The reward of chasing this legendary race for 12 years and 55 lbs lost from day 1 of dreaming of doing this race. This race is the pinnacle and the reward for so many runners the world over. There is a lot of good and a little negative around this race experience for me. I looked forward to this day over coming so many challenges and severe injuries during my running career. I showed up on race day a little banged up having torn my Achilles 3 months prior and only having been cleared to run just in time to get a few decent training runs in to complete the race.

Is this race going to be everything you dreamed? MOSTLY. Understand going in to this race that the large majority of participants wear these colors with pride and can be a little obnoxious about it. This is the Country Club of races. Just know these folks are fast and they aren't going to be shy about letting you know. This aint your back yard small town marathon with average Joe's. These folks are loud and proud. If you can get past that the race on the whole is a wonderful experience in a town that is more than capable of hosting 30K plus out of town visitors.

The swag for this race is great and the medal is coveted by all that have never achieved it. The crowd for the race is one of the highlights second only to New York of the World Majors I have completed to this point. The first 22 miles of this race are ran through suburban neighborhoods with lovely people coming out to cheer you on. The scenery really kicks in the last 4 miles as you close in on downtown Boston and all of the land marks that have become synonymous with this event.

The expo is pretty great and I would highly advise to try and get there off peak hours as those same folks I spoke of before will linger and clog up the expo at peak times. Getting around Boston is very user friendly utilizing the under ground but be aware that on race day many of the stops will be closed to ensure fair competition. WARN spectators that they will need to scope out a few key spots to check in with you and just know that if it's not at the finish they'll never get to see you at that point until after you have finished and made it out of the chute.

This course is VERY challenging. You can be lulled to sleep in the first 16 miles of this race that gently rolls downhill only to turn into a scorned woman that will nag you near to death for a 6 mile uphill battle until the course begins to flatten out toward downtown the same time that the scenery becomes familiar again. Some downhill run training will come in very handy to train that quads to take on those early miles and not leave you stranded from that point on. :)

I appreciated everything about my first Boston experience but I'm not hooked like I am on many of the other World Major races that will garner my favor now that I have achieved the status of Boston Finisher. I really appreciate the block party feel of the other WMM's that I didn't experience at this event. I'll still strive to accomplish a BQ most every year but it won't be to actually attend the event going forward. It will be to make my self available if a friend needs or wants me to come along. :)

Oh my, this is my hometown marathon that I never miss so I might be a little biased?? However, I love love love the new start / finish at Nelson Atkins Art Museum in front of the famous shuttle cocks. So here is the deal.....it's Missouri. This is Northern Missouri but the Ozarks aren't far away and neither are the hills. If you need to BQ maybe not the place but scenery, professional race management, location, expo quality, SWAG and training swag is spot on. This is one of several GARMIN sponsored events in the metro but I would tell you that it is by far the most engaged event in relationship with the GARMIN brand and goodies.

RD - Dave is a professional media relations person and has the right connections to make this event "THE EVENT", to do in Kansas City for marathons. KC is an over grown cow town and we like it that way. You will feel welcomed into this community with all of its turn of the century history well on display and the innovation that has transformed this town back into the Silicon Valley of the Plains that has brought revitalization to the downtown and Plaza areas.

Come enjoy any of the distances at this event and stay for the whole KC experience.

ER MA GHURD, this is a bucket list race if you love the mountains. ONLY one hill in the entire race. ;) I did the Ascent in 2017 and it took me this long to feel confident in taking on the downhill portion of the run.

Here is what you can expect. There is a wonderful outdoor expo for this race with lots of great swag and race necessities even shoes if you have a last minute blow out. The hats and shirts for this event are usually amazing purchases to have.

ONLY ONE HILL!! Ha ha. This is a mountain race you need to be able to self support and get yourself out of a bad situation if you intend to take on this adventure. There are plenty of aid stations but you better bring lots of nutrition and more importantly hydration because if your body begins to fail you it's gonna be a long long time between getting aid. Be ready for 90 or sub 30 degrees on this event...it the mountains you never know what it's going to do.

Race day parking can be challenging but the Marathon is much more manageable than the Ascent day with far less people attempting the marathon course. It's going to take about 2.5 times your normal 1/2 marathon pace to get up the mountain and 1 - 2 times that coming down so plan accordingly.

The crew back at the start / finish is amazing and I've seen them patch up some folks that were doing pretty poorly in short order. Please don't make it any harder on them. Know your limits and train for this race. It's an epic journey and well worth the effort.