Okay not a billion times, "only" 18. I figured that was going to be horrible but it's a marathon that's got a generous enough time limit for the back-of-the-packers like … MORE
Okay not a billion times, “only” 18. I figured that was going to be horrible but it’s a marathon that’s got a generous enough time limit for the back-of-the-packers like me to actually do a marathon. While I do normally like out-and-back-once races because I like giving congratulation/motivation for the plethora of people faster than me when they come “back” and pass me on my “out”, I do generally dislike multiple lap courses because I just keep seeing the same thing over and over again and it’s harder to mentally judge how far along I am and how my overall speed compares to where I want to be. I don’t have any GPS or anything smart because I’m saving up for a nice one that can actually read my BP and be halfway accurate, but that’s another story.
So the course is at a high school. On a cool day it would be a nice walk. There’s not a lot of shade and our race started off with a brief thunderstorm then massive humidity the rest of the day, including once the sun came out and the temps rose. Now, if you’re fast, that’s not an issue. I’m not fast so I was hating life. There are, I’m told, typically a lot of walkers on the productions, which I certainly found to be the case, and with 18 out and backs (honestly it doesn’t suck the life out of you as much as you’d think) there’s plenty of opportunities to exchange words with whoever is passing. This was probably the most welcoming group of racers I’ve ever encountered, and the greater KC area already has an incredibly friendly racing community, so that says a lot. They welcomed me before and during the race, and a few of them I joined up for some pacing and conversation the first 12 or so “laps”. With wet feet and body armor on I was really hating the humidity. This was my first time doing a half marathon, much less a full, so I was broken off by the end of it. The course was a slight to moderate elevation gain on the way out on this winding path, and while most people finished early there were enough in the 7-8 hour group that I didn’t get lonely. The staff was plentiful at the one manned aid station (there’s also water at the turnaround) and there were more types of sustainment food than you could shake a stick at back at the start/finish line, where there are also covered benched tables and portajohns if you need to take a break. Which I did. A lot. Because going from one 10k straight to a marathon is arguably a horrible idea.
The swag. The tshirts are bright cotton with the different mascots from the different series on them. I wear mine proudly and tell everyone what a great production Mainly Marathons puts on. Mainly Marathons puts on series of 3-11 marathons across different states, you do them all you get extra swag (I think they have a 20 entry series too), but even if you don’t do the whole series (that’s a challenge for a future year), the medals are high quality “charm-style” where you can hang the different states in a series off one another to complete a set. They’re award-winning medals, and if you’re interested you can google and see the write-up and pictures. If it’s your first marathon, let them know and you get another medal for that. They give bonus swag for various numbers of marathons with them. I was there when one guy hit 500, which is insane to me, but they said another guy there was in the thousands. These people are dedicated, they are awesome, and I can’t wait to race again with them in 2024.
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Why is out and back a billion times fun?
Okay not a billion times, "only" 18. I figured that was going to be horrible but it's a marathon that's got a generous enough time limit for the back-of-the-packers like … MORE
Okay not a billion times, “only” 18. I figured that was going to be horrible but it’s a marathon that’s got a generous enough time limit for the back-of-the-packers like me to actually do a marathon. While I do normally like out-and-back-once races because I like giving congratulation/motivation for the plethora of people faster than me when they come “back” and pass me on my “out”, I do generally dislike multiple lap courses because I just keep seeing the same thing over and over again and it’s harder to mentally judge how far along I am and how my overall speed compares to where I want to be. I don’t have any GPS or anything smart because I’m saving up for a nice one that can actually read my BP and be halfway accurate, but that’s another story.
So the course is at a high school. On a cool day it would be a nice walk. There’s not a lot of shade and our race started off with a brief thunderstorm then massive humidity the rest of the day, including once the sun came out and the temps rose. Now, if you’re fast, that’s not an issue. I’m not fast so I was hating life. There are, I’m told, typically a lot of walkers on the productions, which I certainly found to be the case, and with 18 out and backs (honestly it doesn’t suck the life out of you as much as you’d think) there’s plenty of opportunities to exchange words with whoever is passing. This was probably the most welcoming group of racers I’ve ever encountered, and the greater KC area already has an incredibly friendly racing community, so that says a lot. They welcomed me before and during the race, and a few of them I joined up for some pacing and conversation the first 12 or so “laps”. With wet feet and body armor on I was really hating the humidity. This was my first time doing a half marathon, much less a full, so I was broken off by the end of it. The course was a slight to moderate elevation gain on the way out on this winding path, and while most people finished early there were enough in the 7-8 hour group that I didn’t get lonely. The staff was plentiful at the one manned aid station (there’s also water at the turnaround) and there were more types of sustainment food than you could shake a stick at back at the start/finish line, where there are also covered benched tables and portajohns if you need to take a break. Which I did. A lot. Because going from one 10k straight to a marathon is arguably a horrible idea.
The swag. The tshirts are bright cotton with the different mascots from the different series on them. I wear mine proudly and tell everyone what a great production Mainly Marathons puts on. Mainly Marathons puts on series of 3-11 marathons across different states, you do them all you get extra swag (I think they have a 20 entry series too), but even if you don’t do the whole series (that’s a challenge for a future year), the medals are high quality “charm-style” where you can hang the different states in a series off one another to complete a set. They’re award-winning medals, and if you’re interested you can google and see the write-up and pictures. If it’s your first marathon, let them know and you get another medal for that. They give bonus swag for various numbers of marathons with them. I was there when one guy hit 500, which is insane to me, but they said another guy there was in the thousands. These people are dedicated, they are awesome, and I can’t wait to race again with them in 2024.
I Love Mainly Marathon's Events!
The Mainly Marathons events are my favorite racing events, period. They do a great job of catering to the runners and the overall organization of these events are down right … MORE
The Mainly Marathons events are my favorite racing events, period. They do a great job of catering to the runners and the overall organization of these events are down right awesome. I highly recommend any of their race series.