Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Hospital Hill Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! 

Little man and I headed out of Manhattan early on Friday so we could beat as much traffic as we could! We did stop for a bathroom break and snacks in Lawrence – hot water (for Nuun hot) for me, and snacks for little man.

We met my mother-in-law at the Legends so I could leave little man with them for the evening. Since I was volunteering at the 5K and was unsure what time I would be done and when I would be able to eat, leaving him with family was a better idea. 

Packet Pick-Up & Health and Fitness Expo

Crown Center Exhibit Hall
2345 McGee Street
Kansas City, MO 64108

This year, rather than trying to park in the Crown Center parking garage, I parked in the Sheradon Hotel parking lot. This lot is closer to the expo and the parking is free with a validated ticket!

Since I hadn’t been in this garage before, I was sure glad to see these Health and Fitness Expo signs on the ground to follow.

I didn’t notice the check-in area in the main lobby as there had been in past years, so I walked into the main expo area.

To the far left was where we checked in to get our bib/bibs. Once I had my bib in hand, I followed the same isle to the swag area. I picked up my pajama bottoms and then went in search of the volunteer check-in.

Of course, the volunteer check-in is at the front of the expo…so I started to walk around the booths – including filling up my coffee cup with cold water : )

A few of my favorites at the expo were Damsel in Defense, Bondi Bands, and Garmin (of course!). I also checked out the KC Marathon booth – my next marathon this coming fall!

Volunteer check in ✔

Volunteer shirt ✔

Confirm volunteer location ✔

Now that I can ready to volunteer, I still have a little time to wander around the runners expo again.

This time, I stopped at the Beef cooking demo and wine tasting : ) Food and wine at an expo, yes, please! A pacer buddy of mine was standing around the booth as well, so I stuck around for a minute to catch up.

I noticed the #EatBeef posters with all of the runners names. I am SOO glad they put them in alphabetical order…because that would have been a MESS to find my name otherwise…ha! 

I found it!

I also stopped by the Smart Pacing booth to say hello to another couple pacing pals : ) Everyone is ready to run!

Me too!

5K Volunteer – Course Marshal

Once I was done at the expo, I headed out to find my course marshal location. I had plenty of time, so I wasn’t worried about being there on time.

Once I parked, I realized that I had more than an hour until my job started. Since I still needed to get in a mile for today, I decided to run around the block a couple times : ) I changed from my long sleeve BibRave Pro orange shirt into my light yellow volunteer shirt for my jaunt.

The views didn’t disappoint!

Run and done! 

With my run complete, it is time to wait for the runners! The police officer came by and set up her cones and we separated to block off a couple of side streets. 

I was ready to cheer on the runners with my bells and lungs : ) I was off a side street where there were a couple neighbor kids out playing. They asked me if I was a “marathon runner”, and I said, “Yeah! But today I am just volunteering. You should come cheer for the runners coming!” They thought I was crazy…but soon enough, there were runners, and a lot of them!

The 5K started around 7pm and we had the first runners come through our area close to 7:10-7:15 : )

I saw several runners I knew, many MANY that I cheered for, several thanked me for volunteering, and I stayed on course until the very last runner came through – close to an hour later.

When I walked back to my car, I noticed that the other course marshals that were in my area had already left…before the last runner. I was a little peeved…but soon let it go and was on my way.

I stopped back by the finishers area before heading home for the night. I met up with several of my running buddies and talked about the race : ) I didn’t see a whole lot to eat other than melted ice cream sandwiches… Since I didn’t run, I wasn’t worried about eating any of the post race food (even though we were allowed as volunteers). 

Overall Review

The runners expo is full of great vendors and easy to maneuver around. The pajama pants are a fun change in gear swag, but I would still have enjoyed having a race shirt. I probably won’t ever wear the oversize pajama pants – or at least until winter… ; ) 

Coming soon…Hospital Hill Race Recap

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Check out some awesome fitness #linkups this week! 

Weekly Wrap link-up with Holly & Tricia     —     #MotivateMe Monday with Lucie & Janice

Ilka & Angela’s Sunday Fitness & Food     —     Courtney‘s weekly Training Recap

Tuesday’s on the Run with Patty,  Erika, & Marcia

Wednesday’s are full with Annmarie, Jen, & Nicole for Wild Workout Wednesday and Coaches Corner with Suz, Rachel, Debbie, & Lora!