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☰
White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for Kenya) Runner Comments
Back to White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for Kenya) Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 111 [displaying comments 81 to 91]
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D. F. from St. Louis, MO
(11/24/2009)
 "HILLY marathon with lots of heart" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a very small marathon that is organized with a lot of heart and a great personal feel. Very hilly course with pleasant scenery. Possibly more bovine than human spectators, but the humans that were watching were very enthusiastic. Great volunteers. Wonderful home-cooked food at the end. Great Southern hospitality! | |
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Joshua Holmes from Jackson, Tennessee
(11/23/2009)
 "Great small-town race for a really great cause." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 One of the more challenging courses you will find. I found out quickly that there is a good reason why they call the town Mountain Home. The weather was clear and great (50's). I was using the race as a training run for Vegas 2 weeks later, but I felt so good that I ran most of it pretty hard. Great volunteers, organizers, and aid stations. All of the money raised goes to build wells in Kenya. It's a feel-good marathon all the way around. Spectators are few and far between, but extremely nice and kind. I highly recommend the pasta dinner the night before, and the free post-race meal was great as well. | |
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J. S. from Seattle
(11/22/2009)
"Beautiful marathon in small town Arkansas" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Difficult course of rolling hills in the beautiful country. The only spectators were those working the course. They were extremely nice though. Very small marathon, but intimate. Racers and the few spectators gave this marathon a very personal feel. Not around to eat for a pre-race dinner, so I would go for the spaghetti dinner offered by the race. | |
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C. B. from Maryville, IL
(4/28/2009)
"Fun, small-town race!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a small-town race that was lots of fun and for such a great cause. The pasta dinner and post-race food was great! The folks from Mountain Home were very friendly and accommodating. One man running the 5K even loaned my friend running the marathon his sunglasses on race day because she left hers back at the hotel--you don't find that sort of thing at the big-town races. Sure, the course was challenging and race day weather was less than ideal, but I like a challenge and believe it or not, I like hills. The race was very well-supported and aid stations were plentiful. There weren't many spectators (other than the cows) but I enjoyed running through the countryside. Overall, a race I will do again someday. :) The small-town, friendly atmosphere was a nice change from the large, impersonal races in which I am no more than a number. | |
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J. M. from Illinois
(1/6/2009)
"Scenic and fun small race" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I enjoy smaller marathons more than the mega-events, so I thoroughly enjoyed this race. The course was mostly in the country, with rolling hills and was very scenic. The cold and very windy day made the course pretty difficult. The fans and volunteers were very supportive, and there was great camaraderie among the relatively small field of marathoners. Volunteers brought homemade soups and chili for post-race food, which was excellent. | |
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K. K. from Newburg, MO
(11/25/2008)
 "Hilly, challenging, friendly course" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Very hilly; my first marathon, but I also live in the Ozarks and trained on hills. Miles 22 or 23 to 25 or so were rough, essentially one long hill. But the support was great. Not many spectators, given the chilly, windy, sleety conditions and rural area. Not for those who need a lot of crowd support, but okay for those who train alone in rural areas and feel comfortable with this. Running on the state highway was interesting at times, to say the least, but I felt relatively safe. The aid station folks (towards the end) crossed the road for you if you were on the wrong side (thank you!!). Great, great food... both during the course (a huge selection of fruit, pretzels, multiple kinds of cookies, Hammer Gels, PowerAde, and water at each and every aid station, and there were LOTS of aid stations) and after (homemade chillies and soups, and bread sticks from a pizza place, etc.). Great massage too. Really friendly people. It's definitely a challenge, and even for my first marathon, it was a good kind of challenge. I enjoyed it (although I wasn't saying that during that long hill towards the end)! | |
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L. F. from Kent, Washington
(11/22/2008)
 "Tough course, great cause" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This was a tough course, with hills and the wind. The race volunteers and local police support were exemplary. Food was available at most of the aids stations, and even for us slowpokes at the end: Chili, beans, cookies, fruit, etc. Everyone was very supportive and friendly. | |
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D. K. from Illinois
(11/17/2008)
 "Nice, Small-Town Marathon" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This is an extremely small, but very well organized marathon. All pre/post-race activities, as well as race start/finish, are at the local high school, so access and available parking are not issues. Aid stations were plentiful, well manned and well stocked. Course was generally well marked and there were volunteers at turns to direct you on course, as well as many law enforcers directing traffic at intersections. Course scenery is engaging - heavily wooded rural areas for the most part, and the course itself is quite challenging, with rolling hills after the first 3 miles or so, with some significant hill climbing/downhills. There were 2 out-and-back sections on the course, allowing you the opportunity to see/talk to other runners on the course, but with less than 60 marathon finishers, people were pretty spread out over the course. Food at the finish was plentiful. Overall, a really well run race - I'm only wishing I would have run it in 2007 before the course was changed to add hills in the 2nd half of the course! | |
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C. D. from Antioch, IL
(11/17/2008)
"Beautiful hilly scenic course" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon for
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This race was an excellent way to see what Mountain Home, AR is all about. Getting to the race showed a lot of the back roads and terrain the race had to offer. The people in this town were some of the friendliest we've ever encountered. The red carpet was literally rolled out, as the race support and aid stations made you feel very special. Out on the course they would come to you offering every type of drink or supplement they could carry in their arms. They were full of smiles and thank yous for coming to their community and helping the cause. You never had to go more than 1 1/2 - 2 miles before another aid station and there were many port-a-potties if anyone needed one. The race director really put extra effort into the comforts of the runners. The police in the community were out driving the course the whole race making sure us runners were safe. The first few miles were in the neighborhoods surrounding the high school and college then headed out into the rural area that tested your endurance in 25 mph winds and many rolling hills. The scenery out in the rural area was everything I hoped for and all the cattle were a bonus. It surely wasn't my fastest run, but it was by far one of the most enjoyable. | |
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steve holler from greenville, il
(11/16/2008)
 "Probably my last trip to Mountain Home" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 White River Marathon for Kenya (prev Mountain Home Marathon fors
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 I like that the money goes to Kenya, a worthy cause. It was the primary reason I returned this year. But the change in course to a much hillier one from last year is a deal-breaker for me. One of the toughest courses I have ever run. Not for a first-timer or someone trying to qualify for Boston. Wasn't always sure which side of the highway to run on. If I ran on the left side, the water stations were on the right; if I switched, they were on the left. Not much of any shoulder to run on, so you had to run on the highway and keep an eye on traffic. |
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