Buffalo Run Recap

The Buffalo Run celebrated a milestone this year. Forty years of running! And a lot of people showed up to run and celebrate Lincoln’s longest-running race. More than 600 people ran, and 124 of those were veterans. And two runners—Mary Wolfe and Tom Becker—ran the Buffalo Run for the fortieth time!If you’re new to the Buffalo Run, the veterans have run at least five Buffalo Runs, and they race against the average time of their five most recent Buffalo Runs. Truly a race against yourself, and the clock, and the hills, and the person a few steps ahead of you. If you best your time, you win a coveted Buffalo Run shirt.To celebrate 40 years, the Lincoln Running Company gave out $40 gift certificates to every 40th finisher. Race director Ann Ringlein said she gave away 15 gift certificates, and even told a story of someone who tried a bit too hard to get that gift certificate. His wife counted runners and told him his place, so he adjusted his pace but missed getting the gift certificate by one.The shirts and the gift certificates were great motivators, but maybe the best motivator was the thought of sugary sweet birthday cake! As I raced, I heard quite a few people talking about the cake at the finish line.No records were broken this year, but Hayley Sutter finished with an impressive 30:00 after winning the Nebraska Wesleyan Alumni XC 5K the day before with a time of 18:50. The other top females include Kayte Partch, 31:10; Michelle Schmidt, 32:24; Amy McCracken, 32:26; and Joni Williamson, 32:31. The top male finishers include Luka Thor, 26:04; Nolan Border, 26:19; Ivan Marsh, 27:20; Colin Morrissey, 27:27; and Ryan Regnier, 27:40.A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has run the Buffalo Run over the years, to the Pius High cross country team and cross country parents who volunteered, to the amazing LTC volunteers, and our newest timing and results team of Dave Hattan, Lana Tolbert, and Ben Wright.Find complete results here and photos here.