Out of all the races that run through Kansas City MO, and most of them do, this is the one that shuts traffic down for several hours. The Kansas City Marathon happens Saturday Oct 18, starting downtown, continuing through the heart of the city south through 75th St in Waldo.
It is extremely difficult and time consuming to try and navigate through the race route. Police generally will not let vehicles through, and this causes auto back up for several blocks. Street closures begin at 7:30am and last until after 1pm.
Travelling along Main St, Wornall Road, Brookside Blvd and Ward Parkway will be virtually impossible during race hours. Don’t try to go west to Kansas as you won’t be able to cross any of these major north-south routes. This race should be moved to Sunday. So many businesses, restaurants and retail outlets loose thousands of dollars due to customers not being able to reach the destination. Having the race on Sunday would eliminate some of the losses. Or–move the race outside of the Kansas City MO limits.
More details at the race website: www.waddellandreedkansascitymarathon.org
Inside Brookside (And Waldo) 
I live in Midtown and every time we have a race it always disrupts my neighborhood. People can’t get to work to earn a living. The money the racers pay is probably tax deductible and maybe put that money for city services
I always think why do we live in a city where our rights to go somewhere when want is controlled by a footrace. RUN down 71 highway run south and run back north. RUN THE RACE AT 2PM anywhere. Compensate me for my inconvenience
Two things will fix this: First require every run over 5K to cross 71 Highway, so there is a flyover route to get in and out of the loop. Next only allow a set number of runs per year in a particular zip code. Let others share the joy.
My husband is a runner, but he no longer participates in these type of scheduled races. He says the reason the runs are always through central KC is ‘the scenery’. My suspicions: KCMO allows them because police get overtime pay and extra tax dollars through spending, permit fees. Prairie Village and Leawood, parts of Overland Park are just as scenic as Kansas City. Would those residents and city staff invite the races to their neighborhoods? Nope. What about running through Swope Park? That is scenic as well. I agree–only allowing a certain number of races through KCMO city limits would help. Perhaps that could be a blog topic for me!