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Kansas City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Kansas City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 207 [displaying comments 171 to 181]
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G. H. from Kansas City, Mo
(9/25/2005)
"Anticipated hills, but not this many." (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I was glad to see the KC Marathon return. Expecting hills, I trained for them, but was not prepared to run 75% of the race at an incline. With temperatures in the 80's and high humidity, I was too exhausted to appreciate the historic and significant spots along the route. In addition, according to my GPS watch, the 3rd mile marker was off by about .4 mile... very frustrating as I questioned the rest of the marathon route. (I know GPS watches are not always accurate, but I also know I was not running a 6-minute mile.) In the end, the marathon course was accurate in length, but I'm not sure about the half. | |
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G. G. from Kansas City, MO
(9/24/2005)
"Very good first-year event. I will be back." (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I did the half, not the full, but the course was about as flat as we could have here. It was a nice downhill finish, and the organizers got their volunteers out well. Good first effort; I will be back in 2006, maybe for the full! | |
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C. G. from Overland Park, KS
(9/24/2005)
"Not in the top 3 half-marathons in KC area" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Things I liked about the half-marathon: 1) overcast skies reduced heat stress. Not something the race organizers should get credit for. Things I didn't like about the half-marathon: 1) No mile markers until mile #7 - makes it hard to judge pace. 2) Lack of directions at turns - some had cones, most didn't. Cops did a good job of helping while they were directing vehicle traffic. Better to have pavement marked or cones set up, or even a live person to point the way. None of that existed at the next-to-last turn on the course, where the guy in front of me and I ran straight instead of turning, and got to run a couple of extra blocks. Volunteers need to be trained to point the way, or at least holler if you guess wrong on directions. It's asking a lot to expect runners to memorize street maps of that area, especially 13 miles into the race. 3) Aid stations were spaced OK, but drinks were served in Dixie cups holding about 3 oz., and most volunteers weren't aware that runners might want more than one cup. I prefer not to come to a dead stop to get refreshments, but had to do so several times. 4) $45 entry fee was higher than other area half-marathons; for that you got an ugly T-shirt and so-so post-race eats. (Hospital Hill includes shorts, most other races a decent long-sleeve shirt or technical shirt.) Bottom line - if you want to run a half-marathon in Kansas City or Lawrence, put this one at the bottom of the list. See MARA's website for several other better options. | |
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Thad Bartley from Northwest Ohio
(5/14/2004)
"My first marathon..." (about: 2003)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 'Like an idiot', I didn't train for hills. This was my first marathon so I didn't know what to expect. I finished, but it was 45 minutes after my projected time. However, like I said, it was my fault for not doing hill training. The volunteers were great for me and very encouraging. The only thing I really didn't like were the long out-and-backs. | |
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B. O. from St. Louis, Missour
(12/3/2003)
"Volunteers hung in there" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I am a certified back-of-the-packer. Consequently I am often lonely. While there were few volunteers, I will say that they stayed out there in pretty crummy weather. I loved the park on the second half, and I love the mission of the marathon to hit all neighborhoods, not just the affluent. | |
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David Scofield from Tulsa, Ok
(11/14/2003)
"My first marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Since this was my first marathon I have nothing to compare it with. But I enjoyed it. I'm from Tulsa so I didn't really know what to expect from the course. I was told it was somewhat hilly by a local, that was certainly an understatement. It would have been more accurate to describe it as having a few flat spots. But I finished it running, so it was a good experience. The volunteers were real friendly, too bad there weren't more of them, maybe next year. One thing I was a little surprised at was there were no energy bars or energy gels on the course. I brought my own, but I think for the price they could have been provided. I missed my expected time by about 30 minutes - oh well, at least I'll be able to set a PR next marathon. | |
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D. H. from Milwaukee
(11/12/2003)
"Enjoyable Marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I enjoyed this marathon very much. The many outs and backs give you an opportunity to greet other runners and the 2-mile hill up Cliff Drive is something to brag about. The low-key nature of having no expo and no pasta diner was refreshing. But I don't see what the race is getting out of Humana to have their name dominating everything. A mile and 1/2 M would be useful. | |
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Mark Dingmon from Lenexa, Kansas
(11/7/2003)
"Challenging course with a unique uphill finish" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Things I liked about the marathon: 1) Challenging course 2) Unique steep uphill finish 3) Friendly and supportive volunteers 4) Cliff Drive (Mile 13 thru 17 scenic and downhill) 5) Wide course 6) Cool temps (mid 40's) 7) Good traffic control by KCPD 8) The Warehouse district (an eyesore and lonely stretch) but could be considered KC's version of heartbreak hill 9) Convenient parking Things I disliked: 1) Course in some areas not well marked. At the 10 mile point I was unsure which direction to go (had to guess), at around the the 22 mile point I had to ask a spectator which way to go. On the final out and back leg, was unsure how far to go before turning back, the turn around point was indicated by chalk markings on the concrete. A traffic cone or a more visable marker would have been helpful. 2) I did not notice any race event people along the course calling out times to runners. Particularly at the 13-mile point... Overall view: This was my 10th marathon and 3rd in Kansas City, and probably not the most attractive that I have participated in. However, I think the shortcoming of this event is due to lack of staff support. I think over time this event will improve as support grows. I commend the effort of those who volunteered and supported this event. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. | |
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David Doyle from Shawnee, Kansas
(11/7/2003)
"This was a very depressing experience" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 This was my 7th marathon with 5 of them in KC. This was the first time I've run this particular course and I have nothing good to say about it. Why can't the course organizers plan a course that goes through nicer areas of the city? I'm guessing it's a cost issue associated with traffic control. Why can't the old Macy's Marathon course, which started downtown and ended at the Barstow School at 106th and State Line, be resurrected? The hills took everything out of me by mile 25 and I had to walk/jog the last mile, which also was mostly uphill. The five different out-and-back sections of the race are boring and the one going downhill into a depressing industrial section of the 'bottoms' area was downright depressing. Having timing chips this year was an improvement, but there were no timers anywhere on the course, so unless you were keeping your own time, you didn't know your time. I was asked several times by other runners what time it was. At times I was running by myself without any spectators or other runners around, which is also depressing. The volunteers were friendly, but I got tired of hearing 'looking good' for the 200th time. While the previous KC Marathon (Rib Run) wasn't the greatest, at least there were some bands and excitement associated with that race which was not in evidence in this race. I've always thought that KC was a large enough community that running just a marathon without having to include a 10K and a 1/2 marathon could happen. The weather in KC at this time of year is so unpredictable. This year it was in the 40s with a little rain and a strong wind, and I would recommend that weather problems could be avoided by moving the race date back about 2 weeks. | |
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A. R. from Kansas City
(11/5/2003)
"A Bare Bones Marathon!!!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 As a local, I've run this race the past two years, but I doubt I'll run it again... unless it is MUCH improved. I've run the Des Moines, Omaha and Wichita Marathons and Kanas City ranks as a distant fourth in this region. Obviously, the organizers of this race do not care to put on a marathon of any quality. Maybe that's why the marathon participation was down by 30% this year. Complaints: - NO expo, just a packet pick-up (at Des Moines this year they had a local Kansas City running store selling their wares... could not KC get this running store?!?). - No pasta dinner. - No marathon signs anywhere downtown. - No pace groups. - A terrible website that is not updated at all. - For such a hilly course it really should have a course elevation map. - No spectators (maybe if they had the course wind some of KC's scenic neighborhoods they'd have some people out there - like Trolley or Hospital Hill). - The least scenic marathon course I've ever run. With so many great neighborhoods why do they run the course over the rundown sections of town? - Being how small this race is, it is very easy to miss the signs for the out-and-backs. They need a volunteer at each out-and-back telling the runners where they need to go. - Just Gatorade and water at the finish. NO FOOD. Being from KC, I had my wife drive me to the nearest Einstein Bros. so that I could start reloading on carbs. Apparently, I see from the comment below there was food on the 28th floor!!! How would anyone know this since there were no signs, nor did the volunteers I asked know this? - Early bird race fee of $60. What does one get for $60? Certainly not food when I finished (or so I thought and was told). This is a bare bones marathon and should have a fee that is appropriate. I really don't like complaining about a race considering that it is a volunteer effort. But this marathon is so inferior to any other marathon put on by cities substantially smaller. I really do feel sorry for out-of-towners that come to this marathon. You get more organization, support and amenities at most local 5Ks. I've tried to support my local marathon through my participaton, but no more... I'll stick with just doing KC's two other marathons - Gobbler Grind and Olathe. |
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