Two prominent figures from the UMKC School of Medicine were introduced into the new Hospital Hill Run Hall of Fame on June 1 during a VIP reception just prior to race weekend.
The inaugural class of inductees includes the two founding fathers of the Hospital Hill Run, UMKC School of Medicine founder E. Grey Dimond, M.D., and retired faculty member Ralph Hall, M.D. Mark Curp, a local two-time Hospital Hill Run winner who held U.S. and world records in the half marathon from 1985 to 1990, was also part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class.
During the past 44 years, the race has grown from a single, 6.8-mile race with fewer than 100 runners to an annual event that boasts thousands of athletes competing in three different distances. Annually, it includes the UMKC School of Medicine 5K on Friday night, followed by a 10K and a half marathon on Saturday morning. Runner’s World magazine has touted the Hospital Hill Run as one of the top 25 road races in the United States.
The 2017 races were held June 2 and 3 with each beginning and ending on Grand Boulevard directly in front of Crown Center.
Jordann Dhuse, a fourth-year student at the UMKC School of Medicine, won the women’s division of the School of Medicine 5K event in 23-minutes, 11-seconds, more than 40 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in the women’s race.
More than 1,800 people took part in this year’s half-marathon, 10K and 5K events. Complete race results are available on the Hospital Hill Run website. Visit the UMKC School of Medicine Facebook page for more photos from the 5K race.
Dimond (1918-2013) was a devoted physician who dedicated his life to the practice of medicine, medical education and physical fitness. He scheduled a symposium of physical fitness to be held in May 1974 with the intent to combine the symposium with a running event. Dimond approached Hall, a UMKC faculty member and an endrocrinologist at Saint Luke’s Hospital, with the idea and together they created the Hospital Hill Run. For many years, Dimond experienced a great surge of happiness standing on the southwest corner of 25th and Holmes, cheering on thousands of runners as they competed in the event.
Hall was a runner in high school and college but had never managed a running event. He used his running network to secure a race organizer. For the first few years, Hall managed the medical tent to ensure that all runners would receive proper care if needed. In addition, he worked with various physicians to incorporate medical education courses before moving from Kansas City.
