Late night flight to Indianapolis, followed by a 2 ½ drive to Louisville ($200 cheaper than flying direct), made for a sleepy Friday morning start. Today’s destination: Mammoth Cave Nat’l Park.
Started the day with a scenic trip of Kentucky (iPhone mishap) – past multiple horse farms, thru Kentucky bluegrass, ultimately entering the backside of Mammoth. Ferried over a rain-gorged river to the Visitors Center – 2 car ferries in 3 weeks, awesome life!
My friend Dawn booked the 9:30am ranger-led tour a month in advance. Lucky for me – ‘cause when we arrived, I saw most tours were sold out (all day). Double lucky? Arrived 30 minutes early…only because we gained an hour slipping into Central Time Zone. Whew!
Quick bus ride, short walk past our sink hole surroundings, ranger prep talk – then down, down, down we descended beneath the surface. This was my 2nd caving adventure – explored South Dakota’s Wind Cave Nat’l Park last September [day before Nebraska marathon].
No two mountains are the same – I can now say the same of caves. Wind Cave was aptly named – strong winds blew from its entrance; cavers greeted by spectacular rock formations & colourful mineral deposits. Mammoth, while void of exotic mineral veins, boasted its own eye-stunning formations. Mammoth Cave runs deep (twice the depth of Wind Cave), water dripping down the park’s narrow maze of metal stairs cut for tourists. Shared space with cave crickets (resembling spiders) surviving deep underground.
Highlights: Moonlight Dome & Frozen Niagara. 2 hours was not enough – I’ll be back. HUGE fan.
Back on the road, enjoyed home-cookin’ in Elizabethtown before a self-guided tour of the Jim Beam Stillhouse in Clermont. Appreciated the science behind processing Kentucky bourbon – but that’s as addicted as I’ll get to “fire water” 🙂
Bib pick-up downtown, followed by an amazing dinner at Lilly’s (celebrated Dawn’s birthday).
Weatherman says 90% chance for rain – rain jacket, hat & a lotta patience – Kentucky Derby Marathon tomorrow morning.
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- quick bus ride, then down down down 450 feet
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- do’s & don’t speech
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- dark, damp & super narrow in spots
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- Moonlight Dome
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- drip, drip, drip – water escaping from the surface
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- creepy cave cricket
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- limestone
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- Frozen Niagara (130 feet below surface)
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- flowstone
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- light at the end of the tunnel 🙂
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- 7 generation family-run business
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- the Rackhouse (bourbon barrel aging)
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- as close as I’ll get to “fire water”
After a whirlwind day of exploring KC & local Olathe, ended Friday with bib pick-up – including a selfie with Oz’ infamous archvillain, Wicked Witch of the West. Seemed appropriate running in Kansas 🙂
Woke Saturday early, hotel check-out, short drive from Lenexa to Garmin Headquarters in Olathe – where I promptly took a 30 minute nap before lining up under dark clouds in high humidity.
Singing of the National Anthem, then off we ran thru downtown Olathe. Heard thunder at mile 4, sky briefly lit up at mile 8. Kept thinking: run quick – don’t want race organizers pulling me off course early for inclement weather. Safety first…I suppose. 50 State Quest isn’t cheap – previously have had 2 marathons cancel. Loss of race fees, flights. Determined to finish all 50 in 2016 🙂
Down came the rain. Not the sprinkles we call precip in Colorado but Kansas/Midwest rain. Big drops accompanied with blowing wind. Scored a free race cap from a volunteer (thanks) but that only held off the inevitable. Eyes burned thru mile 12, hair sweat-drenched from the early humid miles – now salt-free, rinsed by sheets of rain.
Entered Indian Creek Trail at mile 16, where rain concerns were replaced with mud. Wasn’t worried about keeping clean – shoes soaked, muck splattered legs – concern was staying upright. Slick mud oozed on paved walkways under crossways & up bridges.
Felt Spartan racing in mud, pushing water from my shoes with each new strike on the pavement.
Rain subsided by mile 23. Not my typical run – generally I go out quick & sloth the last 4 miles. Today however, I was steady Eddie – nice even pace from mile 16 on. Who wants to walk in the rain, right? Positive note taken from less than ideal weather.
Keenan Haga was at Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz.
April 18 at 1:27pm · iOS ·
thunder, lightning & buckets of rain – everything you’d expect in the Land of Oz. tough run conditions but scored a ‘yellow-brick’ medal & first race shirt with a flying monkey 🙂 check Kansas off the list folks, next week Kentucky.
2015 Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz Result – Olathe, KS
K R Haga
Congratulations On Your Finish
Here Are Your Ultramax Sports Personalized Results:
Overall Place 329
Finish Time 4:42:48.23
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- pre-race selfie with Oz’ Wicked Witch
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- scored a ‘yellow-brick’ medal & race shirt with a flying monkey
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- over half way now – only 24 states to go!
Took an early a.m. flight to KC, in prep for Saturday’s Garmin Marathon in Olathe (oh-LAY-tha, ‘Beautiful’ in Shawnee). I know what you’re thinking – what to do in Kansas? Aside from KC BBQ, all I imagined was open prairie & tornados.
First destination: the Nat’l World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.
Can tell ya, I previously knew very little about WWI – was only going ’cause it was lauded America’s premier WWI museum. Exhibits retold WWI via film, photos, news clips, memorabilia & cars/planes/tanks of the era. By the end of the Great War: Germany was left bankrupt; Russia erupted into civil revolution/end of czarism. Last of the great wars to actively involve horses & the first to introduce aerial warfare.
Insightful, interesting, super impressed; museum well done.
Next stop, lunch at Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que. Place came highly recommended by my boss, Jim. Settled on KC’s famous Z-Man sandwich & fries – did not leave disappointed 🙂
With clouds rolling in (yesterday’s Colorado snow arriving as thunder & lightning here on the Plains), wanted to squeeze in a quick visit to Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm. Located on the Santa Fe Trail, folks regularly stopped in Olathe during the 1860’s-1880’s while re-settling West. Migration halted during the [pre-Civil War] Bloody Kansas conflict with neighboring slave state Missouri. [Mahaffie was cousin to John Brown, the Harpers Ferry WV abolitionist.] Sooooo much history here – LOVED it!
Stretched my stay at Mahaffie to closing time. Draft horses, oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens – everything you’d expect to find on a Kansas farm. Auntie Em & Dorothy’s life was no joke.
Gotta say, Kansas – not so bad. Some of the nicest folks I’ve ever met.
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- 4th straight weekend marathoning – state #26 tomorrow a.m.
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- monumental artwork painted in Paris during the First World War — described as the largest painting in the world
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- worth the 45 minute wait
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- KC’s famous Z-Man sandwich & fries – today I killed a cow 🙂
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- draft horses
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- Springtime in Kansas
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- “Little House on the Prairie”
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- big eyes, crazy long tongue & a wet nose
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- Santa Fe Trail Stagecoach Stop
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- watch out Prairie people, K* at the reins
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- well done, Kansas – some of the nicest folks I’ve ever met
