MADras Runners Club member and one of the organizers of the Todd Beamer Memorial Run, Mario Mendoza Jr., takes a peak down the course before the start of the 10-K race on the Fourth of July. Jackson Keefer, bib No. 651, set a new record in 30:19.89. Tony Ahern photo. and

Jackson Keefer ran a record-breaking  30:19.89 10-K in the 2025 Todd Beamer Memorial Run, cooking the Grizzly Road course with under five-minute miles. He was the overall winner, but Eric Fykerud, Jr., wasn’t far behind, finishing in 30:34.38. Keefer ran a 4:52-per mile pace, Fykerud 4:55 per-mile pace.

The runners had near-perfect conditions with cool, overcast conditions, and great times resulted.

Odessa Cleavenger was the overall female winner in the 10-K, finishing in 40:44.28, the 11th overall finisher out of 42 total competitors. Lacey Smyth was the second female to cross the finish line at Sahalee Park, with a 44:54.50 time, 17th best overall.

Two Madras High School standout runners won the 5-K run, which drew 70 participants. Red Sky Waheneka, who will be a senior at MHS this fall, finished in 16:51.82 to be the overall winner of the 5K, running at a 5:25-mile pace. Emily Picard, a graduated senior who will be heading to Southern Oregon University to run, was the top female running, taking fifth overall with a 21:10.52 time.

Picard was the surprise winner of the the girls 4A 1,500 meters state championship in May. She came into the state race with the eighth-best time of the season among the field, but with a massive kick at the end she broke the tape as the champion. Bud Beamer, — longtime organizer of the race and whose late son, Todd, the event honors — brought Picard to the microphone Friday and before turning the mic over to her, Beamer said her race in Eugene to win was the “guttiest individual performance” he’d seen in watching 50 years of MHS sports. She was among the winners of the Todd Beamer Memorial Scholarship in May, which the race supports. Picard graciously thanked Beamer the community for supporting her.

Beck Anspach was the runner-up to Waheneka in the 5K, finishing in 17:43.02. Dante Dorsey, all the way from Huntsville, Alabama, was third in 17:52.51. Ashley Coltrane was the second female across, finishing in 22:28.60.

The 5-mile walk drew 21 participants and Mary Valdovinos and Fatima Valdovinos were the fastest walkers.

The event finale, the two-mile fun run, had 46 entrants. Evelyn Young won in 13;06.61, with Hanna Young second in 15.09.74. Canyon Toman was the third across and fire male, with a time of 15:23.08.

The event was organized and carried out by the MADras Runners Club, who continued the popular race for the Beamer family, which continues to honor Todd Beamer, the former MHS and collegiate athlete who became a teacher and coach, but tragically drowned in 1997 while trying to save families dogs that had gotten into an irrigation canal.