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☰
Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO) Runner Comments
Back to Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO) Information & Reviews
Course 3.8 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 3.3
Number of comments: 105 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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T. S. from STL, MO
(9/17/2008)
 "One to remember" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is one to remember, that's for sure. I signed up for the marathon, so as others, I was disappointed that the race was cut short; but it was understandable. As everyone knows, forecasting weather is a crapshoot - sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you do not. With a double whammy of a strong cold front AND Ike, the amount of rain was more than anyone expected. I survived Chicago last year, and in my opinion, the Lewis and Clark organizers did a far better job dealing with adverse conditions than Chicago. I'll be back again! | |
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J. H. from USA
(9/17/2008)
 "Great Volunteers and Supporters, Poor Planning!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 First, to the volunteers and supporters, you were AWESOME! To stand out in those conditions, was going "above and beyond" what was expected! Now to the race itself. We all knew there was a very big chance of rain on race day, as well as rain several days before that. The 10-day forecast for St. Louis had been telling us that for 10 days! If you knew that and you knew the last 1/2 of the marathon course was through a low-lying flood plan area, operated by the Parks Service, why did you not have an alternate route set up through the city streets? There is always very little traffic early Sunday mornings and even less on a rainy day like that. You guys "blew it BIG time" and we all know it! Also, the race started 20 minutes late again this year. To make us stand around that much longer waiting to begin was another failure point. For the guy I met from California who flew in for his "Missouri Marathon" in his quest to join the "50 States Club," I apologize that my home state let you down! I know how much money I spent driving to the race and spending the night in a hotel. I'm sure your flight costs were much higher! Again, to the supporters and fans, you ROCKED! To the organizers, consider free entry fees to next year's race for all the folks you "let down this year." I know you had expenses anyway, but I'm sure you saved a lot of money on food, water, etc. | |
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S. R. from Missouri
(9/16/2008)
"First marathon run in a hurricane?" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I am sure the race directors heard from disappointed folks, but I think the race directors deserve HUGE credit for having the race at all. It was one of the most amazing races ever. The volunteers were absolutely OUTSTANDING. It's one thing to have paid for a race and get up and brave the elements, but the volunteers did it free, and in my opinion, they had to endure worse conditions than the runners. Wow. What an incredible experience. One thing that is inexcusable is the traffic tie-up at Riverport Amphitheater. I've never understood how you can have a venue like that with such terrible traffic flow. It's not the fault of the race directors, but I think there's a lot of places that could work better. Family Arena, maybe? | |
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C. C. from OFallon, Missouri
(9/16/2008)
"This was my sixth time running Lewis & Clark" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my sixth time running Lewis & Clark (full marathons). Yes, it was terrible weather-wise, but as usual it was well organized with amazing volunteers standing out in the rain and wind to cheer us on and offer support. It was a big disappointment to have to stop after ten miles, but it makes for a heck of a story and I'll be back again next year for #7! | |
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W. W. from St. Charles, MO
(9/16/2008)
 "Fantastic Race Support" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What can I say? The race organizers did the best job that anyone could do under the circumstances. Fantastic effort, guys! Any other race may have been canceled from the get-go, and then the runners would have had nothing to show for their money. The fact that we got 10 miles and medals was great. Anyone complaining should go talk to the three people who died from the storm and all the people who are now homeless! In the first half of the marathon the roads flooded out, and the second half of the marathon had trees that blew down across the trail. Tell me what the race organizers should have done. The best thought is that maybe they should have just stopped the race in its track and not given anyone anything. I think they chose the best option! This is hands down the best organized race around that cares about the people! | |
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Igor Soyfer from St. Louis, MO
(9/16/2008)
"Run to remember" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It was hard to see the course, since wind and rain were blowing in the runners' faces, but events like this really makes you a proud part of the brave outdoor community. Volunteers were incredibly brave. I saw someone holding a broken-by-the-wind stop sign in his hands. It's one thing to support runners on a normal day, and totally different to be on the course on a day like this one. I drank water given to me by volunteers, even if I had enough of it in my sleeves just to show how appreciative I am of their efforts. Yes, organization crumbled a bit under the stress, but it was not broken, so I give them 5 stars for that. When I came home after the race, I found that my entire street was flooded and I had to spend the rest of that day dealing with it. Thankfully I didn't run a full course. :) | |
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S. B. from St. Louis, MO
(9/16/2008)
 "Should get 0 stars for organization" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I should have known this was going to be a disaster when I couldn't find the packet pickup: the directions on the website to the Ameristar were wrong, and once I got inside the hotel, there were no signs directing people where to go. The organizers knew the storm was coming and everybody in St. Louis knows that St. Charles lies in a flood plain (it's not like this is the first time St. Charles has flooded), so this could and should have been anticipated. Worst of all, I didn't find out that the race had been cut to 10 miles until I could see the finish line, after I had been running for close to two hours. Do the organizers honestly expect me to believe they had no way to get word to the runners before then? If there was no way to communicate with the volunteers on the course, doesn't that say something about the lack of safety at this event? What would they have done in the event of a medical emergency? The only good thing to say about this race is that the volunteers were incredible. | |
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A. S. from Kansas City, MO
(9/15/2008)
"The bright spot of an unbelievable day" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Okay, the weather was horrible and we were re-routed and pulled off the course at mile 10. Not exactly what any of us had planned. The volunteers and spectators were simply amazing - braving the elements with us to keep aid stations up and fully functional. There were lots of cheering spectators despite the torrential rain and 40 MPH wind gusts. A huge thank you to all of those folks. It felt a lot less daunting out there because of you. I would like to come back and give it a go on a less inclement day. | |
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Dotty Maddock from Phoenix, AZ
(9/15/2008)
 "A Fiasco! Don't Waste Your Money!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 First, I know the race director cannot control the weather, and there were very challenging conditions (the tail end of Hurricane Ike). But there are things the race director can and should control: shelter from the pouring rain before the race start, good traffic control and logistics for parking and runner drop off, timely start of the race (ESPECIALLY in adverse conditions!!), preparation for rerouting or adjusting the race course when bad weather (and possible flooding) is fully anticipated. Sorry... I know some will say nothing could be done to prevent this fiasco, but I disagree. The runners who showed up in these conditions, assured that the race would go on "rain or shine," and FINALLY were able to start running, should be allowed to finish. We enduring the pre-race misery, the late start, and the pouring rain and winds on the first 6 or 7 miles. And then the conditions improved: the wind died down, the rain lightened up, and the running was good! And at that point, at mile 10, everyone was routed to the finish line and told the rest of the race was canceled! This is inexcusable! The only thing positive I can say is that there were a good number of porta-potties on the course (a refreshing change!), and the hi-tech long-sleeved shirt is nice. Oh, and the volunteers were awesome! Imagine showing up in those conditions as a volunteer! This was to have been my 42nd marathon, and was by far the worst race management I have ever seen. The issues with parking at the race start have been documented here in prior years. It would appear NOTHING has been done to address them. That combined with a lackluster course, and the inability of the race director to deal with conditions, forces me to say, "Don't waste your money" on this one! | |
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A. W. from Missouri
(9/15/2008)
"Running in Hurricane Ike!" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Wow. There is no way to compare this to any other year - it was an absolute downpour and yet spectators came out! The race officials ended up diverting both the full and half to finish at only 10 miles because of flooded roads; while that was a little disappointing because of months of training, I completely understood. Plus, we all got a great story out of it. It rained the entire race, and the wind was a nightmare. Yet the aid station volunteers were FANTASTIC and upbeat, cheering us on. The medals are gorgeous, and I love the long-sleeve tech shirt. My only complaint is that the race didn't even come close to starting on time - we all froze in the rain waiting for the gun to go off. Other than that, it was a great experience and will be fun to talk about for awhile. |
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