5 Kilometer * Half-Marathon * Mile Fun Run * Falmouth, KY * Saturday, June 8, 2024    8:00AM

Craig Chaplin
309 Mary Ingles Hwy.
Melbourne, KY 41059

Dear Runners

Thank you for competing and congratulations on completing the tenth annual Daniel Boone’s Run for Statehood.  Enclosed are your results, and race certificate from last year’s race and entry forms for this year’s race.  I have not included a comment card this year because it would be too late to use any of the suggestions for this year’s race.  I will send a comment card with this year’s result instead.   This will be a short note since time is so short.  I must mention the new records however.   Since the race is now ten years old the records are becoming tougher to break.  There were three new age group records this year all set by the ladies.  Cathy Strickler was the ladies half-marathon champion and she set an age group record for the 40-44 division with a time of 1:32:02.  Janice Kreuz was the second place finisher overall in the half with an age group record of 1:33:47 for the 50-54 division.  Judy Byers who ran 40:42 for the 5K in the 55-59-age division captured the other record.  Congratulations ladies.

An interesting fact in the men’s race is that we now have the closest finish on record for the half – marathon with only 5 seconds separating men’s champion Keith Hall and runner-up Brett Rubin.  There were two other close finishes with only 15 seconds between 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in the mile fun run and only seven seconds in the women’s 5K between champion Sherri Higginbotham and runner-up Elena Fernandez. 

If you will allow me, on a personal note I now understand what the rest of you have been talking about for the last ten years.   I have run the course many times but never under race conditions until this tenth year.  Feeling really strong and confident at nine miles I picked it up only to discover that at 11 ½ the wheels fell off and I was wishing for death.  Nothing injured, I just had nothing left.  I was passed in the last mile for the first time in many years and found that I just didn’t care.  However, I am still mad about that and have painted a bulls eye on the back of Guillermo Parra should I ever face him again.  I am now proud to count myself along with you as one of the survivors of this infamous course.

I’m sure you have always felt that way each time you finished it.  The great majority of you have done this race more than once and over a third of you have done it at least five times.  Such loyalty is greatly appreciated, and I feel, rare at many races.  And there are now only 5 people left who have run all ten years.  Gluttons for punishment I guess.  They will have free entry into this year’s race.

We will continue to try to improve this race so that it becomes well know as the Kentucky race that caters the most to the runners.  Your suggestions and comments have been very valuable and we will continue to use them.  We are already known throughout KY for our killer course.  Many of you talk with pride to other runners about having done this race and the people you tell are in awe of you.  Try to get some of your more foolish friends out here to run our race.  We would like to grow a little but not too much.  We are not interested in becoming a big race just a better race. Whenever this race is mentioned the other person always says, “I heard it was real hilly.”  Well tell them to come see for themselves.

Sincerely,

Craig Chaplin