Cape's 24-hour endurance run keeps growing; some will run more than 100 miles beginning Friday night

Bryan Kelpe has seen his record fall and his mileage drop every year since he ran 108 miles in the inaugural Howard Aslinger Endurance Run in 2010.

A die-hard endurance runner, Kelpe is not complaining.

If charted, Kelpe's miles and the size of the benefit run that raises money for the Howard Aslinger Memorial Scholarship Fund would reveal a trend.

"My mileage has decreased every year as we've gotten bigger," Kelpe said.

The race, which featured a total of 40 runners in the 12-hour and 24-hour division and raised $6,000 that first year, may top $20,000 for the second time when about 100 runners gather in those divisions for the eighth edition, which starts at 7 p.m. Friday at Arena Park.

The event, which also will include a 5K and a one-hour fun run/walk at midnight, will conclude at 7 p.m. Saturday and be followed by an on-site dinner and awards ceremony.

"This year, we have some top athletes coming in, and we've got some good sponsors, so I think it's going to be a good day," Kelpe said.

Kelpe's 24-hour record lasted until 2012, and there's a good chance the current record of 138 miles, set by Volodymyr Balatasky in 2015, might tumble in 2017.

"I anticipate that will go down this year," Kelpe said. "I've got at least two, possibly three people that have run beyond that, that are coming in."

Peter Kostelnick of Hannibal, Missouri, who has qualified for the U.S. National 24-Hour Running Team, will be in the field, along with two other elite runners looking to make the team, Josh Finger of Pennsylvania and Annette Bednosky of North Carolina.

Bednosky could challenge the women's record of 122 miles set by Dipali Cunningham, also in 2015.

Kelpe said the race aligns geographically and in timing for Finger and Bednosky in their quest to make the U.S. National team.

It will make for a mix of running levels on the 1-mile circuit.

In addition to the veterans, Kelpe said the field will include a runner taking on a half-marathon (13.1 miles) for the first time.

"That individual is going to be next to some of the elite runners in the country, on the same course during the same time," Kelpe said.

Over the years, the field has included participants of all levels, including several in wheelchairs. One runner had cancer and since has died. Other runners have landed in the hospital.

"The individuals that have come out have been truly inspiring," Kelpe said. "Each of them has a journey that they've been on."

In talking about how much his role has changed and the race has grown, Kelpe said he was able to run a lap with every runner the first year.

That would be a much more formidable task these days if Kelpe were of a mind.

Taking on a growing task of administrative duties each year with his wife, Kim, Aslinger's daughter, and the rest of the family, he's more interested in breaking barriers on other fronts.

"Eventually I'd like [this] to be one of the top-five biggest 24 hours in the country," Kelpe said. "We haven't cracked into that realm yet, but we're slowly getting there."

While Kelpe calls the 100 endurance runners in the field "a very good number," he estimates it would take another 30 or 40 athletes to reach the top-five level.

The event is to honor the memory of Aslinger, who died in 2009.

Aslinger contracted polio at the age of 11 and spent much of his 68 years in a wheelchair; however, he lived by the mantra, "It's not a handicap, it's an inconvenience."

"The idea of the race is that we inconvenience ourselves one day, for 24 hours," Kelpe said. "And that's kind of how the event got started."

jbreer@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3629

Pertinent address:

Arena Park, Cape Girardeau, Mo.