Frank Halsey, the mountain bike race organizer, puts a medal on a finalist Saturday evening at Gunn Park.
Although Kansas does not have mountains, it does have some pretty hills in Gunn Park that were used to test the skills of mountain bikers this past weekend.
The 5th Annual Marmaton Massacre Mountain Bike Race and Kansas Mountain Bike Championship were completed in Gunn Park July 7-8.
Friday and Saturday evenings a night ride through the park was offered by organizers, Gunn Park Trails Volunteers, who work on maintaining the trails year- round.
Saturday morning two competitions took place: the Maramaton Massacre Mountain Bike Race and the Kansas Mountain Bike Championship. Racers won in their age divisions with the youngest race for children eight years old and younger, which took place in the evening.
Dinner was provided participants courtesy of Healthy Bourbon County Action Team through the Pathways To a Healthy Kansas Initiative and the food was provided by Sharkey’s Pub and Grub.
The trials riding demonstration Ryan Braxton and Ed Schilling entertained the attendees. Trials riding skills are bike handling skills developed over obstacles.
The skills demo was followed by a performance from Paul Fowler and Lezlee Herd of En Power and Light music group, with the background of Gunn Parks Second Lake.
Sunday morning following a church service, a ride for youth 15-18 years old was won by Fort Scottian Brian Griffin.
Winners of both the Marmaton Massacre Race and the Kansas Championship Race are shown in the gallery below:
Winners of the Marmaton Massacre 2018 Bike Race: from left Brendan Harshman, Cedar Point, KS-third; Jake Yackle, Spokane, WA-first; Nye Yackle, Spokane, WA-second.
Marmaton Massacre – Women’s Marathon 3rd Place – Larissa Rice 1st Place – Julie Higgins – Lee’s Summit, MO 2nd Place – Cindy Gerszke – Wichita, KS
Kansas State Championship – Women’s Marathon · 3rd Place – Carmen Hatch – Overland Park, KS · 1st Place – Cindy Gerszke – Wichita, KS · 2nd Place – Cathy Reidy – Topeka, KS
Brendan Harshman, Cedar Point, was the winner of Kansas Championship for age group 20-29 years old.
Ethan Forsberg, Winchester, was the Kansas Championship Winner in the 30-39 year old division.
From left: 40-49 age men’s Kansas Championship winners: Greg Schoeder, Fort Scott-third;Chris Yates, Overland Park (not picutured) andTim Hatch, 2nd..
From left: Danny Noble, Oskaloosa-3rd; Roger Williams, Lawrence-1st; Lyle Reidy, Topeka, 3rd.
Kid’s Race Winners – 8 and Under, from left: · 3rd Place – Easton Halsey – Fort Scott, KS, · 1st Place – Memphis Halsey – Frontenac, KS;· 2nd Place – Gavin Cramb – Wichita, KS. Kid’s Race Winners – 9 – 10 Years Old, from left:· 3rd Place – Audrey Walker – Fort Scott, KS· 1st Place – Jacee Mattox – Moran, KS · 2nd Place – Lillian Jackson – Fort Scott, KSFrank Halsey, event organizer, hugs his grandson, Memphis Halsey, Frontenac, following a first place win in the kids’ under eight-years-old mountain bike race.Attendees visit as they watch Ryan Braxton, Bentonville, Ark. perform a demonstration of trials riding.Ed Schilling, St. Joe, Mo. demos trials riding on a Fort Scott Bike-Share Bike brought to the park by the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team. The bike was for attendees to try out. The bike-share bikes are located around Fort Scott for public use. Schilling encouraged biking as a lifetime sport.The kid’s mountain bike race was in the evening of July 7 at Gunn Park.Jody Hoener, Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, tells the crowd of the purpose of the team. HBCAT provided the meal for the riders and brought a bike-share bike to the event to have attendees try out. Greg Schroeder, left, the announcer, listens and Lezlee Herd and Paul Fowler, husband and wife performers with the En Power and Light wait to sing following the announcements.Families appeared to relax and enjoy the evening entertainment of En Power and Light at Gunn Park, on July 7.
