tasc Performance gear made from bamboo!

Check out the Operation Jack Half Marathon satellite run in Kansas City

I thought I would make you all aware of the Operation Jack race in Kansas City on the last weekend of the year.  If you didn't hear about it, Sam Felsenfeld ran 60 marathons last year raising funds for Train 4 Autism on honor of his son,  The adventure wrapped up on the last weekend of the year with his own marathon he created in CA.  He also encourages those that want to particicpate to hold their own run.  People in Kansas City have organized a run and invite you to join in,

The Operation Jack KC Half in the Snow is an Operation Jack Marathon satellite race. The Operation Jack KC Half in The Snow benefits Autism Society – The Heartland (ASH) and Operation Jack Autism Foundation.

ASH, a 501(c)3 charity, provides monthly support groups and various family socials throughout the year, including quarterly birthday parties and sensory friendly pictures with Santa. Through a scholarship program, kids on the autism spectrum are able to attend camps and receive financial help for needed therapy and education. Parents are also able to attend educational seminars and conferences dealing with all aspects of autism that included therapy options, health and nutrition.

The Operation Jack Autism Foundation raises money for Train 4 Autism and other autism-related charities nationwide. The Operation Jack Autism Foundation and Train 4 Autism are both 501(c)3 charities run on a volunteer basis by parents of children with autism. Sam Felsenfeld, who heads up Operation Jack, attended college near Kansas City and with the help of the Kansas City chapter of Train 4 Autism has organized this satellite race. If you are considering attending or want more information, see below. Date/Time: December 29, 2012 at 9 A.M.

• Location: Shawnee Mission Theater In The Park, 7710 Renner Road, Shawnee, Kansas, 66217 
• Check-In: December 29, 2012 starting at 8 A.M. 
• Cutoff: 4 hours 
• Contact: Matt Popilek, Matt.Popilek@cerner.com or Sam Felsenfeld, sam@operationjack.org 
• Entry Fee: $40 by December 16, $50 after 
• Entry fee will include race t-shirt, medal, on-course support and post-race refreshments.

Like this race on Facebook.

Register HERE.

Review of EAS Recovery Protein Powder

Swim, bike, run and recover. Sounds like a simple plan for the average age grouper triathlete. Figure out your training plan, wake up at the crack of dawn if you have a job and family to get your workouts in, and execute. But, don’t forget about the most essential part of the plan, recovery.

We’re talking about what you put into your body immediately after you work out. Hopefully it’s not beer and pretzels, or worst yet, diet soda! In one study , evidence indicated that athletes in heavy training will maintain a higher level of health and performance if they consume a carbohydrate-protein liquid supplement immediately following each workout. That means less fatigue related injuries and issues if you refuel right after a workout.

If you have been reading "This Old Blog" for any length of time (I’m sure you check every day now that you found me, right?), you’ve seen us take a look at a couple of competitors in the recovery drink market. There was CORE POWER and FLUID RECOVERY to name a few. Recently EAS reached out to us to take a look at their goodies, their EAS Recovery Protein Powder to be specific.

Lets note that the afore mentioned recovery shakes are from smaller producers trying to get their foot into the door. EAS is produced by Abbott Nutrition, which is a Goliath in the liquid nutrition arena. They have substantially more firepower to research, produce and distribute their products on a national level. But, we here at ITBIC don’t discriminate. Welcome to the review.

The EAS Recovery Protein Powder line only comes in chocolate and vanilla. If you are looking for alternative flavors from EAS, you will be waiting for a while. That’s not all bad, as chocolate recovery shakes have become the norm in the endurance market, either flavors surely serve a large population of their target audience. Instructions suggest using water, but for those that don’t like watered down chocolate mix, adding some fat free skim milk in substitution provides a solid base for a good tasting chocolate drink. It may not be the sugary chocolate milk you are looking for, but that’s the point. It’s not meant to substitute taste for nutritional content. Leave the sugar behind and embrace the drink mix.

You have options with individual serving pouches or a bucket-o-powder. If you are on the go, the packets work great and for those that think Sam’s Club Bulk buying is where it’s at, you have the canisters that should last you for days. Don’t miss out on saving a few bucks and training green by re-using a sandwich baggy to take your servings on the road if you are buying canisters. Just be careful at the security line at the airport. We’re not sure how they handle brown powders.

Plan ahead if you don’t like lumpy recovery drinks. With pre-mixed recovery shakes, having powder clumps floating around in your drink, stuck to the sides of the glass and powder pains in general aren’t an issue. EAS Recovery Protein Powder powder will stick to the glass and clump like most powders. But, it’s not all Debbie downers. Just grab a shaker cup with a build in whisk-ball and it works just fine. We never had an issue when using the powder with the shaker cup. Meatheads at the gym shaking their protein shakes up were on to something. You just have to plan ahead if you’re not at home with your shake utensils in reach.

Ingredients wise, EAS Recovery Protein Powder it right in the mix with competitors. Calories from fat, cholesterol, carbs and sugars swing to the high side and are more comparable with whole chocolate milk often used for recovery. Both tend to hedge higher than other recovery drinks and mixes in those categories. What you can like from EAS is the potassium and protein amounts are better than most other competitors. Pumping 180mg of potassium and 20 grams of protein right after a workout is just what the coach called for. The key nutrition your body needs to stave off cramping and rebuild tissue damage from your workout is provided with just enough carbs to help distribute those ingredients into your system. Those that tend to put more sugars into their mix boast better flavor, while those with less may not taste as well. It’s up to athlete to ultimately decide if you want to choke down a watery protein mix or feel like you’re taking in some sweet chocolate milk. Heck, if taste is no issue, you could just go back to inhaling raw eggs for protein, yuck.

Before shipping, athletes can snag a 1.8 pound canister or EAS Recovery Protein Powder for $19 using a handy Google search. That provides 25 servings if you go by their recommended mix. That does provide some decent savings over competitors. You may be looking at $40 to $50 for other recovery mix/shakes to get the same amount of servings. You get the same recovery benefits, but you will get a little more sugar at the same time.

Overall EAS Recovery Protein Powder was a good recovery drink mix. Throw in the powder with some fat free milk and you have a solid recovery drink that tastes great. You will get a little more sugar than you would with others, but you will be hard pressed to get the same quality for less cash. That way, you can put that cash towards your 2013 race entries or upgrading to that Garmin 910XT for the holidays.

* Writer’s note; EAS provided 3 packets for this review and in no way influenced this review.

KC Running Company November Races

Featured Race   Great Santa Run 5K Run/Walk Sunday, December 2 @ 9am Johnson County Community College - Overland Park, KS The Great Santa Run is a fun 5K run/walk at Johnson County Community College, benefiting Operation Breakthrough. The  5K course starts in front of the JCCC Gym and circles the campus, with a warm indoor pre- and post-race area provided in the Gym.  The race is followed by the best post-race breakfast in Kansas City prepared by the Greater Kansas City Chefs Association.  Bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the kids at Operation Breakthrough for the holidays and receive a raffle ticket for the post-race prize raffle! Participants in the chip timed Great Santa Run 5K will receive a great long sleeve tech shirt and Santa hat, and custom medals will be awarded to top overall, masters and age group awards!  There will also be a Lil' Elves Kids Run after the race in the Gym! Click here for more information or to sign up.

Upcoming Events  Girls on the Run 5K Saturday, November 17 @ 9am Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, MO Help the Fall Girls on the Run program graduates celebrate the completion of their training and empowerment program while enjoying running a 5K course around the stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex!  Participants will all get race shirts and food and beverages after the event.  Sign up today and help fund program scholarships for girls in need. Click here for more information or to sign up 16th Annual Gobbler Grind Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K Sunday, November 18 at 8am Corporate Woods - Overland Park, KS This annual holiday favorite benefits the Patriot Run Club and The Salvation Army and takes participants on the streets and trails throughout southern Johnson County.  There will be lots of aid stations along the course, and food and beverages at the end for participants in each event! Click here for more information or to sign up  Pilgrim Run 5K Run/Walk Thanksgiving Day, November 22 @ 9am Hyde Park - Kansas City, MO This second annual family friendly event drew a great crowd in its inaugural year and the beautiful course and great support made this one of 2011's best new events!  Benefiting the children's programs of the Pilgrim Center, this event will be even bigger and better in 2012. Click here for more information or to sign up Run With Santa 5K Run/Walk  Saturday, December 1 @ 9pm Live Spring Church - Spring Hill, KS Join the Spring Hill Rotary for the first annual Run With Santa! The fun begins at 9:00 p.m. as you run with Santa along a well lit course filled with festive lights and music and end the evening with hot chocolate and cookies.  Start a new Christmas tradition by running with Santa while benefiting a great cause during this holiday season!  Click here for more information or to sign up Jingle Bell Run 5K Run/Walk Saturday, December 8 @ 8am Downtown Lawrence, KS           Be a part of a holiday tradition in Downtown Lawrence and support the fight against arthritis by signing up for the Jingle Bell Run 5K!  Participants will compete for overall and age group awards and will enjoy post race food and beverages!  Raise extra funds and earn holiday themed incentive prizes.  Click Here for more information or to sign up       Jingle Bell Run 5K Run/Walk Sunday, December 9 @ 9am Meritex Enterprises - Lenexa, KS One of the few runs in the country that takes place entirely underground, the Jingle Bell Run offers runners and walkers plenty of festive decor, and balmy 68-degree temperatures no matter how cold it is outside! Tie jingle bells to your shoes, and put a Santa Claus hat on your head. Form a fundraising team to benefit the Arthritis Foundation, and jingle like you've never jingled before: underground!  Click here for more information or to sign up

It's cyber Monday, and no pushing to buy stuff

I'll admit, with the commercials, newspaper ads and email blasts, its easy to get swept up in Black Friday and just buying stuff in general.  I'm even guilty if throwing some links up on the old blog last week.  But, it's starting to go too far.

The wife and I even went the past two previous years to run the gambit of shoppers to get some good deals.  We took care of the kids lists, our lists, family lists and just some other things around the house that would be nice to have.  Last year wally world started Black Friday on Thanksgiving night at like 11pm or midnight or something like that, I don't remember specifically.  Which, was actually ok. We didn't miss family time and the kids went to bed and the family was home to stay with kids while Em and I made the rounds. We then came home, slept for 3 hours and hit the next round at like 4am.

This year has gone too far. Sales started at 8pm at wal mart and other stores started opening thanksgiving day as well. Have we as a nation become so ate up with being consumers that we forego family and the meaning of the holidays? Sure, I like a good sale on some gear I had my eye on like the next guy, but bolting from thanksgiving dinner to hit the sales, really? Sorry uncle Joe, I know we have not hung out since last year, but there's a sale!

I do appreciate the stores online that just stopped the teasing and opened black Friday on line. I spent 30 minutes filling out the list we came up with forthe kids and then I was done. No dealing with elbow throwing, nasty attitudes and the cold. Is saving $100 worth the hassle?  Do we really even need the crap that's on sale?

Black Friday
Small business Saturday
Super Sunday
Cyber Monday

Get real.  What's next, throw grandma under the bus thanksgiving Thursday? Let's face it, Christmas came out in stores the week before Halloween. Retailers cannot wait to separate you from your cash and Christmas is the best reason to do it.

In full disclosure, I'm as guilty as the next guy. But, I do it in moderation. We asked the 4 year old what she wanted and deliberated on what would be in the best interest for our kids to have. It was not a mad frenzy to get the latest gadget or toy. We had a list, we filled it in the comfort our own home and we are done. I much prefer this to what we went through last thanksgiving. No lines, no rude people and no sleep deprivation.

Now, if we can just minimize the impact of school and what they propagate there in terms of Christmas. You know you have hit a roadblock when your 4 year old says;

"Daddy, thanksgiving is the best holiday!  Santa Claus is coming tomorrow, right?"

We plan to minimize the impact with some community service work and limiting exposure to tv and the toy commercials. Reruns of Ice Age and Megamind on the dvr might be the best bet. We might even look towards church to explain the real meaning of Christmas.  ;)

Hope everyone else is having a consumer friendly cyber Monday!

2012 Black Friday Deals

For those of you with enough fortitude after a full Thanksgiving meal and a day of Black Friday shopping and cyber shopping to continue to get the deals, here's a few deals from past product providers for my reviews and some of my affiliates... shop til you drop!






Get 20% Off on All Tasc Performance Outerwear!

20% Off Almost Everything for Running, Cycling & Swimming + Free Shipping over $75 w/ code: BLACKFRIDAY20. Click here for details! Coupon Code: BLACKFRIDAY20

Get 10% off ANY* machine. (*Excludes R88 Rower and LS-XT- AirBike). Coupon Code: BLACK10

BLACK FRIDAY MADNESS!

For those of you venturing out, good luck...
But I plan on spending it on a ladder putting lights up.  Either at the stores for Black Friday or on a ladder putting up light, you take your life into your own hands.

If you want to be like me and sit at your computer, warm, caught up on sleep and in your PJ's ordering gifts and deals, then hopefully you'll appreciate the deal I'm running on Man Vs Triathlon store.

CHECK OUT OUR BLACK FRIDAY PRICE REDUCTIONS ON www.ManVersusEnduranceStore.com and poke around. Our clothing is reduced up to 45% off until Monday, November 26th at midnight.


PLEASE READ THIS!  We are eying a monster giveaway from MVT, but we need to break 100 likes on our FACEBOOK PAGE. We are at 95, so only 5 more until we unlock this epic contest,  What's the big deal you ask?  Think Garmin.  Think 910xt.  Think new in the box.  Monster, but we need your help!  Hit MVT on Facebook and get us to 100 likes, and get your friends in as well.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Some pictures from the North Face Endurance Challenge

The pictures are up for the race...

And they are not pretty.  I look like I suffered.  I looked like I was overdressed.  But oh well, I did it and now you get to bask in my glory...

Why is everyone else wearing shorts and I'm geared up for a polar bear run?

Running towards the KC Marathon finish location, where I started cramping for both races.  Yes, I'm sticking out my tongue.

Done on so many levels.  I was toast at this point.

Added MadAthlete to our list of preferred stores!

#TheNorthFace #EnduranceChallenge 50k Recap - 11/17/12

Well that 50k is in the books… 
And thank god it’s done. The North Face Endurance Challenge 50k was by far a huge test in willpower and a demonstration of lack of preparedness. I was severely under-trained and needed that finish line to show up around mile 27 more than anything.

Have you ran a marathon, and you hit the “wall” around mile 20 or you reach that point around mile 24 where you don’t really care anymore and you just want to the race to be over? That last few miles of excruciating pain or deliriousness sucks. Well, just because you run 31 miles instead of 26.2 doesn’t mean that feeling around mile 24 is pushed back to mile 28. You still feel like you want to be done and die, but you’re still 7 miles from being done. Suck!

It started setting in around mile 17 with the hip flexors. That was a sign that it was going to be a tough last half. Negative split? Ya right. Mile 19ish was the turn off for extra miles for the 50k crew. You’ve never experienced true disappointment than going down a lonely road, downhill, knowing that you have to run back up that long lonely road, after adding 3 more miles to your death march. The North Face Endurance Challenge series is typically a trail run. If you have ever been on trail runs or hiking in general, you know that it’s much more of a challenge than pavement running. You’re dodging roots, rocks, foreign objects, squirrels and maybe a bear or two. You’re heart rate immediately red lines as you’re hopping and skipping to secure footing. Remember trails don’t care about sudden changes in elevation for cars and motorized traffic. Well, North Face decided that since we were on pavement, they would hit every single hill they could find in Kansas City.

If you think Kansas City is flat, you’re fooling yourself. Downtown is a minefield of hills (and gunfire if you wondered too far off the course). Don’t think I wasn’t checking out a few “spectators” and grateful for KCPD at every turn. But aside from mortal danger, every one of those damned hills were life sucking, energy zapping obstacles that got harder and harder to overcome.

By mile 24 I made the executive decision to walk hills, or I was going to be a mess before even sniffing the finish line. One target was to keep my heart rate between 150 and 160 for the race, and sadly walking up hills with the gusty 20 mph winds in my face at times kept me right up there. I was trying to power walk the hills to keep any semblance of a good pace, but after mile 25 it went to hell in a hand basket. I forgot my drink mix in the car along with my sunglasses, so there I was staggering around blind from the sun and thanking god that they stocked the aid stations (which spaced out like every 2 miles, bonus!) with GU brew, Nuun or Gatorade, each of which I trained with in the past and new I’d be ok using. Luckily I remembered my gel blasts for every 30 minutes to keep the calories replenished. I started taking bananas in at mile 21 to stave off cramping that I knew would be inevitable, but that didn’t really work.

Mile 27 brought the cramps. Ironically I was approaching the finish area of the KC Marathon from a few weeks before, where I started cramping at mile 25.8ish. Same spots… groin and left forearms were the major problem. I think the bananas did keep the quads from locking up, as I could tell from mile 27 to the finish they wanted to. I’ve never been as excited to see a finish line as I was at this race. After running, jogging, shuffling and walking miles 27 to 31, the last half mile was downhill and gave me enough momentum to shuffle to the finish line. At 5:21:35, I was done on so many levels. That is now the farthest I have run at one time and took more time than my first marathon by 5 minutes. That’s a long time to keep your feet moving. I’m still tired thinking about it.

Bonus points were scored for GREAT weather. It was high 30’s, low 40’s at race start and at the finish it was in the high 50’s. The sun was great outside of the fact I forgot my sunglasses, but that’s my doing. I went with the Team Wheaties jacket and under armor base layer on top, wind pants for my legs with thin gloves and a stocking cap. I was pretty comfortable the entire race and never really faced over heating issues. It was just right, but I could have probably survived with less. I wasn’t really sure how to dress since I knew I was going to go through a couple season changes for how long I was going to be wondering the course.

Let’s see, what do you really want to know about running a 50k….? 
Can anyone do it? If you trained right, yes. Don’t train like I did. I think I got away with it since I’ve been training for long distance races for the past 3 years. My year round base of long miles allowed me to at least run to mile 27 and shuffle walk to the finish. The last finisher did it in 8:17. If you pace yourself slow enough, you can make it. If you want to finish in 3:15 like the winner, Better Eat Your Wheaties and come up with a solid training plan.

What would I have done different? I would have remembered my sunglasses, switched the wind pants for shorts and remembered my drink from home. Oh, and I would have ran more miles for training. Small details.

Being done now, would I have still ran it knowing what I know now? Sure. It was more for the experience and accomplishment than trying to set land speed records. I have a family and a full time job like my wife, so I was real with myself knowing it was going to be a crap shoot.

Will I run another one or go for longer miles? I’m not sure. A multisport friend, Scotty, ran the 50k as well and asked before the race if I was eyeing the Brew to Brew 46 mile solo race option in 2013. I think my response was something like “f*@k no”. In the near future, I’m focusing on IM Lake Tahoe. I’m not looking to add events like marathons or ultras that require significant recovery time that could impeded my training. My goals are set for 2013. Who knows in 2014.

How did North Face do this year? This was year two for the Endurance Challenge in Kansas City. They changed a few things, and kept some things. The packet pickup was in the hotel, rather than the “village” at the start/finish area. That’s cool, but they only had one vendor selling stuff and it was more administrative than community building. It was purely for the utilitarian purpose of getting your bib, shirt and swag.

Finish/start was on the road this year instead of the park. That’s cool, I didn’t feel that it made a huge difference.

Post race “free” food was only bananas and apples. They also had the same drinks as the aid stations for athletes, but it wasn’t what you have seen for other events with chocolate milk, bagels, other fruit options, etc. The North Face has a much more grass roots approach to the running scene in this regard. Runners did get $10 worth of tickets to use at meal trucks on site, but long lines and vendors running out of food wasn’t very much fun for the 5:21 50k crowd. I had to settle for a coke (I needed caffeine and sugar to get me to my car and then Chipotle) and a bag of chips at the post race village.

They did provide heating pits before the race when temps were so low. So many people crowded by them, that not everyone got to experience the benefits. Like I said, though, I was well prepared for the temps, so no biggie for me.

The aid stations were well played. There was no shortage of fluids (Nuun, Gatorade, Water or GU Brew) and as you reached further into the guts of the race, the long distance stations had chips, bananas, oranges and sports gels. You really could not complain about the spacing or the preparedness of the aid stations. They exceeded requirements for a race of this magnitude.

Another sweet perk was Dean Karnazes hanging out post-race to sign autographs. I wrote up about meeting him for a training run at the KC North Face Store, but didn’t get to geek out and get an autograph. Well, before stumbling back to my car I snagged his signature on my race bib. Pretty sweet. And he remembered my name from meeting me earlier (or he saw it on my race bib), but either way he was cool and tried to be personal with each person he saw after the race. I’m sure he ran at some point in the day, but not sure if he ran one of the actual race distances. I also found it impressive that he was there 5 hours after the start time, catching the last marathoners and 50k finishers. Pretty solid.

So after one suffers through a 50k, how do you recover? Resting on the coach sipping chocolate milk? No. Hitting the space age compression recovery boots? No. Due to a couple of viruses running through the house, my wife was down, so I immediately took over the kids when I got home. By taking over, I meant shuffling around the house trying to stop them from hurting each other or destroying things. The best recovery to avoid muscle soreness is stay moving, right? We hit the park, we wrestled in the living room and then we deposited them with my mom for a movie night and a night sans kids to celebrate 5 years being married. I know, wild and crazy. But hey, we just moved, the wife was sick, I just ran a 50k… it was all we could handle. =) As I kept saying, no rest for the weary. Sunday was spent rigging up a hoist for the roof rack and FINALLY cleaning up the garage enough to park two cars in it! It was a banner day for the moving process that we can now fit two cars in our garage before is starts snowing and freezing rain for the winter.

How’s day 2 post-race? I can feel it in my legs from hip to toes. It’s not debilitating, but sitting in a chair for any length of time creates stiffness when I get up. Overall I’m still “weak” and tired, but honestly I feel better than post-race KC Marathon. Achilles did great, no issues there. Thanks to Slather, the only skin friction issue I had was a blister under a toenail, which really was a function of a deformed toenail rubbing on my shoe. I can’t complain. Just in a little pain in my ass, but I could say that about so many things in life, that it’s not really worth noting.

So that’s it, no real epiphanies. It wasn’t a euphoric finish, crumbling to the ground crying about my accomplishments. I wanted to try something longer than a marathon, The North Face was gracious enough to grant me an entry to share my experience with you guys, and there you have it. I wanted to experience the event, the suffering, the highs, the lows and the accomplishment. That’s what most of my endurance junk is about. Nothing makes you feel more alive and appreciative of what you have than that moment after continuously moving for 31 miles and you get to stop moving.

Special thanks to the wife, Em, my mom and mother in-law for kid watching and the kiddos for going with the flow (as much as kids can).

Here are the official results – official sufferfest photos coming later!
Ryan Falkenrath – 50k 26-35 age group
Bib 55
Chip Time – 5:21:35 for a 10:22 min/mile pace
Overall 106 out of 218
31 out of 47 in 26-35 age group
80 out of 134 men

End of the year races around Kansas City

11/22/2012                                                                                        9:00 AM   Trying to figure out how you will fit into those skinny jeans on November 23rd? We have the solution! Come burn some calories (before packing them on later) at the Ward Parkway Thanksgiving Day 5K! This race features a great course, great giveaways, great costumes, and and two great charities - Harvesters and EndHunger.org! What are you waiting for? If I were you I would be gobbling this up right now! Location: Ward Parkway Center, Kansas City, MO    Entry Fee: $30 -5K, $15 -Kids Fun Run

11/22/2012                                                                                          8:30 AM Come join us for the 9th annual holiday 5K run and walk in north Lawrence. Give thanks with family and friends. This year the run is also the RRCA State 5K Championship. Proceeds benefit Woodlawn School and local youth running programs. Location: Lawrence, KS       Entry Fee: $30

11/22/2012                                                                                          9:00 AM The 2012 Turkey Trot is for all ages and fitness levels. Bring the family out for fun, fitness, and togetherness! Walkers and runners are welcome to come wobble before you gobble. Walkers will not receive medals for participation. Award will be given for creative holiday costumes for one individual and one family. Location: St. Joseph, MO Entry Fee: Adult -$25 ($20 w/o t-shirt) Youth -$20 ($10 w/o t-shirt) Walker -$20 ($20 w/o t-shirt)

12/01/2012                                                                                           NOON  Kick off the Christmas season with Rudolph's Red Nose Run! This race allows you to sleep in and still get to starting line in plenty of time with a Noon starting time. The race starts at the High Noon Saloon and brewery in Leavenworth. All participants receive a long sleeve t-shirt and post race spaghetti feast! Location: Leavenworth, KS Entry Fee: $30

12/15/2012                                                                                          9:00 AM Check out the coolest new holiday run in beautiful Longview in Lee's Summit, MO! Choose between a 5K or 10K and enjoy hooded sweatshirts, finisher medals, milk and cookies, and pictures with Santa!! There will also be an ugly sweater contest so be sure to dress the part! Proceeds benefit Toys for Tots. Location: Longview, Lee's Summit, MO     Entry Fee: 5K/10K Adult -$30 (through 11/19, $35 after)  Kids 14 & Under -$15 (through 11/19, $20 after)