{"podcast":{"title":"Back of the Pack Podcast","slug":"back-of-the-pack-podcast-5326207","podcast_index_feed_id":5326207,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5474889/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.botppod.com","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/f9d8e4cc10cc014653b3595336db5c08.jpg","author":"The Back of the Pack Podcast LLC.","episode_count":273,"summary":"Lace up your sneakers, grab your favorite headband, and toe the starting line! The signal has fired and the “Back of the Pack Podcast” is up and running! Are you a fan of running 5k’s just because the finisher medal looks cool? You are not alone there! Join the show that is all about the race swag and running on a Saturday morning to get the most out of your race registration. We will talk about local races in the Kansas City area. We will give you a heads up if you’re wanting to go farther outside the area to run the big races. Host Kyle Walker has fourteen full marathons, over eighty half marathons, and hundreds of 5k’s and 10k's. Take it from us, you are among friends here if you’ve gotten to the finish line to find all the bananas gone!","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/back-of-the-pack-podcast-5326207"},"episode":{"title":"Why the Hill Not? Breaking Down the Run Liberty Half","slug":"why-the-hill-not-breaking-down-the-run-liberty-half","published_at":"2026-03-30T21:00:03+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/back-of-the-pack-podcast-5326207/why-the-hill-not-breaking-down-the-run-liberty-half","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/back-of-the-pack-podcast-5326207","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-the-hill-not-breaking-down-the-run-liberty-half--71004464","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71004464/03_30_2026_liberty_audio.mp3","summary":"This week, we head to Liberty, Missouri for a full recap of the 10th anniversary Run Liberty Half Marathon, a race that continues to carve out a special place in our running calendar. We talk about the community feel that makes this event more than just another stop on the race schedule, from the expo to race morning to the people behind it all. We break down the course mile by mile, including the sneaky climbs, the glorious downhills, and the hills that seem personally offended by our existence. We also get into the weather drama, after a freeze advisory tried to scare everyone silly before giving way to a much more runnable morning. Along the way, we share what it is about Run Liberty that keeps bringing us back, even when the course is out there throwing haymakers. We spend time talking about the little things that matter too, like indoor staging at William Jewell, familiar faces at the expo, and the heart that race leadership pours into the event. This episode is part race review, part love letter to a hometown event that keeps showing up for runners year after year. We also revisit the late-race battle to stay ahead of the 2:45 pacer and how that turned into one of the more satisfying finishes we have had on this course. And because sometimes the running gods have a sense of humor, we celebrate the wild coincidence of completing half marathon number 88 while wearing bib number 88. If you love race recaps, course talk, Midwest running culture, and the strange magic that keeps us lacing up, this one is for you.","meta_description":"This week, we head to Liberty, Missouri for a full recap of the 10th anniversary Run Liberty Half Marathon, a race that continues to carve out a special p…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2693,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/back-of-the-pack-podcast-5326207/episodes/why-the-hill-not-breaking-down-the-run-liberty-half/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/back-of-the-pack-podcast-5326207/why-the-hill-not-breaking-down-the-run-liberty-half.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}