While visiting a friend of mine in Kansas City, I dragged her to invited her to join me at the Diva Dash in the great state of Kansas. I am trying to race in every state and this would satisfy my Kansas quotient. Right now it doesn't matter what distance it is, any race is sufficient! So, after running this race, my number of states is up to 10!
This race was held on city streets, in one of the outlying areas of Kansas City. There was a good turnout; there were about 1200 people for the 5k. There was also a Little Princess dash, which I believe was one mile. This race, as the name suggests, WAS all women. This is only my second all women race; the first was Women Run The Cities in Minneapolis.
Pros:
- The energy of this race was great. There were tons of spectators along the beginning and end sections, mostly men and children, and the enthusiasm was great. There was one guy at the very last stretch who was cheering everyone on. It was so nice to have someone cheering for me, even if he didn't know me. I am sure he made everyone else feel great too!
- The ladies working the booths were all really nice. Even though the packet pickup was a little confusing (see below), they were all very friendly and chipper, so it was easy to maneuver.
- The swag. Technical tees in women's cuts and sizes. They also had hats you could buy for $5. For food there were cookies, bananas, edamame, water and Neuro, which is a drink I had not tried before. It was good! I tried the Bliss and the Sun. Both were tasty. There are several other flavors; I would like to try them all.
- The weather. This may not be normal, but it was about 50 degrees and sunny for the 8:30 am race. I want weather like this every time I race!
- The location. This race was only about 10 minutes from my friend's house. I got to sleep in until about an hour before the race!
- My friend who came with me said she liked that it was all women, she liked the course, which was varied with up and down hills (and not a lot of flats), she liked that people were wearing costumes, which made the race fun, and she liked that there were both walkers and runners, so she didn't feel pressured to go faster or feel too worried about coming in last.
Cons:
- The packet pickup and registration were in a tiny little room. This race was held in a shopping center, so they opened up one of the stores to do the registration in. It was not big enough for everyone to come in and fill out paperwork and get their packets. It was very tight.
- The packet pickup was difficult to find. Usually it's in a tent out in the middle somewhere. We had to hunt around and ask a bunch of people in order to find this one.
- Not enough port-a-potties. 1200 girls. 8 port-a-potties. It does not compute.
So, except for a few logistical difficulties, this was a great race! If you are just starting out running, I would suggest looking for a fun race like this, where there are walkers (so you won't be the slowest), or where it's a fun run, with costumes or kids or a theme.
Have you ever run an all women race? Do you have a 50 state race goal? Do you like to participate in events or go to parties where you can wear a costume?
This race was held on city streets, in one of the outlying areas of Kansas City. There was a good turnout; there were about 1200 people for the 5k. There was also a Little Princess dash, which I believe was one mile. This race, as the name suggests, WAS all women. This is only my second all women race; the first was Women Run The Cities in Minneapolis.
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| All The Ladies |
- The energy of this race was great. There were tons of spectators along the beginning and end sections, mostly men and children, and the enthusiasm was great. There was one guy at the very last stretch who was cheering everyone on. It was so nice to have someone cheering for me, even if he didn't know me. I am sure he made everyone else feel great too!
- The ladies working the booths were all really nice. Even though the packet pickup was a little confusing (see below), they were all very friendly and chipper, so it was easy to maneuver.
- The swag. Technical tees in women's cuts and sizes. They also had hats you could buy for $5. For food there were cookies, bananas, edamame, water and Neuro, which is a drink I had not tried before. It was good! I tried the Bliss and the Sun. Both were tasty. There are several other flavors; I would like to try them all.
- The weather. This may not be normal, but it was about 50 degrees and sunny for the 8:30 am race. I want weather like this every time I race!
- The location. This race was only about 10 minutes from my friend's house. I got to sleep in until about an hour before the race!
- My friend who came with me said she liked that it was all women, she liked the course, which was varied with up and down hills (and not a lot of flats), she liked that people were wearing costumes, which made the race fun, and she liked that there were both walkers and runners, so she didn't feel pressured to go faster or feel too worried about coming in last.
Cons:
- The packet pickup and registration were in a tiny little room. This race was held in a shopping center, so they opened up one of the stores to do the registration in. It was not big enough for everyone to come in and fill out paperwork and get their packets. It was very tight.
- The packet pickup was difficult to find. Usually it's in a tent out in the middle somewhere. We had to hunt around and ask a bunch of people in order to find this one.
- Not enough port-a-potties. 1200 girls. 8 port-a-potties. It does not compute.
So, except for a few logistical difficulties, this was a great race! If you are just starting out running, I would suggest looking for a fun race like this, where there are walkers (so you won't be the slowest), or where it's a fun run, with costumes or kids or a theme.
Have you ever run an all women race? Do you have a 50 state race goal? Do you like to participate in events or go to parties where you can wear a costume?
Yay for another state. I've never run an all-woman's race but most of the stuff I run is small, local stuff.
ReplyDeleteHaven't done an all-women race, but then, I'm not really into girl-power stuff. Haha. Plus I have a long torso so girl-cut shirts are usually too small, so I get men's instead (and yes, that makes them too big). Couldn't run a race with no men's shirt option!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun race.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings up the question... why is it ok to have all women's races but not all men's races?
Sounds fun! I have done an all women's half (although there were a few dudes) and it was okay. It had the same port a potty issue so I had to pee behind the bushes before the race. You would think this would be the 1st priority for a women's race! Glad you had fun:)
ReplyDeleteI'm doing a women's half this year and that will be my first race with all women. Haven't thought about racing in all 50 states but that could be fun!
ReplyDeleteThe only all-woman race I ran was the one with you!
ReplyDeleteI HATE dressing up. Like really, really hate it! So I try to avoid anything that requires a costume, like Halloween parties!
I hope the packet pick-up for the Cherry Blossom run is better this year... last year it was HORRIBLE. Like a line around an entire city block. I have never seen such a disorganized process! Which is surprising since it's a big race that they've hosted for many years!
Boo for not enough port o potties! That is a big downside. I love women only races, they have two locally and I try to do them both every year. The energy is so amazing. and double bonus for getting race shirts that are cut for women!
ReplyDeleteI think once my kids are grown I will do the 50 in 50...more time plus I fully plan on hitting my running stride by then!! My friends and I run an all women's 5k every year. I love it! There are some quick chicks in our area and I was beyond proud when I placed just barely (#49) in the top 50 finishers with a time of 23:02!! I still have the shirt hanging proudly!!
ReplyDeleteI've never done an all woman's race, sounds like fun! I'm impressed that you're doing 50 and 50... maybe someday I'll work toward that, it's not very feasible right now!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a fun race, even with those little logistical issues. I've never run an all-women race, but I think I'd like to!
ReplyDelete