The second race in the super slam of Kansas ultrarunning, the Honey Badger 100, is right around the corner. The main feature, as far as I can tell, is the extreme heat. The race is mostly on country roads in east/central Kansas in the middle of summer. There will be (I imagine) no place to hide from the glaring sun. I am afraid. 😅
Whatever. Some things can’t be helped. “Control the controllable.” That’s all there is. I’m doing what I can to acclimate. To get conditioned to the heat. Por ejemplo: the Hospital Hill 1/2 marathon. I did just “okay.” Any half I finish under 2 hours I consider a real good run. I did “tire out” a bit. I got some real encouragement from the pacing crew. I took some walk breaks. Remarkably, I kept my shirt on. 😐
The next day, there was a group run around downtown K.C. MO in support of local running community hero Scott “the bearded runner” Green. I encourage you to check out the link.
The next week was a rare break from racing. I took advantage of the opportunity to work some overtime. That evening, I caught up with Sydney at her best friend’s new boyfriend’s place. His name is Matt, and he’s awesome! A real success and, just, the nicest guy.
Sunday, Syd and I ran 7 miles with kc running company’s newest group, the Sunday shoreline group. A lot of our friends were there, but they were focused on a big trip to Minnesota. So many of our friends ran Grandma’s marathon or half marathon. They all did so great! I am so jealous, but I can’t do everything!
TLDR: A lot of little kids, some of them fell down! Hills.
Sydney and I ran the 36th Annual Merriam Turkey Creek Festival 5K Run, Walk & Youth Sprint. It was a lot of fun! The weather was perfect. The crowd was excited. The race hired a local radio station dj, “DJ Kirby” from 94.9 fm to play music and get the crowd hyped up. He made some funny jokes, like “no gambling on the runners this year,” and “my favorite part of the race is watching kids wipe out!” Which I thought was a joke, but oh no! The carnage was all too real.
The race was to benefit the Merriam KS Parks, Recreation and Community Center Foundation scholarship fund. A truly worthy cause and I hope they raised a lot of money.
It seemed like every child between the ages of 11-14 had lined up at the front. Most runners that age have, in my experience, a very distinct running style. Something I like to call the “dash and look.” Dash! A few dozen feet, maybe 50 yards or so… then stop. Maybe walk a little, definitely turn all the way around and look for…? Parent? School chum? More than once, a child would make eye contact with me and immediately take off sprinting again. Normally, I hate the little kid dash and look. This race was different.
I had decided before we got there I wasn’t racing. I just wanted to cruise along with Sydney and enjoy the day. So we were back from the start line, which was perfect for how the race started. Several children started right up front. They counted down:10-9…321 go! And all the kids took off at a sprint. Ran full speed about 50 yards and got plowed into by about a hundred runners when they stopped in the middle of the course!
We were too far back to see any actual collision (except one, when this little girl stopped cold right in front of this guy in his 60s, and they both went flying in opposite directions. it was awesome!) We only saw the aftermath. The carnage! The horror! Really, it was just one kid, screaming like he was shopping with his parents at Walmart.
The race was also extra exciting because during “dodge-a-kid,” only half the road was closed. So the first mile was a messy pile of screaming, sprinting children, wary, veering adults, and big jacked-up pick-up trucks coming right at us!
There was a guy running right in front of us from the start that sounded like he was running the last 5k of a marathon. I was seriously concerned about this dude. I told Syd I had to get away from this guy and jogged on up ahead. That’s where I found Jason Silvers and got to do a little bit for his YouTube channel : The Year I Got The Runs. He asked if I was ready for the hills. I didn’t know about the hills, but whatever. I don’t care about hills. Not to undermine these hills. They are substantial hills.
Sydney caught up with me at the first aid station, and we spent the rest of the race together. Singing to Clint is a Tall Runner, encouraging a kid and just enjoying the moments.
At one point, to tease Clint about his musical taste, I sang the famous part from “You Never Even Call Me By My Name.” What really got Clint’s goat, though, was when Sydney sang a little country/western style tune of her own.
When we got close to the end, Sydney and I held hands so we could finish together and get a sweet picture. DJ Kirby made a funny comment about people meeting at the race. It was very funny and very cute!
This race was just okay. The course was fun, and the volunteers were very nice, but the start/finish line was cramped. There were no port-o-johns as far as I could tell. They held the age group awards hostage until the end of the race, which just did not work. Several of my friends were going straight from the finish to another race across town. I hope they get their medals!
Still, any race is better than no race. It was fun to just have a relaxed, non-competitive run with Sydney and my friends.
Until a couple of weeks ago, I had no intention of entering Running with the Cows 1/2 marathon. I had no races in May, and I was happy about that. This summer is going to be crazy busy, with the slam and all the races around that. My plan was to take it pretty easy. Well, we all know what Mike Tyson said about plans.
See, what had happened was… Sydney was invited to pace the Rock Island 1/2 marathon. I believe they phrased it like this: “Hey, Sydney! We would LOVE it if you would pace for the Rock Island Trail half! And Rex, too… I guess.”
So I’m pacing a half marathon at the end of July. Also, along with a few races I was planning to do already, I can complete a series! Swag & bling, baby!
I didn’t want to do this particular half (running with the cows) because of last year. I, along with everyone else, was destroyed by the heat and humidity. Also, I was promised an “amazing” finish line buffet. Instead, I got a warm BBQ sandwich. Better than a banana and a slice of cold pizza? Sure. Far from amazing, though.
I don’t feel brave or controversial saying 2022 rwtc sucked.
My expectations for this year were cautiously hopeful. Everything pointed to lessons learned, improvements made. The k.a. buffet was back. The aid stations were equipped with “dunk buckets,” and it was a new course. Solid changes.
Syd and I woke up at our new “usual” time. 5:30 a.m.🙁 I had a surprise, though. I saw Bucyrus, KS was NOT an hour or more away! We had time to stop for a muffin at the Quiktrip!
The parking situation was very easy. The parking volunteers actually split the cars and s.u.v.’s into different areas. Brilliant!
It was already in the 70’s at 7 a.m. I knew I was gonna pop my shirt off. Luckily, the race had a Gaylord full of sunscreen spray bottles! Along with the appropriate amount of Johnnie’s and hand washing stations! The start line area was A+ for sure!
The half started right on time, 7:33. I went out way too hard, but with a pace group. The 1:40 pace group, but still…
I was hanging with the fasties, trying to settle in, when this other racer starts bobbing around behind me. First, he’s behind my left ear. Then my right ear. I can’t take it, so I break out of the group and push ahead a few steps. 2 things here: I pretty quickly realized that “the guy” was my hair (I need a haircut), and #2: one of the pacers hollered out “take it easy, it’s not a 50k!” 🤣
There was really only one way to respond. Shirts off! The warm sun and the breeze from my too fast pace felt really good. The first aid station, I was able to step aside and let the good guys go past. I fell back in pretty close to the group. I was still going kind of fast, but I felt good. I had told Sydney I was going for around a 2 hour finish. That seemed reasonable for the week after a 50 miler.
Too hot for tops!
I walked through the aid stations. I high five my friends at the “out & backs” and maintained a good attitude in spite of the heat and humidity.
I made a mistake and dunked my shirt in a “dunk bucket.” It was nice for a second, having ice cold water on me. I just didn’t consider what I was supposed to do with my shirt. I wore the shirt for a bit, but after a while it wasn’t really cold anymore. It was just…wet.
At about the 10 mile marker, I started running with the 1:50 pacer. I fell off and came back a few times, struggling to find some sort of rhythm or cadence.
There’s a big silo right outside the road to the finish. They hang a Running with the Cows banner on it, and you can see it from a ways off. I felt like, when I pass the silo I should start booking it into the finish. But the finish line is still, like, 2/10 of a mile…uphill (an incline, after 12.9 miles, is, in fact, an uphill). I saw Sydney cheering me in, so I gutted it, sprinting into a finish of 1:50:29!
Finish line siloPhoto “sprint”
Afterward, I just wanted to find a shady spot, lie down, and die. I was cooked!
Running is F-U-N!Sweat angels!
I got myself together and went inside to eat. This event is famous for the finish line buffet, but I had not been able to experience it until now. It was an impressive spread! Hot dogs, “walking” tacos, sandwiches, 3 or 4 different types of pasta salad, barbecue, a whole table of desserts, the works! I grabbed a couple of things and went to find a shady spot to eat.
The food!
A lot of our friends were there, but Sydney and I had an event that afternoon, so we took off pretty quickly after I ate. Just enough time to grab a few pics.
Jenny from midwest endurance race company, Sydney, and meAdam & me at the finish. We ran the same race?Aaron & me, relaxing in the shade.😎
This race was a lot of fun! It was managed really well! I will do this race again, as I’m sure it will only improve.
What a morning! What a race! Oh my God, there is so much to blog about! TLDR: there was a half marathon in Topeka, Kansas. I p.r.’d. A lot of friends were there.
Top City is a 5k/half marathon in Topeka, Kansas. Topeka is about an hour away from Kansas City. Just far away enough to be inconvenient.
Sydney didn’t run this race but volunteered to drive and cheer me on. She’s an angel!
The drive took a bit longer than an hour (we don’t pay tolls!) Parking was a breeze, nose in on the street about a block away from the start line. We grabbed my packet, pinned on my number, and caught up with all our friends.
We saw Jason “the year I got the runs” Silvers, Amanda and Will, and Kris, Adam, Myckael, Andrew, Deliece, and Katie. I also met Sydneys cousins, Warren and Barbara, and their son Nick. Nick was running his second half marathon!
The temperature was perfect for running, which is a little cool for just standing there. I jogged around a bit just to warm up a bit. Some other people warming up got a bit competitive. I knew it would be a good race!
I was torn between lining up with Amanda, who was “taking it easy” after her recent foot/heel injury thing, and Adam, who runs exactly like me but faster. I started with Adam. Fast. Too fast. Way too fast!!! It was awesome! I ran the first 2 miles as fast as I ever have before. I felt so great! I knew it wouldn’t last, but it didn’t hurt or anything.
The route went about 2 miles around downtown Topeka, under the capital building, and into the streets and parks of Topeka. The first few batches of volunteers were young people in dress clothes, like missionaries of some sort. I didn’t ask, because, you know…racing…but it was very cool to see them; the fellas in ties and slacks and the women in long dresses.
Around mile 3? Probably? I noticed one of the “direction arrows” was pointing back towards the start. A very rude reminder that this is an out and back course. All those fun, fast downhills will surely bite me on the way back. Oh, well. I decided to worry about that later.
I had finally settled down into a human pace right around the “Rip On” skate park at Shunga Park. I was fine, I was settled. There were spectators handing out treats. I thought it might be beer, but it was pretzels, gummy bears, and apple sauce. No thanks!
The route took us into a neighborhood with nice, pretty houses. I got to pet a dog! When I ran past in my k.c. running shirt the course monitors and spectators would say “go chiefs!” That was fun. I was complimenting a neighborhood guy on how pretty the area was when I saw Myckael running up to the aid station. I shouted “go Myckael!” And then ran away as fast as I could. I guess beating Myckael was a goal I didn’t know I had until just then. Lol.
Leaving the neighborhood I ran into a bunch of runners coming into the neighborhood. I thought, “these can’t be the 5k runners?” As I stuck out my hand for high fives. It was the back end of ghe half marathon! OMG I went out way, way too fast if I’m 5 miles ahead of the pack!
As predicted, the return was a big more difficult than the way out. There were some things I didn’t notice the first time, though. Like the murals illustrating brown vs. the board of education. Topeka is neat!
The last mile brought us straight up towards and under the state capital building. I turned the last corner and saw the finish line. It was a ways away, up a pretty big hill. The farmers market was busy on the left side of the road. I thought about just ducking in there for a while instead of chugging up a hill.
I looked at my watch and saw I was so close to a p.r.! I had to go for it! I was either going to get it or come close, so I gave it everything I had. Sydney was cheering and shouting, “You’re going to p.r., baby! Get that p.r.!”
I did it! My finish time was 1:37:57. A very respectable time! The age groups were split up in ten year increments. I came in 5th in my group. Adam came in 4th. Everyone did awesome! I’m just going to say here, in my own blog, I came in 22nd overall, 20th male, and I was 5th in my age group? We old men are fast a.f.
There was free beer from Iron Rail brewery and BBQ sandwiches from dickie’s for the racers. I had an Irish red. It was delicious!
Not to be dramatic. If I don’t capitalize, it looks like “door die” half marathon. That’s a totally different race.
DO or DIE!!! Half marathon is a fun little race put on by the Boonville, Missouri family ymca. The race is on the Katy trail from the Boonville trailhead, out 6 and a half miles (approximately) and back.
Sydney had this race on her bucket list because she wanted to race on the Katy trail. I wanted to do this race on account of the awesome logo.
I’m a sucker for a skull and crossbones
Boonville is a little less than 2 hours away on I-70 in the middle of the day, going the speed limit. Sydney and I were up, “ready-to-go,” and on the road by 5 a.m. and I drive like I run…fast, y’all. I drive pretty fast.
90 mph. Eastbound and down!
We arrived and they were still setting up. It was pretty chilly, and we had an hour to kill. Luckily, they opened up the visitor center. What a cool place! They had a model train running through a scale model of the town. They had artifacts and examples of old timey clothes. There was a model of the Lewis and Clark expedition boat. There were plenty of souvenirs. I didn’t bring any money, so I didn’t buy anything. Most of it was geared toward cyclists, anyway.
There was a briefing before the race that I pointedly ignored. I’ve been told they mentioned the outbound was uphill. Ridiculous. Saying “uphill” about the Katy trail is like saying “spicy” about McDonald’s.
Syd and I decided to take it really easy. To not be competitive and just enjoy the scenery. She was going to try to run relaxed and not look at her watch at all.
This section of the Katy trail is cool. There were a lot of cows, some horses. A loud doggy. A big tunnel that didn’t echo very well, and a couple of bridges.
See you ladies at lunchNot much of an echo.Very pretty
We even had a truck honk at us while we crossed over I-70.
I-70
The aid stations were great! The first one was a bit further out than we expected, but there was a port-o-john there. The second had fun size snickers. The third had gummy bears. They all had full sized cups and super friendly volunteers!
Sydney and I finished together in 2 hours, 24 minutes for “not last.” We didn’t care. It was gorgeous and fun. The winners got hand made plaques that were awesome, but we didn’t get a picture.
We ate burgers at the second best diner in Boonville, the Northwoods diner. It was fine.
We made it back to k.c. in plenty of time to see Ted Luce and the moneymakers with our friends.
We watched flashes and streaks of lightning as we drove to the mile 0 trailhead in Osawatame, Kansas. Sydney was on a mission. A personal record for the 50-kilometer distance. She had been working hard towards this goal for months. It was on her mind before the Galveston marathon, even. I was determined to help her in any way possible.
I wasn’t worried about a delay. The radar showed the storm moving out well before the start. Our friend Ben got caught right in the worst of it on his drive. He was doing his first 50k, and he did really well!
We saw almost all our friends there, either at the start or after the turnaround. Randy, Sydney’s coach, stopped to check on her. They had a quick chat about hydration and nutrition, then he went on about his business of running a sub 4 hour 50k. 😳
The mile 0 course is a simple out & back on the Flint Hills rail to trail…trail. There are 3 race distances plus a “fun run” available. For the 50k, there are 3 aid stations that runners pass by twice. The first aid station was moved after last year on account of some troubles with the local residents. Our friend Melissa was running aid station #1. She always does a great job!
The weather wasn’t awful for our run. The wind was mostly in our face on the way out, which was tough. The sun did peek out for a while, but not really long enough to make it hot. Just enough to for Sydney to take off her jacket. She started with it tied around her waist, but it was hitting her in a weird spot. So we put it in my vest. There were some struggles along the way. My music stopped about 10 miles in. I may have reacted a bit harshly to that. I can get angry-ish. Sydney was having water bottle trouble. The bottle carrying her electrolyte mix was clogged or something. It was too difficult to drink out of. So we ended up sharing water on the return trip.
Sydney and I were going fast. Not ridiculous, elite, bq pace. Just a really steady, consistent pace. We didn’t take many walk breaks, we didn’t linger at the aid stations. Except to give Phil a hug. Because he’s Phil, and it’s bad luck if you don’t.
On the way back, we were really moving! The wind was at our backs! We got a chance to see who was behind us. Clint was recording for his YouTube channel. He said, “There’s Rex and Marshall!” Because he was almost to the Marshall aid station.
We saw Laura and Chelsea and Manna all moving really well. I knew Josh was ahead of us, but hadn’t seen him in a while. All ourspeedy friends, Adam, Ben, Randy, were finished by the time we got to the turn.
Before we knew it, we were back at Melissa’s aid station, with just a 5k to go. I put 3 fireball shots in my pocket and caught up to Syd. She had walked ahead to have a moment. Sometimes, these things get emotional. I was very tired! I had to do the countdown trick: less than a 5k. Just 2 miles…a mile and a half…etc. Sydney and I took turns getting each other to run.
Finally, we got close to the finish line. We started really running! I said “let’s go FAST!” And “Let’s go REALLY fast!” As we “sprinted” across the finish.
Sydney and I both finished in a new best time of 5 hours, 50 minutes. Sydney won first overall for the women.
While I was waiting for a massage and chit-chatting with another runner, the temperature dropped about 10⁰ in a minute. I brought the car around so we could sit in it and stay warm, but you know how it goes. We’re in the car, and the race is over. Let’s get out of here!
We made it home before any real weather hit us. Apparently, some runners were caught in a real downpour!
We cleaned up and met with the hash house harriers at a bar for on-after. Sydney beat me at darts and I ate the best g.d. chicken tenders I’ve ever had in my life!
Happy 4/20, everyone! Happy birthday to (among others), my Mom! And Luthor Vandross. And that’s why 4/20 is special to me.
April has been so busy! I am so, so lazy! There are a few races to recap. Rock the Parkway, Mile 0 (zero) 50k, and the Whiskey run 5k.
Rock the Parkway has gotten more attention than usual this year. Mainly because of an incident caught on video of a goose crashing the race! Hilarious! I was too far ahead when that happened. One of the perils of running too fast. I did p.r., though, which is nice.
He went out way too fast. I knew he’d dnf.
A lot of my friends volunteered as pacers for the first time. I am a little jealous. I love pacing!
So many of my friends were volunteers at this event! Phil was giving out hugs, Hallie was handing out water, Amanda was being chewed out by a disgruntled motorist. Apparently, he’s a doctor. I wonder…
Finishing the race, I was stormed by fans! My friends, Matt and Emily, and ALL their kids ran the 5k. I wish I could have expressed how great that is, but I had just finished running a half marathon. Oh,well. I’m sure they know.
The post race party was awesome! There was a 360⁰ photo booth, a d.j., food and beer and chocky milk, a photo booth with props (we had a group photo done, it was hilarious!), and plenty of giveaways.
I’m already looking forward to this race next year! Rock the Parkway is definitely one of my favorites!
W.W.R.H.D. 