Rock the Parkway Half Marathon

The Rock the Parkway Half Marathon is Kansas City's largest half marathon, run each spring along the tree-lined, historic Ward Parkway boulevard. Held on the second Saturday of April and hosted by KC Running Company with title sponsor Burns & McDonnell, the race starts and finishes in front of Burns & McDonnell's world headquarters in south Kansas City and shares the morning with a companion 5K. The USATF-certified course is fairly flat with a long downhill finish, closed to traffic, and has been voted a 'Best Race Course' by local runners for multiple years running -- one of the fastest and most scenic half marathons in the Midwest. Runners move through eight color-coded wave corrals assigned by predicted finish time, from an elite Wave AA under 1:35 to Wave G at 2:40-plus, and must hold at least a 14-minute-per-mile pace to satisfy the city's street-closure permit. Finishers earn a high-quality medal and tech shirt, live bands play along the route, and the race benefits Children's Mercy Kansas City, the region's pediatric hospital. Race weekend includes a Friday expo and packet pickup at the Aspiria campus in Overland Park; no race-day registration or refunds are offered, though bib transfers to another runner are allowed.