home race info FAQ course apparel history sponsors charity photos 1.  WHEN IS THE RUN?   The run will be on Sunday April 3, 2011. 2.  WHAT CHARITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RUN?   The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  By entering this run you are helping to defeat this dreaded disease. Over four dollars of every entry is donated to Cystic Fibrosis.  Last year we raised over $20,000. Most of this came from the extra donations from the runners. There is a column for donations to CF on the entry form. 3.  WHAT ARE THE COURSE CHANGES for 2011?  Teams can be any size, but ONLY ONE TEAM VEHICLE is allowed.  Each runner must donate at least $10 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (see form). Once again there will be two slightly different courses with alternate exchange points. This is to relieve the traffic at certain exchange points. You will have to check your map set to see if you are on course A or course B. If your driver enters the wrong exchange point your team could be disqualified. Leg 7 crosses stranger creek in a rubber boat.  You may elect to run on K32 instead but it is an extra mile long. Total length is now 43.2 miles as measured with a Garmin GPS using the boat. There is also the "Six Leg Special", where teams of two to six can just run 6 legs.  Teams of 2 to 6 runners chosing the Six Leg option, will run only legs 1,2,3,5,6,7 (omit leg 4 - drive it) for a total of 27.4 miles.  Six Leg Teams must start at 9:30 am.  You must specifiy that you are running the Six Leg Special when you register.   4.  TRAFFIC CONTROL   Team cars are our biggest problem and the biggest threat to the continuation of the race. Please no buses or very large vehicles. Do not stop in odd places. Do not try to follow your runner in the car, solos included. Obey the volunteers. Cross the RR tracks only if you can get completely over them. 5.  I AM RUNNING LEG X FOR MY TEAM, HOW DO I GET THERE?   Each team should have only one van or car which carries all the members and their supplies. The car parks responsibly near  the exchange point and sends out two runners: one to run and the other to lead the finished runner back to the car. 6.  I AM RUNNING SOLO, HOW WILL I GET BACK TO THE START?   Solo runners should come to the Liberty Hall banquet even if they are not eating, and let the DJ know that they need a ride back to the start. The DJ will make an announcement. We have never had a problem finding rides. 7.  WHAT IS THE SURFACE LIKE, IS IT PAVED?   Eighteen miles of the forty-three are dirt or gravel, the rest is the shoulder of the road, part pavement, part gravel. 8.  WHAT WILL THE WEATHER BE LIKE?   Watch the weather channel.  We are promising rain and sleet driven by 40 MPH winds with 6 inches of slush on the ground.  Or it could be 80 degrees like 1995, or near perfect like 1996. Solo runners should carry a waterproof jacket. 9.  IF THE WEATHER IS BAD, WILL THE RACE BE CANCELED?   It will not be canceled.  If you feel the conditions are dangerous, drive your car to Lawrence and enjoy the meal. 10.  WHAT HOTELS ARE NEAR THE START?   The Westin Crown Center and the Hyatt are close. The Westin telephone is (816) 474-4400.  Rates are deluxe.  The Best Western, (1.5 miles from the start), is at 501 SW Blvd., 1-800-528-1234. Rates are less than the Westin.  The American Inn (3 miles, $cheap) is at I-35 and Armour (North of the Missouri River). 11.  CAN YOU ACCOMMODATE DROP BAGS FOR SOLO RUNNERS?  You should have no trouble running the race without drop bags. There are snacks and sports drink at each stop. The race director can carry your bag to the finish 12.  WHAT WILL SOLO RUNNERS FIND AT THE AID STATIONS?  A LOT OF PEOPLE!.  There are 3000 Relay runners who will make it hard for you to find the tiny card table with the water.  For solo runners there will also be some sports drink, bananas and cookies.  We will try to mark the tables with flag on top of a ten foot pole.  Portable toilets will be available at the start, finish, and at all the aid stations. 13.  WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?   The Track Club will give $10,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation whether we break even or not.  There is a column for runners to give additional dollars. The total to Cystic was over $20,000 last year.  Volunteers from the Foundation will be working several of the aid stations.  We also buy dinner and give a free sweatshirt to eighty  volunteers. 14. CAN TWO PEOPLE SPLIT A LEG?  And CAN A WHEELCHAIR  PARTICIPATE?  Yes to both, except for elite teams. Legs three, four five and ten are suitable for splitting or for a wheelchair. 15.  CAN WE HAVE ELEVEN ON A TEAM?   Yes, There is no size limit this year, but teams of over 6 are  required to donate a minimum of $100 to the charity. 16.  WHO DOES THE AWARDS?  Again this year, GARRY GRIBBLE'S RUNNING SPORTS will be providing many of  our awards, along one of their shoe vendors. The permanent awards are made by Lou Joline, Dave Suptic and Donna Murphy. The shirts and posters are designed by Trudy Nepstad. Glassware and shirts are given by the BOULEVARD BREWERY and the Kansas City Track Club.  Shirley Winkler made the solo medallions. 17. WHERE CAN I FIND THE COMPLETE RESULTS? Division winners are announced from the stage of Liberty Hall as soon as we are certain of the winner after factoring in the handicaps. Summary Results will be published in the Kansas City Star and the Lawrence Journal on Monday or Tuesday after the race.  Complete results will be on these web sites: www.kctrack.org,   www.brewtobrew.com, and www.mararunning.org. The results will be in the next edition of the Track Club newsletter, which will be mailed to all team captains. 18. WHAT IF I HAVE TO DROP OUT?   If you cannot complete the course, please tell the Station Captain at an aid station. 19. ARE THERE RACE PICTURES?   Information about photos will be in your  packet, and at www.thomasphotographic.com  and at www.seekcrun.com. 20. ARE THERE SHOWER FACILITIES?  Take your own towels to the Community Building, 115 W 11^th Street, six blocks from FreeState, 9:30 am to 5 pm. 21. DO YOU PREFER 1 OR SEVERAL CHECKS?   We prefer 1 check. 22. WHY ARE EXTRA CARS A $10 CHARGE?  The extra $10 is to discourage excess traffic at the exchange stations, where we are very crowded. Other than at the exchange stations, you have the entire State of Kansas for meeting your fellow runners at. I would suggest, for example, Bonner Springs. There is a grocery store with a big parking lot right on the race course, and several other business establishments there.  Go to _www.brewtobrew.com_ (http://www.brewtobrew.com) and study the coursefor a place to meet. Please do not bring extra cars into the exchange stations. 23. CAN I GET A RECEIPT TO DEDUCT MY FEES FROM MY TAXES?   Unless you do a significant donation ($50 or more) we do not provide receipts.   For each $10 donation a team gets a minute extra handicap. If your team donates over $50 you get put into a separate category of generous teams (but not solo runners). If your team donates over $100 you also get a letter from Cystic Fibrosis and you get listed in their annual report. Shirts, hats, and meals are sold at our cost and do not have any benefit for Cystic. Last year we were able to raise over $20,000. This all came from the runners. We do not have any corporate cash sponsors. 24. I AM INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING.  WHAT DO VOLUNTEERS DO AND WHERE WILL VOLUNTEERS BE PLACED?  HOW WILL THEY GET TO THE DIFFERENT PLACES THEY ARE NEEDED.  Volunteers can work the day before the run or the day of the run. The jobs include packet stuffing, packet pickup, marking the course, making awards, working the starting line in Kansas City, working the finish line in Lawrence, working one of the aid stations to control traffic, helping with the boat on leg 7 if you are young and healthy, and more. Volunteers can drive themselves to their post, or we can arrange for them to ride with someone else. Volunteers get a yellow fleece vest (value $18) or their choice of a shirt or jacket.  And they get a free meal if they can find time to eat it.  We  need your name, address, telephone or cell phone, date of birth, and shirt size.  Sign up now for next year. 25. WHAT DOES THE $12 DOLLARS FOR FOOD AND BEER GET YOU?  The meal is chicken and crayfish gumbo, bread, fruit, and two mugs of beer or softdrink, an excellent value since the gumbo is $9.95 by itself on the Free State menu. 26. CAN YOU CHANGE RUNNERS IN THE MIDDLE OF A LEG?  You can split a leg, you can have two runners run together, or pretty much anything you wish as long as you are not competing for first place in one of the performance divisions: first scratch team, first ladies team, first mixed team. 27. CAN WE SUBSTITUE A RUNNER ON THE DAY OF THE RACE IF A RUNNER BACKS OUT?   Yes, but you must give us a piece of paper with the team name, number, the name of the runner not running, and the name, age, and sex of the runner being substituted. You can also figure the difference in the handicap for us to save time doing the results. The person being substituted must pay the late penalty which is eight dollars ($22 early bird, $30 regular or late fee). 28. CAN A TEAM OF 3 OR 4 RUN THE RACE?  I HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED BEFORE SO THE DETAILS OF THE LOGISTICS ARE A BIT UNCLEAR FOR ME.  Yes, teams can be any size from one to ten.  There is a special category for solo teams, and two person teams.  There is also a special category for all female teams, teams that donate  over $50, and teams that dress funny and do a song and dance  routine. 29. WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM TEAM SIZE THIS YEAR?   There are ten spots on the application, and if you have more than ten you should send 2 aps with a note, but why not form two teams? You can split any leg, have two runners run the same leg or whatever you want to do, as long as you are not competing for first place. The first scratch team (5 runners max), first woman's team, and first mixed team cannot split the legs. If you have two running the same leg, one runner carries the baton (safety pin, toilet brush, dead chicken, anvil) and provides the basis for the handicap for the leg.  30. Suggestions for next year. We appreciate your participation. Please make suggestions for next year. We have implemented over a dozen suggestions from past runs. We hope you enjoy the run. Lou Joline, RD, ljoline at aol.com