a.m. July 12 in Hoyleton Community Park. This race has several features going for it. The course is flat and first place is worth $100. Entry fee is $20. For more information and a map, click here.

2. The Alton Road Runners will host the 30th annual Pee Wee Run on July 13 at Gordon Moore Park in Alton.

Russ Colona, president of the group, writes: “One of the interesting facts about this race is that the same man, Marc Hackworth of Hit-N-Run Stores, has sponsored this run all 30 years. He has provided the t-shirts and refreshments.”

The run also includes a raffle in which every runner wins a prize: bikes, Cardinals tickets, water pistols.

The half-mile run is exclusive, catering only to youngsters, ages 7-14. The quarter-mile is for ages 6 and under.
And the cost? Just $5.

Check out the Alton Road Runners’ web site for more informatin.

1. What a job by the organizers in Des Moines, basically to reinvent their event on 10 days notice. With rivers flooded, lakes filled with bacteria and original venues under water, they easily could have called the whole thing off. Instead, they relocated the event and made it a dry event, substituting a 5K run for the 1,500 meter swim. Not everyone was happy, so the organizers held out hope and were ready to readjust if the bacteria levels in the lakes decreased.

They got their wish and shifted again on the fly, reinstating the swim for everyone at a new venue.

A triathlon is a mammoth undertaking, which requires cooperation from police, street, fire, paramedic and parks departments. Any one of them could have dragged its feet and put the kibosh on the event, and no one really would have blamed them, considering that they had emergency management to juggle with displaced families and crops under water. Instead, they pulled oars together and pulled off the event on three days notice.

The folks in Des Moines and with Hy-Vee should fire up a power-point presentation for their fellow event organizers, explaining how to handle natural disasters and still hold mega-events.

2. Sarah Haskins had a huge cheering section, roughly 40 relatives from St. Louis and a dozen or so in-laws from Minnesota. We caught up with two of them, her father, Brian, and brother-in-law Austin Lauck. Each wore a T-shirt that said “Sarah Haskins” on the front and was personalized on the back. with “Sarah’s Dad” and “Sarah’s Sister’s Husband” on the back.

She’ll have a nice cheering section in Beijing, too. Brian said he and his wife will attend as will about 10 family members. They had to take a leap of faith, paying for tickets and accommodations in April and applying for visas shortly thereafter.

How much had he invested in the trip?

$10,000.

He’ll get a good return on his investment.

Her comeback continues, spectacularly. Katie was the first survivor to cross the line two weeks ago in the Washington, DC, Race for the Cure, finishing in 20 minutes 40 seconds. Her inspirational, insightful and witty training log contains the following account of her trip to the winner’s podium:

“I got to give a lovely TV interview (of course it was about 45 seconds after I finished while I was still panting and covered in sweat) and I got to go through the VIP area and be introduced on stage at the awards ceremony. I didn’t know how I would take the whole Komen experience and I found it very moving and all of the women in pink were inspiring. Plus, this race was big time - Condoleezza Rice was the starter, Cynthia Nixon from ‘Sex and the City’ was there as a survivor, and Vanessa Carlton provided the music. I tried to convince them to let me meet Condi, but I was told she was already gone. Cynthia Nixon was nowhere to be found, and Vanessa Carlton walked right past me. Most famous entity I got to interact with was Vince, Vanessa Carlton’s dog…”

Well, the local organizers can’t promise Vanessa Carlton or even her dog, but don’t be surprised if Sutton puts up a fight again. She reports that training has been intense, so she’s not sure that she’ll go all out, but adds, “if there are any pink shirts within striking distance….they are going to have to put up a good fight.”
The field in DC was estimated at 45,000. The local race is expected to exceed 65,000, with more than 4,000 survivors.
So an early tip of the pink cap to Sutton and all the survivors who will walk or run Saturday. Another tip to the rest of the participants, who will walk or run in honor of a survivor or in memory of a life cut short by breast cancer.