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Here’s to Kirby in Tonganoxie

By Shawn Linenberger - | Jun 23, 2015

The Kirby McRill 5K Adventure Walk and Run brought in several participants for its second installment Saturday.

More than 50 people participated in either the walk or run. Last year’s inaugural event had just the adventure walk, but a run was added this year.

Randy Rasmussen placed first in the 5K overall and in the men’s division with a time of 20 minutes even. Bryan Zesiger placed second (26:42) and Joseph Myers third (27:25).

Michelle Webb placed first in the women’s race with a time of 23:39. Second place went to Amanda Martin (27:58), while Jennifer Martin placed third (30:09).

The Williamson family from Eudora placed first in the adventure walk.

The team of Randy Williamson, Amy Williamson, Nicholas Williamson and Camden Williamson placed first with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes and 55 seconds.

Second place went to the Kickin Kirbys (Kaitlyn King, Heidi Nelson, Jacki Himpel and Grace Himpel), 1:03:26 and finishing third was Slowin’ R Roll, which finished in 1:05:12. Tammy Saldivar, Tina Leon, Leslie Rocha, Abby Hill and Rachele Hill were on the third-place team.

Keyta Kelly, one of the event’s organizers, said the event, which benefits Tonganoxie through Heartland Habitat for Humanity, was another success in its second year.

“We had 52 total participants and were very pleased with the event,” Kelly said. “Everyone who participated seemed to enjoy themselves and I’ve heard comments from several of those who took part in the Adventure Walk that they will be returning next year with new teams.”

The winning teams and runners received glass pie plates with etched engraving commemorating their finishes in the race.

The winning team also received a blackberry pie, as that was Kirby McRill’s favorite.

Some 50 prizes also were given out at The Jewel on Main after the event. The event started and ended near the entertainment venue.

Other prizes went to participants who had the funkiest shoes, traveled the farthest and most resembled Kirby

The walk is named after a Tonganoxie area resident who was quite the character in his time.

Kirby McRill walked in a blizzard in 1919 from Tonganoxie to Leavenworth for jury duty. His adventure helped him gain fame as an avid walker.

Court proceedings were canceled due to the weather, but McRill’s walk made him famous in the area. The next year, he walked from Topeka to Chicago in seven-and-a-half days.

In 1922 some civic boosters entered McRill in a walking race against George M. Brown, the World Walk King. The race took place over a 3-mile course through the downtown streets of Kansas City, Mo. Public officials lined up at the starting line. Crowds of onlookers gathered at the finish line. The masses cheered McRill as he crossed the finish line first. But, then, much to the crowd’s dismay, McRill was disqualified on a technicality — McRill had trotted while his opponent walked.