| 12- Delivered
gear to Steineger Park, to the west of Turner High School, for
the 23rd Annual Turner Days Festival. Set up the canopy
for the performance stage and the little tent for the sound console. The
main speakers would be on stage tomorrow morning, and I run cable
to the remote speakers, to get sound down the fairway. |
13- Mother
Nature has her way and halts all morning activity. DJ Cindy
arrives at the 9th Annual Jared Coones Pumpkin Run in Olathe
(2500 runners), and DJ Joe sets up at the 1st Farmstead Stampede
(250 runners) at Deanna Rose Children’s facility. I
set up at Lee’s Summit South High School, one system in
the parking lot for Start and one system in the stadium, while
the trucks are on their way to Turner.
The
light sprinkle keeps coming and then the rains begin. All three other
crews report delay, and we monitor the weather, figuring that nothing around
KC will go as planned: there is a stream of wet storm cells traveling steadily
from Topeka. You can let runners out in the rain, and they will, but
lightening prohibits starting. I tell them to hang on and keep the music
playing until the Race Director makes the call.
I have the
Finish system set up and jamming in under the stadium bleachers, and don’t
miss a chance to party! While waiting for the storm to pass, we do trivia,
we dance the ChaCha Slide, we have the raffle, and we talk about the beneficiary. Almost
all runs have a cause, and the 11th Annual Race for the Future (850 runners)
is for scholarships in memory of a young girl who passed with a rare post-trauma
embolism.
The
rest of the day was spent drying out, clothes & gear.3 |
14-
I haul the KC Track Club trailer to Town Center Plaza for the
Abby’s Run For The Heart. Over 2500 people showed
to run the 5K, whom we carefully funneled through the five Finish
Line chutes. The weather was perfect, and the Tot Trot
attracted over 800 kids. The event hosts did not use chip
timing, so manual results were only available after the race
on line.Overall winner was Robert Duncan (25-Derby, KS), crossing
at 15:50. Adam Moss (25-unk) came in second at 16:28, while
Phil Hudnall (36-unk) placed third in 16:55. Females started
with Karen Watkins (25-unk) at 20:27, with Keri Clevenger (29-unk)
scored 20:53. Megan
Foster (19-unk) placed third at 21:00. |
| 19-
As the Kansas City Marathon wakes up the central city tomorrow,
I meet the set-up crew late this afternoon and load the trucks
with gear. We erect a section of scaffolding south of the
Start Line, which is sited a block south of Pershing on Grand. The
speaker stack aims both toward the announcing platform next
to the Start Arch and up Grand to the estimated tail end of the
runner entries. We break after a successful sound check
and head to the Hyatt Regency.
A
variety of booths preceding the 2007 Marathon fills the Exhibit
Hall, where hundreds of competitors complete their
packet pick-up. The pre-race Pasta Dinner featured a delightful
talk by Patti Dillon, an honored figure in the running community. She
has won every American distance possible in her 54 years, and
has broken the world's records for both 30K and the half-marathon.
We
eat well while listening in awe to such a champion. Returning
to the cool evening outside, we procede to set up the Finish
Line announcing platform, just north of Lidia's Restaurant. The
sound system for the Awards stage south of the old freight house
goes well, and we finally complete the testing after midnight. The
trucks and the gracious owner of a local loft allow us all to
fall quickly to sleep, so that no time for returning home is
lost. |
20
The dawn only promises to break, as we start
up again at 4:00am. All systems are on go, and the
crowd of early workers fills out with spectators and runners. Up
at the Start Line, Bob Williams, executive of the primary sponsor
Waddell & Reed, and I open the event with showtime dialog. Below,
the 6200 entries gather to listen for race instructions and warm
up. The anticipation builds, until we finally blow
the horn and the giant swarm of bobbing bodies head out on the
Full or Half-marathon course, or wait five minutes for the 5K
to begin.
I
hustle down to the Finish area, where I mount the platform
and commence announcing news and runners for the next 5 hours. The
Awards stage hosts two live bands for the crowd's entertainment,
intersperced with Award presentations.
At 2:00pm,
I finish loading all the gear and return all items
to their storage locations, including the trailer-mounted A/C
generator. At 5:00pm, I head to the Northlands to set up
a surprize birthday party for Mark the Mechanic. That show
lasts until midnight. |
21-
8:30am-The
8th Annual Historic Trail Run For Excellence starts on Blue Ridge
Blvd near Raytown High School and travels out on the original
Santa Fe Trail. Circling the historic 1844 Rice-Tremonti
house, runners finish inside the school stadium.
I greet the day and welcome the absence of any performance schedule.
|
| 28-The Sanctuary of Hope, a Catholic Retreat Center, sponsored
earlier this year the "Run The Good Race 5K". Tonight
they hold the annual Dance and Silent Auction at the Reardon Center. I
hosts the show, which starts with a singing performance by Jerry
Viviano and ends with a live auction of a Mexican Riviera vacation. Dinner
and the formal program conclude, and I introduce the Abel
Ramirez Big Band for dancing by the 500 attendees. During
band breaks, I conduct various lively group dances and
fun activities. The event goes until midnight. Pack
up, home to re-pack and retire by 3:00am. |
29-
At 5:00am, the day begins with a drive to Macken Park in North
Kansas City to set up for the 4th Annual Trick or Trot 5K. The
run raises money for Triality Inc, a facility to foster independence
among mentally challenged children and adults. The course
was flat, the cold air was still, the skies were clear, and the
race lay completely on the walking trails of the Park.
After
winding up the morning, I park the loaded van and join a delegation
journey to Minneapolis for a 3-day disc jockey convention.
|
30 |
