Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
The Kansas City area’s most unique run – and the nation’s only 100% sanctioned 10K indoor race that takes place totally underground – will be held on Sunday, January 27 at Hunt Midwest SubTropolis, 8300 NE Underground Drive, Kansas City, Mo.
The 37thAnnual Groundhog Run features thousands of runners comfortably making their way through the paved, brightly lit roadways of SubTropolis in one of the nation’s most unusual races.
Nestled beneath 150 feet of Missouri limestone along I-435, SubTropolis – the world’s largest underground business complex – offers runners an ideal respite from harsh winter weather with a year-round, climate-controlled, 65- to 68-degree environment.
The largest fundraiser for Ability KC, the Groundhog Run’s proceeds help support more than 300 children with disabilities receiving therapeutic preschool services at Ability KC reach milestones critical to their success.
One of Kansas City’s longest standing runs, the Groundhog Run has raised more than $4.75 million for Ability KC since its inception in 1982. More than 200 volunteers over three days help make Groundhog Run a success each year, and over 1,000 orange cones are used to mark the course. Additionally, over 45 corporate sponsors and over 4,000 individual runners will help raise approximately $200,000 this year. The Hunt Midwest staff works more than 350 hours surrounding the race to prepare, host, and clean up after the Groundhog Run.
The 2019 Groundhog Run features a 5K and 10K race in waved starts and also features highly skilled adaptive athletes joining in the fun. KC Revolution Wheelchair athletes will participate for the first year in the Groundhog Run.
Male and female first, second and third place top finishers in each age group will receive custom awards and all finishers will receive a finisher medal at the finish line. The races are sanctioned by KC Running Company.
The 5K Start Time is 8 a.m., and the 10K Start Time is 10 a.m. To register, go to https://runsignup.com/Race/MO/KansasCity/groundhogrun
ABOUT ABILITY KC
Ability KC brings together Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City and Children’s Therapeutic Learning Center. Annually, more than 3,000 individuals and families receive services for medical rehabilitation, therapeutic preschool, and employment services. In addition, multiple specialty programs and services are offered, such as neuropsychology and rehabilitation psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), corporate partnerships for employment opportunities and much more. Ability KC is proud to celebrate more than 70 years since the beginnings of each agency in 1947. Thousands of lives have been changed and celebrations of successes have occurred due to the generosity of the Kansas City community. Find Ability KC online at www.abilitykc.org.
ABOUT HUNT MIDWEST and SUBTROPOLIS
Hunt Midwest is a full-service real estate development company with a focus on industrial, commercial, retail, mission critical, multifamily, senior living and residential real estate. Its portfolio is anchored by SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex. Hunt Midwest is a Kansas City-based, privately held company owned by the Lamar Hunt family. The Hunt family business is a diverse portfolio of entities involved in real estate, sports/media, energy/resources, private equity and investments. Marquee entities include the Kansas City Chiefs, Hunt Midwest, Hunt Southwest, FC Dallas Soccer Club, Toyota Stadium, Chicago Bulls and United Center.
SubTropolis sets the standard for subsurface business developments, with more than 6 million square feet of developed commercial space and 8 million square feet available for buildout. The world’s largest underground business complex was created through the mining of a 270-million-year-old limestone deposit. In the mining process, limestone is removed by the room and pillar method, leaving 25-foot square pillars that are on 65-foot centers and 40 feet apart. SubTropolis is home to more than 50 local, regional, national and international companies that employ more than 2,000 people. SubTropolis earned a perfect ENERGY STAR energy performance rating of 100 in the category of unrefrigerated warehouses from the EPA. Of the six warehouse facilities in Kansas and Missouri that have earned this rating, SubTropolis is the only one to receive a perfect grade.
