COUNTDOWN TO
OCTOBER 19, 2013
Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon With Ivy Funds
RUN ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COURSES IN THE MIDWEST
5K HALF FULL RELAY KIDS
Plan to get your Commemorative Poster or your Finisher Shirt at the Official Race Store
We are proud to partner with Ultramax Sports to provide all the official race apparel.
You can purchase the 2012 Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon commemorative poster online (during registration) or onsite at the Health and Fitness Expo or the Finish Line Festival.
Don't leave the Health and Fitness Expo or the Finish Line Festival without purchasing your official Finisher apparel.
Click here for more information!
Blue KC Healthy Family Survey
As Kansas City's health and wellness leader, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) and the Kansas City Sports Commission are committed to empowering children and families to lead healthier lives. As part of this commitment, Blue KC supports community initiatives that address childhood obesity.
Blue KC created a website, BeWellKC.bluekc.com, to reinforce its commitment and help families live healthier lives.
An integral resource available on the website is the Blue KC Healthy Family Survey. The survey is a tool families complete together that provides information on current family practices around physical activity and nutrition. After taking the survey, families can get tailored feedback about diet and physical activity strengths and improvement opportunities.
Go to BeWellKC.bluekc.com to take the survey, and get started on the road to better health for you and your family.
A Call For Volunteers
On Saturday, October 20, 2012, the Kansas City Marathon will be in need of volunteers. A volunteer is someone who willingly dedicates their time and efforts to a greater cause. The 2012 Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon is searching for individuals who fit the definition of a volunteer. Over 1,500 volunteers are needed to effectively execute an event with the size and magnitude of the marathon. That is 1,500 individuals who graciously contribute to an amazing community event that showcases the greater Kansas City area to participants from across America.
Click here to learn more about volunteering for the Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon
Fast and Furious!
The Fast and Furious relay team has been a presence at the Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon for the past three years. Not fast mini coopers zipping down the streets, but a relay team made up of marathoners, triathletes and 5K race specialists.
A team consisting of Khris Vickroy, Jo Gadberry, Dan Murphy, Stan Wood, and Julie Nutzman, four currently from Kansas City and the fifth member who at one point, spent eight years here. “We like getting together as a group and doing something different,” said Vickroy. “We found a good group of friends that complement each other.”
By racing as a team, each member feels they need to do their best. With four other teammates depending on you, it tends to make you train and race just a little harder. So being on a team rather than racing on your own pushes you to do your best, says Vickroy. Team events are a nice alternative to the standard race you do on your own. Plus it allows each member to pick the distance they are best at and then cheer on the rest of the team.
Leading up to race day, the team finds themselves emailing, talking about the race and training together. The team atmosphere makes them want to do the tough workouts together, rather than dread getting up early. “The motivation you gain from knowing that others are working hard and counting on you is tremendous,” said Vickroy. “There really are no challenges to training for a relay. In contrast, you actually train better due to the support and motivation you gain from the other people on the team.”
Being on a relay team can help make the pre-race more relaxed and fun. During the race, the Fast and Furious are focused on their own leg, but also thinking about how the others are doing, which keeps the nerves at bay. “It's nice to get a marathon vibe without having to run the whole distance,” said Vickroy.
The Fast and Furious members like the team relay because you can be a fan, a teammate and an individual racer all in one day. “The best part of the relay is when you see your teammate coming into the transition and you high five each other and take off. Your adrenaline feels intense and helps you run so much faster,” Vickroy said. “Then as you finish your leg, you know there is someone counting on you, so you finish strong.”
Hotel DIscounts and Promotions
There are still a few rooms left…but don't wait to make your hotel reservations! Whether you're traveling from out of town or just want to stay near the heart of the activity, consider staying at the Sheraton of Crown Center or the Westin Crown Center.
Mention the Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon with Ivy Funds and you'll be part of the group block and receive the special discounts for this event.
Click here for more information or to make your reservations.
Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon is now Composting and Making Recycling Easier
For the second year, the Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon is making a significant effort to do right by the environment, and reduce the carbon footprint of the marathon. In 2011, the efforts were a great success, and we are excited about expanding this year. Some of the successful programs from last year that will be returning are:
- recycling of recyclable materials both at the Finish Line Festival and along the race course
- collecting running shoes at the Health and Fitness Expo for distribution to the less fortunate
- using recyclable race bibs (if, for some reason, you didn't want to keep that little jewel of a memento, please recycle it!)
This year, we will be expanding and improving our sustainability efforts in two significant ways. We will be working with Missouri Organic, a recycler of "green waste" (biodegradable materials, yard waste, food waste, etc.), to divert all of the compostable waste and turn it into usable materials. This is a HUGE accomplishment because the waste that will be diverted includes the 140,000 cups that the runners use along the race course! Find out more about Missouri Organic and the programs they offer by visiting their website, www.missouriorganic.com.
The recycling effort from last year was a huge success. Thank you to the many, many volunteers who made this effort successful! In order to better facilitate the sorting of materials, we will be offering a "central waste tent" with a few smaller "waste stations" around Washington Park. This approach requires fewer volunteers to take the trash that people bring to the central location and properly dispose of it (recycle vs. compost vs. discard).
Please do you part to help the Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon achieve our goal of "no waste" and continue to make this event the greenest one out there. When you are at the Finish Line Festival celebration, keep an eye out for these stations and the volunteers staffing them to help you sort out what's recyclable, what's compostable, and finally, what has to go to the landfill. And when you come to packet pickup at the Health and Fitness Expo, bring all the old running shoes from your house, and donate them to someone who can give them a new lease on life.
As always, if you have suggestions for ways we can make this event a little greener, feel free to let us know.
Every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer, and every 10 minutes someone dies of a blood cancer. Researches funded by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are all over the nation working hard to find a cure and put an end to this terrible disease. The backbone of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is to raise funds to support our mission to find a cure. Without fundraising, the effort in finding a cure would be much less.
Funds raised by participants of the Kansas City Marathon also go directly back to support the mission of the society. Please consider joining the fight and fundraising while you train for the Kansas City Marathon. Every dollar you raise, every mile you run will aid in the fight against blood cancers. Any donation made is 100% tax deductible and goes directly back to patient support and research here in the Kansas City area.
Need fundraising ideas?? Contact Stacy Duncan – Senior Campaign Manager, Team In Training (LLS) at stacy.duncan@lls.org
