It was the most fulfilling event of my life to watch Lamaar Powell run 26 miles.

This was my 2nd marathon in about 5 months (ran Philly in fall '03) and STL in Spring '04. Maybe I am just thankful to be running again but, this was an excellent event. The start was right in downtown STL and moved out west to huge park where a World's Fair was and to the upscale Clayton area. Hills in the middle were a little tough, but it made my run a little more rewarding upon finishing. The last 1/3 gets back to downtown and goes past the Bud Brewery and is flat. The crowds were very friendly and supportive... you didn't get many blank stares like 'You paid to do this.' About mile 23/24 people offered beer for those crazy enough to drink and oranges for a vitamin C boost. The oranges were beautiful.

The race expo was well attended and organized and I brought my family from Iowa and we stayed downtown about 1/4 mile from the start/finish line. My two young kids and wife enjoyed the expo, and STL is a good place for little ones with some good children's museums and, of course, the arch. This was an excellent race. Run it if you can. Thanks STL.

Was there any flat stretch? If you want a rolling hills, this is your race. But if you want at least a few stretches of flat, this is not for you. The elevation chart I saw did not seem to match this race. I wouldn't have minded the hills, had I known to expect them. And the organization was not great. I arrived fairly early at the expo, and already they had run out of race packets. The volunteers had to scramble to assemble more packets in a hurry. Several of the mile marks did not seem accurate. It wasn't terrible. But there are better races out there. I'm glad others had a better experience than I did.

My son ran in the 2004 marathon and will be running in 2005 as well. This is such a classy event, I've told everyone that they should go just to watch if not to run. Thanks from the whole family.

To watch the Women's Olympic Trials got me pumped to try even harder in the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon. I enjoyed the course very much. The layout was nice. It probably would have been better if the loop around the beer company had been run in the opposite direction so we wouldn't have to criss-cross around mile 24. I was slightly disappointed because the shirt did not say 'Saint Louis' on the front (I am from the country in Georgia and many down here don't know what city SL is). All and all, I have bragged to others about what a nice race this way (and my first ever visit to St. Louis).

This marathon continues to improve with each event. This was my 3rd St. Louis Marathon, and I have noticed significant improvements from the previous years. This marathon has advanced to the next level and will soon be comparable to the Flying Pig.

Here is some good stuff about the Spirit of Saint Louis Marathon...

1) Two starting lines

2) The National Anthem performed by the runners and anyone else who wanted to join in.

3) Scenic and diverse course with some rolling hills, plenty of things to look at... downtown St.Louis, Busch Stadium, City Hall, Federal Building, Soldiers Memorial, Forest Park, Charming Neighborhoods, Saint Louis University, and some small attractive business districts.

4) Anheuser-Busch Brewery at mile 23 with one lonely clydsdale horse looking on. (A nice touch)!

5) The Bud Man at mile 24 (thanks for the suds!!!) Some quick carbs into my system and I was on my way to a PB.

6) Well protected course by St.Louis's Finest

7) Well marked course with spacious running lanes.

8) Organized aid stations with hard working volunteers.

9) Wonderful spectators, your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated.

10) Adequate expo (not big), but I got what I needed.

11) Overall, a well organized event.

Thank you, St. Louis, look foward to 2005!!!!

Special kudos to Mike Shannon's Restaurant (7th and Chestnut), which offers great vegetarian options. A special thanks to Mike and his staff !!!

Well run marathon with a challenging course. Plenty of hills from mid-point on. Enthusiastic spectators and volunteers throughout.

Organizers might want to consider some course separation between the full and the half, especially from about 16 miles on. A solution might be to simply cone off a half marathon lane. Often times half walkers were 4-5 abreast forcing marathoners to weave/end around the walkers. Tough point in the race to have to be forced to alter course.

Besides that, a wonderful race.

What a great day to run!! This was my first marathon, and it was great.

I did not like the last loop, but probably because I was tired! I put my name on my shirt and this really helped! The fans would yell my name and keep me going. I wish this was a bigger marathon. There were a lot of walkers, but overall it was fun!

Had a great time. Weather was perfect. The hills took their toll on me as I reached the 23rd and 24th mile! Had a little trouble dodging the walkers, who were at times 3 to 4 wide. Aid stations and porta-potties were adequate. Could have used a little more entertainment, but not too bad. Really enjoyed a couple of the bands, wished they could have followed me! I was surprised the t-shirt was so blah. Jazz it up a little next year!

I'm confused why we have not been given gun time and chip time. My time (as posted on their site) is gun time and did not consider the extra minute or so it took me to reach the starting mat. No big deal, but I thought that's what the chip timing was all about!

Wonderful course, if you like hills. I walked it and took advantage of the early start, despite the lower temperature. Interestingly there were less than 100 walkers that took advantage of this, perhaps it was not advertised as well as it should have been, from the comments I have seen about walkers lining up at the front of the marathon start.

I PR'd despite the hills - I guess it was because I ran down all of the hills, but walked up them.

Plenty of water stops. Awesome coordination on volunteers part. Great spectators, although a few places that could have been a little more scenic, but over a course of 26 miles, cannot complain. Forest Park was beautiful. Beer at mile 24 was great (I hate beer, but hey I still drank a little, it does have carbs). Food available, must have been a second delivery that was a little behind the runner's needs...

Altogether, a good marathon. My time was not accurately reflected, perhaps because of the early start. Strangely, my time listed does not even come close to my finishing photo time, so it neither matches my chip time because I took advantage of the early start, or the time I might have finished if I started with all the others.

Consider running this marathon, but only for the marathon itself. Expo and ending festivities were mediocore, but it is all about the race, right?