This has always been one of my favorite races, and they did not disappoint this year. This was the 2nd race in the Heartland 30K Series. The weather cooperated fantastically and gave runners a perfect KC Autumn morning for running. The race started on time, and seemed to run without any incidents that race directors can control. Running through the Country Club Plaza, past the Nelson Adkins Museum of Art, and along Brush Creek is a beautiful way to see this part of this Metro area.

There was a medical emergency at the finish line which seemed to spectators to take an excessively long time for emergency personnel to respond to, but that really can't be blamed on race organizers. The assigned medical personnel were responding to an incident on a portion of the course several miles from the finish line, and a secondary crew had to respond. Fortunately there were racers and spectators at the scene who were able to provide medical support to the participant until Paramedics arrived - and the incident had a reported good ending. The incident caused a disruption at the finish line and race official did an excellent job keeping the area clear while maintaining an open finish line for participants still on the course. I understand there was also an issue with an elderly driver who managed to drive into the race area where thousands of participants were gathered - because she drove right past the traffic control officers, and became panicked - again, not something race directors can prevent. She literally drove around a large construction road/closed barricade to enter the crowd (fortunately again without injury incident).

Free photos and great bling (giant finisher's medals for the 10K, 2 Mile fun Run, and Kid's Run are a hit) including an awesome technical shirt. For KC area runners this is quickly becoming another one of the must-do events.

This event was the first 10K in the new Heartland 30K Series of 10K's in the Kansas City Metro area. That being said, even with the fantastic charity that this race benefits, if it weren't for it being part of the 30K series I wouldn't do the race. I'm pretty burned out on this course - thousands of 5K's, 10K's, and other events have been held here, presumably because of the ample parking availability on the weekends, as well as the minimal traffic control that is needed because it is an office park. That being said, it is an absolutely boring - like mind-numbing boring - route. The course is easy - very few elevation changes, but so little to look at and enjoy (unless you love looking at office buildings and parking lots). The aid stations seem well placed - if you're only doing the 5K and the weather isn't too hot. However, there is what seems to be a very long time between aid stations when doing the 10K (2 loops of the 5K route). They would do better to add a smaller supplementary aid station just past the start/finish line for the 10K people. I find that the organizers of the event don't do a great job of capitalizing on the Dot To Dot theme - and don't really incorporate the meaning behind it anywhere in their logo, shirts, or medals. The 5K event does not get finisher's medals. The 10K Finisher's Medal is large and weighty, but a little boring in design. Superb race management, done by KC Running Company. If this race is part of the 30K series going forward I would probably do it again.

The organizers (KC Running Company) did a fantastic job on another signature inaugural event. The race in Kansas City was actually postponed one week because of poor weather conditions - which is rather unusual but this time of year is easier to reschedule. The route began and ended at the historic Kemper Arena in Kansas City, and enjoyed a beautiful Sunday morning run through the West Bottoms, continuing onto Southwest Boulevard, and through parts of the Crossroads District. This route is very Metro so it appeals to those who love to run in the City. There was only one aide station, covering runners both coming and going and the same location. There was great live music at the aide station and appeared that they had no trouble accomodating runners in both directions there. Having just one aide station is doable on this type of route in weather such as we had on race day (mid 50's at race time), but may have been too sparse had the temperature climbed any higher. The volunteers were fantastic and only one turn was slightly confusing to those of us in the back of the pack. Fabulous shirt, beautiful finisher's medal, great route, great event. I wish I was able to do the event in other series cities this year. (Wichita, Tulsa, and Des Moines).

I typically do not enjoy races managed or done by Ultramax, but when I saw the medal for this race at the expo for another local race, I decided I needed to do it anyway. Ultramax has had a bad reputation in my opinion with poor race support, cheap or non-existent swag/bling, lack of appreciation or support for runners slower than 12 minutes per mile, not enough bathrooms for events, and the list goes on.

This race started out feeling MUCH different than my previous experiences with Ultramax events, with the multiple emails leading up to the event. The one email from one of the Ultramax owners (Amy) was particularly moving, touching, and very encouraging. I won't go into great detail about that email, except to say that it appeared to be a complete change in attitudes within their organization as a whole.

Parking in general was very easy to navigate at the event, considering how horrible it was during packet pickup on Saturday (because there were also hundreds of cyclists at the location for the end of Tour de BBQ - another event Ultramax was handling on the same day). There seemed to be a significant lack of port-o-potties, with just ONE in the parking garage, and the door was facing a wall, making it nearly impossible to get in. Apparently there were other potties, a tenth of a mile away, in a construction lot. Strike one - no one knew where those potties were.

Pre-race entertainment/music/atmosphere was quite nice. There was a fitness warm-up, which was also a nice touch. National Anthem was recorded, which is ok, but I think they could have gotten a local woman (since this was a women's race) to perform - minor detail.

The route was based quite heavily on busy major roadways, which wasn't a problem for the most part being on a Sunday. There was a 4+ mile stretch of the route that was on a wooded public paved trail system, which again was not a problem for the time of the day, very little non-race traffic. There was not a lot of on-trail marking, which could have been a problem (use those sticky route markers ON THE TRAIL next year folks) - there are numerous places where the trail branches off, and we nearly took the wrong branch at one point. Very strange turn-around just past mile 5, but I gather that was the only option given the current course. Back up off of the trail and onto paved city streets, not terribly scenic, but not horrible. Staring directly into the sun for several miles made for a hot, annoying stretch.

Oveall the hills on the course were annoying at worst, but hard to find a truly FLAT route in this city. Not my favorite route for scenery, but I LOVED the course support. There were aid stations at nearly every mile, which made for a very good atmosphere given the unseasonably warm day.

I will say the post-race support, food, atmosphere was PHOENOMINAL for a race this size. Super super job done by Ultramax on this race. The lower star ratings are minor for this race, and I was genuinely impressed with the management of this event.