Group Run Scheduled - June 23

Hello everyone...

Let's meet on Sunday, June 23 at 9:00am at Happy Rock Park (NE 76th Street & N Antioch Road in Gladstone) for our next run.  Plan to meet at a parking lot next to tennis courts on the east half of the park, as shown in the picture.

A great trail can be found at the park, including a one-mile loop contained in the park itself.  We can run as many loops as desired or take another route on the trail, eventually ending up on streets to the west of the park.

Here is an out-and-back route for a total of four miles:

Four Miles from Happy Rock Park

Looking forward to seeing you there!

1st Annual KCPD PAL 5K

The KCPD's Police Athletic League (PAL) is holding its first PAL 5K on Saturday, June 29 at 10am at the PAL Center (1801 White Avenue).

A $5 donation per runner is recommended but not required. The route will encompass the vicinity of the PAL Center and incorporate obstacles into a hybrid road and trail run.

The top three male and top three female finishers in each of the following categories will be awarded:  12 and under, 13-16, 17-29, 30-39, and 40 and older.

Click here for a registration form.  Simply print the form, fill it out, and bring it on race day.  Registration forms will also be available at check-in.

Never Leave the Playground

Here is a great video I recently came across about Stephen Jepson, a former art professor from the University of Florida.  He is admittedly a bit eccentric, but his message about keeping a youthful, energetic mind and body by "never leaving the playground" is rather contagious...

Group Run Scheduled - June 8

Hello everyone...

Let's meet at the downtown airport on June 8 at 8am for our next run.  The loop around the airport is roughly 3.6 miles, so keep that in mind if you need to adjust the length of your run.

On that note, click here to go to the original post about running at the downtown airport.  It includes helpful information such as where to park and a shorter two-mile route.

See you all in a couple weeks!

Interesting Article - Train Your Brain to Run Your Best

Here is an insightful article I just came across on the Runner's World website.  I've been going through some ups-and-downs with my training lately so it has a helpful message for me to follow.  Hopefully it can help some of you, as well!

Train Your Brain to Run Your Best

Keep your eyes open for an announcement for our next group run...

Alan Watts - The Dream of Life

Here's a quick mindbending, philosophical video for you all to ponder...I thought it may be thought-provoking in a broad sense but also for pursuits such as running.

Group Run Scheduled - May 18

Yes, my friends, the running group is still alive.  I wish I could blame the lack of consistent weather or family life on my lack of scheduling runs for us, but the bottom line is we're all busy, so no excuses.

That said, let's shoot for a run next Saturday, May 18 at 8am at the Swope Park trails.  Hopefully the central location will be of help, not to mention mixing things up a bit with a trail run as opposed to the usual streets and sidewalks.  I myself am an inexperienced trail runner, so I'll be heeding advice to take it easy on trails when compared to streets.

Here is map of where to meet:

Take note of the "A" marker at Oldham Road & Oakwood Road, which is where parking can be found.  We should then have easy access to the trails from there.

This run will be more of a casual outing where everyone can determine how far they wish to run.  I have never ran on these trails so I am unsure if there are mile markers and that sort of thing, so my usual two-, four-, and six-mile routes will not apply to this run.

If you have any questions let me know...I look forward to meeting and running with you all soon!

F.A.S.T.

Here is a small video that sheds some concise insight about running.  I know I could benefit from the advice.

The video is from Man on a Mission, a documentary about Brother Colm O'Connell, an Irish missionary that has worked with many of Kenya's great runners.

F.A.S.T.

Group Run Scheduled - January 26

Let's have our first run of the new year back at the Academy on Saturday, January 26 at 10:00am.

Plan to run on the indoor track but we can always run outside if the weather happens to be decent.

See you then!

A New Year / Interesting Article - Make Yawning Part of Your Pre-Race Routine

Hello everyone...

Now that the holidays have passed I wanted to reach out and let you all know the running club is still around and ready to get back on track.  I assumed there may not be much interest in running the last handful of weeks due to the combination of the holiday season and colder weather.

That said, I'll start scheduling group runs again soon, although many may be at the Academy where we could run indoors.  The indoor track is admittedly short, but at least it will be comfortable and it is easy to mix things up with faster interval workouts.

Also, here is a link to an article I came across recently.  Experts seem to think yawning before racing helps increase one's focus and therefore performance.  Seems like an easy thing to try...

As always, feel free to suggest any ideas you have for our club, be it when and where to run, races people may wish to run together, or anything else.