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Kansas City, MO
7:30 am
Set for its 8th annual running along roughly a five-mile stretch of Kansas City’s scenic Ward Parkway, whose wide landscaped median is filled with fountains and statues, this race features mostly gentle, rolling hills throughout its 13.1 miles, which start and finish at the offices of the local company Burns & McDonnell.
From the start and finish line area at the high school, runners follow this out-and-back loop course first southward along the parkway, and then turn on the road that crosses over Brush Creek and start heading north along Ward Parkway, following the parkway as it winds its way north for the next two miles.
The stretch between the start and the mile 2 marker features the race’s steepest uphill stretch, after which the course largely evens out and features only moderate hills for most of the rest of the course.
At West 83rd Street, runners turn right and head over two blocks to the Ward Parkway Plaza, which they follow as it progresses northward and meets back up with the Ward Parkway.
Runners remain on the parkway for the next three miles, passing by some of the city’s most beautiful stately homes and gardens, and passing by fountains,
churches and parks along the way.
The course then makes another turn shortly after passing the mile 5 marker and heads onto West 57th Terrace, which takes runners into the loop turnaround portion of the race. The race route then makes its way along Belleview, Summit Street and West 52nd Street, and then make a loop around Kansas City’s Jacob Loose Park.
The course then turns onto Sunset Way, which brings runners back around to the Ward Parkway, which they follow along the western side of the parkway all the way back to the finish line at the high school.
More than 5,500 runners crossed the finish line in both races combined at the event’s 2016 running, including more than 4,200 finishers in the half marathon alone.
Rock the Parkway was founded in 2010 as a half marathon, 10K and 5K run/walk. The race has been a partnership between KC Running Company and Burns & McDonnell since the beginning, with Burns & McDonnell serving as the host of the event at its world headquarters on Ward Parkway in Kansas City. The partners selected Science City at Union Station as the charity partner and have worked with them since the beginning to support their educational efforts. Science City has opened its doors to race participants during the event weekend for the last several years
