The race began with temperatures around 60; it was overcast, with a slight breeze. Great running conditions. Water/PowerAde support was almost too much - I kept turning stops down! Nice touch with the female pop star lookalikes at miles 3 and 20 (which helped out there on the backstretch). They don't disguise the hilly nature of the event, so if you are looking for a PR, this should probably not be your event. A very well run race with amazingly polite and helpful volunteers. On many parts, you run next to Highway 71, but the truckers mostly slowed down to pass alongside us. Great job, Maryville Chamber! Missouri is now off of my list!

For such a small marathon, I thought it was well run and there were plenty of cold water stops along the way. The race director did a great job. I can't say enough about how smoothly everything went. There was someone (perhaps the race director) there at the end who even offered to catch me if I fell (guess I didn't look the best). It was a good, little marathon.

This is the second time I have run this race and I have to say kudos to the director for making this year better. There was plenty of water and sports drink on the course, and every glass I took was nice and cold. That was awesome! The fans, even though there are few, were very supportive and encouraging!!! The course is a mentally tough but fair. All in all, a great experience!! I will run this one again! One more thing: the firemen at mile 13 and 26 spraying the water were wonderful! Thanks, guys!

The race course was well marked with mileage markers and arrows for turns. The course in the city was the best part to run. The part of the course along Highway 71 was very hot and the hardest part to run. The shoulder was not easy to run on in certain areas - too broken up and uneven. The water stops were manned by great volunteers and that made the race easier. There were no spectators, but that does not matter. The volunteers were great at the finish.

One thing to mention is that we had reservations with America's Best Inns and Suites for several weeks and had a confirmation number for our reservation. We called the Wednesday before the marathon to ask if we had a single or double room and their reservation system was down. When we arrived Friday night, their system was still down and they had given away our room and had no more rooms. Their attitude was that their computer was down so they could not know we were coming. They did not even apologize. They knew by then that there were no rooms in Maryville and suggested we drive the 45 miles back to St. Joseph to get a room. It is incredible they had no backup system for reservations. I suggest you stay at the Holiday Inn Express or the Comfort Inn in Maryville or elsewhere and avoid the very unreliable America's Best Inns and Suites. Try to stay in Maryville for the convenience on the race morning. We were in St. Joseph and made it to the race, but staying in Maryville would have been easier.

I think the organization was one of the best I've seen for a long time. The City of Maryville and NW Missouri State University teamed up to make sure everybody felt welcomed.

The atmosphere was a friendly as an ultra, and the course was quite hilly. The race started out in cool temperatures, but got pretty hot later in the day.

Also, kudos to the race director for replacing the proverbial Wall at mile 20 with a 2-mile long, real hill!

If you live in the KC area or have plans to be in that part of the country, I would strongly recommend this race.

First, a major thanks to all of Maryville - me and my running buddy came in from Fort Riley, Kansas. We found out our room was over an hour away. One of the race staff was going to have us stay with a family member. You don't see things like that in bigger towns.

We ran the half and the course, I thought, was really nice - except those wicked inclines. I was a little unsure of the course once I hit town. The organization was great and very encouraging. The spectators were great; they were few, but that was ok. The water points were spaced well enough for me, and those folks were awesome and full of encouragement. I read past years' feedback and almost did not do this race. But I am glad I am hard-headed and did the race anyway.

I love this little race. I was born in Maryville but moved away 20 years ago. I was so excited when my home town offered a marathon because I am doing 50 states and liked having Maryville as my Missouri State. I know the route, the weather, the hills, the volunteers, and so on. I have done huge marathons like Chicago, Disney, Houston, Marine Corps, Grandma's, etc... and it is a nice break from the crowds - and especially the cost - of those big races. You will probably never find a cheaper race to fly to, drive to, stay at, to register for or to eat at. Plus, you can't beat Midwest hospitality. I also graduated from NWMSU and love the bearcats. The football team has given us a great 10-year run in the Divison II National Playoffs, making it there 4 times since 1998 and winning twice. I am also planning on retiring to this little town.

This doesn't talk much about the race but all the other reviews have that. I just wanted to let you know what Maryville is like. Hopefully you won't care how many runners and spectators there are on the course. Just enjoy the sights and the fact that you are doing what most people can't achieve or even attempt. And when you're done, wear your shirt on the way home and hang the medal from your mirror.

I must be crazy, but I really enjoyed this race. Fantastic organization, very friendly race staff and volunteers with great attitude. If you like pain... this race is for you. The hills are only moderate, but throw in a lot of them with heat and humidity and you'll find out what you are really made of. Anyone who finishes this course as a first marathon will find their second marathon most anywhere else a trivial affair.

Spectators were few, but enthusiastic... two girls flashed their boobs at me on the long highway stretch. Never had that happen before, but it may ensure my return next year.

All in all, a new favorite race for me! Kudos to the organizers for a job well done.

Course: 5 stars difficulty, 3 stars scenery.

Organization: 5 stars +

Spectators: 5 stars enthusiasm, 2 stars for numbers (but hey, you're there to run, not have your ego stroked).

The organization was pretty good for a small marathon. I think with some inexpensive changes, this could be a good marathon that people would be willing to travel to Maryville to run. The marathon is a 13.1-mile loop twice. The first time around there was no sports drink even though it was humid and warm. We needed sports drink much earlier. Had it been sunny instead of raining after the first loop, I would have probably not run the second loop. A large portion of the marathon was along a major highway. This was my 26th marathon and it was the first time that I did not feel very safe because we were running with our backs to the traffic - and a couple of times I thought some pickup mirrors were about to hit me, not to mention the semi-trucks that sucked you along unexpectedly. At a minimum, the few traffic cones should have been on the edge of the highway pavement instead of the shoulder so that the cars at least would be over a few inches. It would also help to be running facing the traffic so that we could know when to get way over on the shoulder.

Besides the people at the water stations, there were no spectators. Maryville is a pretty college town. It would be nice to run more in town. There are definitely not going to be shade or spectators along a major highway. Lincoln, NE puts on a very nice marathon in a college town. A few pointers from their race coordinator could make this marathon a good destination marathon where people would travel annually and bring friends with them. I would definitely suggest starting the marathon earlier to avoid some of the heat. Had it been a sunny day, it would have been difficult to have finished.

On Saturday, June 11, 2005, I was expecting to be cooked in the blazing sun and humidity for 26.2 miles, but was cooled by sporadic cloud cover and rain storms for most of the route. The sun did come out for about 5 miles, miles 13 to 18, and baked me silly, until the clouds and rain rolled in again. This was a very nice, small college-town marathon, and they gave us a nice finisher's medal. The course had one section of hills to overcome, but it was a mostly level, and/or a gradual grade steady, course. Other than having blisters on the balls of both feet (due to brand new shoe inserts), and a lack of adequate training miles (due to prior leg injury and illness), I completed this course (lots of walking the second time around in the cooling, pouring rain) as my 53rd marathon. I enjoyed the countryside along the '2X' route, excluding the smell from the dead deer alongside the road. I liked the town, lodging, and restaurants (inexpensive and friendly), and the close proximity (1 1/2 hour drive) to the Kansas City Airport (MCI). It's a great marathon for Fifty States Club people needing to complete the state of Missouri.

Comment to the Race Director:

Please consider starting this June race at 6:00 AM (just before sunrise) or earlier, to give the runners a chance to run without the increasing heat and humidity that really hits hard by 10:00 AM (although I missed it due to rain and clouds, which can't really be relied on to occur and cool the runners in June of each year).