Event raises funds for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

There are easier ways than running to get from Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, Mo., to Free State Brewery in downtown Lawrence.

But for almost 1,700 people Sunday, those oatmeal stouts and John Brown ales wouldn’t have tasted as good without a few miles under their belt.

Individuals and teams participated in the eighth annual Brew to Brew run, which this year stretched 43.5 miles from Boulevard Brewing Co., out of Kansas City on Kansas Avenue, through Linwood and then down the Kansas River levee trail to a finish by the Kansas River Bridge.

The event raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Heart of America Chapter. About $7,000 was raised this year, about $2,500 more than last year, said organizer Louis Joline, of the Kansas City Track Club.

Joline said point-to-point runs were popular around the country, such as the Bay to Breakers run in San Francisco or Hood to Coast, a 195-mile relay race in Oregon from Mount Hood to the town of Seaside.

“This seemed like a good idea,” Joline said. “It’s been a big hit.”

Of the 1,683 runners registered for Sunday’s run, most participated in team relays, though there was a scattering of solo runners, or some that split the distance between two runners. Joline said about 10 percent of the runners were from Fort Leavenworth, about 25 percent from Lawrence, about 50 percent from Kansas City and a smattering from other towns.

This year’s route was a mile longer because the Linwood Bridge over Stranger Creek washed out last summer, and the Turner Bridge on Kansas Avenue over the Kaw River is under construction, Joline said.

“Every year there are some different challenges,” he said. “It’s going to make it next to impossible to set a record.”

Most participants didn’t seem to care about records.

Lisa Trainor, a distance runner from Minneapolis, Minn., ran the race to see if she could make the jump from 50-kilometer races to her eventual goal of a 50-mile, ultra-distance race. She finished in 7 hours, 20 minutes.

“It’s kind of a nice distance to see if I want to keep doing that,” she said.

Some of the teams took a more playful attitude toward the run. The Rubber Ducks, based out of Salina, drew together four brothers and three friends who now live throughout the Midwest. The team beat its goal of 6 hours by about 10 minutes.

“We had a good time but saw some tough trails,” said Brad Temple, Salina.

The Punswick family of Overland Park ran under the name The Puns Pups. They even had their own nicknames: Lead Dog, Sko Dog, K Dog, Donut Dog, No Dog, Mother Dog, Bridge Is Out Dog, Space Dog, G Dog and Top Dog.

“We just decided it would be cool to do it as a family,” Kevin Punswick said.

Mona Latimer, Overland Park, split the 43.5-mile race with two friends. It was their second time in Brew to Brew, and Latimer said she enjoyed the point-to-point race.

“It’s a different type of race,” she said. “It was just really fun.”