Chris Wristen

Repairs have just begun on Clinton State Park’s North Shore Trails that were damaged April 18 at the Kansas City Trail Nerds’ Free State Trail Runs, and today a decision was made to ensure similar repairs would not be necessary at Lake Perry. Trail Nerds owner Ben Holmes was scheduled to play host to the Rock On Lake Perry 50K, half marathon and 5K at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Branded B Ranch in Meriden, Kansas. Two straight days of rain have fallen, however, and with more in the forecast each day through the weekend Holmes was prompted to post the following message today announcing the race’s postponement to May 16. Two and a half weeks ago, Holmes drew harsh criticism for his decision not to postpone the Free State Trail Runs or use an alternate course when a thunderstorm was looming that had been in the forecast for days leading up to the event. It was dry at the start, but rain began pouring about an hour into the event, and approximately 20 miles of trail were damaged – some sections severely. The decision to postpone Rock On Lake Perry was made in conjunction with the Kansas Trails Council. The Kansas Trails Council played a lead role in developing the repair plan for Clinton State Park, which KTC estimates will take more than 1,200 volunteer hours. The forecast during the next few days does not bode well for trail repair efforts that were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Clinton State Park. Neither work day has been canceled yet, but organizers will seek guidance from the KTC’s Neil Taylor and Mike Goodwin regarding whether those should be canceled, too.