Next weekend, two annual sports events will be combined: the Marmaton Massacre with the Tri-Yak-A-Thon and additionally a separate golf disc tournament.
Local businessman and bike enthusiast, Frank Halsey is the organizer of the bike race called the Marmaton Massacre and the kayak-run-bike contest called the Tri-Yak-A-Thon.
The Marmaton Massacre is still seeking participants, according to the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page.
The deadline to register is this Sunday, September 12, at midnight.
“The Gunn Park Trail Volunteers (the sponsors of the events)are super excited! It’s going to be a very busy weekend in beautiful Gunn Park,” Halsey said.
“We’ve combined our annual Marmaton Massacre Festival and The annual Tri-Yak-A-Thon into a really fun-packed weekend, September 18th & 19th,” Halsey said. “In addition, Danny Craig is hosting a disc golf tournament on Saturday, the 18th.
“We kick off the activities with the Tri-Yak-A-Thon, at 9 a.m. Saturday,” Halsey said. “This is our 8th year for this charitable fundraiser of running a 5k on the trails, kayaking a 5k on the Marmaton River, and finishing with a 10k ride on the trails.”
Participants may go solo, or as a relay team.
“Solo is for those hard-core athletes, while the relay team is not easy, it’s definitely easier,” he said. “I don’t run any longer, so my daughter, Libby, and I will be a team. Proceeds of the Tri-Yak-A-Thon are donated to proceeds go to Fort Scott Paws and Claws Animal Shelter.”
“At 1 p.m. the Massacre officially starts with the marathon race,” Halsey said. “This is a 3-hour race, where participants complete as many laps as possible on our trails.”
To participate in the events see the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page, registrations must be sent by Sunday, Sept. 12.
The whole community is invited to watch.
“While most of the events are not really spectator-friendly, we’d love to have the locals show up for the Saturday evening festivities,” he said. “These start about 5:30 p.m. with the always fun Kid’s Bike Race. We create an open course, through the park, so not on the trails, for kids 10 years old and under. This is a hoot watching these kids, and everybody cheering.”
At 6:30 p.m. a father and son, Ed and Exander Schilling, St. Joe, MO will give a demonstration on bike skills.
Halsey describes the two as “extremely talented.” “Ed can do things on a bike that most can’t do on their feet, and Exander likes to get big air,” he said.
“Around 7:30 pm we have live music with DJ Brown & The Bourbon County Revival performing until about 9 or 9:30 p.m.,” he said. “They are a local band, that plays a little bit of everything.”
“The Beech Street Eats food truck will be onsite for refreshments,” Halsey said.
“This is a great family atmosphere, and we hope the people of Fort Scott, and the surrounding area, will bring their lawn chairs, kid’s bikes, enjoy the evening in beautiful Gunn Park,” he said.
“We could not do this without our volunteers and our generous sponsors, including:
- Eric’s Bike & Board of Overland Park
- The Lockton Companies
- UMB Bank
- Sharky’s Pub & Grill
- Cheney Witt Funeral Home
- Sonic and Typhoon Bay Car Wash
- Landmark Bank
- City State Bank
- Keys
- Mid-Continental
- Brock Electric
- Labconco
- Ward Kraft
- CK Pro Photography
- New Wave Broadband”