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Apr 29, 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 61 to 71]

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A. L. from Chicago, IL (4/12/2011) "Nice Marathon - Not for BQ" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Ran the Half in 2010 due to injury and loved it. Decided to go back for the full in 2011 and was not as impressed. This is a half with a full tacked on. Support is great on the city part of the course and very sparse on the marathon-only portion, where the course is unimaginative. Constantly running on uphills and downhills (sometimes, it seemed, for no reason). Because the half is so large, the organization is pretty good. Water stops were great. GU was available in three places on the course in useful locations. Finish was smooth. Could have more useful post-race food instead of bananas and sponsored snacks. Expo is simple, but decent. T-shirt in 2010 was fantastic. The 2011 shirt was fine, but an odd fit. Medals are solid. Website could be a bunch better. Weather and wind were brutal this year. I thought the organizers handled it well as they could. All in all, this is a solid marathon if you are in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trip to St. Louis for it. Because of the hills, if you are on the borderline, this race is not good for a BQ under any circumstances. (Everyone with my pace team guy failed to finish with him.)
M. S. from Chicago (4/11/2011) "Hills, hills and more hills... and extreme heat" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I've now experienced the worst marathon of the 14 I've done so far. I understand that the weather is beyond the control of the race organizers; there was no way to avoid the 85 degree heat. Having said that, a forecast is available at least a week before the race and you can make adjustments. The water stations were completely unprepared for the obvious need for extra water and Gatorade for the race participants. Many tables were completely empty of anything to drink at all. My frustration was compounded by the unannounced cancelation of the marathon for any runners who had not made it to mile 9 by around 2 hours from the gun start of the race. I first learned of the cancelation as I approached the finish line of the half marathon, wondering where I had missed the split for the marathoners. I was directed to the race director by a volunteer I had stopped to talk to before I crossed the finish line for the half. I was worried I would blow my chance to finish the race. When the director informed me they had canceled the marathon, I was shocked, extremely confused, and disappointed. I'm trying to run 50 states, so I won't be back in the future. Regardless of my experience, don't believe anyone who says this course is flat. It is brutal!
J. R. from Alexandria, VA (4/11/2011) "killer hills, killer heat" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This one edged out the Okinawa Marathon for toughest heat and hills. I paid attention to the forecast, drank lots of fluids, and walked the larger hills - not a day for a PR (and 27 minutes slower than my last race 4 months earlier). Pros: very good scenery; great support through Soulard, Clayton and University City; huge number of volunteers; and lots of water/Gatorade. Cons: those long, steady climbs in 80-plus degree sunshine; most of the route is unshaded; we could use a few more miles under those 100-year-old trees by the university and a few less through the bleak post-industrial neighborhoods; the expo at Chaifetz was a zoo - I hope they'll find a bigger (and more metro accessible) spot next year; and for such a big city, there is kind of a thin spectator turnout in St. Louis itself - the race goes through so many places where no one lives (downtown, a large park, industrial areas). Not sure I'd do it again. Not the race for your PR (even if the weather were better, there are too many hills).
J. B. from Minneapolis, Minnesota (4/11/2011) "Way more focused on the 1/2, disorganized, hilly!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was my 9th marathon and my husband's 13th. We trained throughout the winter in Minnesota, which was our primary excuse for falling apart in the nearly 90-degree heat - you can't blame the race, and can't control the weather, but unfortunately both of us posted our worst race times ever. The course was hillier than expected (no elevation map was provided on the website, which also wasn't that user-friendly of a site). It did go through some very nice areas of St. Louis and I was surprised to find the city very clean and appealing. However, there was no water at the start for runners (got yelled at for trying to take one from the finish area). They did not hand out gear-check bags at the expo, so you had to bring your own bag and then transfer your stuff to the gear bag, which was supposed to open at 5:30, but didn't open until 6 a.m. I understand trying to be green by saving the bags (since not everyone uses them), but couldn't you still pass them out at the expo? They ran out of beer at the finish, long before the marathoners were all done (and the band stopped playing - everything was catered to the 1/2'ers). The food at the finish area was lackluster (a banana, a bag of chips, and perhaps a granola bar). I think that they should have the 1/2 marathoners start after the full marathoners to eliminate the huge crowds/cluster at the start. If the full had started at 6 a.m., we would have somewhat beat the heat. Also, the race didn't start on time (close to 15 minutes late). Positives? Plenty of porta-potties at the start. Quality toilet paper, apparently. Great tracking system for at-home supporters. Plenty of hotels close to the start (and finish as it is sort of an-out-and-back). A spectator handed out frozen ice pops - YUM, and some orange slices. Thank you to that person! Oh, and the last 0.2 miles includes another hill... after running the last 6 on an unshaded interstate.
K. M. from Midwest-US (4/11/2011) "Not Critical but Not Impressed" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Despite the heat (which is unpredictable), the organization of the water stops (regardless of "water sources") was too irregular. I wore my fuel belt and still found it hard to plan hydration points due to the water stops and GU being so uncertain (no GU at mile 14 - more like 15). The expo was tiny compared to most, and most items were gone by Saturday. You pay $5 parking for 30 minutes of not much. There's no description for the map, which would be quite helpful (road labels in Forest Park, please?). I did well for this marathon (4:26), considering the elements; but I found it lacked predictability in planning water stops and the finish line area was set up for half-marathoners - good for large groups finishing, but too long and far apart for low numbers of marathoners finishing. I could barely move, let alone navigate from this place to that place and walk so far to get out of the area. The finish line is deceptive with the hill going up to it - I'd rather run farther one more street than end on an uphill. I was hydrated well with my fuel belt and did the best I could with water stops and still ended up in an ER at the end of the day with severe dehydration. Good point: very good hotels around the start/finish area.
C. W. from Athens, Georgia (4/11/2011) "Good Marathon but Poor Decision-Making" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Hmmm, shortening a marathon at the nine-mile mark due to "warm" temperatures? Very unfortunate. This was a wonderful event right up to the point of it being shortened to a half only two hours (well 2:15) after the start. The decision was hasty because the corral start meant that many runners were running around a 10:00 pace, going slower and drinking more due to the heat and humidity - a smart strategy. To then learn that they should have been pushing harder to miss this unannounced cut-off was VERY disheartening, especially considering that many of them were 50 staters and folks who had spent considerable money to travel to this event. Waiting an additional 30 minutes to shorten the race would have made little difference in the race conditions but a HUGE difference to many of the out-of-town participants. Gee, what are signed waivers about anyway? Other than this unfortunate decision, this was an excellent event.
P. D. from Illlinois (4/11/2011) "Does the Race Director know there is a marathon?" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The half marathon course had great support. Once the marathon and half split, there was much less support (less water, etc.).
d. d. from ohio (4/11/2011) "Good bye, St. Louis" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Expo was nice, and medium-sized, but watch out for meter maids. Three people I know were ticketed. The race start was timely and orderly, with corrals. The weather was much warmer than expected - 91 - and people not reaching the 10-mile mark in 2 hours were looped back on the half marathon course to the finish (due poor planing - not enough cups or EMTs for IVs, etc.). The course featured mild to moderate rolling hills throughout. The finish entertainment was stopped just after 5 hours into the race. The beer tent ran out of beer. There was plenty of food and water at the finish. Parking was easy, but some construction made driving hard.
C. O. from Prairie Village, KS (11/20/2010) "First marathon; would do it again." (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Of course, every marathon has its flaws. My biggest complaints are that we didn't start on time, and it took 20 minutes to get from where I was standing (in the 4-hour pace group) to the starting line. It is always a frustration when you're getting started and you have to dodge people who are running slower than you are or who have just started walking. I wish the people in charge could have corralled people better to get into appropriate pace groups. It took a full 3-4 miles for people to spread out. This course is mostly flat, but the last 3-4 miles were pretty rough. The most substantial hills are at this point, and the course is completely exposed, so no shade plu hills plus heat equals very close to serious leg cramping! Overall, it was a fun race and a great way to see St. Louis. I only wish I had stayed an extra day or two to explore the city more!
E. C. from St. Louis, MO (10/14/2010) "Very well done!" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first half marathon and I thought it was set up very well for us 13.1-milers. As others have said, I definitely was not prepared for the hills. Crossing the finish line was a great experience with tons of fan support. I look forward to doing the full marathon next year.

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