“It’s not a handicap, it’s an inconvenience.” – Howard
The 2nd Annual Howard Aslinger Foundation Endurance Run was held March 18-19, in Cape Girardeau, MO. The event is held to honor the memory of Howard, a successful insurance agent, coach, father and husband. Howard, who had contracted polio at age 11, had a goal to provide those with disabilities a scholarship to pursue their dreams and to open opportunities that were not available to him as he grew up. After his passing in June of 2009, his family setup the foundation to make his dream a reality. This year’s event, which offered a 24hr, 12hr, 1hr, and Midnight 5K, drew 131 runners from 10 different states. 37 participants pushed beyond the marathon distance, with 28 going beyond 50 miles and 3 covering at least 100 total miles. Those covering 100+ miles were John Pollihan (St. Charles, MO), Mike Fitzgerald (Kirkwood, MO) and Bryan Kelpe(Cape Girardeau, MO). Carol Bradshaw (Los Angeles, CA) was the top female, covering 79.92 miles. Scott Winkler (Murray, KY) and Suzanne Kenyon (St. Louis, MO) were champions in the 12hr event covering 62.192 miles and 55.264 miles, respectively. Many stories were shared and created throughout the race, from Richard Reinhardt completing his first marathon, after only taking up running 3 weeks prior to the event, to Kari Aslinger’s determination to complete 50 miles (the shot of tequila before her last lap I think helped). For Pollihan the event would be his 2nd 100miler reaching the milestone in 18hrs 51 min, a new PR, much to the credit of his brother Steve who ran by his side for 50+ miles.
Nearly 50 runners came out late in the evening to participate in the Midnight 5k, as well. This event I believe will continue to grow.
A few comments from participants:
“The hardest part for me was starting at 7pm. I'm not used to running in the evening at all. Also, my 4 year old daughter does a pretty good job of making sure I don't have much energy left by 7pm. At mile 30 the urge to go to sleep was pretty overwhelming.” – John Pollihan
“I would think it is great first ultra because of the one mile loop, plenty of bathroom access, it is everyones race if you are a beginner, or seasoned ultrarunner someone is always there to help you make your goal.” – Frank Dietiker
“the aslinger family as well as the many volunteers, put on one of the best atmospheric runs, laid back atmosphere, great bag, door prizes, food , and to top it all off it went for a great cause thank you for making thoughts become reality” – Tom Bolen
“Thanks to you, Jean, and all of the volunteers from the weekend. You put on a great race!! I was impressed with the fact that our race director ran the whole time with us.” – Scott Thompson
We hope you will “inconvenience” yourself March 16-17th, 2012, and join us as we honor Howard’s memory.
