KANOPOLIS STATE LAKE, Kan. (AP) -- Does this sound like fun? Wake up in the middle of the night, put on your shorts and shoes, start running just before daybreak, and spend the next 12 hours running up and down canyon trails and across the prairie.
That's how Jim and Nancy Davis spent a fine day at Kanopolis State Lake. In fact, they've done that each of the last four years at the Rockin' K 50-Mile Trail Race sponsored by the Kansas Ultrarunners Society.
"It's what we do together," said Nancy Davis, 52, of Burns. "It's an abiding, enduring interest we have."
The Rockin' K -- a 28-mile trail marathon as well as a 50-mile race -- is held at the lake and wildlife area southwest of Salina. It's one of five events the Kansas Ultrarunners put on each year.
"For runners, trail running is a natural," said Jonathan Beverly, editor of Running Times magazine, who finished second in this year's Rockin' K marathon.
Beverly, who lives near Imperial, Neb., said "the footing was a constant challenge, with ruts and rocks and uneven grassy tufts, not to mention the water crossings, followed by sand and hills."
But, he added, "Not that I'm complaining: I love that stuff."
The Rockin' K has grown from six finishers in the 50-mile and 16 in the marathon in 1999, its first year, to as many as 25 finishers in the 50-mile in 2002 and more than 60 in the marathon each of the last two years.
The course features streams, sandbars and steep hills that slow most of the field to a walk, at least in some places. Slower runners may need 10 to 12 hours to finish and will need to eat and drink on a regular basis -- so food is part of the appeal of the events.
Race director Stacy Sheridan made three types of homemade cookies as well as 700 meatballs for the spaghetti dinner the night before the race, said Ben Holmes, 46, of Lenexa.
Dann Fisher, a professor of accounting at Kansas State University, who has run the 50-mile twice, also appreciated the food at the Rockin' K.
"Stacy makes the best cookies in the world," he said. "And the aid stations were great -- little buffet tables in the middle of nowhere."
Nancy Davis says the prospect of spending a full day running is not as intimidating as it might seem.
"Once we proved we had the endurance to go at the speed we would, it was almost comforting to know that we had 12 hours to do it," she said. "We enjoy doing these, and the length of time we're out there really doesn't matter."
