A Cold Start & Brutal Hills at the Garmin Kansas City Half

Brian Johnson (MM8807, DA707, HF7287)-October 17, 2026,

This weekend was an adventure.
I signed up many months ago for the Garmin Kansas City Marathon. I flew out Thursday night from Columbus, with a late arrival in Kansas City after a connection through Houston.

Friday was a chance to play tourist, including a visit to the American Jazz Museum.
Race day on Saturday started out very cold—I was glad I packed some winter gear. I got to see a lot of my running friends and meet quite a few new ones.

The course itself isn’t bad, but it’s not particularly back-of-the-pack friendly. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to attempt the full marathon. The hills are just brutal. Between being sick and dealing with injuries at different points over the last few months, I knew my training wouldn’t get me under the cutoff.
But it’s done.

My trip home almost became its own adventure. I was scheduled to fly from Kansas City to Tampa, then on to Columbus. Early Sunday I started getting delay notifications—first 30 minutes, then an hour, then two, then five. I was going to miss my connecting flight and not get home until Wednesday.

Thankfully, Southwest changed my flight for free. I’m now on a nonstop flight home and will arrive five hours earlier than planned.