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2016 Area Fall Festivals
Lincoln Daily News
September 13, 2016 Page 27
Emily (Allspach) Bucy came in second with a time
of 20:58, a personal record for the seasoned runner
and mother of two, who recently ran through the
mountains in Colorado. “A few weeks ago I ran in
Leadville, Colorado over a mountain in the middle of
the night and it was a blast!” Incidentally, Leadville is
a small town and known as the “Two Mile High” town
due to its high elevation. Allspach was there to help
pace six guys who were running 100 miles. The Top
of the Hill 5K she ran effortlessly and as she crossed
the finish line smiling and breathing normal she no
doubt looked like she could run to Pontiac, Illinois and
beyond if necessary.
Abigail Coers, another gal who runs all over this
country, finished third overall with a time of 21:33.
Coming in fourth was Tony Zurkhammer, with a
personal record of 22:23.
In the kids division, Kaidon Higgins of Latham was
the winner with his best time ever, 23:45. Eleven-
year-old Daniel McCormick of Mount Pulaski also
finished the race in decent time and he was spotted
stretching his legs out after the final run up the
Washington Street hill. “My legs are cramping,” he
said and added with his signature smile, “That hill was
killer.” Daniel waited around for his grandmother,
Sara McCormick, to finish the race and offer his
congratulations to her.
In fact, all the racers, many of whom hailed from
running clubs out of Springfield, Decatur, Lincoln
and Bloomington waited around and offered
encouragement and high fives to each other, as one-
by-one they crossed the finish line.
Aaron and Jennifer Wilham also made running a
family affair with their three daughters. Meanwhile
Zion Lutheran teacher Lori Allen finished the race
with the delivery truck full of mums coming up
closely behind and she could not resist taking a selfie
with the truck in the background.
As the trophies and medals and t-shirts were handed
out pictures were taken and then many of the runners
headed over to the Mount Pulaski Christian Church
pancake and sausage breakfast.
Following breakfast, True Form Fitness took to the
stage for a Zumba class, taught by Stephanie Bailey
and Alyssa Barger. More sweating on the square took
place. With two fitness centers in town, this is about
to be one fit community in the near future, as many
residents are well on their way to a better and healthier
lifestyle.
Hold that thought. First the Bake-Off and the Chili
Cook-Off. Winners names who were called in the
Bake-Off competitions included Lynn Lakin, Ashleigh
Berry and Jamie Jones.
Meanwhile, the winners of the Chili Cook-Off were
Matt and Julie Bobell. Kids helped serve the chili
in this competition as well, and the community was
invited to take home any extra baked goods from the
Bake-Off. A win-win for everybody.
Moving on over to the Kiddie Tractor Pull, the
competition was tough here. Several youngsters
completed the “full pull” and some even had to pull
twice in a battle to see who would win. Too many
winners to keep track of here, as there were multiple
age groups and so many participants. This event
sponsored by the Jaycees is always a hit among the
kids and it’s a treat to see so many young tractor pull
enthusiasts.
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