The course was great; we really enjoyed running on the trails instead of on the road. It made for a very scenic and relaxing run. Hills were minimal, but the two around mile 18 were brutal. Everyone was very friendly and supportive and the weather was perfect. The MC for the event was great! Only one complaint: a few more port-a-potties would have been nice.

I liked this marathon, but I don't mind running by myself for long stretches of time. The new course started in Corporate Woods and wound -- and I mean wound (lots of twisting and turning) southwest about 16 miles before the turnaround. Much of the run was on asphalt trails along Indian Creek in Overland Park and Olathe, Kansas. The natural setting was very attractive and kept us out of traffic for much of the race. Of course, this meant there was very little crowd support. If that's important to you, you won't get much here.
The Doubletree Hotel near the starting line had a special rate for the runners, and was good enough to allow all runners to stay for a later checkout time of 3:00. It was perfect because the post-race party started in the hotel at 3:00. They had free food at the party and a really good blues band, but the proffered food was fruit. And that was it. Most runners I talked to were craving bread or crackers and cheese, even if they'd had to pay for them. Several left to go buy hamburgers and came back.
If they keep this course for next year, be aware that there is a huge, long hill going up and down a concrete sidewalk on Pflumm -- on the way back after the turnaround. You hit mile 20 at the top.

Despite a slight mix-up with shirts (which they are correcting) packet pick-up went smoothly. A last-minute course change didn't affect me one way or another. It did start to get to me the number of times the marathoners had to pass by the finish line (was it four???) before you got to cross it. I thought the course was tough but I have nothing to compare it with. There is nothing that would make me NOT do this race again.

This was the 2nd time that I have run this race. I live locally and had heard that the race this year was going to be on the streets. However with the last minute changes from the city, it had to be changed. I was very impressed with the level of organization based on the last minute changes. The water stops were spaced well, well manned and had all I needed for fluids and other treats. I am a slower runner, so have never seen the leader in the race. This was my first opportunity to see the frontrunner, because of the loops. I was very happy with this run; I will do it again next year and I will and do recommend this race to others.

This was a decent race, but the changes made to the course were challenging to say the least (this was not the fault of the race organizers - unanticipated road construction caused the problem). Thank God for the good weather - it is always a jump-ball this time of year in Kansas City. The only advice I would offer the organizers is to start the 5K'ers and 1/2 marathoners 15-30 minutes before the marathoners so that we're not so clogged-up at several points in the race. Would I do it again? Provided the course gets back to normal - yes.

The poor reviews from the previous years seemed to be exaggerated. The hills and turns were more frequent than expected but that's what the organizers had to do to keep the run along the creek and off the roads.
Pros:
Cool at the start but they started on time.
Great weather.
A lot of support from other runners.
After the first loop, you at least knew what to expect for the next two loops.

Cons:
Map was confusing but the course was well marked and made sense after running it.

I signed up for the marathon only because the 1/2 was sold out.... So I went in not planning to do the whole thing. The course was unknown up until packet pickup because of various street closings and such.... So, my whole mentality of this run was laidback - I didn't really care if I did the full or not and the organization of the run/course seemed about as haphazard as my mentality.

I was very pleasantly surprised. It was a nice race. It was a small run, but the spectators were great (a lot more than I expected) and even though the course was 2-3 loops, I enjoyed that because it gave the run sort of a nice 'camaraderie' factor. I have read previous postings of this run from previous years, so I was definitely 'forewarned' going in, but I am glad to give it kudos and a more positive review.

This was not a bad race, but I was discouraged when I missed a turn. I ran the full marathon. I ended up running 27.2 instead of 26.2 because I missed a turn late in the race. I liked the trail we ran on, but the back and forth with all of the loops got a little old after a while. The fans that were there were great, but don't expect a lot of support out there.

Strange course layout - no 2 loops were the same. You covered the same sections multiple times (I remember seeing a Mile 25 sign followed by Mile 5 & Mile 11) in different directions. Regardless, it was pretty well marked and despite my concerns before the race, I did not get lost. I was a little uncertain if I was going the right way towards Mile 20, and whether I should cross the timing mat (again) after Mile 21 on my way out for my final loop. I heard there were 3,000 runners, though only 300 for the marathon. Probably the bulk were for the 5K with the rest doing the 1/2 marathon. So it was needlessly congested at the start for the marathoners, but after a couple of miles the 5K folks split off and were never seen again.

Course follows a scenic bike trail, but it gets redundant making several passes, though the mystery of how you were going to get to the next mile kept it from getting too boring. There were a couple of short steep hills you come across a couple of times, but the street underpasses for the trail were a bit annoying: short steep drops under the road, with short steep climbs on the other side, often followed by u-turns across narrow bridges which sometimes had 2-way running traffic (meaning you had to run single-file).

Aid stations were well stocked, and I had the best fajita at the station between Mile 18 and 19.

The race seems geared towards 5K and 1/2 marathoners - there are probably better choices in Kansas for crossing off a marathon in this state. I only ran this one because my sister lives in Overland Park.

I love the idea of a marathon being run on the trails but it could be so much better than it is. I did this marathon in 2001. At that time it was an out-and-back, double-loop. Meaning you run over the same ground 4 times and have to pass the finish line at the half. That wasn't too bad but this year was much worse. I think I counted SIX times running through the finish line... before finishing! It just went around and around and around over the same path passing the finish line over and over again. We have so many miles of great trail in this city I don't understand why we can't use more of it for a marathon. Since this was my 12th and I did it for fun with my dog (who did awesome!!) it didn't bother me much but I would never recommend it for a new marathoner. I actually prefer little to no spectators but I know most people don't feel that way. Hopefully after the construction is over, Rusty will completely redo the course. The volunteers were awesome! There were plenty of refreshments and everyone was so nice and friendly. I'd do it again but wouldn't recommend it to others.