Rock The Parkway was my first half-marathon in a few years and it was definitely a tough one to break yourself into. Most races in Kansas City are pretty hilly, and RTP is no different. I was hoping to finish in 1:25...but a lack of base mileage from this winter had me hurting and hitting the wall at mile 10. I ended up finishing around 1:28, about 3 minutes off my time 3 years ago at the Rock 'N Roll New Orleans half marathon.

The crowd support was pretty good and many of the residents along Ward Parkway came out to cheer. The medal was huge...excessively huge. I'm talking the size of a tea cup saucer. In my opinion, I would have done away with such a large medal if that meant a cold Boulevard beer after the race at the post-race party. The women's tech shirt had an awkward fit to it, but I'm usually a fan of just getting the smallest size in unisex shirts at races.

Still, I would definitely recommend this race to anyone wanting a bit of a challenge. It's the first 'big race' in the area that sort of kicks off the KC racing season before Trolley Race, Plaza 10k and KC Marathon.