W.W.R.H.D.

TLDR: Randy Taylor won in 25 hours/104.xx miles.

The kansas city backyard ultra, a last man standing event with fixed time races, was a great event! I am so happy I had a chance to run with the amazing athletes in the last man standing event.

As of this writing, the official results are not posted. I feel like I ran about 22 miles. (Update: 31 miles) Not super impressive, I know. There are a ton of excuses. I really don’t want to get into it too much.

7 p.m., the Night of August 11, 2023, when the last man standing event started, the temperature was very much in the eighties with humidity right up there with it. The air was thick, with the promise of rain. The course was a little more than a mile around Mill Creek Park, a neat, grassy park east of the plaza in K.C. MO. If you’ve seen a chiefs game on t.v., think of the fountain with the horses.

I had rented a table and canopy from Midwest Endurance to keep my stuff and use it as a kind of base. Sydney was there for the start and a few laps before going home to get ready to run the 3 hour event in the morning.

The check-in tent and aid station were all set up on the south end of the park. Sam and Jennie gave a quick rundown of the course and the rules. I was surprised by a few things:

They extended the loop to include a section of sidewalk and an out and back over some grass.

There was no aid allowed during a loop, even though we run by the start area 4 times and there’s a water fountain on the course.

This race was starting to sound really tough!

We started right at 7. I went out way too fast, running in the 8 minute range. I expected that and figured I would settle down after a lap or 2.

As a counterpoint, Randy and most of the other runners were going at a nice, easy 12 minute average with plenty of walking.

I was having a pretty miserable time. I have a bad whinging problem, so I will try to keep this part brief. I was soaked through with sweat from the beginning. There was no relief. I was sweating through my shoes. Sydney asked how she could help, and I told her, “I dont want to be wet anymore.”

Our friend Emily brought her girls out to cheer for a while, and that gave me a real boost! I ran up and gave them all a big sweaty hug! Then I ran another loop.

I will never get it straight. It was either 4 LOOPS = 1 lap, or 4 LAPS = 1 loop. Whichever way you say it, it was a lot of times around. The east side of the track was more elevated, with no breeze. The north end had a (kind of) steep downhill to the grassy out and back. The west side ran along Broadway and had a nice breeze. The corral/start/finish/lap had a timing mat and digital clock showing the time.

The loop right after Sydney left for the night, that was where it all fell apart. The insole of my left shoe got squished up. I had to stop and straighten it out. Two steps later, it was squished under my foot again, but now I was behind schedule and still had 2 laps to go! I finished with 5 minutes to get myself together. I managed to change shoes. Jennie helped get my bottles filled and gave me a little pep talk. The next loop went a lot better.

That’s one of the cool things about this format. You can have a terrible loop. The next hour is a whole new thing. I put the bad loop out of my mind and tried to focus on just running.

All the other runners were very cool and supportive. There was a lot of grouping up and pacing together. I only heard supportive comments from everyone.

At the start of the 2:00 a.m. loop, I was gassed. I didn’t have any more. I told Jennie I was going to line up, but I would probably be timed out. I finished the second lap at 2:37 and dropped out. Everybody told me it was the smart move. I’m okay with it.

So that’s the end of my story. About 18 hours later Randy Taylor did a final loop to secure a much deserved, hard earned victory. Outlasted every one of the last runner standing competitors AND fixed time runners. He is a stud!

Sydney did 12 miles in 3 hours, like a boss!

David Boots was there overnight running the timing mat. I was able to hang out with him a bit after I dropped. He’s going to pace me again at the Hawk 100.

Midwest Endurance Race Company put on another fantastic event! I look forward to Ultrapalooza in September and Miola Madness in November.

This event was tough and humbling. I learned a lot from the experience. Hopefully, it will help me become a better runner and, just maybe, a better blogger. 😉