Running in Missouri

Beyond the Trolley Track and Indian Creek trails, Kansas City has steadily built out a citywide greenway system that connects neighborhoods most visitors never see. Line Creek Trail on the city's north side and the Berkley Riverfront Park path along the Missouri River give runners flat, low-traffic miles away from the busier Country Club Plaza area.

The Kansas City Track Club, one of the older running clubs in the Midwest, has organized group runs and races in the metro for decades and remains a central hub for both new and competitive runners moving to the city. Corporate wellness events like the KC Corporate Challenge also feed a steady stream of first-time racers into the city's broader running scene each year.

Kansas City's race calendar spreads well beyond its October marathon, with smaller spring and summer 5Ks organized around neighborhoods like Westport and the West Bottoms giving runners a reason to explore the city's different seasons rather than concentrating everything around marathon weekend.

At 240 miles, the Katy Trail is long enough that most runners experience it in sections rather than all at once, and the small towns along the route each offer a distinct flavor. Rocheport and Hermann, both wine country towns near the trail's midpoint, have become popular weekend bases where runners knock out 10 to 20 mile out-and-backs before spending the afternoon at a local winery.

McBaine, near Columbia, is known among Katy Trail regulars for the "Big Tree," a massive burr oak just off the path that has become an informal turnaround point for local training groups. Further west, Sedalia serves as a practical resupply stop with lodging and bike shops that also stock basic running gear for anyone tackling a multi-day stretch of the trail.

Because the trail follows an old rail bed, the grade never exceeds about 1 percent for its entire length, which makes it uniquely suited to structured tempo and marathon-pace workouts, something Missouri runners increasingly use it for rather than treating it purely as a scenic long run destination.