On Saturday, I had a great time running the Kansas City Half Marathon. The morning started early, but paid off in the long run. I woke up at 3AM and began driving at 4:30AM to arrive at the starting point by 5:30. I knew the race would be a larger race due to the three races running as well as the local draw. I wanted to make sure I arrived in time and at a good location well before the race began. Since I arrived early, I had a very good parking space that allowed me to get out, walk to the starting point, and return to warm up for about 30 minutes before I needed to go warmup. I also was able to find an indoor walkway that several other runners were stretching in before stepping out to the corrals about five minutes before the start.
Once the race began, I was able to shed my gloves and move comfortably through the course. I was happy to see that the race was not as hilly as I had feared as we travelled through the city. I enjoyed seeing the scenery of Kansas City as the route allowed me to see many different popular areas and landmarks. The race provided a true experience of Kansas City. I also enjoyed the number of people on the course. In several of my previous races, I have not had the number of people running with me as I had here. As the other races went on, the numbers would dwindle to a few to run with. Here, the was a large group throughout the race, which helped me stay motivated and distracted as I ran the race.
My finish time was 2:07:19 with an overall pace of 9:44. I was happy that I felt better after this race than I have in previous races. In fact, I came home and ran with my daughter for another 30 minutes. It was an incredible day of running here in Kansas City.
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Race photos, with logo by Action Sports Images; Complementary Race Images from the Kansas City Half Marathon