What a whirlwind of a weekend! I'm currently sitting in the Kansas City Airport about to head home after finishing my FIRST DOUBLE MARATHON WEEKEND. I've been training for the I-35 Challenge since June and this weekend I officially ran and completed both the Kansas City Marathon in Kansas City, Missouri and the Des Moines Marathon in Des Moines, Iowa. Instead of waiting 4 months to post my reviews (lol), I thought I'd get my thoughts down on digital paper before I forget too many details of the experience. I'm going to break up my review of the weekend into two parts, so stay tuned for part 2. For now we'll kick things off with the 2021 Garmin Kansas City Marathon!
TRAVEL & EXPO DAY
I headed out of Boston bright and early on Friday morning to head over to Kansas City. I think at this point in I was having some serious regrets regarding all of my life's decisions that lead me to be on a plane to run two consecutive marathons, but there as no turning back now. 😬 I landed in KC around 10:30am, met up with Cassie, and we headed straight over to the expo for packet pick up.
While there weren't too many vendors at the expo (at least not as many as I'd see in pre-COVID times), the venue was great (located at Union Station - a GORGEOUS building!) and packet pick up was quick and easy. Cassie actually registered on-site for the 10K without any issue, and I was also able to pick up our friend Jocelyn's packet as well (she was doing both full marathons with me!) since she was not getting into KC until much later. There was a little bit of confusion with mine and Jocelyn's bibs - we were supposed to get a special designation for the I-35 Challenge on our bibs and an extra shirt and we were originally only given marathon bibs and shirts. It wasn't until I saw the table of I-35 shirts when I realized that maybe we didn't get everything we needed so I asked the volunteers. They were super great about rectifying the mistake, got us the right bibs and shirts, and were so friendly and helpful through the whole process! Race volunteers are honestly the best people you can find. 💙
KC MARATHON PACKET INCLUDED:
-Kansas City Marathon cotton t-shirt (hooray for no tech shirt!)
-I-35 Challenge finisher long sleeve shirt
-Bib & safety pins
Honestly, I prefer race packets to be no-nonsense like this one. I don't love getting coupons to local businesses unless it's something I can use during race weekend (I really don't need a coupon for a water filtration system lmao) and usually the samples that get included go unused. My preference is just give me some nice swag that I will actually use OR just give me my bib.
After some quick pics with our bibs we were both famished and wanted to grab some BBQ as Kansas City's BBQ is some of the best out there! We asked a few folks what they'd recommend for BBQ and Jack's Stack was hands down the favorite so that's where we headed. We both ordered burnt ends that were honestly SO DELICIOUS and really hit the spot after a long morning of traveling.
Eventually we made our way to our Air BnB and shortly after checking in I hit the road for a shakeout run. I knew I wasn't going to get it done if I started to relax, so I got on the road for a 2 mile run which gave me a taste of the INSANE hills in KC. Mentally it was so great to get a feel for the terrain the day before, even if it was only a taste, but BOY is Kansas City not messing around with its hills. 💀
Unfortunately in the evening I started to feel so sick to my stomach. I think it was a combination of nerves for the races, traveling, being dehydrated, and honestly the BBQ I had for lunch. The food itself was INCREDIBLE and so well made, I'm just not a huge red meat eater and of course I had beef burnt ends. Probably not the smartest move the night before a race. I was super nervous about feeling sick for obvious reasons, but most of all because I could NOT bring myself to eat anything for dinner. Going into a marathon on an empty stomach was a pretty scary prospect, but I opted to drink water, get sleep, and keep my fingers crossed that I'd feel better in the morning.
RACE DAY
Luckily I woke up feeling somewhat better, and was even able to stomach a bowl of oatmeal before we headed out! We went to pick up Jocelyn at her hotel and made our way over to the start line. One tip right off the bat - if you're driving, get to the Kansas City Marathon EARLY. We got to the starting line area about 30 before the 7AM start and drove around for a decent amount of time before finding parking. Essentially, everyone is trying to park in ONE designated parking garage which cause a line of cars all over the place. We eventually found an empty parking lot to park in and made our way over to the start. We got to the starting line RIGHT at 7AM, which is a little too close for comfort for me, but at least we made it!
The 10K didn't start until 30 minutes after the marathon, so Jocelyn and I said goodbye to Cassie and made our way to the starting line. Before we knew it we were off and running!
This will be a theme throughout this review - the Kansas City Marathon is SO. FREAKING. HILLY. This is more than just rolling hills. We're talking about VERY extended uphill stretches with very little reprieve until the back half of the course. So, in true KC Marathon fashion, the first mile took us uphill. Jocelyn and I stuck together for the most part through the first two miles. Because we started on an uphill climb and we were feeling fresh, we actually ended up going out waaaaaay too quickly. At some point after mile 1 I turned to her and said "hey… we have a whole other marathon tomorrow…. maybe we should slow down" 😂 We came up on our first water stop around 2 miles and this is where we parted ways for the first time. I stopped for a restroom break at this point (no time for the bathroom before we started!) and she continued on.
I will say that even though the course was super hilly, it provided some incredible views of Kansas City! As the sun was rising it hit the buildings on the KC skyline and really made the city glow. It's always so incredible to see the sunrise on a city you're visiting for the first time!
The weather was on the chillier side (40s-50s) for the majority of the race, and stayed nice and cool in the shadow of the buildings during the first half of the course. It wasn't until mile 7 or 8 where the sun really started to warm things up finally. Coincidentally, this is where I finally caught up with Jocelyn for a few miles! Running with a pal always makes these distances so much easier. We stuck together and chatted until about mile 10 or so.
The half marathoners split from the full marathon right around mile 12.5. As you might know, my least favorite course design is when the half marathon splits from the full RIGHT before they finish - it's such a tease to the full marathoners! I guess I could let this one slide because we technically couldn't see the finish, but we could still hear it haha. As you were approaching this point in the race you could compete in the Garmin "Segment Challenge" which is about a 400m stretch where they'll time how fast you can run through that segment. The fastest runners would win a new Garmin Forerunner! I did not even attempt this challenge (lol) but it's a really cool idea and a great way for the title sponsor of the race to be well connected to the event.
As I came up on the half way point, I saw the lead runner turning the corner toward their mile 26! It is so wild when you realize that these athletes are TWICE AS FAST as you. 😳 I guess the tracking app was messing up because at this point my dad texted me and said it looked like I was already at 17.4 miles 😂 I told him "I wish"! With a quick restart of the app he was able to see the accurate information, though, and it was nice to hear from him at that point in the race for a second wind! I also saw Cassie cheering me on as I came up on mile 14 for an additional boost of encouragement!
I was still feeling pretty nauseous from the night before so this second half of the race was pretty tough. Luckily the hills flattened out slightly as we entered an out-and-back section of the course around mile 16. I really love out-and-backs because I love seeing and cheering on the other runners on the course, so this was great to distract me from how my stomach was feeling. There was also surprisingly a lot more crowd support on this section of the course than there was in the city. Quite a few neighbors were out cheering on the runners and the volunteers at the water stations had such great energy! I also put on my music at this point which of course made everything so much easier. Really between miles 17-21 I was having a grand old time. Probably the best I've ever felt during the third quarter of a marathon, even with the nausea! I also saw Jocelyn as she was approaching mile 19 and I had just hit 20. It was great to see a familiar face during the toughest section of the course!
Around 23 I saw a Ted Lasso "Believe" sign and it just lifted my spirits up so much! This was also a downhill section for the most part so I was flying (or at least I felt like I was… I'm sure my splits say otherwise lol). Right after 24 I saw Cassie again for one more boost of encouragement before getting to the end. 25-26 was another great flat and downhill section and then….
26.
An UPHILL FINISH.
Yes, after miles upon miles of nothing but hills, just to demoralize you a tiny bit further, the course gives you one last uphill at mile 26 to take you to the finish line. The runner I was closest to shared a look with me like "….really?"
Because REALLY?!
I was pretty bummed about this because at this point my legs were so shot from the rest of the course that I had no other choice but to walk up the hill at the end of the race, and so many other runners around me were doing the same. I wasn't a fan of that choice for course design. I'm pretty sure the wind was taken out of everyone's sails as they turned the corner, which is a huge bummer.
Either way, I got myself up that hill and into the finisher's shoot where Cassie was waiting to be paparazzi. After a day full of ups and downs (literally), I had finished state and marathon #16! We even got to see Jocelyn come across the finish line for her 96th (!!!!) marathon not long after I finished!
RACE STATS
Due to the hilliness of the course, my upset stomach, and this being the first of two days of marathons for me, I knew going into this race that I would not be breaking any speed records or shooting for anything like a sub-5 time. The name of the game over the weekend was getting across two finish lines regardless of how long it took! The elevation stats on this race are NUTS though 👀
OFFICIAL RACE TIME: 5:20:39
THE MEDAL
I'm still on the fence about how I feel about the medal for this race. Someone pointed out that it is the same medal they were offering last year for the virtual race which is an interesting observation. There isn't anything on the medal suggesting that it was specifically designed for the 2021 running of the Kansas City Marathon, which makes me a little bummed out. However, I do enjoy the light blue theming, the image of the blue fountain in KC, and I really love the medal ribbon. (My fave part is the "KC" inside the heart!)
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The Kansas City Marathon is definitely one of the most challenging marathons I've run to date. The elevation and terrain is unforgiving and it will definitely 100% trash your legs if you aren't prepared for it. While the organizers can't really help the terrain of the city, I think they could rework the route to make it somewhat more of enjoyable experience for runners, or have at least figured something out about that uphill finish.
There were a few course issues we observed as well. The way it was marked was a little confusing when it came to where you were supposed to turn, which side you were supposed to run on, etc. Jocelyn also observed that while there were flags for "First Aid" on the course, there were zero folks staffed (so essentially no med stations anywhere which is…. a choice for an athletic event.
However, the race organizers were great, all of the volunteers were well informed and helpful, there are beautiful views of the city throughout the course, and if you're a spectator, there are LOTS of places for you to see your runner. I feel like I saw a lot of groups of spectators multiple times!
While I'm glad I finished the Kansas City Marathon on Saturday, I don't think I would necessarily run this race again. I think it has a lot of potential to grow into something fantastic with some tweaking of a few points, but for now I'd only really recommend this to runners who really love hills. I'm sure they're out there somewhere, lol!
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