Latest reviews by Sarah Beth

(2016)
"End of race / exit is a nightmare"
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We could not find parking anywhere, so I jumped out of the car at a red light and followed the other runners to the start. I was really not sure where I wanted to line up, but then I saw Gay, a pacer I knew from KC, and decided to run 2:30 with her. (She is seriously an amazingly enthusiastic and sweet pacer!)

After 45 minutes or so, our wave started. Serious kudos to the event staff for managing that giant start. Very well done.

Right away, I was in awe of the amazing spectators along the course. Seriously. Even in the rain, there were people cheering for us at every block like we were running Boston. The aid stations were very frequent and well-staffed. The cups had lids and straws, which made it very easy to grab a drink and keep going without sloshing and choking down a drink.

And let’s just talk about the bands set up along the course… So many bands, from polka to rock. One that really stuck out for me was one called “The Polka Police,” who were wearing cut-off police uniforms and rocking out heavy polka. Very cool.

There were many aid stations beyond the standard Gatorade and water stations. One was handing out jelly bellies and fruit. (Those orange wedges at mile 9 were magical!) One was GNR themed and Slash was handing out drinks. One had guys dressed like penguins firing confetti all over us.

I just can’t say enough good things about this race. (View the course map and essentials here.)

The only downsides I can think of was the narrow bike trail that made it difficult to stay with the pace group when it was hard to get around the walkers, and the finish at Memorial Stadium.

About that finish… It was really cool to run up on Memorial Stadium, home of the Huskers. They had a big screen outside as we approach the stadium and that was neat. then we turned and ran into the tunnel where we were shown on the jumbotron as we took the field. And how cool was it running across the field? I received my medal from a uniformed National Guardsman who even took the time to put it around my neck instead of just handing it to me. But then, we were herded into the stadium, packed in like cattle. It took forever to navigate through the blankets, water, milk, yogurt, chips, etc. I just wanted to leave! I was so cold!

Finally I made it outside and found my family waiting for me. I was so cold and shivering, but we eventually made it to the parking garage where I could change out of my wet shoes. (And later to a gas station to change into dry clothes).

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(2016)
"Great medals, boring course, bad expo"
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My first half marathon! Yay! I had been looking forward to the really cool Wicked Witch medal for this one. I knew that this was going to be rough as my IT Band had really been hurting. I came in with the expectation that I might have to run-walk the entire thing. All the chiro visits and custom orthotics couldn’t erase the months of training I foolishly did on brick streets.

i was expecting a great expo but it was just a packet pickup with no vendors. Womp womp wahhhh

The course started in the Garmin parking lot and would around Olathe residential streets. I was happy to find a pace group to line up with. I decided to line up with the 2:45 pace group and hope for the best. The time flew by fast just chatting with the other runners. The pace seemed really slow so I wasn’t having any issues keeping up, and they were walking through the water stops. A lot of runners were dressed in Wizard of Oz themed costumes since the race is dubbed the Marathon in the Land of Oz. Lots of Dorothys, Lions, Flying Monkeys and Witches.

I began having some tummy troubles, so another runner and I decided to take a porta-potty break at mile 4 and try catching up later. Soon after, we both started having IT Band issues and decided to try to stay together. We walked when we needed to but ran quickly enough to keep up a decent pace. About mile 10, she told me to go ahead without her and I finished out the last few run/walking by myself. I ended up catching up to the 2:50 group and passing them. J For as much walking and, uh, bathroom breaks, as I had to do, I will take it!

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(2016)
"Fast runners be sure to get to the front"
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So. First up, Lawrence, KS’s St. Patrick’s 5K. I guess this would be my 2nd year running this race in 2015. They had a 10K as well as a 5K, but I thought I would be more competitive in the 5K. I also had come off a week of living hell, which would eventually take me out and render me a zombie for nearly a year. But I digress…

This race is on the river levee starting behind Johnny’s Tavern. The year before, I believe we started at a grade school and snaked our way to the levee and ran out and back toward the river trail head. This year, we stayed on the levee entirely, running the opposite direction. It was the same course as the now-discontinued Valentine-themed Sweetheart 5K.

I remember running this race on zero sleep or nutrition. I really just wanted to burn my legs out, go as fast as I could, and survive. I created a Spotify playlist with some angry, aggressive songs and tried lining up toward the front of the pack. The levee is a very narrow trail and there isn’t a lot of room for passing. You have to get all your passing done early, because it is an out-and-back. When the super speedy people hit the turn-around, opportunities to pass decrease even more.

I was shooting to stay around 8:45 pace but I do think I went out a little too fast. (Which is typical for me.) I didn’t stop for a drink at the turn-around aid station since I haven’t perfected the whole “drinking from a paper cup while running” skill. On the way back, I just concentrated on holding on. I told myself, even if you have a slow down a bit, DO NOT WALK. DO NOT GIVE UP. So I kept pushing. I saw my family at the very end and continued to push up the little hill to the finish. Seeing their little faces and their homemade signs gave me a little boost.

After the race, we stayed around for the awards ceremony. This race has a really nice breakfast spread with both Irish and American breakfasts… I made a plate which mostly I just shared with my boys. I am not that interested in eating after running my butt off. If you do like eating after a race – definitely make yourself a plate. My boys tell me the food is very good.

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(2015)
"Muddy. Snakes. not Cool."
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What a shitshow. I was not looking forward to recapping this one, but here it goes…

I felt OK coming into my first trail marathon. Or ever marathon. There was the uncertainty about what it would be like to run over 18 miles. I had been doing double-long run weekends in lieu of a single long run. I was wondering if I would bonk. How much it would hurt. If my IT band would decide to rear its ugly head.

I headed out to Clinton Lake and found some of my friends who were running the half. The ultra-runners had already started earlier in the morning, so it was a joint start for half and full marathon. I wasn’t (and am still not) familiar with Clinton Lake trails, although I had run on them a few times. I just hadn’t ran any more than 6 miles or so out there. I had no idea what the course entails. Many of my friends can rattle off about Land’s End, Cactus Ridge, Bunker Hill, etc. I have no idea. I just follow everyone else and planned today to just follow the flags.

Our first bit of course I do remember was a cross-country bit through grass. Our race started with a sprinkle, and I didn’t think much of it. But by a couple miles in, it was a downpour. I wasn’t sure what to do, or how the trails would be, so I just kept running and followed the conga line of runners in front of me.

After the grass running, we ran into the trails. At first, it seemed OK. I was able to run and was hitting the paces I had planned. After a bit, the trails started getting slippery. I went down hard at about mile 6. I was hurting. I thought I sprained my ankle. I laid there for a few minutes crying, and not wanting to get back up. But I realized, I had no idea where I was or how to get help, and that I was just going to have to run my way out of there. I got up and started running again. Eventually, the stiffness went away.

I ended up catching up to Lisa, a fellow Trail Hawk. I didn’t know her that well, but recognized her from Facebook pictures, so I settled in behind Lisa and a guy I didn’t know. We made it through the red trail together, which was kind of scary. It had stopped raining by then, but the trail was precarious and rocky, and slipping would have been a serious injury. We were grabbing on to branches and vines, anything we could use to keep us from falling down as we made our way over the rocky section.

(Note: red trail was pretty much lost after this race. It has taken nearly a year, but it is finally open again to run).

We made our way down to a marina, which was mile 16, I think. From there, we ran along the road and bit and ducked back into the trails. This is where things quickly headed south for me.

The trails were not runnable. Most places were hikable, or slightly shuffleable. But any attempt I made to jog, I was sliding and falling down. I jogged the sectioned I could, but mostly just walked. Hills, I slid down on my bottom and crawled up but grabbing trees and rocks. It was not a good time. I was covered in mud and my shoes weighed a ton. Every water crossing, I would stop to splash around and try to get the mud off of my shoes and legs. I plodded along, constantly checking my Garmin… it was miserable. I would think, oh, there goes 5 hours… There goes 6 hours…

I made it to an aid station and they said there was just 5K left. And it took me nearly an hour to walk it. It was that bad.

During the last couple miles, I realized my hands were swelling. A lot. I looked like I had Hamburger Helper hands. I wondered if it was an allergic reaction to some strange vine I had grabbed. Was it all the rain? Was it something I ate? I hadn’t eaten much – just Pringles and Coke. What was happening to me?

I ran into a couple Team RWB guys and asked them how much more I had to go, and they told me I was almost done. I asked them if my hands were supposed to do this, and he said no and took my Garmin off of my puffy wrist. He stuffed it into my pack for me. He also told me to try eating something and handed me some lime Honey Stinger chews. I thanked them and jogged after them. And I really was almost there! Right around the corner was the finish line.

I ran up the hill and crossed the finish. 7 hours. 7 HOURS! I spotted my family and immediately started to cry. I was holding my hands out, hoping that someone could help me figure out what was wrong.

Someone brought me ibuprofen to reduce the swelling. My husband removed my shoes and socks while I received my medal.

A volunteer told us there was a water pump nearby, but I couldn’t walk across the gravel, so my husband picked me up and carried me over. He washed the mud off my legs as best he could but eventually my legs became too cold from the water. He carried me back over to the SUV and helped me start changing out of my dirty clothes. We slid the Camelback off my back and found that my back had been rubbed raw. We applied some Aquaphor to my back and I changed my shirt.

Once I was cleaned up a bit, I decided that I was hungry since I hadn’t eaten. I felt like I wanted a hamburger and waffle fries, so we drove to Henry T’s for lunch. At some point, I remembered my Garmin was still running, so when we went back out to the car, I fished it out of my Camelbak and stopped the time.

Once I got home, I took a shower and rested in bed. I was feeling fine by dinner and stretched a bit. I didn’t have any soreness the next day and was able to walk up the stairs, so I had that going for me.

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(2015)
"One of my faves"
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I was running pretty heavy mileage in the spring of 2015. I was training for my first trail marathon and ultra. Rock the Parkway was to be my first road half of the year. My last road half was, I believe, Long View Half in November, which I haven’t gotten a chance to recap yet. (I am working my way backwards). My PR was at Long View 2:22:08. I knew that Rock the Parkway was going to be much quicker since I was 2:26 on a trail half in March.

I was doing my runs that week, as always, and ran at Clinton Lake the Thursday afternoon before my race Saturday. Everything was groovy until the end of the run, and I lost focus for just one moment and twisted my ankle. I stumbled and tripped, but managed not to fall. But I knew I tweaked it hard. I limped back to the car, pretty angry with myself for doing something so stupid before a race I was really looking forward to. I had run Rock the Parkway the year before and had a bad showing due to IT Band issues and SUPER OPPRESSIVE HEAT!!! (As in, runners being carried off the course on stretchers due to unseasonably warm weather).

When I got home, I did the ice and elevation thing, and just hoped for the best.

Race morning I was feeling OK. I didn’t know how my foot was going to hold up, so I decided to just wing it. I headed to the start and was thankful the morning was a little brisk. (Last year, I was sweating just standing at the start). I lined up with the 2:15 pace group, since that seemed like a good starting point given my last run. I was half-way thinking that seemed almost aggressive, that would be a big PR from Long View but my time at Pi Day seemed to support that. I always take advantage of using the pacers!

The Rock the Parkway course doesn’t have a lot of twists and turns, but it does offer constant little rollers the entire course. They do have bands playing along the course, but to be honest, I am too busy running to pay them any attention. They may be more of a benefit to the spectators. This race is GREAT for spectators! You don’t go even a block without having people out there clapping and cheering for you. If you are into being cheered on – this is a great race for that.

We start at the Burns and McDonnell building, since they are the race sponsors. You do a quick turnaround to the other side of the road, giving your family an extra chance to snap your picture at the starting line. Then it is just, straight … straight … straight… After you hit mile 4, you go by the Meyer Circle Fountain. This is a great spot to be cheered on. LuLuLemon is usually there with some pretty fun signs. Since I was wearing a LuLu skirt, they gave me some big props. Around this time, you will start seeing the super-McSpeederson’s heading back toward the finish on the other side of the street.

After that, you run a square thru a residential neighborhood and Loose Park. It is a nice little break to see kiddos playing in the park and you usually run into runners just getting their morning runs in. After you circle back around, you just run down the other side of the parkway. You will get to pass the fountain again, which usually yields some neat race pictures on this side. For some reason, I couldn’t find my picture last year so I was a little bummed!

Now you are in the homestretch. And this is where I decided to ditch my pace group and pick it up a bit the last 3 or 4 miles. I grabbed a GU at mile 10 and snacked on it for a couple miles. I always forget to eat and definitely noticed that I perked back up with those extra calories. I neglected to walk through the water stops, as the pace group had been doing, so I took a little breather in the last 2 miles.

Finally, I could hear the crowds yelling and spotted the finish line. The finish line arch is pretty awesome at Rock the Parkway, so I thought my finisher picture was pretty cool!

Rock the Parkway also does a pretty decent medal as well. It was very heavy!

I finished in 2:09. Holy Smokes! Big 13 minute PR there!

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