Goin' to Kansas City

Actually, "Went to Kansas City" would be more appropriate but it's a lot less catchy than the title of the famous jazz tune by Wilbert Harrison. The truth is I was in Kansas City last week and am just now getting around to writing about my trip. In any event, it was good to get back to KC, see some old friends and pick up some new Chiefs gear to wear back in Denver. I just hope my beloved Chiefs look better in their first game this weekend than they did in preseason!

While in KC attending a meeting at the Westin Crown Center, I went for a run through downtown, past Liberty Memorial, Union Station and the new Sprint Arena (at left) that opens on October 13 with a sold out Elton John concert. It's great to see the new arena taking shape and helping reshape downtown Kansas City.

Downtown Kansas City, once on the verge of becoming a ghost town, is now one big construction zone. The new 17-story H&R Block World Headquarters sits in the middle of the mess, waiting for the rest of the city to catch up. But it won't be long before the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Power and Light District, and other new attractions complete the dramatic transformation of downtown KC.

Before heading back to Denver last Friday I had a unique opportunity to visit the worldwide headquarters of Garmin, manufacturer of global positioning systems for flying, driving, running, cycling, hiking, hunting, and boating. I am a huge fan of the Garmin Forerunner and Edge GPS-enabled running and cycling computers, so it was cool to visit the place where these amazing gadgets are made.

My friend and former colleague Ted Gartner (left) is the manager of media relations for Garmin, so I got a private tour of the manufacturing, warehouse/shipping and marketing departments. It is an impressive operation. I loved seeing boxes and boxes of Garmin products ready for shipping to stores across the country. Ted tells me that every device Garmin passes through that facility in humble Olathe, Kansas.

Next stop: It's back to the Windy City for the running of the Chicago Half Marathon on Sunday and the National Beef Cook-Off next week.

Daren

Running Through Enemy Territory

I love living in Colorado. But as a native Kansan -- and Kansas City Chiefs fan -- football season is an interesting time to live in Denver. This was especially true today as I ran the Fans on the Field 10K in downtown Denver with fellow Chicago Half Marathon trainees Deann, Shenoa and Michaele (pictured with me at left).

Fans on the Field is a fundraising run for the National Sports Center for the Disabled that takes runners through Coors Field (home of the Colorado Rockies), the Pepsi Center (home of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalance) and finally Invesco Field at Mile High (home of the Denver Donkeys).

[At left: runners loop through Coors Field around mile 3 of Fans on the Field 2007]

Those of you who follow pro football will remember that the Donkey's self-destructed in the final game of last season to allow the Chiefs to go on to the playoffs. So, of course, I just had to take the opportunity to rub it in the face of all the Denver fans in the run. The only problem is that I didn't have any KC Chiefs logo running apparel, so I printed Arrowheads on Avery Ink Jet labels and stuck them on my hat, shorts and shirt! Unfortunately, following last night's pitiful performance in a preseason game against Dallas, the Donkey fans didn't take the bait. I didn't hear a single negative comment. In fact, the only comments I heard were from fellow Chiefs fans cheering me on!

Fans on the Field began at Mile High and headed along the Platte River to Coors Field, where we ran into the stadium, across the warning track and back out the way we came. From there we headed towards the Pepsi Center where we ran in one side and out the other, heading back towards Mile High. When we got back to Mile High the course took us in the north end of the stadium, along the sideline and back out the south end to the finish line.

[At left and below: Deann crosses the finish line followed by Shenoa and Michaele]

As we entered the stadium we were greeted by "Miles" the Denver Donkey mascot. As I passed him I yelled "Go Chiefs" and he bagan to chase me. But much like a Donkey defenseman trying to run down Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, the gap widened as I sprinted into the stadium and towards the opposite end zone.

The extra motivation was just enough to send me across the finish line just under my goal of 55:48 (9:00 min/mile). According to the official race results I finished in 55:29 for an average of 8:56/mile.
Thanks, "Miles," for giving me the push I needed to meet my goal!

Overall I finished 91st out of 192 men and 22nd out of 48 men in my division. I'm always happy to finish in the top half. So, feeling good about the effort, I kicked back on the grass in front of Invesco Field for a couple of refreshing malt beverages. It was a beautiful day. I could have taken a nap right there but the "honey do" list back at home included installing a ceiling fan in our kitchen, so I headed south to Castle Rock.

Coming up this week, my running tour of the country includes stops in Great Bend, Kansas and Dublin, Ohio. Woo hoo!

Daren

My Kind of Town...Chicago Is

This week's business trip took me from the Nation's Capitol to My Kind of Town...Chicago. And my running tour of two of our country's -- the world's -- finest cities continued this morning with a six mile run along the shores of Lake Michigan.

[At left: self-portrait in front of the John Hancock building on the Magnificent Mile]

Heading north from my hotel on the Magnificent Mile, I ran along the path between Lake Shore Drive and the shoreline. This is one of my favorite runs in the country.

For one thing, it's FLAT! For another, the scenery is great. But I think the reason I really like it is for the people watching. At any given time hundreds of Chicagoans (and hundreds of visitors like me, I'm sure) can be found running, walking and riding their bikes along this path. The next time I'm here I won't be running on the path. I'll be one of over 12,000 people running down the middle of Lake Shore Drive in the Chicago Half Marathon. It's going to be awesome.

One of the reasons Frank Sinatra called Chicago "My Kind of Town" was because Chicago is "my kind of people, too. People who smile at you." There's no doubt when you are running along Lake Michigan that this is a midwestern city. People do actually smile at you.

But I think the reason I call Chicago my kind of town is the shopping along Michigan Avenue. I went window shopping along the Magnificent Mile this evening after dinner at Mike Ditka's Restaurant, past the Garmin Showcase and dozens of designer boutiques like Guess, Kenneth Cole and Cole Haan -- three of my favorites. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!) the stores were closed. Even with the stores closed downtown Chicago is alive with activity, but it does sleep. And sleep is what I am going to do now!

Daren