Kingsley dominates Route 66 Runway Run; Stanley finishes as top female

May 7—As 14-year-old Andrew Kingsley glided along the taxiways of Claremore Regional Airport, he felt a sense of calmness.

There was nothing in front of him but pavement, but he didn't experience any pressure from leading the race. In fact, the middle-school student wasn't challenged in the slightest throughout its duration.

Despite that, not even he expected to finish so quickly.

Kingsley made easy work of the field of 73 runners and walkers, winning the Route 66 Runway Run — presented by the Tulsa Air & Space Museum — with a time of 16 minutes, 51 seconds Saturday morning. His sister Grace also competed in the race, placing 49th in 34:32.

"I ran for fun today," Kingsley said. "I just wanted to enjoy the race, and I ended up PR'ing, too, so it was pretty nice. I love the hangars and stuff; it's really nice. The shade works really well with it, too. It blocks out the wind, and it's really flat, too. It was a great day to be out here."

The event featured a certified 5K route, but later analysis by the Tulsa Air & Space Museum revealed that signage confusion caused the course to be a half mile shorter than intended, measuring 2.6 miles upon inspection.

Despite the discrepancy, Kinglsey said he believed he avoided the disorder and ran the full 3.1-mile distance. The Progress could not verify this claim without GPS data, but regardless of the course length, his convincing victory can't be discredited.

"That's coming from a 19:15 in my last 5K, so I'm just getting better," said Kingsley, who finished 2:35 ahead of the second-place finisher, Ethan Friend of Grove. "Lots of practice and dedication. Even so, I didn't expect to get a 16:50 today. I was trying to go for an 18:30, honestly. I was just that fast today."

Robert Webster of Pryor (19:28), Nathan Kuntz of Broken Arrow (20:12) and Samuel Roper of Bartlesville (20:12) round out the top-five finishers.

Kingsley's victory came after a successful track season that saw him log personal bests of 47 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles, 2:20 in the 800 and 5:29 in the 1600. He also ran cross country in the fall and looks forward to bumping up to the 5K distance upon entering high school later this year.

Kingsley credited his cross-country experience for his fast time Saturday.

"I'm used to running hills, and it builds up your tolerance really well," he said.

He now plans to take the remainder of spring and summer off from racing, choosing to instead sharpen his track skills while also building his mileage base for cross country.

If his performance in Claremore is any indication, he has a bright future ahead of him in distance running.

"I just gotta keep progressing," Kingsley said. "You won't see progress the first night — I didn't, either. I'm a little more talented than most people when it comes to distance, but talent is nothing without effort."

STANLEY OVERCOMES INJURY, FINISHES AS TOP FEMALE

Coming back from an injury is never easy, but sometimes a small local race is all it takes to regain focus and motivation.

That can be said for Alisha Stanley of Claremore, who broke one of her fibula bones 10 weeks ago while training for the Golden Driller Marathon in Tulsa. Despite the untimely injury, she was the top female finisher of the Route 66 Runway Run on Saturday morning at the Claremore Regional Airport, finishing in 21:14 to place ninth out of 73 runners.

The event featured a certified 5K route, but later analysis by the Tulsa Air & Space Museum revealed that signage confusion caused the course to be a half mile shorter than intended, measuring 2.6 miles upon inspection.

"It's still broken — the bone hasn't grown back," Stanley said. "But my tendons and ligaments let me run. I can't play tennis or basketball or change directions, but I can run on pavement."

Initially, Stanley grappled with the challenge of abandoning her marathon aspirations due to the injury, but over time, she has come to value the journey of recovery and what it means to run.

She now has her eyes set on the Urban Adventure Race Marathon, which is scheduled for Sept. 28 in Tulsa.

"It made me have appreciation for people who can't get out there and run," Stanley said. "I had to watch people do it at the gym, and it hurts your feelings when you can't do things. It made me grateful for a healthy body."