Places & detours / Kansas City / Running
1:50:33: A promise kept in Kansas City
By John Biersmith · · 4 min read
Four weeks of travel, an imperfect buildup, and a third half marathon at 37. A hometown detour that changed what I thought I could do.
- Starting goal
- ~2:00:00
- Finish
- 1:50:33
- Year’s promise
- 3 of 3
I went into the Kansas City half marathon hoping to finish somewhere around two hours. I crossed the line in 1:50:33.
That result meant a lot to me. It was also the final piece of a promise I had made to myself: at 37, I wanted to run three half marathons this year. I had already completed two. Kansas City would be number three.
Getting to that starting line involved a very fortunate month of travel, considerably less running than I should have done, and a fair amount of negotiating with my own expectations.
A fortunate month. An imperfect buildup.
I had spent the previous four weeks traveling through Europe and Brazil. I want to acknowledge just how fortunate I was to have those experiences. Exploring the world is something I love, and I was grateful for the opportunity.
But the running had taken a back seat. During those four weeks, my longest runs were four miles, and I had done that only four times.
The weekend before the race, I went out for a ten-mile jog at about a 9:50-per-mile pace. It was useful to get that distance under my feet, but it was hardly the performance that would have made me feel completely confident about race day.
I also had to be honest with myself. I had to own the preparation I had skipped, whatever the clock eventually said. I could appreciate the travel and acknowledge that my training had fallen short. Both were true.
Setting a goal I could believe in
The promise to run three half marathons still mattered. I wanted to show up, finish the year’s goal, and be reasonable about what I was asking of myself.
So I settled on around two hours.
Even our generative AI friends were not especially confident about that target when I shared the ten-mile run from the previous weekend. Their caution was understandable. The recent training did not exactly make a compelling case for a fast half marathon.
I took that perspective with me. I also knew that I would have to find out how I felt once the race actually started.
Kansas City gave me something to look forward to
On race morning, I was excited to complete the goal I had set for the year and nervous about the pace it would take to get there.
It was 49 degrees—perfect running weather for me. The Kansas City marathon course is incredible, and I always look forward to beautiful views of a quiet downtown KCMO. Around mile four, the sun would begin showing up as downtown came into view.
After a month spent seeing unfamiliar places, there was something special about being excited to explore my own city on foot.
When the race started, I tried to keep that excitement from taking over my first mile. I wanted to enjoy where I was without spending too much energy too early.
The first mile came in at 8:55. For the two-hour goal I had brought to the starting line, that felt like a good beginning.
The goal started moving
Over the next five or six miles, I gradually picked up the pace. The nerves were still part of the experience, but so was a growing sense that I had more to give.
With the city opening up around me, my thinking began to change. I had arrived focused on two hours. Now I was wondering whether I could get close to 1:50.
That was a different conversation to be having with myself. Before the race, I had been questioning whether I could hold the pace for my original goal. Now I was considering a faster one.
I kept running and paying attention to how the day was unfolding. The goal I had chosen before the start no longer felt like the only possible outcome.
Two miles left, plenty of math
There is a lot of time to think when you have been running for more than ten miles. Apparently, some of mine was going to be spent doing finish-time calculations.
With about two miles left, I started working through the numbers. A finish close to 1:50 looked possible. I decided to pick it up a little more and see what I could do.
Then came the finish line: 1:50:33.
I had missed that revised 1:50 target by 33 seconds. I had also finished 9 minutes and 27 seconds faster than the two-hour mark I had originally hoped for.
And I had kept the promise. Three half marathons in one year, at 37.
The mind I brought to the starting line
I would prepare differently next time. This race gave me plenty to be proud of, and I still recognize the work I had left undone beforehand.
What stayed with me was how much my expectations changed over those miles. I started with a cautious goal and a lot of uncertainty. As the race unfolded, I let myself reconsider what was possible.
That is where the power of the mind showed up for me: staying present, managing the nerves, and being willing to reach for a little more when the opportunity was there.
The recent training had been limited. The goal had changed. The conversation in my head had changed too.
I finished in 1:50:33, with my third half marathon of the year behind me and a fresh appreciation for what happens when I give myself the chance to find out.
Some of the best detours take us a long way from home. This one took me through my home city and helped me accomplish more mentally than I expected. The human spirit is an incredible thing.