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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 161 to 171]
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s. c. from lawrence, ks
(9/27/2005)
 "2002 and 2003 course was better" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Kansas City Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I liked Cliff Drive in November ('02 and '03 courses). Smell of fall in the air and all that. None of that for '05. And you can't tell me that either course was actually the billed distance. There was a little south, west, or north around the Liberty Memorial that we didn't run. None of us ever saw the 2-mile marker. Why? We didn't run the full course. The rest of the course was exactly as shown on the race map. Where did we make up the missing 3 or 4 tenths? A running associate of mine did the half. Monster PR for the guy. Hills, heat, big PR? No way. I don't want to totally bash the event. The course was suburban/city scenic if you know what I mean. There was more flat to the course than I expected but not much more. It was possible to find parking. Plenty to eat and drink at the finish. On with the bad now. Why chip time an event and then only post gun times? Because someone didn't check to make sure the start mat was set up properly. The tiny cups of water and Gatorade at aid stations were a problem. Last issue, i believe they double-dipped the awards and that's just lazy. | |
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B. H. from Lansing,KS
(9/26/2005)
 "good course, lots of hills" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my first marathon. The course was well marked and staffed with cheerful volunteers at all intersections. The aid stations were well placed; I liked the water sponges at one and the offer of hose misting at another - just when I needed it most. The descent into the downtown area gave a boost to us back-of-the-packers striving towards the finish. I will do it again next year. Train for hills. | |
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M. F. from Ames, Iowa
(9/26/2005)
 "Hilly + Hot + Humid = Good Challenge" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I want to thank Waddell & Reed and the city of Kansas City for inviting me to your race. It was a scenic and interesting marathon course that was very challenging given the hot and humid weather. This marathon may have sacrificed a more predictable cooler day to be involved with (at least) five other events that contributed to a lively and exciting trip to Kansas City. Speaking as a runner on a budget, this made my marathon trip an affordable vacation with my family. After the marathon I had a couple of free beers from Boulevard Brewery (yum!), we caught part of a parade, saw a train exhibit at Union Station, and then went to the Oktoberfest. The next day we went to the Plaza Art Festival and used a $25 gift certificate (included with marathon registration) to eat at an excellent restaurant in the Freighthouse district. Was I pleased with my marathon time? No, but it's KC where you know you will have a very hilly course. So why not go for the 26.2-mile tour of the city, run for the sake of saying you did it, and save some energy for all the other events. P.S. It also had a good website with marathon advice from Eladio Valdez, the course designer. | |
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L. H. from Overland Park, KS
(9/26/2005)
"As hilly as expected and inaccurate distance " (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I expected a hilly course, and that it was. But anyone running this distance in KC should come expecting the hills. To me, the course was as good as it could have been given the restraints. The distance being off is the reason for the low organization score. This is completely unacceptable for a qualifying course. The aid stations were plenty but not true aid stations. The organizers should have done their homework to learn what goes into a true aid station. They had small cups of warm water, bad PowerAde and that was it! Where were the Band-Aids, ibuprofen, Sportslick/Vaseline and Icy Hot/Biofreeze? These are all things runners expect to be provided as part of the aid. Best Buy and Runners Edge aid stations were great! There were a large number of volunteers for cheering and traffic. They did a great job! | |
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Chuck Jackson from Columbia, SC
(9/26/2005)
 "Lots of hills and great volunteers" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My running partner approached me with the idea of the KC Marathon. He said the site said 'rolling hills.' I'm here to tell you I feel like I ran every hill in Missouri and Kansas. I have run Chicago and San Diego twice and my slowest time was a casual 4:09 in San Diego. I'm here to tell you no one will ever do a PB at KC. I finished in 4:56. The only negative thing I have to say that's not course related was that the spacing of fluids didn't seem adequate. Maybe it was the small cups and the humidity but I felt myself wanting fluids more often than I got them. One positive note I have is the volunteers. They were unmatched by any of the places I have been. I was glad to hear prizes were given to the volunteers as well as the runners. Great concept! Oh yeah, and what a wonderful job the KC police dept. did with traffic. They had quite a challenge. If you just HAVE to do a KC Marathon, train for hills a lot! | |
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K. A. from Indianapolis, IN
(9/26/2005)
"A great effort for a new race!" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I did the half and had a blast. Sure, there were plenty of hills similar to Memphis, but I expected that. I like making up time on the declines. There was only one steep hill and it was short. Packet pick-up was totally painless, parking race morning was excellent, and the small number of participants made the whole experience hassle free. The volunteers on the course were wonderful and so enthusiastic, they more than made up for lack of spectators that early in the morning. I've never received that much encouragment in any race. Loved Santa and Snow White - it was all in good fun. If I had to find a negative, it would be that the finisher's medal for the half (don't know about the full) was the smallest I've ever seen - even the ribbon was shorter than usual. But that is minor. I think they had some problems with the chips not registering a few participants' times and currently have switched to gun time for official results. Regardless, I've done a number of races both large and small, and this was a winner in my book. If it was closer to home I'd definitely do this race again. | |
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S. H. from St. Louis
(9/26/2005)
"WAY TOO HILLY!!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The website said 'rolling terrain.' What we got were MOUNTAINS. The course was scenic but brutal. Add 20 minutes to your anticipated time. There were more volunteers than spectators and it got a little lonely out there running up those hills. The police did a GREAT job controlling traffic (they were everywhere). Post-race eats included a free pasta meal at an Italian restaurant near the finish line! (awesome) I love Kansas City. The organizers and the city did a great job and are trying to get a big-time marathon going. Unfortunately until they find a flatter course they are going to have problems growing this race into a premier event. I struggled through the 26 or so miles with a 3:34:48. I'd love to come back to KC, but don't count on me until they re-do the course. | |
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J. W. from Kansas City
(9/26/2005)
"The course was tough" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course was very hilly. I trained for hills and did well through mile 17, then the heat, humidity, and hills took their toll. Mile markers were hard to pick out in spots, they should be bigger. The volunteers were awesome, but there were too few aid stations for the heat. I know KC wanted to make this an event that included the American Royal Parade, and Plaza art fair, but if this was held two weeks later it would have been a much more manageable feat. | |
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T. D. from Plano, TX
(9/26/2005)
"Decent small race, tough course, warm water" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kansas City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 We traveled from TX to run this race, expecting a slightly larger turnout. Was a little disapointed to find only about 500 marathon runners signed up at the time of the expo. Staying at the host hotel was very convenient; the hotel is quite nice and there are many restaurants/shops in the Crown Center area adjacent to the hotel (also the race start was right outside the front door). We barely had to leave the hotel during our 3 day stay in KC. The marathon course was much tougher than expected; the entire course was literally one large uphill/downhill after another. Steep downhill during the last 2 miles is very hard on tired legs. Our largest complaint would definitely have to be the quality of the water at the aid stations. The water at EVERY SINGLE STOP was warm. This does not sit well at all, especially after the first few miles. Overall, this is a nice smaller race, the volunteers were all very friendly and we enjoyed the day. We were lucky to run a good race, despite the tough course and warm water. | |
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M. L. from Kansas
(9/26/2005)
"I Wouldn't Do This Again" (about: 2005)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 Kansas City Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The KC Marathon advertised a challenging course with bands along the way. Half of the bands were in the first four miles and I wish I could say the same for the hills. Even when the race could have avoided hills it embraced them, possibly to run by some meaningless landmark or city bigwig's home. Late September is far too warm for a marathon in this area--Quad Cities had the same problem in the past. I had the idea the committee changed the date to coincide with an art fair and other events. Bad move. Lots of complaints of cramping, slow times, hard course. On the positive side--tremendous post race party!!!!Awards were fine, prize drawings kept crowd around. Oh--and KC--if you want to 'rebuild' your marathon, don't offer a 5K, a relay, and a half-marathon with it, and don't make the half marathon the feature race. With so many choices and this course, no one will do your marathon in a couple of years. Move it to early spring or late fall, marathon only. Think like a big city if you want to be like one. |
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