Favorite Races in Kansas City

I will preface this post by saying I am not a runner. I’ve trained for various races before like half marathons and I thought I’d grow to love it (or at least enjoy it) but nope. I still hate running.

But that doesn’t mean that I don’t love a good race. For me its a good way to gauge my progress, motivate myself to stay in good cardio shape and lets be honest, mostly for the cute shirts and medals. 

So without further ado, here are a few of my favorite races that I’ve done in the KC area. 

1. The Plaza 10k

I think this is probably my top race. It was my first 10k I had ever done and I felt so accomplished that I could finish it in my normal 5k pace. The weather is usually great in September and it’s just a very well done race. It’s big but not too crowded and all the finish line swag is good. Plus, you get a great big medal and nice shirt. 

2. Easter Egg 5k

This race is fun because who doesn’t love a ton of people in bunny ears? The weather is good for this one- not too hot, not too cold. And the medal is super  cute. I blame the fact that I didn’t win on my bunny ears that kept catching the wind and slowing me down. 

3. Mustache Dash

I loved the mustache dash. I ran this one last year with my little brother and our packets came with a package of mustaches. It was a low key fun race on a nice flat course, and you got to run with a big group of people wearing various sized mustaches and looking ridiculous. At the end they had all sorts of mustache things like mustache rings and suckers and stickers that they were giving out.

4. Great Santa Run

There are several different santa runs in KC but I’ve only done the Great Santa Run. It was fun and there were a ton of people dressed up like Santas (of course) but also some Grinches, reindeer and various other Christmas-y characters. Bonus- the long sleeved shirt is cute and they feed you breakfast afterwards.

5. Groundhog Run

The Groundhog Run is kind of a KC staple. It’s totally indoors in February and you run through the cave system. It’s cool because it’s very different but it’s also a challenge because everything looks the same, so it’s hard to feel like you’re making progress. I had to keep checking my app to see how much further I had to go. It’s also nice because they have a 5k and a 10k. Everyone should try this race at least once!