Update Notes

Jan 2023 - we have revised qualifying standards for the 5K and several ultra distances to reflect
the continued improvement in Kansas running, particularly by older competitors.

The revised standards are noted by the words “2023 REVISION” at the top of the age-group
results lists. Our standards are based on the age-grading formulas set by World Masters
Athletics, which in turn are based on world-best times for each age group. Unfortunately, many
runners who previously qualified no longer meet the current standards.

The 5K standards had been last updated in 2016 and 2019, and the large number of 5K races
and the popularity of the event had made for an extraordinary number of qualifiers.
We hope that runners seeking to qualify for the state records list will seek races at other
distances on courses certified by USA Track and Field.

We have also revised standards for the 50K, some 50-mile age groups, and the 100-mile
distance, all of which have become increasingly popular in recent years, and we have added
standards for the 100K for the first time. Our standards for ultras are also based on the WMA
tables and are significantly lower than for the marathon and shorter distances

2017 - Listing Out-of-State Records; No More Appendices

We've added a list for the best times by Kansans in other states. They are listed at the bottom of each age category. These times do not qualify for state records. Races must meet the same standards as for Kansas records, and runners must list a Kansas home in race results. Contact us if you want to submit a time on a certified course to be included.

We got rid of the appendices of additional times by runners and combined them with their best times into one list. For a web site, that saves the reader from having to go to another page.

Selections for the 1970s through 2016 were made retrospectively in early 2017, in large part thanks to records maintained over the years by Millard (Jack) Crook, a veteran Wichita-area runner and record-keeper. With the benefit of hindsight, we also gave priority to records that stood the test of time in making the selections.

Rankings for those years as discussed in the comments were accurate as of 2016 and may have been superseded. (For example, an age-group record mentioned in a runner-of-the-year summary may have been broken since 2016.) Runner-of-the-year selections for 2017 and later years were made at the end of the year and comments and records were current as of that time.

We welcome your comments which is reflected in the runners of the year. On the other hand, many of the open records and top times have stood for decades. We hope runners of all ages will seek out competitive races on certified courses and challenge the records. And we hope that race directors will continue to certify their courses, administer the races in a professional manner, and provide incentives to bring together competitive fields.

Jan, 2015 - The 1 Mile and ultrarunning events on certified courses have been added: 48 hours, 24 hours, 12 hours, 6 hours, 100K, 50 miles, and 50K.

Aug, 2014 - We suggest race directors include the USATF certification numbers on the entry forms to verify their courses are accurate. Need to recertify? There are several course measurers available throughout the state; check the USATF list.

July 6, 2013 - We have decided to use chip times because that is all that most race timers make available, and it would be more consistent. This disadvantages results from past times from the pre-chip era, but we don't see that we have any reasonable alternative. Time and technology move on. We wish there were chip times from some marathons 30 years ago when it took five or six minutes just to get to the start line after the gun went off. In some of our recent updates, there was a difference of a minute or more in gun times versus chip times, especially in older age groups where (we suspect) the older folks were less inclined to push to the front before the start than younger runners.

To make the data more manageable, we are keeping only the best five times per race distance for each individual. We will begin to delete some of the slower times especially those that do not meet the target times.

Dick Lipsey and Gene Wee