This morning, I was able to run my first race in Kansas City! I was happy to exceed my goal for this race and finish at 35:04—the goal was a simple 36:00 (9min mile) pace. Running in the Kansas City area has been much more humid than I am used to. Luckily, this morning was cooler than other recent mornings.
In preparation for our move to Fort Leavenworth, I wanted to put some races on the calendar to keep me focused on running during the move. I chose the Ward Parkway Four on the Fourth Four Mile Race as a way to run a race soon after my arrival to the area and to keep up with my enjoyment of Fourth of July Races.
I started the morning with a wake up at 0500 so that I could leave at 0530 to make the one hour drive to race site at 0630—one hour before the race. I typically want to arrive about an hour early, so that I can get used to the surroundings and warm up a little bit before the race. I felt it was especially important for this race because I was in a new city and climate. Luckily, this race was very well run and the parking was clearly marked as well as the course was set up when I arrived. This set up made me comfortable to be able to stretch and walk around before the race.
At about ten minutes prior to the start, the over 1,000 participants lined up at the start point. Unfortunately, there was no corral to line people up and no announcement to push walkers to rear of the group before the run resulting in the start being very congested and slow. Once, we were out of the parking lot the congestion began to thin out after the first turn. The course had a couple of non-threatening hills and the race planners elected to take the route over the smoother hills between mile two and three—which could have been painful if the race ran the other way around. The only hill of consequence was the last hill on the way to the parking lot and finish line. This hill was steep but more manageable than I had feared. The finish line ended on a downhill slope that allowed me to let go a little and speed up for a strong finish.
Over all, the race was enjoyable and well run. If I will be in Kansas City again on July Fourth of next year, I will definitely put this race on my short list of races to run. I always enjoy running on the Fourth of July and this was a great start to my day!
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Photo: A Special Thank you to SEEKCRUN.com and Race Organizers for providing photos free of charge to participants.