Garmin KC Marathon Races (October 21, 2023)

[DanT]

Anyone planning to run one of the four Garmin KC Marathon races (5k, 10k, half-marathon, full marathon) this upcoming Saturday? I'm going to be trying the full, which I also ran last year and enjoyed. There were several Bills fans running last year, in town for the Bills-Chiefs game the following day. Might see some Charger fans there this year.

https://www.sportkc.org/marathon

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Its all relative and just takes time. What was once hard becomes insanely easy, at least for a while.

I ran 5Ks and thought why run a 10K that's dumb.
After a bunch of 5ks I started running 10Ks and though 5Ks were a waste of time.
After a bunch of 10ks I ran my first half marathon and thought people who ran marathons were insane.

After 3 half marathons I ran my first marathon. Then I ran another.

The next year I signed up for a 50K. (31 miles)

The next year I ran a 50 miler.

Then I was doing marathons and 50Ks as training runs.

Actually got to run Boston in 2019.

To date I've run a bunch of marathons almost as many 50Ks, 2-50 milers including a 55 miler and in 2020 trained for a 100 miler that got cancelled due to covid then got pissed and said **** it I'm not doing long distance anymore. Franky training wasn't going well anyway.

Today a 25K is about the longest distance I want to run and that's usually trail of some sort.

Its all perspective. And do it while you are youngish because after you hit 50 it gets way harder. Just stay active.

my $.02

Great advice and kudos for qualifying for Boston! That's awesome!

[DanT]

Out of curiosity, I looked up my stats from last year's Garmin. Then my estimated VO2 Max was 46 and I ran nearly 5 hours, walked only about 7 minutes and was idle about 7 minutes (for a potty break). Even though I was fitter then, I sorta think I might beat last year's time this year, because I have more experience with using the run-walk-run method and that technique can actually boost one's average pace because of the way it builds in little recovery periods.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Its all relative and just takes time. What was once hard becomes insanely easy, at least for a while.

I ran 5Ks and thought why run a 10K that's dumb.
After a bunch of 5ks I started running 10Ks and though 5Ks were a waste of time.
After a bunch of 10ks I ran my first half marathon and thought people who ran marathons were insane.

After 3 half marathons I ran my first marathon. Then I ran another.

The next year I signed up for a 50K. (31 miles)

The next year I ran a 50 miler.

Then I was doing marathons and 50Ks as training runs.

Actually got to run Boston in 2019.

To date I've run a bunch of marathons almost as many 50Ks, 2-50 milers including a 55 miler and in 2020 trained for a 100 miler that got cancelled due to covid then got pissed and said **** it I'm not doing long distance anymore. Franky training wasn't going well anyway.

Today a 25K is about the longest distance I want to run and that's usually trail of some sort.

Its all perspective. And do it while you are youngish because after you hit 50 it gets way harder. Just stay active.

my $.02

You are a sicko. That is bad ass man. I think the KC Marathon is a Boston Marathon qualifier or something I read. I need to get those shoes with wheels on 'em. Knock out that marathon 😆

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by DanT

Out of curiosity, I looked up my stats from last year's Garmin. Then my estimated VO2 Max was 46 and I ran nearly 5 hours, walked only about 7 minutes and was idle about 7 minutes (for a potty break). Even though I was fitter then, I sorta think I might beat last year's time this year, because I have more experience with using the run-walk-run method and that technique can actually boost one's average pace because of the way it builds in little recovery periods.

Experience has a lot to do with racing. You learn a lot about how you handle things.

Another thing to remember for anyone running is a bad training run needs to be brushed off as long its not reoccurring and the same with a bad race. Some days just don't work out.

Don't let a bad day training or racing make you want to stop, its just a day, like a bad Chiefs game midseason .

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by BWillie

You are a sicko. That is bad ass man. I think the KC Marathon is a Boston Marathon qualifier or something I read. I need to get those shoes with wheels on 'em. Knock out that marathon 😆

Most road marathons are Boston qualifiers. The Garmin Olathe race is pretty popular for that because its flat and fast.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Most road marathons are Boston qualifiers. The Garmin Olathe race is pretty popular for that because its flat and fast.

I was a little confused by the map. It says the 5k in one spot is 3.1 miles but on the map it says it is 3.25 miles. 0.15 mile difference is a big deal sad to say.

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Most road marathons are Boston qualifiers. The Garmin Olathe race is pretty popular for that because its flat and fast.

Our marathon here in Sacramento, the California International Marathon, is very popular for runners seeking a Boston Qualifying time (https://www.baa.org/races/boston-mar...alifying-races), because it's net downhill. A lot of folks come from out-of-town to run it, and many end up being surprised by the roller coaster hills at the beginning of the race, which can chew up the unprepared. I mostly run in Davis and Sacramento, which are very, very flat, but I mostly do my Saturday long runs out in Folsom, near where the CIM starts, because that's where the hills are. My run last Saturday came within two blocks of the CIM start and for that 17-mile loop, I ended up with 900 feet of climbing, good preparation for the KC marathon and its many hills.

I got to run in Overland Park a few times a couple of weeks ago. Great running trails there!

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Most road marathons are Boston qualifiers. The Garmin Olathe race is pretty popular for that because its flat and fast.

Which marathon did you use to qualify for Boston, Marcellus?

Whichever one it was, you must have had a great time, as those qualifying standards are impressive!

[phisherman]

Originally Posted by BWillie

I was a little confused by the map. It says the 5k in one spot is 3.1 miles but on the map it says it is 3.25 miles. 0.15 mile difference is a big deal sad to say.

The last Garmin 5k that I ran a few years back had a course length of just under 3 miles. I finished just a shade over 23 minutes. It hurt.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by phisherman

The last Garmin 5k that I ran a few years back had a course length of just under 3 miles. I finished just a shade over 23 minutes. It hurt.

I bet. I hope they have defibrillators

[DanT]

Originally Posted by phisherman

The last Garmin 5k that I ran a few years back had a course length of just under 3 miles. I finished just a shade over 23 minutes. It hurt.

Great time for a 5k!

Man, having the distance off that much for a 5k would drive me crazy, especially with the name Garmin attached to it, as I depend on their watches for accuracy. Usually, in races, my Garmin watch says I ran further than the actual race distance, which makes sense, given that I meander around to get water and shade. My fastest half-marathon, though, was a February race on a course that mostly was on streets and trails near my home, and I ran geodesics for that race, knowing the trails so well. My watch said I was about a quarter mile shy of 13.1 miles when I got to the finish line, so I kept running, because in my vanity I wanted to have a sub 2-hour half-marathon recorded in my Garmin account.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by DanT

Which marathon did you use to qualify for Boston, Marcellus?

Whichever one it was, you must have had a great time, as those qualifying standards are impressive!

Little Rock Marathon which is a really fun event but its fairly hilly on the back half. Not the ideal BQ course but I knew it well. I have run that event 3 times, I recommend it for a good time. Lots of spectators etc...Huge finishers metal and they know how to throw a party on the course.

I made the Boston cutoff by only 6 seconds.

You may or may not know this but running a BQ doesn't automatically get you in, it allows you to apply to enter, then they average out the times of all the entries under the BQ time that will get them the number they need for each age group. My qualifying time was almost 5 minutes faster than BQ but the entries were so fast that year the cutoff got moved another 4 min 54 seconds. I thought I was going to be automatic but barely squeezed in. The times have gotten so fast they recently bumped the age group BQ times 5 minutes just to apply so its just getting harder and harder.

Pretty wild 6 seconds over 26.2+ miles was the difference and there is a huge hill almost a half mile long at the start of mile 25 on the course. I easily could have lost another 6 seconds on that hill alone.

I'm not nearly as fast as I used to be and the qualifying times keep getting bumped up so its getting insane. I may give it another shot when I turn 55 in a few years as you get another 10 min at age 55.

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Little Rock Marathon which is a really fun event but its fairly hilly on the back half. Not the ideal BQ course but I knew it well. I have run that event 3 times, I recommend it for a good time. Lots of spectators etc...Huge finishers metal and they know how to throw a party on the course.

I made the Boston cutoff by only 6 seconds.

You may or may not know this but running a BQ doesn't automatically get you in, it allows you to apply to enter, then they average out the times of all the entries under the BQ time that will get them the number they need for each age group. My qualifying time was almost 5 minutes faster than BQ but the entries were so fast that year the cutoff got moved another 4 min 54 seconds. I thought I was going to be automatic but barely squeezed in. The times have gotten so fast they recently bumped the age group BQ times 5 minutes just to apply so its just getting harder and harder.

Pretty wild 6 seconds over 26.2+ miles was the difference and there is a huge hill almost a half mile long at the start of mile 25 on the course. I easily could have lost another 6 seconds on that hill alone.

I'm not nearly as fast as I used to be and the qualifying times keep getting bumped up so its getting insane. I may give it another shot when I turn 55 in a few years as you get another 10 min at age 55.

I've heard good things about that Little Rock marathon. Any BQ is impressive, but it's even more impressive on a tough course like that! I've thought about running Little Rock, because it's in a mild time of year, March, and it would be interesting to visit Arkansas.

I'm glad you beat the cutoff for the year you qualified!

There were a lot of disappointed runners this year because Boston had a 5:29 cutoff this year, even though they had a 0:00 cutoff in 2022 and 2023, due to COVID.

[DanT]

Great weather in KC for the marathon this morning and I finished about 5 minutes faster than last year. I was hoping to beat 5:20 and I ended up beating 5:10.

I hope everyone that ran an event today had fun, especially if it was part of the Garmin KC Marathon set of races!

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by DanT

Great weather in KC for the marathon this morning and I finished about 5 minutes faster than last year. I was hoping to beat 5:20 and I ended up beating 5:10.

I hope everyone that ran an event today had fun, especially if it was part of the Garmin KC Marathon set of races!

Nice work!