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Get Healthy De Soto

…having a long-lasting positive impact on the health and safety of the De Soto community by encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, through programs promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition, weight control and disease and injury prevention.

Celebrating Walther Park

Want to have some fun in Walther Park? The park turns 60 this year, and we’re working with the library to host a fun run. (You can fun walk if you want.) This isn’t like an ordinary race though.

If you want to know what working with the library means, here you go!

You’ll have an opportunity to learn a bit about the Walther Family along the route. Not only that, but learning can help you with your finishing time! That’s right. There will be a quiz at the end of the race. Depending on your knowledge and performance on the quiz, you can shave some time off your finishing time. This means your brain can improve your chances of winning a prize.

The top two males and females will receive a bowl (pictured above) made by local artisan Terry Eiler. He does beautiful work and donated these to support the race. Even if you don’t win a bowl, all participants will get a commemorative medal in their race bag and all the fun that goes with a local run about town.

This 5K and 1-mile fun run will be Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 8 AM. Registration is just $20 until July 1, 2021. Registration on or after July 1 is $25. Registration for kids 12 and under is $10 until July 1 and $15 after that.

Thank you for all of your support, and remember that amateurs are not just welcomed; they’re embraced!

Register Now

Winter Flakes Recap

Saturday’s Winter Flakes Race was a huge success. Over 180 runners signed up to pound the streets of DeSoto with 36 completing the 10K distance! Although there were some hiccups (like a house fire a block from the 10K route), no runners were lost, there were no injuries in the house fire, and everyone had a great time running the race.

Thank you to all the runners and walkers who took part in the race. We had great weather and a great crew of people who came out. Results are available here, but just to give you some idea:

  • Austin Crowe was the man on fire Saturday morning. He completed the 10K in 32:29!
  • Of the 36 runners who completed the 10K, 18 of them were women between the ages of 30 and 48!
  • Terry Wilhelm completed the 10K too. He did it in 1:02:36. That might not seem impressive, but he’s in the 70+ age class!
  • The fastest 5K lady finished in 21:46. Jennifer Cox was super fast on Saturday morning, and she falls into the 30-39 age class!

This sort of race takes a lot of coordination, and this year’s Race Coordinator did a great job. Lynnsie Kerperien oversaw the details of the race as our new Coordinator and kept all the race pieces running smoothly. If you know her, give her a pat on the back because she did fabulous work.

Special thanks also goes to Angela Edwards, who oversaw recruitment and organization of volunteers. These volunteers are incredibly important to the race because they help us keep the number of lost runners down to a minimum. No one wants to be “that” race, and Angela ensured that we had volunteers at the turns and that drivers were cautious. The train…well, we can’t do anything about the train!

Volunteers this year included: Matt Kerperien, Kim May, Stephanie Miller, Michelle Ide, Amy Burch, Carrie Weatherholt, Aaron Watkins, Victoria Dickinson, Nathan Dickinson, Dave Brown, Chris Miller, Marie Moore, Cyndi Cox, David Walters, Catilynn Hensley, Holly Pesek, Janet Schmidt, Cara Ahern, Nina Abernathy, Tom Mazurek, and Nick Edwards. They were great to stand out in the cold during the race and direct and cheer on runners. Thank you for your time and diligence to encouraging and keeping our runners safe!

And let’s not forget the sponsors that make it all possible!

If you didn’t pick up your race packet or medal, please contact us. We can’t really afford shipping items, but we’d love to be able to get those to you if we can.

DeSoto Dash for Dystrophy

The 12th edition of the DeSoto Dash for Dystrophy has been a bit difficult to pull off. The original date has been pushed back like so many other events, but the race isn’t being canceled. Those organizing the race are making adjustments.

race participants in 2019
We’ll probably not be standing this close together this year!

The cost of the race is still just $20, and you can register online. There’s a new course this season for the 5K route, and we can all hope that organizers have flattened some roads out. It is DeSoto, so you might not hold your breath! The tentative date is unknown. It might get pushed back again, but it is such a great race that you’re encouraged to sign-up anyway. If nothing else, you’ve made a donation to a great cause!

Winter Flakes

We’re blaming the cold weather!

We can’t really remember how many years we’ve been holding the Winter Flakes Race, but we determined that it doesn’t really matter because we’re okay with our eccentricities and poor memory. You won’t want to miss the 2020 edition though. We’re slated to run on February 29, 2020.

The race still offers a 5K, 10K, and 1 mile course. Most of the course is fairly flat, with the 10K being the most challenging. The registration fee is still just $20 for the 5K and 10K and $10 for the 1 mile. Fees increase on February 12, and you’re only guaranteed one of the long-sleeved t-shirts if you register early.

Shirt design photo
Shirt design sample!

Winter is a challenging time to stay motivated, so perhaps this race is a good impetus to stay moving this winter. Yes, it will likely be cold; even very cold. The real beauty of it is that you get to see all the other members of our crazy tribe. (They’ll start assembling around 7 am on February 29, 2020.)

Planning your physical activities and doing things to break up the monotony are both good strategies for staying active during these cold months. You can find more strategies here, in an article about staying motivated during the cold.

Winter Flakes 2020

DeSoto has some oddities, and what better way to celebrate our crazy than through a winter race! Before all the other races wake from their winter slumber, we hit the road with a 10K, 5K, and 1 mile run. This winter, we’ll be flaky on Saturday, February 29, 2020. That’s right: Leap Day! (Special kudos to anyone who dresses like a frog for the race.)

Winter Flakes is great winter fun for the whole family! Because of the various distances offered, we have something for every activity level. The race also highlights some of the best sights DeSoto has to offer, including two beautiful parks, a rolling creek, and historic Main Street. Come join us for some great winter fun before the spring race season begins. Here are all the details:

Location: Walther Park | 1551 Veterans Dr., De Soto MO 63020. The starting line is at the south end of the park and parking is available on the east side of Veterans Drive in the SMCI lot.

Packet Pickup: Early packet pickup is available at LaChance Vineyards (our headline sponsor) on Friday, February 28th from 3-6 PM. (FYI: great date night idea!). You can also pick up your packet beginning at 6:30 AM the day of race. Race day registration ends at 7:15 AM.

Swag: Participants registered prior to February 12, 2020 are guaranteed a unisex, long-sleeved t-shirt!

Registration Fees: 
$20 | 5K & 10K | thru February 11; $25 after that.
$10 | 1-Mile | thru February 11; $15 after that.

Not ready to run a race but would like to start training for it? We’ve got something for you too. You can sign-up for the Winter Flakes Couch to 5K program, which begins January 1, 2020. Contact Melissa at 314-471-3681 if you are a first responder; we have a special discount for you!

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Contact

[email protected]
314-471-3681

Mailing Address

1002 Rock Rd.
DeSoto, MO 63020