verything below is my own opinion. I did not receive compensation for mentioning any products or services
HA! Spoiler Alert! I didn’t, but that is okay. This race was so small if they did give out age group awards, they might as well give everybody an award. Which they did. Sort of. We all got finisher medals. What is the race and why did I go? Well, I’m gonna try to give you the short story.
Hubby usually does The Heartland 39.3 Series with me which includes three half marathons in the Spring. Last year he only did the Liberty Half Marathon because Rock The Parkway was the same weekend as the Flint Hills Gravel Ride. We found out a little late, that he could have done Rock The Parkway with me this year because Flint Hills was the following weekend. Well, actually he still ended up doing a gravel cycling race but not the Flint Hills for that weekend. Last year when he did Flint Hills he saw they had runners doing a race as well. So, this year he talked me into signing up for The White 10Kish race. They had a 6K (The Red) and a 21K (The Blue) as well. I wanted more than a 6K and I didn’t feel like doing three half marathons three weekends in a row (Rock the Parkway, Flint Hills Gravel 21K, and then Garmin Oz). So, the 10K it was.
Now, I’ve been camping and doing hash runs for 20-plus years. Not a problem. I mean hash runs are just for fun. Hash House Harriers’ motto is that they are “a drinking club with a running problem.” There is no timing. No placing. You just run and enjoy the scenery and have lots and lots of beer afterward. I’ve never been camping for a legit race. This will be a new experience.
We had to wait Friday before we could head for Americus, KS which is where this event was held. I was in charge of the kids’ school PTA Fun Run. I was standing out in the sun all day long. I remembered sunscreen on my ears and everywhere, but the back of my hands were still fried. Why? I mean in that time frame you have to go the bathroom a few times, and well, the sunscreen gets washed off. I just don’t usually think about the back of my hands burning. So, I had that going into this little adventure.
We left the house about an hour later than Hubby wanted to. My in-laws came and stayed with the kids. Hubby wanted to go to camp first and put up our tent so we didn’t have to do it in the dark. We decided against that because we still needed to get our race packet and there was a spaghetti dinner. We hit Harry and Lloyds where all this was to take place.
They didn’t have a shirt for me at packet pick-up because I signed up so last minute. They said to check at the finish line. We did a few spin-the-wheel games at some of the tents. When I landed on one where I could get a shirt, I grabbed it. It wasn’t a Flint Hills shirt and it was a little big, but I got a shirt. We had our spaghetti and waited a short bit for more garlic bread. It was a nice dinner to end the day. I didn’t feel like getting a beer. I’m just not in my twenties anymore. LOL.
We had plenty of light when we made it to Basecamp Flint Hills in Allen, KS. Hubby’s buddy owns the property and he was there for the gravel ride as well. It did start to get dark when we were putting down our bedding in the tent. We joined the group at the fire for a little bit. I was exhausted from standing and being out in the sun all day at the Fun Run. I turned in a bit earlier than Hubby.
I haven’t been camping in a tent for a while. I did not get much sleep. I walked “a country mile” to the porta-potty and came back to get dressed. It was really cold last night and it was a bit nippy this morning. I still wore my running skort because I knew the temp was going to get really warm later. Still, I hate being cold. I wore a long-sleeved tech shirt. I figure if I get hot, I’ll just push up the sleeves. It worked out really well. More on that later.
A lot of Hubby’s friends were already gone. My race thankfully started about half an hour after Hubby’s race. If you’ve followed my blog, you know Hubby is a bit of a procrastinator. We got back to Americus and I needed a bathroom again. I walked to the start and waited in line to a bathroom in the park. I told Hubby good luck before I left because I knew he would be lined up for the start of his race before I had a chance to get back. That and the bathroom lines are usually long at races of any kind.
I did see Hubby roll by before I got in the bathroom. I actually got a picture of the tail end of him going through the start. I chit-chatted with some other runners before our start. All distances were to start together or so we thought. The guy running the show had a microphone but he was out in the street with us talking to us like we were his buddies which I thought was awesome. He did ask the 21K people to go in the back. He didn’t want them confused because their course had a bit of a different start. So they would start just a bit later. The 6K and 10K had the same start and then signs would show us the way and he said this year they were not handwritten signs. Ha! He also informed us that 17 people signed up for the 6K and 17 signed up for the 10K. Actually, I think my results said 19, but I don’t remember how many signed up for the 21K.
Hubby is on the green bike with the blue top
Now, the race bib had a cow on it, and driving out to Americus seemed pretty flat and open. I was a little worried this would be like Running With the Cows. I really don’t like a wide-open course where I can see three miles down the road and know how far behind I am. It’s kind of torturous for me. And that’s exactly how it was. I will say the big difference was that this was mostly gravel. Running With the Cows is pavement.
I’m not sure if it was my injury or if I just wasn’t well-rested from Rock The Parkway, but this kicked my butt. I just wasn’t feeling it. I did have a lady behind me most of the race. I saw a lady in front that would walk/run that I was trying to catch. In the end, I passed the one lady in front and the lady behind me ended up passing me. She just had a bit more in her “tank” at the end than I did.
I made a Facebook post joking that I placed 15th overall in my 10K, but Shhh, don’t tell anybody that only 19 registered. I finished in 1:17:31. It makes me worried for Garmin Oz. I really want to get under 2:30 for my half.
The end didn’t have bottled water or chocolate milk. I got a medal and a pint glass. All the distance medals were the same. I went over and got a beer with my token. I really needed water and was looking for the free water that is usually given at a race. They didn’t have any out. The guy at the table with the beer was nice enough to give me a sparkling water. That was so nice and I felt so much better except my face and hands. I could feel the sun in full force. I put sunscreen on my face, but I could still feel my skin baking. I did forget sunscreen for my arms since I was wearing a long-sleeve shirt. I put my sleeves down as sun protection and I was fine. It was so windy I didn’t get too hot with the tech sleeves down.
I made it back over to see about the shirt. I got one and it was much better than the one I took from spinning the wheel the previous night. Honestly, I need another shirt like I need “another hole in the head,” but I guess I was salty since I was expecting one. I saw several cyclists finish. I turned around and there was Hubby. He finished 11th or 12th in his distance which is much more impressive because there were so many more people registered for the cycling events. One of the gentlemen, Aaron, from our camp placed second in the same distance. Earlier I said there were no age group awards, but there were for sure overall awards for men and women of each distance and category. So Aaron got to be on the podium.
Hubby and I grabbed some food from a nearby food truck. We were lucky and got in line first before it got too long. I had to go back and get cash from the car because the cell signal was not great there if you were not on Verizon. We ate and then I drove back to Basecamp on my own while Hubby and Aaron rode the 15 miles back there. I think they kind of wanted to do the longer distance ride, but doing the shorter ride and then just riding back to camp suited them just fine.
I made it back to camp in time to beat the shower rush. There was a “Shower Shack” in the middle of camp that was nice. It had sides for privacy and gas to heat the water. The problem was that the winds had picked up so much that I thought my clothes or towel was going to blow away and the pilot light kept going out. My shower would be warm for a few seconds and then go cold. I would turn it off, turn it back on, and then it would repeat the process. It was okay. I made it out clean and clothed in the end.
Hubby and Aaron made it back okay. We spent most of the afternoon having drinks, chatting, and just hanging out at the picnic tables under the awning. They had something like a windscreen attached to the awning that blocked the wind from part of the picnic tables. Everyone was seated there until the sun caught up with us. I tried to take a nap earlier, but the wind was too much. My tent was swaying all around me. Thankfully, it survived the day without any poles snapping.
The wind died down enough to have a fire that night. Most people had already eaten dinner. There were a few of us that looked like we were mostly snacking. Hubby and I didn’t really bring an actual meal. I realized that usually when we camp, it is with a big organized group like the Hash. We usually have some meals included with our registration price. I hate cooking at home. I just couldn’t think of anything easy to do at camp. I’m not a bad cook, it’s just so exhausting and what comes out of it doesn’t seem worth it. Even if I cook something really good my family always had some critique for me. I think I’m making the kids cook dinner this summer just so they know how it feels.
Beautiful Skyline 
I almost stepped on her on my way to my tent
I stayed up only a tad bit later this second night. We saw, what is it called, Sky Force, Starlink, or whatever line up for a bit. The night sky was beautiful. There was even a couple that was just passing through to book a spot to camp. They joined us at the fire for a bit. Hubby’s friend made sure they knew that most people were there for the race and knew each other before they booked. They were cool with it. The picnic tables, fire pit, etc are shared by all staying at the campground.
It was a fun trip. The next day was all about breaking down camp and heading home. I would maybe do this race again. I think since I’m not a fan of the wide-open race route, I would sign up for the shorter distance. Then since I like getting at least 6 miles in every weekend, I would come back to Basecamp and run the trails that are very close by until I got my mileage. That would be my plan if I did it again. If Rock The Parkway and Flint Hills are the same weekend again, I might just choose Flint Hills seeing how Rock The Parkway wants to close everything down so early. Yes, I’m still salty about that.
Goofy For Twins 