Cassville runners tackle Mother Road Marathon races

The third annual Mother Road Marathon went off without a hitch on Oct. 14 with 687 runners crossing the finish line in the three race distances.

The hilly 26.2 marathon course wound through the small towns of three states along old Highway 66 from the starting line in Commerce, Okla., and finished at the Joplin Athletic Complex.

Webb City's Andrew Webb won the men's marathon, setting a new Mother Road Marathon record of 2:46:04. It was the first try at the marathon distance for the 22-year-old, who ran collegiately at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.

Krystal Schwartz, 24, of Ft. Bragg, N.C., won the women's division with a strong 3:28:19.

The men's half marathon winner was 48-year old Kenneth Schramm, of Joplin, who turned the 13.1 miles in 1:27:58. Jenna Mutz, 31, also of Joplin, won the women's half in 1:32:15.

The 5K winners were Tyler Schultz, of Baxter Springs, and Cortney Mayberry, of Joplin. Schultz ran 18:41 on the out-and-back course, and Mayberry posted a 24:10 for the shortest contested distance.

Ron Bouchard and Lee Stubblefield made the trip from Cassville to compete.

Bouchard finished 14th overall in the half marathon and third in the men's 45-to-49 age group with a 1:40:34 clocking.

Stubblefield finished the marathon in 3:33:39, good for 11th overall and first in the men's 55-to-59 age group. More importantly, Stubblefield met the age-group qualifying standard for the Boston Marathon. Only four men and one woman met the Boston standards at this year's event, a testament to the challenging course of the Mother Road Marathon.