Tulsa is not the most exciting place in this country, but is user friendly. Not a lot to do in Tulsa, but the people are very nice and try to be helpful. The race course is not very exciting, but it is runner friendly in that the boring out-and-back along the river is flat and the hilly end has a lot to look at. The organizer's know their job, and while the expo and pasta party were not spectacular, they did have everything you needed without being exciting. The spectators were there - not too many, but there were enough in general to make you feel that you were not all alone and forgotten. The entertainment was not overboard, but was enough to make you feel that the organizers cared to keep you interested and entertained.

Nothing about this race will overwhelm you, but you will not walk away disappointed by it either. It is not Chicago, but it is also not Huntington. This race has just enough of everything without making you overly impressed but does not leave you disappointed either.

The organizer go out of their way to accommodate you but did not have enough beer or food at the end. It was an interesting touch to have hamburgers and cheeseburgers at the end, but were they really needed at 11:00 a.m. after finishing a marathon. Concentrate on better bagels, snack bars and BEER.

In general, a pleasant race to run in Oklahoma, but do not expect to be overwhelmed by the event.

On Route 66, you do a huge out-and-back that makes up the majority of the mileage. The last 4 are in downtown Tulsa - and all hills. The volunteers were good, but there was very little crowd support. There was only 1 food stop during the race, and I stopped at 2 aid stations and asked for Advil, and nether had anything. There was very little food and no beer left when I crossed the finish line. (I placed in the upper half of finishers.) I think this has the potential of being a great race, but they really need to work on supporting the runners. They did have great shirts and my medal was very nice!

Excellent marathon. It had a very good course (with a few hills right at the end through an older interesting neighborhood). I liked the run along the Arkansas River. They had interesting wildlife statuary ~ every 1/2 mile (?). Well-stocked, well-run aid stations. OK race t-shirt during packet pick-up, followed by an excellent tech finisher's t-shirt at the end! Cool medal. Minimal spectators (just a few friends or family members out supporting their friend/family runners). Only question is why it's the Route 66 Marathon when it only goes 5% on an uninteresting part of Route 66. Still, not sure going on more of Route 66 would be a course improvement. Excellent post-race food... even with a relatively slow time there was still pizza and delicious grilled hamburgers (I understand the faster finishers had a long line to get post-race food).

Smaller, convenient Tulsa airport and hotel shuttle made for easy travel logistics.

I enjoyed this marathon. I knew there might be some problems (there were, no food at finish), but overall it was a good race. The course was out-and-back, with some interesting scenery and variety. There were actually spectators along the course and I can see that increasing with the next races. There seemed to be a festive air about this marathon, more so than some of the other smaller marathons I had run earlier. The host hotel was great, with a good location - and the same for the expo. I found a Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant across the railroad tracks from downtown. Very good. A local had recommended that. I would do this again, but I still have others to states to conquer. Good luck to the organizers. I think this race has very good growth potential. Hey, I really liked the flashy finisher shirts and awesome medal. The best! Saw lots at the airport next morning!

This was my first half marathon to participate in. It was very well organized and I enjoyed the festive atmosphere. For this novice, the last 3.1 miles of hills were a bit of a challenge. But overall, it was an awesome and life-changing experience!

Like others have added, the hills in the last few miles were a challenge, especially for a girl who is used to the flat terrain of Amarillo. I grew up in Tulsa, so it was nice to go back and run through the streets of my youth. Great memories. Although there wasn't a large number of spectators, the ones that were there were fantastic and very supportive, especially in the neighborhoods. Loved the OU fans (BOOMER!). Plenty of water and Accelerade at the stations. Overall, I was happy this was my first half. Not too large, but not too small either. Will be back.

This was my 10th and last marathon (retiring to the shorter distances). My original marathon swan song was to be, believe or not, the Beirut Lebanon Marathon, but 6 weeks before the start I bailed and had to find an alternative. The Tulsa Route 66 looked intriguing and the race director's prompt return of my email questions made me sign up.

The preceding runners' comments are pretty accurate so I will just add the positive comments:
-expo was easy to get around in and had the usual merchandise plus a couple of pretty good speakers.
-the volunteers everywhere were great and made the race run smoother than I run. My 4:15 pacer was pretty upbeat all race.
-there were a few bands that were actually better than the bands I have seen in other races.
-the weather was great (mind you I'm a Canadian and have trained in all types of weather). About 50F (10C) at the start and maybe 68F (20C) at the finish and cloudy.
-pasta dinner was fun with interesting table mates and speakers. (Note there are very few places to eat downtown.)
-course has enough turns and diversions so it doesn't get boring (no comments on those hills).
-organization was very good - better than last year's Philadelphia.
-fellow runners were friendly, although it seemed that at least 50% were those 50 State crazies!

Thanks again, Route 66.

I loved the hills at the end; don't change a thing.

This was my first marathon, and I'm so happy that I made it. I'm the guy that wrote the column Dec. 3 in the Tulsa World. I was the next-to-last person to cross the finish line, so I didn't expect there to be any food left. But my foot started hurting terribly around Mile 9, forcing me to walk. It never stopped hurting, and I was hoping for some med help at the end. They had all packed up by then, though. But other than that, I loved it. I knew about the hills, and drive on the concrete streets every day, so they weren't as big a concern for me.

I love Tulsa. I've run all the big races... Chicago, Boston, Marine Corps, etc., but still enjoy the feeling of the smaller races.

The positives: Very well run, and friendly folks in the fine city.

Negatives: I am never a fan of out-and-back courses. Also, the medal is kind of boring. Not that I run for the medal, of course....

I will be back.