Pair of KC runners win men’s, women’s titles at Saturday’s Garmin Kansas City Marathon

Kaitlyn Shea is fast. How fast?

Well ...

Fast enough that she finished the women’s portion of Saturday’s Garmin Kansas City Marathon in 2:57.01, winning by more than seven minutes over second-place Kimberly Mills.

Fast enough that she lost the bicycle team whose job it was to escort and pace Shea to the finish line (members of that team apologized to Shea after the race for not locating her in time).

Without the visual cue of cyclists in bright, high-vis gear riding down Cleaver Boulevard toward the finish line, race officials didn’t know to have the finishing tape out for Shea as she roared through the finish line.

Not bad for someone competing in her first marathon, huh? Truth be told, Shea, 26, didn’t first start thinking about winning in the pre-dawn darkness in front of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

The vision came into focus long before that.

“I think at first I was just trying to do a marathon. Then around August, in workouts I started doing well. I was like, ‘Alright, I want to win it,’” Shea said. “But that’s just my personality. With racing, I get very competitive.”

Shea is originally from Jefferson City and moved to Kansas City earlier this year. She competed in 5K, steeplechase and 10K at Southeast Missouri State.

She started training in March and decided to try a marathon mainly for the challenge. She was up to that challenge, finishing with a flourish.

“When I was running down (to the finish line), my legs were seizing, and I’ve never felt that before,” Shea said. “Usually my breathing is the first thing to go, but my legs were just seizing up. I had never felt that before, and I didn’t have control of my legs which was a very weird feeling. It’s very funky.”

With one marathon and one victory under her belt, she’s looking forward to figuring out the next race on her calendar.

The men’s marathon was won by Kansas City’s Kyle Baldwin, 30, in a time of 2:42.58. The winner’s pace was more than 15 minutes slower than last year.

This was Baldwin’s first look at the new course layout. He had an idea what to expect because the course goes through his normal running areas. He decided to approach the hill-packed first 13.1 miles with caution.

“I was intimidated by the first half, so I was conservative there. With where my neighborhood is, I practiced on the course maybe four or five times leading up to the race,” Baldwin said. “But I mean, just downtown is hilly.

“That big hill going from Southwest Boulevard going up to the Kauffman Center is one of the biggest hills in the city. The Paseo hill. Both of those are monsters, both in the first half. It played to what I expected.”

Baldwin was greeted by friends and family and was understandably all smiles after his first marathon victory.

“This one holds a special place for me. I’ve been really involved with the Kansas City running community, and to do that in front of my friends and family is huge.”

The marathon enjoyed postcard-perfect weather. Competitors ran in colorful Hawaiian-themed outfits, with mohawks, and in support of friends and family members battling illness. One sign near the finish line playfully reminded finishers that they did, in fact, pay money for the pain they were feeling.

The scene of runners streaming across the finish line between the Nelson-Atkins to the north and the post-race party to the south won’t change in the coming years.

“For a long time, we didn’t find a long-term home. It’s been in all parts of Kansas City, starting and finishing,” race director Dave Borchardt said.

“It seems like a great long-term option, and when the streetcar is done, people can park anywhere downtown and ride down to the race. This seems like we could’ve found a long-term home.”

Note: Searchable results from Saturday will be posted at this link.