This was a great race. I thought production was really smooth. I liked that it was smaller, and I liked that the packet pick up was at the race location … MORE
This was a great race. I thought production was really smooth. I liked that it was smaller, and I liked that the packet pick up was at the race location – great for us out-of-towners! Aid stations were amazingly stocked.
My course difficulty is probably skewed a little high. I was all trained up in January (when the race had to be moved due to weather), and then didn’t run again until the race. That’s on me, but it did make the course harder than it should have been.
Running a paved trail, so of course it’s beautiful scenery. The fact it was out and back was kind of nice because on the back you knew what was coming up.
Race production – touched on that earlier. Everything ran smoothly. I think it’s one of the best run races I’ve done. One thing is, they handled the weather as well could possibly be hoped for. Runners might have been okay on the January date, but support volunteers and staff definitely wouldn’t have been. Moving dates was a must, and I thought they offered enough options that everyone should have found one they were satisfied with.
Cool swag! I like that it was a hoodie instead of t-shirt. Just something new and different. And it’s a thick warm hoodie, not thin and cheap. I know people commented on the plastic medals – I like it! Metal ones are too heavy and hurt my neck. But I was able to wear that sucker allllll weekend! Plus it was just a cute design. (Side note – did not run all 3 legs of it, but I liked that they were color coded. That was cool.)
Overall, great race. Would run again.
Great Race!
This was a great race. I thought production was really smooth. I liked that it was smaller, and I liked that the packet pick up was at the race location … MORE
This was a great race. I thought production was really smooth. I liked that it was smaller, and I liked that the packet pick up was at the race location – great for us out-of-towners! Aid stations were amazingly stocked.
My course difficulty is probably skewed a little high. I was all trained up in January (when the race had to be moved due to weather), and then didn’t run again until the race. That’s on me, but it did make the course harder than it should have been.
Running a paved trail, so of course it’s beautiful scenery. The fact it was out and back was kind of nice because on the back you knew what was coming up.
Race production – touched on that earlier. Everything ran smoothly. I think it’s one of the best run races I’ve done. One thing is, they handled the weather as well could possibly be hoped for. Runners might have been okay on the January date, but support volunteers and staff definitely wouldn’t have been. Moving dates was a must, and I thought they offered enough options that everyone should have found one they were satisfied with.
Cool swag! I like that it was a hoodie instead of t-shirt. Just something new and different. And it’s a thick warm hoodie, not thin and cheap. I know people commented on the plastic medals – I like it! Metal ones are too heavy and hurt my neck. But I was able to wear that sucker allllll weekend! Plus it was just a cute design. (Side note – did not run all 3 legs of it, but I liked that they were color coded. That was cool.)
Overall, great race. Would run again.
It was just perfect race for me
This was very first time Kansas City had this race. It was supposed to happen in January but because of really bad weather, it was move to later date. But … MORE
This was very first time Kansas City had this race. It was supposed to happen in January but because of really bad weather, it was move to later date. But they managed really well. They were really supportive if someone wanted to do virtual run due to this change. Communication was perfect and was on point. Race swag was just perfectoooo… Chief’s kiss…. loved the hoodie and cap. Considering race location, it was really good. It was paved and all covered with shade / trees, loved that a lot. People on the track were nice and cheering too. So overall race experience was nice for me. Kept me motivated for sure. My last long run (50K) was in Oct. of 2022 and this race set perfect tone for my running activities this year. They also gave nice gift / soft toy for each person who came 1st in the specific age group. Yeti was fun. So over all it was sooooooooo much fun to run this race. I think they set really nice tone in KC. Looking forward to this next year.
My worst performance in years
**Updates at the bottom of original review So I've done this trail a dozen or so times. I have no idea why my time was garbage today other than everything … MORE
**Updates at the bottom of original review
So I’ve done this trail a dozen or so times. I have no idea why my time was garbage today other than everything hurt. None of this is the race’s fault though. It’s a beautiful trail (mainly) though a park. The trail is wide enough for a golfcart and a biker to ride side by side with a little room left over, so plenty of time to pass. This is NOT a trail run in traditional sense, as everything is paved and very much not wild. Mainly flat(-ish), but there are a couple short steep ones and a long grinding one that goes largely up for a mile. This race would be 5 shoes on overall and race swag if the medal had been nicer and befitting of the rest of this production. Despite my worst time on a half marathon (other than my very first), I had a great time. In part because I finally got to close the loop on a race that was delayed due to cold weather/wind in January.
The SWAG I marked down one because the medal is acrylic and feels cheap, though they do offer engraving plates. The long sleeve tshirt is very comfortable and the hoodie is tapered a little better than most of them, so I don’t have all this extra room around the waist. There were also socks, but I haven’t worn them yet, and the option to select between a trucker hat or a water bottle. I got the water bottle, but I’m told the hat was quite nice as well. DIdn’t get to see it as they had some supply chain issues so the hats are all getting mailed out, gratis.
UPDATE:
So because I was nearly DNF on that race (knees), I didn’t get my medal engraved due to some hardware issues that arose by the time I finished. They offered to mail me the engraved chip disk thing. It arrived today (looking sharp) and they were awesome enough to throw in a free Yeti running belt and a personalized note. It’s those little things that really make an outfit stand out. Also, it dawned on me that my original review failed to mention that there are three locations (cities) in which this race occurs, each with a different color hoodie, so it really incentivizes you to do the whole series, which I hope to do next year. I’m no stranger to racing multiple legs in a series of races under the same name. You get more of the same tshirt usually…it is what it is we all know the drill, but THESE folks solved that problem for you and make the different locations different theme colors (Think it was yellow, red and blue). The hoodies are nice, especially if you need an athletic cut, and I’m going to be picking up more colors next year for sure.
Just one more thing that made this organization stand out.