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@seant950
Shawnee, KS Raving since 2025 Active 3 months, 1 week agoAbout Me
My Races
Organize, track & review your races and personal bests here.
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Future Races
Future Races (0)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Paid |
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Past Races (2)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Result | My Raves | My Performance |
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| Gobbler Grind Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K | Marathon | Overland Park, KS | Nov 23, 2025 |
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| Kansas City Marathon | Marathon | Kansas City, MO | Oct 18, 2025 |
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Gobbler Grind Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
Great low-key race before holidays
Gobbler Grind Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
This was my 3rd overall marathon I completed, having only done the Kansas City marathon in 2024 and this year. By comparison I really enjoyed this marathon over the Kansas … MORE
This was my 3rd overall marathon I completed, having only done the Kansas City marathon in 2024 and this year. By comparison I really enjoyed this marathon over the Kansas City this year as it seemed more organized, the hills far more manageable and the weather far more cooperative than the KC marathon. There was a couple looped sections, but that’s to be a bit expected with this being half trail/half road. Good amount of water stations throughout and the pacers stayed nearly perfectly on time as well.
Some of the downsides here are that there’s little room for spectators, can seems to be a little (but not a lot) repetitive and the course actually went 26.5 miles and not 26.2. My official time was 3:57 but I was at 3:54 when I hit 26.3 so that’s something I would suggest as a fix for next year. Could certainly use a couple more porta potties as well. All easily fixable issues though.
All in all, a great low-key race that will certainly have better running weather annually and one that I would recommend to anyone in the KC or Midwest areas. Of course it’s also the Sunday before Thanksgiving week so it’s the perfect time for a recovery/fest week.
Kansas City Marathon
Major Dropoff from 2024
Kansas City Marathon
Positives: The race swag is absolute top notch and this year they really stepped up their game. Race medal was fantastic and the long sleeve shirt they gave out is … MORE
Positives:
The race swag is absolute top notch and this year they really stepped up their game. Race medal was fantastic and the long sleeve shirt they gave out is high-quality. Both were major upgrades over last so a major kudos there. Packet pickup was super easy and in a great location. The course itself is pretty scenic and a great way for out of towners to get a general feel for KC. Even with a major drop in spectators the crowd support is pretty solid and it does offer a number of locations for people to move around and follow someone their supporting. Tons of restaurants, bars, etc for those not running to enjoy a quick bite or drink. Post race festivities and amenities are decent too. Plenty of water stations, bathrooms, etc. In addition, when going through the Brookside area the locals are EXTREMELY supportive, friendly and typically have addition water/food for runners.
Negatives:
The 2024 KC Marathon was my first marathon, with the 2025 KC marathon being my second marathon. Compared to 2024, the course was actually more difficult due to routing changes near Rockhurst University and more confusing at the start. I ended up bettering my time by nearly 30 minutes, but the experience was just much worse this year.
On top of the weather being unseasonably hot (of course no ones fault), my bib never even registered this year nor did my running partners bib. So neither one of us were able to get photos or official race/pace/section breakdowns from the marathon. Understandable that with the streetcar construction the course needs to go through odd areas, but it made an already difficult course even more difficult. Was a pretty substantial drop off in spectators this year too. The Ward Parkway down-back between miles 18-23 is maybe a necessary evil I guess, but is a really big slog when you’re at that point in the race. With KC being such large city, expanding the route into the River Market area, a wider radius in the Downtown area or simply going down Pennsylvania to Ward Parkway (instead of a 3 mile down and back repeat) would greatly improve the experience.
Overall, I think issue with the marathon this year were nearly all related to the course. I appreciate that these are difficult to put on, but as someone that has lived in the KC area for 25 years I think there are far better route alternatives that should be studied (see my comments on miles 18-23).
Advice for any first timers: the hills are inconsistent and unrelenting. They’ll vary from slow, long inclines to large rolling hills. I’ve had numerous people tell me that this is one of the toughest marathons they’ve completed, so I would certainly start slower than your typical pace and save your energy here. This is definitely not a race where experience runners will likely PR, the only reason I did was that I had only done the KC marathon the year before.
Being a local that has already completed this twice, I likely will skip out on this marathon in 2026, with the Gobbler Grind in Overland Park just being a better alternative. Good luck to all wanting to compete in this, hopefully my information provides some solid advice.