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May 15, 2024

GO! St. Louis Marathon Runner Comments

Back to GO! St. Louis Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.9

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.5

Number of comments: 357 [displaying comments 301 to 311]

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B. M. from St. Louis, MO (4/7/2004) "Challenging, beautiful course" (about: 2004) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 GO! St. Louis Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 2nd time I've run this marathon, and 8th marathon overall. It was a great day weather-wise. Things were, overall, well run. Points to improve: 1. Better mile markers - was confusing with different markers for 1/2 and full marathon. 2. 1/2 marathon walkers really tied up the water stops and I literally missed three of them due to this. 3. No sports drink until the 3rd water stop! As I said, great marathon overall. If you like a challenging course, you can't beat it. Nice job St. Louis.
D. C. from Normal, IL (4/7/2004) "Hilly, somewhat unorganized" (about: 2004) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 St. Louis is a beautiful city; the course had some nice neighborhoods that you ran through, like around Washington University - breathtaking. The spectators were nice and very supportive, the water stops were confusing at times, but well manned...but sometimes every quarter-1/2 mile?? The start was somewhat unorganized with the half marathoners starting somewhere else and the relay teams starting 10 minutes later. Relayers seemed confused by that, I saw one start with the marathoners and several wanted to start with us, but we told them they started later. HOWEVER, I was inspired by the singing of the National Anthem, it was only done by the runners, no singers, no band...very motivating, the course director started us off and it actually gave me goose bumps. The last stretch is killer, very hard, and hilly, it was nice to see the other runners coming the other way - it kept your mind off of that long stretch. If you run this marathon...DO YOUR HILL WORK!!!!
J. C. from Paducah, KY (4/7/2004) "My First - Was A LOT of FUN ! ! ! !" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 First of all, I don't think the weather could have been more perfect for the 2004 run. The course is hilly, but the hills are gentle and rolling, so they dont make it that difficult. The expo was a flop. Nothing there worth looking at. Toward the end, I did have a few difficult spots dodging walkers (some from the half marathon). Mile markers were hard to see, and I missed several of them. Plus, we only got our time at one split and then the half. My last complaint is that food and water were hard to find at the end! I think most of it was gone! But, it was my first marathon, and one I will do again! The scenery is great. Very beautiful parks and historic buildings to run by. We even got to run through a brewery. The course does change some every year, so I am not sure how that will affect my view of the marathon. Plus, I need to run some others so I have something to compare it to! I will definitely be back to run it again. Great fun, beautiful city!
Megan Gustafson from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (4/7/2004) "A graceful race with a few glitches..." (about: 2004) 2 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I really enjoyed this race. The course was nice - through some beautiful parts of St. Louis, but it certainly seemed liked they went out of their way to find every hill they possibly could! Also, the mile markers were confusing at the beginning, I didn't even see one for Mile 1, and until the half marathoners turned back, all I saw were their mile makers. So that wasn't so great. But in the later stages, the race was great. The weather was beautiful, the spectators were not that many but enthusiastic, and the medal was kind of cute. I had family and friends running the half marathon so we just enjoyed the day being together. Overall a great run!
S. R. from Portage, Michigan (4/6/2004) "Beautiful, challenging course" (about: 2004) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was a very challenging course, lots of hills, (do your hill training!) beautiful neighborhoods, showed off the best of St. Louis. I would reccomend this marathon if you live in the Midwest and want an early spring marathon to keep you motivated through the winter. Not a 'flat, fast' course if you're looking for a PR, but a enjoyable marathon, that is growing every year. That said, a couple of suggestions for improvement are: make sure the half-marathon walkers stay to the side of the road. Too many times they would be 3 or 4 abreast, walking and chatting away, oblivious to marathoners trying to get around them. Didn't see a mile marker until mile 4, need to gauge pace sooner than that. Finally, thanks to the fans who came out to support the runners, but remember, you are allowed to cheer and encourage. I thought spectators were rather quiet. As this race matures, it will get better and better. The organizers are on the right track incorporating the 'Family Fitness Weekend'. Just please remember to keep walkers from blocking the way of marathoners striving for an accomplishment of a lifetime.
B. L. from Champaign, Illinois (4/6/2004) "Great Marathon - Race Director Needs To Send Shirt" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 My first marathon, with only a goal to finish. Fantastic city, great spectators, and a beautiful course. The race director needs contact those of us who paid for but didn't receive their 'high tech' shirts. They were sold to others even though we pre-paid and pre-registered. They should be reserved if you pre-pay. I hope to hear from the race director by email to send me these shirts.
M. T. from Burnsville, NC (4/6/2004) "Great 1st Marathon" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Spirit of St. Louis Marathon was my first marathon experience. I thought it was wonderful. The course is beautiful with rolling hills going through different parts of St. Louis. I felt especially privileged to run on part of the same course that the Women's Olympic Trials had been run on just the day before! The weather was perfect and the crowds, though sparse from time to time, were always enthusiastic. With a little planning, my family was able to move to various points along the course via the St. Louis MetroLink and they had a great time. I finished in 4:39 and there was plenty of food and drink available. I would encourage the expo organizers to 'jazz it up a little' and I think for such a great race the T-shirt could use a little work. But, I didn't come for the clothes, I came to see if I could do the distance and I DID!
Cynthia Billhartz from St. Louis, MO (4/6/2004) "Loved it!" (about: 2004) 3 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 3rd marathon -- have done New York & Chicago. I feel bad that BV of Atlanta was upset with so many things and was quite surprised to see his comments. First, the wind did blow (in both senses of the word) in the last few miles, but no one can control that. Second, after running huge marathons where I had to jostle and dodge for 26 miles, the walkers and half-marathoners here were no problem at all. Nor were the crowded water stations. I really can't attest to the quality of the expo since they don't interest me at all no matter how great they are. BV was right, it's too bad the organizers didn't limit the food given to relay runners and half-marathoners so there was more left for us. I came away with a cookie and a banana but really wanted a bagel. Then again, I didn't look too hard either. Otherwise, the marathon was a truly great experience for me. I took 30 minutes off my PR and was so ecstatic that maybe my opinion of everything is colored by that. Also, I'm a native St. Louisan and very proud of the work the organizer Nancy Lieberman has done to turn the race around in 5 years. I would highly recommend this to anyone -- with the caveat that you make sure you do your hill training.
B. T. from Cincinnati, Oh. (4/6/2004) "I would highly recommend this race" (about: 2004) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 13th Marathon and one of the more enjoyable ones I have done. 1. The course was great, minimal hills and plenty of water/Gatorade and port-o-lets. 2. Crowd was small, but energetic. 3. Agree about the Omni Majestic Hotel. Service was great and just 2 blocks from the start/finish 4. Run through the brewery was fun and the beer at mile 24 was great! 5. Medal was one of the nicer ones 6 Expo was ok. Like many I have attended. A few suggestions: 1. The start was a bit confusing with the marathoners and 1/2 folks starting in different locations. 2. With the out-and-back type course, we did have to run around a lot of walkers. 3. Mile markers were confusing to differentiate the 1/2 from the full. Overall it was worth the 6-hour drive. If I wasn't doing one in every state, I would definitely go back. For a small 1500 or so marathon race, it had a lot of energy. Keep up the good work!
M. B. from Kansas City, MO (4/6/2004) "Fun to run (just dodge the plethora of walkers)" (about: 2004) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 While I only ran the half, I was able to experience some of the more key elements that define any marathon (and yes, I've run many marathons). The Good: 1. Nice expo: well organized, several interesting booths, great volunteers. (Coming from Kansas City and the joke that is the KC Marathon, it was obvious to me the race director clearly understood runners' needs/desires... not just the expo, but other facets as well.) 2. Decent crowds: not big, by any means, but sincere support that did not go unnoticed. 3. Scenic, semi-challenging course (at least for the half). The Could-Be-Better: 1. Why oh why would you unleash several hundred (1,000-plus?) walkers an hour before the event? Coupled with the tandem marathon start, within a mile it felt as though we ran into a human wall. Thankfully, the streets were closed, but this did not preclude the need to dodge the sea of people out front... and forget about checking your splits; the mile markers (if you could tell which ones were relevant to the half or the full) were impossible to see. 2. The aid stations were well managed, but at roughly mile eight, on the half marathon return trip from Forest Park, we had to literally jump up onto the grass BEHIND the aid station to avoid all of the congestion still heading out...never got water...was just trying to somehow stay on the course. I'd run this again (even the marathon) so long as the organizers can address some of these logistical issues, especially walkers, who have absolutely no right to be clogging the course for those of us who actually are trying to run. Walkers are welcome, just put them in the back, please!

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