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Maryville Marathon, The Chamber Country Classic Runner Comments
Back to Maryville Marathon, The Chamber Country Classic Information & Reviews
Course 3.7 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 2.5
Number of comments: 31 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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Steve Brown from Kansas
(6/12/2006)
 "Outstanding (grueling!!) Race" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Maryville Marathon, The Chamber Country Classic
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 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). | |
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M. W. from Kansas
(6/12/2006)
 "Has potential to be a good marathon" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Maryville Marathon, The Chamber Country Classic
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 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. | |
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W. B. from USA
(7/15/2005)
"Expected warm marathon. Clouds and rain helped. " (about: 2005)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Maryville Marathon, The Chamber Country Classic
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 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). | |
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C. W. from Arkansas
(7/11/2005)
 "We were the lone walkers" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 It was a great 1/2 marathon. We were the only two walkers but that did not stop us. The course was well identified but lonely. Need more porta-potties - around the 6-mile mark would be great. | |
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B. R. from Chillicothe, Missouri
(6/14/2004)
 "One of the most challenging races" (about: 2004)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 I finished the half-marathon. This is my second half-marathon. I have yet to complete a full marathon. The race organizers changed the format of the race this year by reversing the direction of the runners for the same route. Thus, runners ran the same loop in the different direction. Therefore, the hills that people posted in 2003 start at the beginning of the race instead of the end. The hills do make this race one of the most challenging races I ever participated in. Period. This race really challenges your heart and mind, and you will quickly discover what you are made of in this race. Water/Powerade stations are located about every 1.5 miles and are awesome. The volunteers did a great job at the aid stations, start and finish line. Spectators are the only drawback because there are very few. In their defense, there are only a couple of miles of prime residential area encouraging people to bring families to root on the runners. In other words, there are a lot of highway miles in the race. A great experience, the organizers are doing a great job and I'm looking forward to coming back next year to beat this year's time. | |
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M. G. from St. Joe, MO
(6/14/2004)
"Nicely organized. Boring course." (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Maryville Marathon, The Chamber Country Classic
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The course could be very scenic....why go out on a major highway when all the rural roads are there? Very friendly, competent people managing the races. | |
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E. F. from Olathe, KS
(7/6/2003)
"A whole lot of highway" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was only my second marathon, the first being in December (below freezing), so I was a little taken by the heat, but there were aid stations every mile to keep me going. There were several medium-sized hills and long unending stretches of highway, which hurt my mid-race morale. But the volunteers were very encouraging. It is quite a challenge, but I would reccomend it, unless you are going for a PR. | |
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A. B. from Tulsa, Oklahoma
(6/25/2003)
"Great H2O support, friendly people, ample parking" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 I actually walked the half-marathon, but since I was out there just as long as the marathon runners, I felt 'qualified' to critique. Very enjoyable. Water at every mile - that was great. I gave the spectators a '1' because there weren't that many out there, but few spectators is just what I wanted - low pressure. Really fun event, well organized, nice town and people. (Great awards for those who placed)! See you there next year! | |
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Philip Lawrence from New Orleans, Louisiana
(6/23/2003)
 "This marathon is a hidden gem" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was the first year for this marathon, and my 45th career marathon. In a small field, I was the 1st place masters, in what was a slow time. The course has rolling hills from 0-3, 9-16, and 22-26 miles, and is flat and fast from 3-9 and 16-22. The weather was mild for June (sunny and 70's by the end of the race). There were plenty of water/aid stations, and plenty of volunteers to keep runners from straying off the course by mistake. Traffic was not a problem. Like most marathons, it needs more port-o-lets. Maryville is about an hour and a half drive north of Kansas City. The hotel was only $55 a night, but you want to make a reservation in Maryville or one of the outlying towns early, since it's the same weekend as the Glen Miller Festival (in his home town of Clarinda, Iowa, which is only 1/2 hour drive north of Maryville). All in all, a nice marathon in a friendly town. | |
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K. K. from Oklahoma
(6/17/2003)
"As tough as it gets. No P.R.'s here!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This course has to be one of the toughest road marathons in the country. First, there's the heat. The average heat for this time of year is 84 in Maryville. It's also typically humid. Well, this year did not disappoint; in fact, the weather OVER-achieved and was hotter than 84. Second, as if the heat weren't enough, the course has six very tough hills (three of them are absolutely the worst things you've ever seen) which you do not just one time, but TWICE... because it's a double-loop course. So, you end up with a total of 12 major hills. In the last four miles, you do five of the six really tough hills (including the three tough ones, one right after another). It was just downright cruel (but in a fun sort of way). Despite the misery, 82 of the total 83 runners in this marathon and half-marathon finished, so the runners were, thankfully, tougher than the course this year. I did the full 26.2, but was a full half hour off of my PR, set in a cool month on a flatter course (Huntsville, AL). The most inspiring finisher of the day was a half-marathon runner who was 66-years old, and less than a year removed from major heart surgery (my father). He was a stud on this day! Maryville is a pretty college town. Unfortunately, the course doesn't take full advantage of that due to logistics. You spend about five miles of each loop on a desolate-feeling highway with no shade. I will have to say that the race planners did a fantastic job of coordinating both a half and full marathon certified course that both finish in the college stadium. But don't look for much crowd support. Like most races of this size, the folks that come out are awesome, but there are just very few that do. |
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