Kansas 1/2 Marathon Race Report - 4/18/10

This was a race I’ve tried to get to every year for the past 5 to 6 years. It’s in Lawrence, KS, runs through KU campus and sometimes through downtown Lawrence. All sights I enjoy seeing and reliving the good ole days. So, while you’re suffering, why not have some sights to take your mind off of it??



The morning was great! It was a touch chilly which warranted an undershirt with shorts, but once the sun broke and you got moving, it wasn’t a problem. One thing I wasn’t exactly pumped about was that the finish line / packet pickup area / port-a-potties were in different locations. You had to pick up your packet and hit the port-a-potties before you went back to the parking area where the start was. It wasn’t horrible (150 yards apart) but it didn’t offer you the opportunity to hit the potty minutes before start time, as my race ritual requires. Ask my wife about that and the 5k… that’s all I’ll say about that. So… I watered some trees before the start in a creek sort of area. Don’t tell anyone.

We dropped off the squirt the night before at Grandma’s, so no race experience for the little one yet… sort of postponing that. We’re not sure how she would handle the running stroller after 2 miles. We also tempted fate with a Mexican dinner the night before followed by cold stone ice cream… it was good but not exactly a recommended pre-race dinner.

The start was nice. It was downhill for the first mile or so which helped ease into warming up before hitting race pace. I actually had to slow myself down as not to overexert myself. I passed the 1:40 pace group, which I later faded and they caught me.

I was a little disappointed that they didn’t take us through campus as much as past runs. They have changed the course the past three years. Last year we had to catch a ride from the finish back to the start and our cars. That was cause for some MAJOR leg cramps. I guess that was a trade off. Less campus, less cramping since this year was essentially an out and back. We didn’t hit downtown this year, either. Oh well.

The course was pretty friendly. I think I only counted 3 major hills. In my book, that’s a good course. AND, no WIND!!! You can’t ask for better conditions.

I can live with less campus and downtown since I PR’d my half marathon time!!!

1:43:02 – beat my old best by 2 minutes.

Here’s a recreation of my finish line glory… since I don’t have any photos (and usually the pro photos are not something I’d want to share – always have “that” look on my face).


I’d give the race 4.5 stars. The start to port-a-potty proximity could use some improvement.