Plaza 10K
Kansas City, MO
- 10K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Plaza 10K is the premier stand-alone 10k in Kansas City, with a flat and fast course that runs along the banks of Brush Creek and goes through the heart of the Country Club Plaza! The Plaza 10K benefits Saint Luke’s Homecare & Hospice. Enjoy live music, great food, a … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 13):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 96 | 78 | 82 | 89 | 89 |
| L (°F) | 74 | 65 | 56 | 58 | 69 |
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Bring it, because KC BRINGS IT!
As a born and raised Kansas Citian, I will always be biased toward races that allow me to literally run the streets I once ran with youthful joy, energy, and … MORE
As a born and raised Kansas Citian, I will always be biased toward races that allow me to literally run the streets I once ran with youthful joy, energy, and occasional indiscretion. After an exceptionally warm summer, God gifted runners with the perfect conditions to kick-off the fall running season. Plaza 10k is arguably the most popular and well-attended 10k in the area. I’m on track to double my races from last year (thanks jkelling), so its no doubt I would be there, but I easily ran into more than 10 friends that only do the occasional 10k. In other words, EVERYONE shows up for the Plaza 10k!
With ample parking possibilities, the start line is never too far. If you get there early enough, the perfect parking spot is short walk from the festivities. You’ll have enough time to park, packet pick-up (unofficially of course), stroll to the car and get back to the growing porta-potty line with sufficient time to find your perfect spot among new and old friends. As much as I love this race, I do have to note the portajohn situation. In prior years, rows of portajohns lined one of streets perpendicular to the starting line. There had to be some sort of vendor issue this year because the usual number of portajohns did not arrive on time. A friend later told me she saw a large number of portajohns arrive scarily close to the start time. I am sure it was a minor confusion, but I am curious as to how many runners did not get access before the race.
Knowing that the KC Half, another of my favorite races, will have a course change this year, I was glad it was not the case for Plaza 10k. After a well played game of bob and weave, I finally caught up to my running partner after mile 1. In honor of my 300th race, we vowed to beat his PR. Once we cleared the crowds at mile 1, we had plenty of room to stick to our initial plan. We knew the course and knew that ahead of mile 2 marker, we had a short, but challenging, uphill. Aww, yes, this is when the summer training kicked in. The hill was no uphill battle, it was the reward for an enduring summer. It’s easy to cruise through mile 3 until mile 4, but be watchful of the smooth and gradual uphill. When my running partner and I did our post-race analysis there was a reason why this long stretch was our slowest mile. It was during this stretch that we picked up another runner, Addison, that asked to run intervals with us. I lowkey, felt like a real runner. Most times, I’m a runner happy to finish the race. But today, at Plaza 10k, my 300th race, I felt a responsibility to keep the pace and run. My running partner will say that I save him or push him, but he is the source of all our runs. He plans, motivates, and executes a plan. I go along for the run and clouds.
Mile 5 and 6 we knew a PR victory was ours. At mile 5, he could have walked it through, but we both had enough energy to run it through for a new PR. Past Plaza 10ks have taught me to conserve some energy for the final feat. I was smart enough to not start my sprint at the turn to the finish. We did it! We accomplished our goal and beat his PR – and mine in the process. We had a 10k time of 1:19:43 and 1:19:53. I KNOW how much he pushed, so I truly cannot ask for a better race. I was able to run with my constant source of inspiration on my 300th race, share my faith with Addison and get a new PR.
My advice for first-timers? Be ready to bring it and exceed your own expectations. Run smart, but enjoy the race. Kansas City will bring the energy, the course and finish line excitement.
Last year of an old course
So due to some local politics with the rail car, the course is going to have to change some next year. I'm hoping they can retain the great character this … MORE
So due to some local politics with the rail car, the course is going to have to change some next year. I’m hoping they can retain the great character this race as. I also am well aware in the past I have not ranked the scenery that high (there’s been protracted construction), but honestly this race is so iconic that it really grows on you over the year, and once you familiarize yourself with every turn and every rise and fall of the course, it is like a fine instrument. Give it to an angry chimpanzee and it’s going to sound like a war crime in your ears, but give it to a skilled musician and it can carry a melody beautifully. Plaza 10k truly sings, and anyone who has done it more than once, has always wanted to do it, or wanted to be part of something the community really rallies behind, this is the “concert” to attend.
The course is designed to run fast without being boring. The opening stretch through the Plaza means you’re getting the opportunity for a start with spectators lining the course, intentionally or otherwise due to the shops and restaurants open. On the parallel road cars honk their support and people walking their dogs light up and cheer as the runners pass. The course crosses a bridge, goes right to a turnaround about mile 1. It’s a double left turn that crosses a wide creek, so no 180 hairpins slowing down the flow, the return into the Plaza is only briefly the same view, as short of mile 2 you turn left and take on the first hill. It’s less than the full block wide, but it’s quick to slow you down a bit as it steepens towards the end, and on a course that’s been so fast so far it’s the first gut-check point where runners get to find out who showed up for the race and who is phoning it in.
At the top of the hill you turn right and continue down one of the main thoroughfares of the Plaza shopping district. That side of the divided road is shut down so all lanes are available to runners and there’s no exhaust to choke down. Enjoy the slight decline for a little less than half a mile, then enter a false fall until mile 3. When you wonder why your pace went down, it’s not you, this part actually is slightly uphill, but up until the end at Nelson Watkins Museum it can appear like you’re on a decline. Stay strong because shortly after the mile 3 marker is a nice downhill to restock your momentum, and a nice windy path down until the turnaround point just short of mile 4. For this one you’ll be crossing over an uphill bridge over a park to the parallel road on the other side. The mile 4 mark is just before the bridge exit, so if you want to keep your splits tight (or negative) then save some push or bank some seconds early, as that hill will cost you a few.
From MM4 to MM5 is a series of rolling hills and dips in the first real shade the course has to offer, and where everybody appreciates it the most as they start to get tired from the push. This is where runners tend to gravitate to one another, as the super wide course is far more space than needed by the time the spread hits here. More on that later. MM5 to about 5.3 is a nice pass through downtown then a right turn to a short uphill that will seem like much longer at that point in the race. It’s not punishingly long or steep, but at this point in the race it will very much make you figure out “what your why is” as the people at the coffee shop and cafe lining the street lift their glass and cheer you on.
Get up that hill and take two more right turns and you’re on the final push back into the Plaza shopping district just past MM6 and the overpass that follows it. You’ll hear the MC by now, so turn left down the hill and burn off what you have left in the last 0.2ish to the finish. That said, it can actually be further away than you think, so don’t burn it off too fast. This was the spot on the course two years ago where the woman I was trying to motivate waved me off and said she was pretty sure I’d got her a PR, so I could go ahead and finish strong. She thanked me after the race for helping her get a new PR, and honestly that felt like a bigger reward than the medal (which is always big, boldly colored with a Spanish color scheme and tastefully designed). She said she knew at the turn it was going to happen because we’d banked so much extra time together over the last three miles. If you’re reading this, I hope you kept setting new ones, and I’ve shared your story with countless others. Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey.
That feeling she must have had when she mentally did the math and knew victory was inevitable, I got to experience this year because my race partner ccruiz03 is a machine, and I will forever be thankful for the moment she pointed out that I literally could have walked in and still set a course PR, but having banked 5 extra minutes (yeah) we figured it was time to set an overall PR too, so she never let me let off the gas.
To the wonderful young ladies doing their first 10k. I’m really proud of you. You should be, too, and it was an honor to share the field with you. To the wonderful lady I shared short intervals with, thanks for the conversation. I’m sure you’ll get your cholesterol where it needs to be. Most importantly, to my wonderful race buddy ccruiz03, thank you for the insane amount of training miles we’ve put in this summer, more than quadrupling what I did last year. Thank you for showing up and bringing the fire, for pushing and pulling me that whole course, thank you for not letting me slack at the end and be content with a new course PR, and compelling me to push til the end and not only setting a new overall 10k PR, but one that destroyed my old one by 5 minutes. I can think of no more fitting venue than Plaza 10k, the largest in the area, the most popular standalone here, and the first in the Heartland 30k Series to have that memory at now. To Sheryl@SirEdmond, after all you’ve been through, being able to go back and run you across the line was an absolute honor. You are unstoppable. I was proud of you a year ago on that day. I’m even prouder of you now. To K – I always knew you could do it. I’m proud of you. And despite what you said, you did keep up with me, and I’m sorry I didn’t get to run you across the line.
Three more from my crew PR’ed that day, as did countless others I didn’t get to meet. The energy afterwards is always high as runners gravitate to different cafes with their friends (and new friends) and unwind from a great race. There are plenty of places to eat at all price points and styles in the area, so stick around and enjoy a well-deserved meal.
I’ll be clicking the refresh page for the signup link on this one for 2026. I’ve done 207 races since my heart attack in 2022. Groundhog Run (https://raceraves.com/races/groundhog-run/) is a great one that will always have a special place in my heart for a number of reasons (see review). Plaza 10k is one of my top three favorites though, and one I truly hope everybody gets to experience at least once. I’m sure it won’t be once.
Always a great run
I've run this race several times. from start to finish they produce a well-run race. Plenty of parking, easy to get to the start line, great course and volunteer work. … MORE
I’ve run this race several times. from start to finish they produce a well-run race. Plenty of parking, easy to get to the start line, great course and volunteer work. highly recommended.
Annual Tradition for me
I love coming back to this race. they do a great job of organizing it. the weather is typically amazing. and the after party is great too. plenty of parking. … MORE
I love coming back to this race. they do a great job of organizing it. the weather is typically amazing. and the after party is great too. plenty of parking. highly recommend.
Party energy to start Autumn
This race is always a joy just to be at. The energy is palpable as we mark the unofficial first race of the Autumn season on a very flat single … MORE
This race is always a joy just to be at. The energy is palpable as we mark the unofficial first race of the Autumn season on a very flat single loop which at least twice gives views of the other side of the racecourse where you can see the slower/faster people undertaking their journey. The weather is not always dependable, but it was cool and relatively dry, especially next to the past week, so an already fast course became faster.
The shirts are a soft cotton, the medals are always very nicely done (really closer to half marathon quality), and several people that I talked to PR’ed, as can be expected on this course. Sadly, due to the mayor disallowing races to cross the streetcar tracks, this will be the last running of this iconic course, and hopefully the necessary adjustments for next year’s course will still manage to keep the character of this 14-year-old race
A KC icon and a great PR op
Where to start...it's the Plaza 10k. Nobody who races in the KC area doesn't know this race and hasn't done it at least once (usually more than once, sometimes many … MORE
Where to start…it’s the Plaza 10k. Nobody who races in the KC area doesn’t know this race and hasn’t done it at least once (usually more than once, sometimes many more). The energy is very high before and during the race as neighborhoods come out to cheer on the racers, even the ones towards the end. I was lucky enough to see a couple people I knew from other races. I was unlucky enough to not have my camelback, so I was a little dehydrated. There seemed to be water stations every couple miles, but since I have body armor on when I race I kind of need to carry my own water, too. Bad planning on my part. Despite that, still set a 10k PR at that part in the season. Interestingly, the temps seem to alternate high-low-high-low every year, so next year should be cooler. Don’t know why. Go figure. The post race celebration consists of several blocks of the shopping center and I’m not sure if the energy was actually higher then or at the start, but it’s a wonderful place to meet up with your fellow racers afterwards and celebrate what is sure to be at least one PR in any given group (more so on cool years). Lots of signs, lots of love, lots of spectators along the path, and this time of year the hottest (temperature) races are largely behind you but it’s not cold (or rainy) enough to worry about what are you going to wear so early in the morning. Even with the construction on the roads making the final approach to the last bridge less picturesque, looking down the slight incline and seeing it up ahead on the left is a beautiful site and one everyone should see firsthand if they’re serious about racing the greater KC area. This was my third race in just over 24 hours, and if I can PR here it is absolutely possible for just about anyone else. Might as well have fun doing it.
The medal and shirts are always nice, and Plaza has a look worthy of its legacy status here. This is also the first race in the Heartland 30k challenge (great extra swag opportunity).
I always run this race
great way to see KCMO and enjoy a beautiful course. I highly recommend this to new runners. lots of positive energy here. Be sure to sign up. MORE
great way to see KCMO and enjoy a beautiful course. I highly recommend this to new runners. lots of positive energy here. Be sure to sign up.
I keep coming back
I love running this race because of the course and the production. easy to park and get to the start line, easy to leave afterwards. Please run this race. MORE
I love running this race because of the course and the production. easy to park and get to the start line, easy to leave afterwards. Please run this race.
Beautiful Course
I have done this run several times. great swag and medals. I just have not gone back because of the price increases. but it would be great for any first-time … MORE
I have done this run several times. great swag and medals. I just have not gone back because of the price increases. but it would be great for any first-time 10k runner.
Beautiful run through KC
You can't ask for a better run than through the Plaza in September. The weather was great and the course was perfect. The race shirt is one of my favorites! … MORE
You can’t ask for a better run than through the Plaza in September. The weather was great and the course was perfect. The race shirt is one of my favorites! I would love to run this again in the years to come!
First 10K Ever
This was the second race of the 30K Series I ran in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 results aren't archived. The Plaza has nice scenery and the weather is great … MORE
This was the second race of the 30K Series I ran in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 results aren’t archived. The Plaza has nice scenery and the weather is great that time of year (in the morning).