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Route 66 Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Route 66 Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 3.9 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 4.5 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 3.7 
 
 
Number of comments: 254 [displaying comments 51 to 61]
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S. T. from Katy, TX (11/23/2011)
"A good, solid event" (about: 2011)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Route 66 Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


This was my 22nd marathon and I was very satisfied with all aspects of this race. The expo was pretty good (sure, they didn't have any xl shirts left but they said they'd mail me one asap, plus they gave me another smaller shirt which I was able to give to my daughter because they said they didn't want me to go home empty handed - nice). The start downtown was walking distance from several hotels and it wasn't overly crowded. Sure, the weather was kinda cold, but what can you do? My solution was to wear a sweatshirt and some thin gloves...brilliant!
I thought the course was typical of a mid sized city like this, the downtown core was kinda lifeless but we quickly entered into some nice shopping and dining areas, attractive neighborhoods, and high school and college campuses. Were there some hills? A few, but nothing too serious. In fact, this was one of the easier courses I've done so far. And as an extra bonus, the fluid stops actually offered purple and red Gatorade, not just that vile lime stuff that everyone else seems to force on us. The finishing area was great, still lots of drinks and food when I got there (mid pack), the medal was superb, and the free shuttle bus back to the hotels was flawless.
All in all a well run race.
 

N. S. from Arvada, CO (11/22/2011)
"I loved this race!" (about: 2011)

2 previous marathons | 1 Route 66 Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I was very pleased with the organization of this marathon. The expo was well run and had many interesting vendors (although they didn't have men's XL even on Friday). The hotels were so convenient and most offered late checkout, although I would check first if you are a slower runner as I almost didn't make it back in time. Some hotels had a 3:00 check out and some had a 2:00 check out. I was impressed with the course and didn't feel that there were too many hills. The first half was incredibly beautiful, and the second half had it's own interesting points. The Michelob detour was a fun diversion. It was chilly, and the wind coming off the river was brutal, but it wasn't unbearable if you dressed correctly. I am going to recommend this race to all my running buddies. The Tulsa volunteers were great and we enjoyed the city immensely.
 

D. D. from Minneapolis, Minnesota (11/22/2011)
"Very hilly! Tough. Tulsa Volunteers A+" (about: 2011)

11-50 previous marathons | 2 Route 66 Marathons
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


Extremely cold and windy! Second time running this marathon. Was disappointed in the course this year. The second half of the race has many difficult hills. Probably much more difficult with the 39 degree temp and 15- 20 mph winds that day. They changed the course to allow runners to see more of Tulsa. However, even though if was cool to see downtown, Tulsa University, etc... it made the race a lot more difficult because of all the turns and hills compared to the original course. The 5 mile stretch along the river is always tough going against the wind. The first 8 miles was nice. Really nice neighborhoods!

A huge thank you to all the volunteers and race officials. They love what they do and this race has really grown because of them. Super job all around.

Would agree with other comments that the race corrals are not needed at this point. Staggering the corals several minutes isn't needed. Allow people to find the pacers they want to be with. Forget the corrals - not enough runners for that to be necessary.

Great medal once again. :)
Nice hotels with good rates. Easy to get rooms.
 

A. B. from AR (11/22/2011)
"Lots of hills, cold and windy" (about: 2011)

11-50 previous marathons | 3 Route 66 Marathons
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


This was my third time to run this race and each time the course has been changed. It's really a brutal course with nothing but rolling relentless hills during the second half. The 6 miles or so of flat is not fun either. Probably the first 6 miles were the best part as none of the hills were too bad. Very cold and windy the whole race just made for a not so fun day. All I wanted is to be done. Volunteers were great and the Maniac perks tent was the best ever. Loved the medals!
 

Kami K. from Corpus Christi, TX (11/22/2011)
"Hard is the good!" (about: 2011)

50+ previous marathons | 1 Route 66 Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


Route 66 Marathon
Tulsa, OK
Sunday, November 20, 2011
8:00 AM

This was my 87th marathon and I liked it A LOT!

Packet pickup on Saturday was efficient. There was also a large expo. Each runner received a tote bag and short-sleeved cotton T-shirt. Pre-race pasta dinner on Saturday night was less than desirable (the food was semi-warm)!

The start line was in downtown Tulsa. Race day temperature was in the 30s. It was chilly, windy, and cloudy; fortunately, no rain. There were water/sports drink stations at every other mile, staffed by a large number of cheerful volunteers. There were sports gels, bananas, and pretzels in a few locations. There were bands and individual musicians throughout the course. There were pace groups. Splits were digitally displayed. There were a large number of hilly sections. The course was monitored well and traffic control was quite good. The first half was fairly scenic as we ran through several residential neighborhoods where crowd support was pretty good. The second half wasn't scenic but wasn't too bad either. We shared the first half with the half marathoners. The finish line was in the Veterans Park. Each finisher received a very nice medallion and a short-sleeved technical T-shirt. There were adequate recovery drinks and food items at the finish. We were shuttled to the downtown area where we had parked our cars. In short, the 6th edition of Route 66 Marathon was a well-organized running event, which I think will continue gaining popularity among runners for years to come.

There were 1439 marathon finishers (868 male, 571 female) in the average time of 4:43:02. The winning times were 2:28:33 (male) and 2:57:04 (female). There were also a fairly large number of relay marathon teams.
 

Anne-Marie Gaines from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (11/21/2011)
"Brutal marathon due to the cold and lots of hills." (about: 2011)

2 previous marathons | 2 Route 66 Marathons
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 4


I ran my first marathon in 2007 and expected a similar course. There were a lot less hills so I expected my second marathon to be a lot better.
The first half of the marathon was great to run but the amount of hills in the second half was brutal. I also think the cold weather caused the hills to be more difficult. Perhaps if they were spaced out a little more it would have been much easier.
 

T. R. from Ohio (11/21/2011)
"Potential but some work to do" (about: 2011)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Route 66 Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


I signed up for this race about 2 1/2 weeks before the race as a training run between two other marathons. I hadn't run anything in Oklahoma either so it was a way to cross off a few from my list.

Pros:

Lodging-tons of it in Tulsa and if you're willing to drive a few miles, you can get really inexpensive rates. I stayed by the airport and it was easy to get downtown for the race.
Expo-Small but easy to navigate. They did run out of XL and XXL shirts but notified participants of the issue in advance. Not a huge deal but still a little unfortunate.
Race Corrals- Easy to get into and having the host hotel next door to keep people warm was great!
Course-I enjoyed it. It rolls a bit but the worst hill is at mile 2. Then it's a nice run through various parts of the city.

Cons:
Corral Starting- It's usually a good thing but making each wave wait 5 minutes was completely overkill. I felt bad for the woman starting beside me who wanted to pace w/the 4 hour pacer only to find out they were in corral 'A' and they'd be 5 minutes ahead. She wasn't pleased! With the number of people, having corrals is great but there was zero need for the staggered start. There would have been plenty of room for everyone.
Pacers: I know pacing is a tough and mostly thankless job but some of the ones I saw weren't even close to pace early. The 2:10 half pacer was ahead of the 4:15 pacer by a little bit around mile 4 and the 4:30 pacer was about 3+ minutes ahead at mile 5. It didn't matter to me much since I was doing my own thing but I know others were bothered (I talked to a woman for a mile about it as she wasn't happy!).
Course-I know I listed it as a pro but it was also a negative, too. I talked to at least a dozen people in both the half and full and they all asked if it was long. I give any course 1% margin of error from watch to distance. This one was at least double that. It was a training run for me but had I been shooting for a PR, BQ or what have you, I may have been miffed if I missed it by seconds.

All in all, it's a decent race with some upside potential.
 

K. J. from Great Lakes State (1/17/2011)
"Good race, on its way to being a great race" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Route 66 Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


I ran Route 66 as part of a two-day double along with the White River Marathon in Mountain Home, AR. Many others were doing the same thing and it would be cool to see the races partner up and offer a reduced entry fee for those running both races.

The organization of the race was superb with very good attention to detail. The participant shirt is pretty cheap, but the finisher's shirt is very nice and high quality. The finisher's medal is one of the best out there. The course is challenging with some decent inclines/declines. The town of Tulsa seemed somewhat desolate, as few people turned out for the race; however, the ones who did were great and welcoming.

My only complaint is the way in which the half marathon and full marathon merge at two different points on the course. Something needs to be done to alleviate this congestion. Marathoners running 6:30 pace mixing with half marathoners running above 8:00 pace do not mix well. The last mile of the race was very difficult with all of the congestion.

All in all, a good race that is still early on in its development. They have a lot more positives than negatives and I suspect this race will continue to improve and grow in the future.
 

F. R. from Yardley, PA (1/1/2011)
"Great race due to excellent organization" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Route 66 Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


The course highlights the city and is a good mix of small hills and turns. This is a great race for first-time marathoners as the organizers go all out to give positive encouragement. However, the jewel of this marathon is the volunteers - the friendliest I have ever seen. This race will grow.
 

Blake Sandford from Frisco, TX (12/6/2010)
"Fantastic event!" (about: 2010)

First Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I have been training for over 25 years, but have never entered a full, or half. I decided to run the half in Tulsa this year. They did a fantastic job... from the expo with many vendors, to the emails to keep me in the loop. On race day, it seemed as if there were as many volunteers as there were runners! Plentiful water breaks, awesome and happy volunteers, great medal, and great food! Thank you for your great organization, and fantastic course!
 

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