This report is a little overdue, but it's not as late as our final Alaska post. After the report you will find more about our weekend in the Kansas City area in Dave's comments and the race video.
Gobbler Grind was not my originally planned Kansas marathon, but the timing never seems to work out for the Garmin race in April. Gobbler Grind's Mid-November date worked well, except for the fact it was our anniversary weekend. Happy Anniversary Dave! We got into Kansas City late on Friday night and went to bed. Saturday was spent touring some KC spots, going to some breweries, and making our first visit to a Comic Con. That was quite the experience. We celebrated our anniversary at a nice Italian restaurant (Garozzo's) close to the hotel.
Sunday morning was race day and our hotel was very close to the start so we could sleep in a bit. It was a cold and dreary morning and I was bundled up. The course was mainly on a bike path/ trail with the beginning miles through the town of Overland park. I was running by myself for the first time in awhile and I was hoping to get under 5:30.
This was my ninth marathon of the year and my legs were feeling it. They were really feeling it by mile 7 but I think that was a function of some hills in the beginning part. We got to the trail part and broke away from the half marathoners and I started feeling better. It was not the most exciting course because it was all in the woods mainly. Dave did a great job of tracking me and seeing me along this trail, which felt like the middle of nowhere. I was watching my pace and knew I would be close to my 5:30 goal. I kept pushing the whole way and never gave up, but unfortunately I came in at 5:31. Just short, but I was happy to get close and that I felt great the whole way. I just couldn’t hold the pace.
This race was extremely well organized AND cheap! Registration was $70.00 and that included a $10.00 donation to charity. For that I got a hooded sweatshirt, a pint glass, a blanket AND a medal. The aid stations were all well stocked with water, Gatorade and tons of snacks including, gels, Powerbars, candy, pretzels, etc. I would highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a smaller race to knock off Kansas.
After the race we hustled back to shower before late checkout ran out and get to the airport (this is the last time I am flying out the day of the race!) Dave found a BBQ place (Gate's BBQ on State) on the way to the airport and we ate way too much, but it was good! Then we went to the worst airport for amenities ever, but made it home with no issues.
Dave's Comments
I never thought I'd spend a wedding anniversary at a Comic Con, let-alone a minor one. Kansas City's event lacked all the star-power of San Diego's event as well as most of its coolness factor. Stars we could have met included Burt Ward (TV's Robin), Margot Kidder (Superman movies), child voice actresses from Frozen, and Carrie Fisher's dog Gary. The main reason we went was to go to a panel with the hosts of the Wedway Radio Podcast. We enjoyed the panel but were mad when we figured out we could have attended that portion without paying for the main event. Oh well.....
The earlier part of the day was very enjoyable. After escaping the race packet pickup in a running store we made our way into Kansas City (the Missouri portion) and found the Laugh-O-Gram Studios building in an old section of town. This was Walt Disney's first business, established in 1921. We took our pictures very quickly so we could get back to more populated areas of town. Our next stop was Boulevard Brewing. We enjoyed some flights in their beautiful tap room. We opted out of the tour because it was going to cut into Comic Con time (regrets). We ate lunch at a smaller neighborhood brewery on the city's north-side (Calibration Brewing).
Race Chasing was interesting. I was able to see Holly three times the first three miles (and get Starbucks) before getting in the car and figuring out the course. On occasion I had to pull into subdivisions and find an artery trail to the main trail. The wet leaves on the hills made for tricky navigation. I lucked into an iconic donut shop. I also helped a guy look for his lost dog (no luck).
My other big miss was picking the BBQ place for lunch. I was focused on spots enroute to the airport. Once we arrived home we found out the hotel was only a mile away from one of the area's best places. Dang it!
Looking to kill time before your flight out of MCI? Do it before security. The airport terminal had some funky circular design that prevented them from having normal amenities like restaurants and ample seating near gates.
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