Rock The Parkway Half Marathon and 5k

The 2026 Rock the Parkway half marathon and 5K is Kansas City's largest half marathon and is run along Kansas City's favorite half marathon course on historic Ward Parkway!  Both events start and finish in front of the world headquarters of our host, Burns & McDonnell.  The half marathon race is run separately from the 5K which starts after the half marathon participants have departed the starting area.

Rock the Parkway is known for it's beautiful course along historic Ward Parkway, high quality half marathon and 5K finisher medals, live music along the course, tech shirts, and more!  All participants will compete for age group and overall awards that will be awarded in more than a dozen age group categories.  You can opt in to receive your results right after you finish by text message when you sign up!  

The tree-lined residential Rock the Parkway course features tree lined boulevards, urban parks, distinctive architecture and fountains and has been voted a favorite among area runners.  The course is a fairly flat, undulating terrain with a 1.5 mile downhill to the finish.  There will be water/Gatorade stations every 1.5 to 2 miles along the course with Gu or similar products at one or two of the later water stations.

We have partnered with our host, Burns & McDonnell, since the beginning of Rock the Parkway and we are grateful that they are once again partnering with us in 2026!  Burns & McDonnell not only hosts the event, they also provide scores of volunteers without whom we would not be able to hold the event.  Learn more about this world leader in engineering and architectural services, at www.burnsmcd.com!

The Rock the Parkway expo will be on Friday, April 10, from 11am to 7pm on the Aspiria Campus in Overland Park. The expo will be on the second floor of the building at 6050 Sprint Parkway, with easy access off of Nall or West 115th Street. Parking will be in parking garage C across the street from Building 6050.