John Weghorst runs this town.
As president of the Jeff City Road Runners since 2007, Weghorst leads a group noted for its Thanksgiving Day "Pie Run," a 5K and 10K race for both casual and serious runners where the fleetest of foot win pies, not medals. This year nearly 900 people competed in the Pie Run, up from 126 in 2002, the year Weghorst took over organizing the event.
"I had this great idea: We would give out pies!" he said. "I wanted to make it special."
But Weghorst did not entirely anticipate how much work it would be to cook so many pies, or if his wife, Leasa, would be able to do so in their domestic kitchen. "She was a trooper; she made all 18," he said. (The pies are now baked by Chez Monet.)