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May 6, 2024

Route 66 Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 3.9

Organization 4.5

Spectators 3.7

Number of comments: 254 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 26 > ]

John Eng from New York City (11/29/2013) "Wonderful, Fun, Well-Organized Race!" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Loved this race! It was my 29th marathon so I have a decent amount of races to compare to. Course - Moderately rolling but nothing too difficult. Can run a good time on this course. Does give you a nice tour of Tulsa. Title of race is a bit misleading as only a tiny fraction of this race is on Route 66. First part of the marathon is actually a bit harder than the second half. They also have a 5 person relay but they never got in the way of the marathoners. Spectators - With a start temperature of 24 degrees and really not warming up much during the race, I wasn't expecting to see anyone out there. To my surprise, there were a good amount of very cheerful spectators. Many were standing on their front lawns offering encouragement as well as warmth (yes some people actually were burning wood to keep warm). Traffic Control - Tulsa Police did an excellent job maintaining traffic. Never had to worry about getting run over. They were also very friendly and encouraged the runners. Volunteers - Just plain awesome! So many of them too! Plenty of well stocked hydration stations serving water and gatorade at each stop. Organization - 5 stars! From the large details to the small details, everything was run very smoothly. From having volunteers stationed at trouble spots such as ice patches or speed bumps alerting us to such obstacles to even thinking of the small details such as providing heat lamps near the finish lines in order that fans and those that finished waiting for friends could keep warm. Bag pickup was a breeze with me just walking up to the tent and a volunteer spotting me and handing me my bag without me even uttering a word. Accommodations - I stayed at the Double Tree which is the host hotel just blocks from the start and right across the street from the expo. Great hotel at a very fair and affordable price. They even offered a late checkout. In summary, this is a very well organized and fun race. The town definitely supports the runners and the organizers really do take into account the needs of runners. I would definitely recommend this race wholeheartedly. Oh and if you like bbq, go to Rib Crib for some great food!
Cindy Knull from Tulsa (11/28/2013) "FIRST MARATHON!!!" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Okay, I'm a Tulsa native who LIVES in Tulsa! I trained on all the hills, the streets, on a lot of the course. I love my city! Not to start a war about crowd support but the temperatures were brutal!! I don't blame people for not standing out on the curb with a wind chill of 16!! But for those who did, THANK YOU!! I loved everything about this race (except the temps but that's not race organizers fault!). I loved the hilly course, through downtown, utica square, Cascia Hall, Brookside, Riverside, TU, Cherry Street, all the way to Guthrie Green! And, Bart Yasso patting me on the back at the finish? HECK YEAH!! I met many people on the course who were from out of town who told me how nice Tulsa was, and how friendly the people were! That says a lot! I highly recommend this race, we'd love to have you and hopefully next year it won't be so brutally cold! Looking forward to my next marathon..WHERE should I go?!?!
K. B. from Missouri (11/25/2013) "Corral insanity" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Corral insanity indeed. I won the men's 60 age and had been placed in D Corral with pace designated at over 12 min per mile when i had listed my expected finish time as 3:45 (which i missed by 2 min.) I had to work through literally thousands of slower runners who were placed in Corrals A and B, many who were obviously slower runners, some of whom were walking after just a few miles. I was not the only one who had to fight through slower runners as my travel buddy also won his age group and was also put in D corral. Further we heard from others experiencing the same corral misplacement. It's almost as if corral assignment was by random drawing. This is totally unacceptable and i will not run this marathon again and will spread the word until this issue is addressed.
J. T. from Mayport, Florida (11/25/2013) "2013 - Cold and Hilly - but a great race" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Well organized event. Weather was brutal for Tulsa (gun time wind chill was 13 degrees and wind chill at Noon was 24, well below the average high of 56); combine the weather with the HILLS and this was a very challenging event. Water stations, while spaced apart a various distances prior to mile 20, where sufficient and well manned. Motivated volunteers provided much needed support in adverse weather. New route finishes in the Brady Arts District in Downtown Tulsa - great post-race food/beverage. Bart Yasso was one of the speakers at the expo and he was also greeting the runners at the finish line. And, the announcers stated your name, hometown and other congratulatory words as you crossed the finish line. Cherry St hills were brutal and pretty much Mile 15 to 22 was a steady uphill grind (so train accordingly...not a flat course). The medal was worth it! Huge medal and pictures don't do it justice. The organizers did a great job with corral assignments and the half-marathoners did not distract/interfere with the marathoners at all (the split just before Mile 13 was well marked). If you are looking for a challenging course with a great medal and great organization (without 45,000 other runners to join you) - then this is a race that must be on your list.
A. B. from Boston area, MA (2/3/2013) "Great experience overall" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I am a 50-State Club member and Marathon Maniac and the race treated us like royalty (although our private porta-potties were not at the start). I must admit that I found this marathon to be a LOT hillier than I expected!! It seemed like the entire mile from 18 to 19 was uphill. And the beginning of the race seemed all uphill. Despite the hills, the course had a lot of enthusiastic spectators. It wasn't incredibly scenic but it was fine. It definitely was fun to run under the real Route 66. Traffic control was excellent. I stayed at the Holiday Inn which was literally right next to the start (and had a free airport shuttle). And the race director had negotiated an automatic late checkout. It's a short walk to the expo from there. Keep in mind that most restaurants in Tulsa are closed on the weekends. The race was really well-organized. The finish area was comprehensive and well-marked. The post-race shuttle service was easy and quick. I ran this race for my Oklahoma race and was not disappointed. I just wish I liked running hills better!
Lord AARP from Wylie, Texas (12/29/2012) "Well organized and supported ... dull course" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I would echo previous comments and say that this event seemed like the half was the star and the full was more of an afterthought. It definitely felt like once you passed the half finish you were running in a closed down industrial area or repeating the same areas. Overall, it wasn't a bad race but dull as a training run after the mid point. Traffic control was solid, but there was very little in the way of crowd support. The pavement was really torn up in long stretches of the course too. I also got really tired of all the rolling hills packed into the last half of the course. They weren't tough so much as just repetitive and boring.
James Lehman from DFW (11/22/2012) "Good organization" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Route 66 Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Good: Energetic, conveniently located and roomy expo, comedy-driven packet pick-up, decent technical shirt, adequate parking at hotels or throughout the town, committed and hospitable volunteers, very well traffic-controlled course, bottled Gatorade at end of race, closely located bus shuttles at end of race. Not-so-good: Finisher shirts were for sale.
T. T. from Alabama (11/20/2012) "One of the best organized marathons to date!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The race director was awesome and thought of everything! The hotels had automatic late check-out which was fantastic. There were volunteers at the hotels with race information and help navigating the city. Extra special touches for the members of the 50 states club - greatly appreciated. Volunteers were helpful, friendly and enthusiastic. Shuttles at end of race were plentiful - no waiting! The course had several miles that were not terribly scenic and no spectators making for a little tough patch but otherwise pretty course and great fans. Not too many eating options in Downtown Tulsa on the weekend - appears many food places are Monday-Friday. Would be great if some would open for this event and then let the runners know. Overall a very good experience.
Joe Timmsen from Davenport, IA (11/20/2012) "Geared towards the half." (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I would agree with some previous comments. It seemed like everything was put into the first half of this race. It seemed once you passed the half finish you were running in a closed down industrial area or repeating the same areas. Overall, it wasn't a bad race by any means. I'd consider it your average marathon. Pro- Wasn't overly crowded. Very well run. Traffic control was the best i'd ever seen at any race. Cons- The course was pretty boring over the second half. The pavement was really tore up (i'm a trail runner primarilly.. so it isn't a big deal to me but I was suprised at how tore up it was). This isn't a con, it was a moderately hilly course with lots of rolling hills. This isn't a bad thing I was just amazed that it isn't world record legal. If someone could run a record on this course they earned it. I would probably compare this course with Jackson, MS. I'd say just a little tougher than Little Rock and St. Louis. I'd consider Moline, IL. and Boston, easy courses.
B. R. from Oklahoma (11/18/2012) "Great race...but no finisher shirts :(" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I just ran this race today so I wanted to jot down my thoughts about the race. This is a very well run race with a great course. The course winds through some beautiful parts of Tulsa as well as the scenic campus of Tulsa University. Nice rolling hills that weren't too challenging - with the exception of the hill at mile 25. The race was very well organized. I have run the half at this race three times and the marathon once. Each time the organization was spot on. The volunteers were also great and they all had plenty of energy. The water stops were appropriately spaced and adequately stocked. I only have one complaint about the race. There is no finisher shirt. Booo!! Apparently one can be bought, but this is the first marathon where I didn't receive a shirt for my efforts. The price of the marathon was pretty expensive for no finisher shirt. To give credit though, the expo shirts were nicely designed technical shirts. Overall, I really enjoyed this race and will run it again.

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