Hearts For RMHKC Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
Parkville, MO
- Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, 1 Miler, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Join this family friendly Half Marathon [NEW!], 10K, 5K, 1 Mile Walk, and a Kid’s Fun Run for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City (RMHKC). A majority of the proceeds will benefit the local homes of Kansas City to make a Impact for the families that use RMHC. … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Aug 16):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 95 | 90 | 84 | 73 | 86 |
| L (°F) | 77 | 70 | 61 | 65 | 67 |
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Humid race, deserving celebration
Humid race, deserving celebration I could summarize my RMCH experience as radio callers used to say, “First time caller, long time listener”. I love English Landing Park, (absent the dog … MORE
Humid race, deserving celebration
I could summarize my RMCH experience as radio callers used to say, “First time caller, long time listener”. I love English Landing Park, (absent the dog park, but more on that later) so I happily registered as a first-time participant for the RMHC 10k. There are only a handful of races at ELP, so I try to take advantage of the course when available.
Yet, my love for ELP, and all things in Parkville, was called into question on this particularly hot, humid August Sunday morning. The Missouri River bank decided to kick humidity into high gear and make sure all runners earned the medal. Luckily, the straightforward 10k course made the race a little more manageable. While only used a handful of times for races, ELP lends itself to multiple course options. In this year, courses have included multiple loops around the dog park, long stretches to the levy and adjusted park trails. I’m thankful RMHC used the long stretch route. All runners started in the parking lot, ran past the unopened farmer’s market and made their way to the loose gravel trail wrapped around the dog park. For those thinking, ‘Yay! Critters’, I am about to break your heart. The dog park is roughly 1.5 miles without shade or critters. The random dog in the area pulling its owner along the ELP trail. I can’t blame the puppies. ELP dog park is more like a hot field with a hidden sign telling the sun “shine directly HERE, where there is no shade or cover”.
After the uneventful dog park, runners continue on the ELP path. The 5k runners turn left at nearly the 2 mile mark and march onto the visible, and audible, finish line. The 10k runners continue on to the train tracks. Again, I’ve done this path numerous times, so familiarity came in hand on this humid day.
As far as production, I know water aid stations are heavily dependent upon volunteers, which can be hard to come by, but there were lacking. The 10k runners started before the 5k runners, and as a back of packer, I was able to hit the first water stations with no problem. If I remember correctly the same could not be said for some of the 5k runners. There was another stations along the way, but the customary water at the 10k turnaround was non-existent. Thankfully, a smart thinking couple, whether official volunteers or not, handed out ice-cold mini bottles of waters to the 10k runners at around the 5-mile mark. I don’t think I have fallen in love with a complete stranger as quickly as I did that day.
I applaud any race that includes the price of the tshirt into the race fee. I have races nearly every weekend, so if I can save a few dollars on the cost I will avoid paying extra for a shirt. The heavy, nice-sized medal and soft, tshirt made the perfect combo. The tshirt was a thinner material, but not see-through or cheap. It’s actually a good shirt for a hot summer day or summer run. The teal color and bright red heart/logo make a good combination and a likely conversation piece for the charity and race.
During the summer I suffer from something called ‘motivation’. The humity, high temperatures, and a sun joyfully mocking me with a “IT’S SUMMER!”, slows my pace. Now, the day prior I did another race (Rexy Run), so it may have been a combination of events affecting my official results. Nonetheless, this was a day of high and mighty celebration. It was jkelling’s 200th post heart attack race. After a summer filled with 25 running miles, pushing limits at new trail runs and ALWAYS bringing a motivating smile and inspiring spirit, jkelling was destined to be celebrated with high honor. As such, I did not take part in the traditional finish line festivities. There was some sort of food truck, a couple of other booths, DJ and I could see others taking partaking in the celebration.
For those who enjoy a post-race coffee, the little train car coffee shop offers an assortment of tasty treats and drinks. If you stick around long enough (11am or noon), Parkville offers a variety of lunch options. The Irish pub, The Craic, has become a fast favorite. It’s easy to lose yourself in the day with the other small shops and boutiques.
I look forward to next year’s race. I hope they get more volunteers for the water stations, but if the day is humid, I may run on the safe side and carry my own hydration. All in all, there is a reason RMHC is a heavily attended and highly promoted event.
Food trucks and flat courses
Admittedly I'm lukewarm on this course because it's my home course where I do all my virtuals because I'm only 3 miles from the course. That said, this was the … MORE
Admittedly I’m lukewarm on this course because it’s my home course where I do all my virtuals because I’m only 3 miles from the course. That said, this was the best version of this course I have seen there, where it’s a looped 4 miles out and two miles direct in a straight line to the finish. What really made this a top notch production was the couple with the half frozen mini bottles of water just over half a mile from the end. This was the second day (and second race) in a row at with a 70+ dew point and a bunch of us were feeling it. The first mile and a half has no shade, nor does the last mile, but there’s a mile and a half in the middle, largely along the riverfront that’s shaded. Bring your hydration, because even with the multiple water points set up, it always felt like they were quite a ways away. Sadly, this year there was no water at the turnaround point, which is odd given it’s easy accessibility in a parking lot. The medal was a nice spinner medal and the tshirt was a soft cotton. I didn’t get to actually try the food truck since we had a special celebration in the parking lot for my 200th race post-STEMI, but it smelled very good.
Great view and a great cause
So racing down by the river front is never horrible. It was muggy, and I was on my third race in just over 24 hours, so it was difficult to … MORE
So racing down by the river front is never horrible. It was muggy, and I was on my third race in just over 24 hours, so it was difficult to push hard. A food truck and massage stand was on standby and thankfully they did the alternate course which only involves the dog park once. The medal was a little simplistic though, which seemed a letdown since so much was put into the start/finish line area. This is always a great production so I’m sad to see it was sort of mixed this year, but I will absolutely be back next year and hope to see you there. Say hi when you pass me.
Great park to run in
This is a relatively flat course on crushed rock. You get a great view of the river and no traffic to compete with. If you want to see Parkville's beauty … MORE
This is a relatively flat course on crushed rock. You get a great view of the river and no traffic to compete with. If you want to see Parkville’s beauty along the river, run this race.
Choc milk in abundance @ English Landing
This was a very great race despite it being a hot summer, we got a little bit of a reprieve that day and the RD made it all the better … MORE
This was a very great race despite it being a hot summer, we got a little bit of a reprieve that day and the RD made it all the better by picking the alternate English Landing 10k route that doesn’t involve doubling up on the first 2-mile section of zero shade. Much appreciated on that one because I always prefer doing that part of the course only once. There was low fat chocolate milk galore at the end, which, as somebody with a heart condition, I appreciate the low-satfat tastiness that provides. I’m the one late to the party on this one, because a lot of frequent faces in the scene showed up to this one and now I see why. For those who don’t know, English Landing park is a great location for a few races every year including the KC Hometown Half Marathon. The humidity was nicer today and the wind coming in off the river was pleasant. It took a little while to get everyone spaced out at the start. Maybe a half mile, and if this race gets much bigger it might benefit from a tight wave start, as the path narrows around mile 0.5 and you want to be spaced out before then if you can. Small undulations that I wouldn’t even call hills make up the majority of this course, but there is a slight gradual decline on the way out that you’ll have to come back up on the way back. It’s not bad and you may not even notice it’s so slight, but it is there. That stretch of the race isn’t the most scenic as you’re on the path behind a fuel storage tank or something like that, but most of the race is at the park or the trail right outside of it with the river visible for most of it. I love all the races at English Landing Park but the RD seemed to have this ironed out perfectly. There is a fair amount of parking in Parkville (where the race actually is) but you may want to get there early as it does seem to fill up with the race and whatever is going on downtown that day. As my third race in just over 24 hours (15k-5k-10k) and the day after a punishing Summer Sizzler, I’m not going to say I had any chance of PR’ing on this one, but it is otherwise a good fast course if you’re not in a full weekend schedule. I’m looking forward to it next year and will be signing up for this one early. Say hi when you pass me and save me some chocolate milk.