Marathon Details - Kansas Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > KS > Lawrence > Kansas Marathon

HyVee Kansas Marathon & Half-Marathon, 5k, Kids Fun Run

Lawrence, KS USA

April 22, 2012

http://www.kansashalfmarathon.com

More Info:	News
Results:	2010 Top 3 Finishers by Year

Contact

Name:	Elliot Johnson
Address:	Kansas Half Marathon 330 Maine St. Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone Number:	785-856-1672
Email:	Email the organizers



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Reviews

Course 3.4

Organization 3.8

Spectators 3.2

Write a review

Number of comments: 9

M. O. from Lawrence, KS (8/22/2010) "Good race, needs better organization" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Overall, it was an interesting and challenging course. Most of the race was in west Lawrence, which is a shame as it misses much of historic Lawrence, but the course was still scenic, with the exception of 2 miles along the bike trail by K-10. The course is brutally hilly, with rolling hills from mile 17-20 and a killer hill just past mile 23 (ow). The volunteers were great, and aid stations were plentiful. Organization could use some work though. First, the marathon course broke off of the half marathon course about 5-6 miles in and rejoined it three miles later, which meant we ended up behind slower half-marathoners on the course. Packet pickup was the same day as the Kansas Relays, meaning parking was scarce and far away. The website was often out of date as well. Still, a decent race and I'd run it again. Many of the problems could be attributed to it being the first year for the full marathon.
Mike Hake from Lawrence, KS (7/3/2010) "Great race through Lawrence" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The inaugural Kansas Marathon was a well-done race, especially considering that it was the first full marathon in the City of Lawrence. The course wasn't as exciting and scenic as it could have been, as there were 8-10 miles along the highway and only a couple of miles through the KU campus. Definitely train for rolling hills for this one; there are plenty, and you will bonk hard on the last one at mile 23 if you don't save your energy. I beat the 4-hour pace team to the finish line but was disappointed to see the clock at 4:02:31 as I crossed. No biggie though. The live results-printout station was a nice touch and the medal was cool, the aid stations were well stocked with sport drink and GU, and the crowd support was decent for a first-time event. Overall, I was satisfied with the race and was glad I chose it for my first marathon.
J. B. from Not in Kansas (4/23/2010) "Nice course, great volunteers" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course was pretty fast - some rolling hills, but nothing too bad. I tied my PR. The volunteers were great and the fans that were out were fantastic. My only recommendation would be to have packet pickup be available later on the day before (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.). Luckily it was available the day of. After pick up, no one seemed to know where exactly the start was. Weird. No worries; it ended up being easy to figure out. Would run this race again.
A. K. from NE (4/23/2010) "Nice, small marathon" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran this marathon at the last minute after my planned 20-miler didn't go so well a couple of weeks before. The course was primarily rolling hills with a couple of monsters... mile 23, anyone?! :) I stayed at the Best Western, which was directly across the street from the start/finish, so it was extremely convienent. The finisher's medal was nice and I got an interesting jug for finishing in the top 3 in my age group. Although this was a no-frills race, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.
C. S. from Kansas City (4/22/2010) "Hilly and Bare-Bones" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Packet Pickup: I went Saturday, the day before the race to pickup my packet. BIG MISTAKE. Coming from Kansas City, I spent 90 minutes driving to/from, 15 minutes finding a parking spot and walking to the hotel, and just over FIVE MINUTES at packet pickup. There was no expo to speak of. Packet pickup was in a 15 x 15 room in the lower level of the hotel. Half of the room was set off for number/chip/t-shirt pickup. The other half consisted of a wine distributor, two massage tables and a local pharmacy selling Hammer Nutrition products. You were handed your race number, chip and t-shirt. That was all - no other goodies unless you count the reusable green grocery bag they put your items in. To be fair, the technical shirt is nice and one I will wear more than once. If you are coming from outside Lawrence, save the time and get your packet on race-day. Race: Not a big race, so there were never any crowd issues. They serve HEED at the water stops, and you could tell people were not familiar with the product. It's clear, just like water, and barely has any taste to it. It would have been nice for the race people to have samples at the expo so people knew what to expect. I heard no fewer than four people at the first water stop complain because they thought they got water instead of the HEED. They had one water stop that served three different mile markers on the course (13, 16 and 20). This station ran out of HEED when I went through at mile 16 and I was a middle-of-the-pack runner. To run out this early is unacceptable. The race people knew this was a pinch point and failed to cover it. All other water stops were great and the volunteers were wonderful. This course was very challenging for several reasons. One, it was very hilly and there is no shade. Anyone who says Kansas is flat has never been here. There was a monster hill at 23-24, which is just plain cruel. Two, it seemed like more than half of the race was on bike paths, which means running on concrete. For me this means my quads will bark quicker than if I am running on asphalt - and today was no exception. The website states the landmarks that one runs through and it mentions West Lawrence. West Lawrence, which is 90% of the course, is not a landmark. It is hilly, shade-less, residential, and made up of bike paths. The KU campus is a landmark, but you are only on campus for maybe a mile of the course. The finish line was fine and the post-race food/beverage items were adequate. One plus was that they had someone printing off your race results within seconds of finishing, which was nice. The medals were ok - no date, just the name of the race. For the inaugural running of the marathon, it was a passable race. Would I do it again? Probably not. Would I recommend it? If you are a 50-Stater and need to check off Kansas, then go for it.
B. C. from Arcola MO (4/19/2010) "Great course, great people, poor packet pickup." (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I have only run a handful of small to mid-size marathons, but I loved the course and the few people on the course were great. The support on the course was great. Only two things need work: The packet pickup was the worst I had ever been at. There were a lot of directions on where not to park at the hotel. There were no maps to hand out, and most of all a sense from the race directors that we should just know our way around Lawrence. One informed me that everything I needed was online. Luckily I had printed everything off. The other thing: where was the beer tent?
B. R. from Prairie Village, KS (4/18/2010) "Decent small-town race if you're trained for hills" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 PROS * Outside of about 5 residential "filler" miles, it was a pretty course beginning/finishing on the University of Kansas campus, with the majority running on a country bike path * Offered experienced pacers that utilized "smart pacing" * Provided good traffic control when on the road * Had plentiful and close parking * Had very friendly and organized course volunteers * Spectators were sparse but very friendly (this was the inaugural year though; I'm sure the numbers will improve with time) * Port-o-potties at every aid station (about every 2 miles) CONS * Noticeable hills throughout the course, especially at miles 2 and 23 (this coming from a runner that trains in hilly Kansas City) * A good portion of the course is on a cement bike path that was easy on the eyes but hard on this runners' joints * Poor communication from organizers when emailing - best to call them directly, where I found them to be very friendly and helpful * Limited packet pick-up hours with limited parking (only scheduled for 5 hours the day before race) * Virtually nonexistent expo (although this is not a big deal to me, I know some people really enjoy them) Overall, not a bad race, and I will consider running it again in the future - although only for the challenge, not for a time goal.
J. M. from Wichita, KS (9/4/2009) "Too short!" (about: 2009) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 They only offered the half in 2009, but it was only about 12.4 miles long! I set a wicked fast PR (obviously!). It wasn't just my GPS either; EVERY experienced runner on the course made comments about the mile signs being too close together. Hopefully they fix this next year because it sucks to work so hard and then not even get a chance to go the full distance. This is the reason I scored the course so low. As far as the route, it was cool. It started out on historic Mass St. and then turned and ran through the KU campus. These first three or so miles were by far the best of the course. The rest of it was down an old creek and through a bland, middle-class neighborhood. The spectators and the end party were awesome. KU is beautiful; I wish more of the course could have been on campus and Mass St. Maybe a run across the Kansas River would have been neat. It was very hilly; it tore the heck out of this Wichita boy's quads! Give it a shot this year; it can only get better!
A. L. from Lawrence, KS (5/19/2009) "Well organized, tons of volunteers, great time!" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first half-marathon and I had a wonderful time. Numerous aid stations, wonderful volunteers, and lots of porta-potties. The course also encouraged lots of spectators. It's definately not a flat course. I wish they could rewrite the course to go through nicer/more historic parts of town, as it had been in previous years under a different name. No full marathon was offered this year, but a full is promised in 2010.

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M. O. from Lawrence, KS (8/22/2010) "Good race, needs better organization" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Overall, it was an interesting and challenging course. Most of the race was in west Lawrence, which is a shame as it misses much of historic Lawrence, but the course was still scenic, with the exception of 2 miles along the bike trail by K-10. The course is brutally hilly, with rolling hills from mile 17-20 and a killer hill just past mile 23 (ow). The volunteers were great, and aid stations were plentiful. Organization could use some work though. First, the marathon course broke off of the half marathon course about 5-6 miles in and rejoined it three miles later, which meant we ended up behind slower half-marathoners on the course. Packet pickup was the same day as the Kansas Relays, meaning parking was scarce and far away. The website was often out of date as well. Still, a decent race and I'd run it again. Many of the problems could be attributed to it being the first year for the full marathon.
Mike Hake from Lawrence, KS (7/3/2010) "Great race through Lawrence" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The inaugural Kansas Marathon was a well-done race, especially considering that it was the first full marathon in the City of Lawrence. The course wasn't as exciting and scenic as it could have been, as there were 8-10 miles along the highway and only a couple of miles through the KU campus. Definitely train for rolling hills for this one; there are plenty, and you will bonk hard on the last one at mile 23 if you don't save your energy. I beat the 4-hour pace team to the finish line but was disappointed to see the clock at 4:02:31 as I crossed. No biggie though. The live results-printout station was a nice touch and the medal was cool, the aid stations were well stocked with sport drink and GU, and the crowd support was decent for a first-time event. Overall, I was satisfied with the race and was glad I chose it for my first marathon.
J. B. from Not in Kansas (4/23/2010) "Nice course, great volunteers" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course was pretty fast - some rolling hills, but nothing too bad. I tied my PR. The volunteers were great and the fans that were out were fantastic. My only recommendation would be to have packet pickup be available later on the day before (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.). Luckily it was available the day of. After pick up, no one seemed to know where exactly the start was. Weird. No worries; it ended up being easy to figure out. Would run this race again.
A. K. from NE (4/23/2010) "Nice, small marathon" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran this marathon at the last minute after my planned 20-miler didn't go so well a couple of weeks before. The course was primarily rolling hills with a couple of monsters... mile 23, anyone?! :) I stayed at the Best Western, which was directly across the street from the start/finish, so it was extremely convienent. The finisher's medal was nice and I got an interesting jug for finishing in the top 3 in my age group. Although this was a no-frills race, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.
C. S. from Kansas City (4/22/2010) "Hilly and Bare-Bones" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Packet Pickup: I went Saturday, the day before the race to pickup my packet. BIG MISTAKE. Coming from Kansas City, I spent 90 minutes driving to/from, 15 minutes finding a parking spot and walking to the hotel, and just over FIVE MINUTES at packet pickup. There was no expo to speak of. Packet pickup was in a 15 x 15 room in the lower level of the hotel. Half of the room was set off for number/chip/t-shirt pickup. The other half consisted of a wine distributor, two massage tables and a local pharmacy selling Hammer Nutrition products. You were handed your race number, chip and t-shirt. That was all - no other goodies unless you count the reusable green grocery bag they put your items in. To be fair, the technical shirt is nice and one I will wear more than once. If you are coming from outside Lawrence, save the time and get your packet on race-day. Race: Not a big race, so there were never any crowd issues. They serve HEED at the water stops, and you could tell people were not familiar with the product. It's clear, just like water, and barely has any taste to it. It would have been nice for the race people to have samples at the expo so people knew what to expect. I heard no fewer than four people at the first water stop complain because they thought they got water instead of the HEED. They had one water stop that served three different mile markers on the course (13, 16 and 20). This station ran out of HEED when I went through at mile 16 and I was a middle-of-the-pack runner. To run out this early is unacceptable. The race people knew this was a pinch point and failed to cover it. All other water stops were great and the volunteers were wonderful. This course was very challenging for several reasons. One, it was very hilly and there is no shade. Anyone who says Kansas is flat has never been here. There was a monster hill at 23-24, which is just plain cruel. Two, it seemed like more than half of the race was on bike paths, which means running on concrete. For me this means my quads will bark quicker than if I am running on asphalt - and today was no exception. The website states the landmarks that one runs through and it mentions West Lawrence. West Lawrence, which is 90% of the course, is not a landmark. It is hilly, shade-less, residential, and made up of bike paths. The KU campus is a landmark, but you are only on campus for maybe a mile of the course. The finish line was fine and the post-race food/beverage items were adequate. One plus was that they had someone printing off your race results within seconds of finishing, which was nice. The medals were ok - no date, just the name of the race. For the inaugural running of the marathon, it was a passable race. Would I do it again? Probably not. Would I recommend it? If you are a 50-Stater and need to check off Kansas, then go for it.
B. C. from Arcola MO (4/19/2010) "Great course, great people, poor packet pickup." (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I have only run a handful of small to mid-size marathons, but I loved the course and the few people on the course were great. The support on the course was great. Only two things need work: The packet pickup was the worst I had ever been at. There were a lot of directions on where not to park at the hotel. There were no maps to hand out, and most of all a sense from the race directors that we should just know our way around Lawrence. One informed me that everything I needed was online. Luckily I had printed everything off. The other thing: where was the beer tent?
B. R. from Prairie Village, KS (4/18/2010) "Decent small-town race if you're trained for hills" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 PROS * Outside of about 5 residential "filler" miles, it was a pretty course beginning/finishing on the University of Kansas campus, with the majority running on a country bike path * Offered experienced pacers that utilized "smart pacing" * Provided good traffic control when on the road * Had plentiful and close parking * Had very friendly and organized course volunteers * Spectators were sparse but very friendly (this was the inaugural year though; I'm sure the numbers will improve with time) * Port-o-potties at every aid station (about every 2 miles) CONS * Noticeable hills throughout the course, especially at miles 2 and 23 (this coming from a runner that trains in hilly Kansas City) * A good portion of the course is on a cement bike path that was easy on the eyes but hard on this runners' joints * Poor communication from organizers when emailing - best to call them directly, where I found them to be very friendly and helpful * Limited packet pick-up hours with limited parking (only scheduled for 5 hours the day before race) * Virtually nonexistent expo (although this is not a big deal to me, I know some people really enjoy them) Overall, not a bad race, and I will consider running it again in the future - although only for the challenge, not for a time goal.
J. M. from Wichita, KS (9/4/2009) "Too short!" (about: 2009) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 They only offered the half in 2009, but it was only about 12.4 miles long! I set a wicked fast PR (obviously!). It wasn't just my GPS either; EVERY experienced runner on the course made comments about the mile signs being too close together. Hopefully they fix this next year because it sucks to work so hard and then not even get a chance to go the full distance. This is the reason I scored the course so low. As far as the route, it was cool. It started out on historic Mass St. and then turned and ran through the KU campus. These first three or so miles were by far the best of the course. The rest of it was down an old creek and through a bland, middle-class neighborhood. The spectators and the end party were awesome. KU is beautiful; I wish more of the course could have been on campus and Mass St. Maybe a run across the Kansas River would have been neat. It was very hilly; it tore the heck out of this Wichita boy's quads! Give it a shot this year; it can only get better!
A. L. from Lawrence, KS (5/19/2009) "Well organized, tons of volunteers, great time!" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Kansas Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first half-marathon and I had a wonderful time. Numerous aid stations, wonderful volunteers, and lots of porta-potties. The course also encouraged lots of spectators. It's definately not a flat course. I wish they could rewrite the course to go through nicer/more historic parts of town, as it had been in previous years under a different name. No full marathon was offered this year, but a full is promised in 2010.

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Marathon Details - Kansas Marathon