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May 19, 2024

Route 66 Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Route 66 Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.9

Organization 4.5

Spectators 3.7

Number of comments: 254 [displaying comments 81 to 91]

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J. M. from Springfield, Missouri (11/28/2009) "Highly Recommend!" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Route 66 Marathon is well worth a trip to Tulsa. There's so much the organizers do well: awesome medal; two shirts (cotton participant and nice tech finisher; I love the turquoise in the cotton - very unique); a fine, well-organized expo; well-staffed and equipped aid stations; and lots of fan support. The car show at the finish is a nice bonus. A couple of observations and suggestions: The first half of the course is somewhat hilly, while the second half is a pancake-flat out-and-back along the Arkansas River. While it is a nice course, there is a lot of concrete in places and the second half does not have a lot of shade. Also, I would suggest more port-a-potties at the start and along the course. A similar issue exists with parking (a lack of it) at the start, though I understand why they want to begin at Veterans Park. Get there early for a good parking place on the downtown streets. The finisher food did run out, as well, causing us to have to stand in the sun for quite awhile. But all in all, Tulsa is one of the best out there, in my opinion. I highly recommend it as a great marathon value and a totally enjoyable experience.
Mark Dabbs Running Ambassador from Walsall, England (11/26/2009) "Cooling to it" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this marathon directly after having traveled from the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Antonio, Texas. I would like to say that the City of Tulsa was a good, low-key sort of place. For the four days I was there, it was chilly. The night before, I had to run in a way-out-of-town place in the middle of nowhere - all dark and lonely, with great big lorries speeding by in the dark. Enjoyed the start and the laps around the city, but the long pull down the river and then back up from the 20-mile turnaround was a bit of a grind. All in all, it was okay. That's another state done. Straight after, I went immediately to the airport, and was only able to shower properly at home 19 hours later, having chucked a bottle of water of my body whilst getting changed.
j. s. from San Diego, CA (11/25/2009) "Good event can use some tweaking" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 66th marathon/ultra, and 32nd state. PROS: Good race expo and pre-race dinner. Also, getting two shirts is nice, but having all of the sponsors on both is overkill - take them OFF of the finisher's shirt. Great medals; nice touch having name and home city on each runner's bib. The pace teams rock too. CONS: The cement street is hell on your legs. Also, where are the people?? Tulsa has over a million citizens in the metro area; advertise the race and gain more community support. Often I had to energize the crowd with, "Lets hear it, Tulsa!" Downtown is a ghost town on the weekends. I stayed at the Crown Plaza (very nice and good location); however, almost all delis and fast food joints are closed over the weekend. I had to walk far for food. Water stops are consistent: Gatorade first, then water. Each also left 30 feet in between the tables. For only its fourth year, this race is doing well and has plenty of room for growth. Overall grade: B.
D. D. from Minneapolis, Minnesota (11/25/2009) "Great marathon! You will not be disappointed!" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I traveled from Minnesota to Tulsa by car, and would definitely do it again. What a great experience. Tulsa puts on a first-class marathon for everyone. Positives: 1. Course was very fair. It had rolling hills through a gorgeous neighborhood at the beginning. Fun to run through the downtown area. Flat as a pancake from miles 13-26. The last half ran out and back. 2. Loved the food at the finish: Pizza, bagels, Gatorade, pop, beer.... 3. Live band, massage tent, and merchandise tent made for a fun atmosphere after the race. 4. Tulsa really puts on a great race for all runners. Half marathon, relay marathon, 10K - I think - were all races that were going on. 5. I would say the race is a celebration of running. The announcer at the beginning and end was super enthusiastic. They want people to come to Tulsa to run any of the distances and make all people feel welcome. 6. The organization was excellent - one of the best I have attended. 7. Volunteers do a great job at the expo and the race. 8. Really appreciated the medical people on bikes throughout the race. Great idea! Medical tents, and water/Gatorade stations were perfect. 9. Medals are awesome! Wow! Thick, large, colorful! Well done. Really liked the tech finisher shirt and cotton shirt they gave everyone. Only negative I can think of was the wind and sun from miles 13-20. Tulsa can't help that. Part of running. If you are thinking of a smaller race, Tulsa is perfect!
J. S. from USA (11/25/2009) "Very nice mid-size marathon" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Route 66 Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I was very happy with the new course. It seemed like just enough elevation change to keep me interested. To be able to run through downtown Tulsa was cool but my favorite part was the out-and-back along the river. Pizza and beer were great at the finish. The medal is absolutely awesome. Keep it up, Tulsa.
A. T. from Keller, TX (11/24/2009) "Great Weather" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course meandered through neighborhoods and downtown before hitting the long out-and-back stretch on the river road. It was a scenic stretch, but I was wishing for the turnaround way before it came. I think a veer-off somewhere would be a welcome addition. Medals were very good. The gave out two good shirts: one regular and one tech. Spectators were a little weak, but it's a young marathon.
S. K. from North America (11/24/2009) "Hills and Concrete - and Great Volunteers" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Route 66 Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I did the 2008 marathon on the old course, which had a series of fairly steep hills and drops in the final 10K. It made for a brutal finish. The redesigned course had those hills this year at the beginning and added a few more in the first 20K to make it an even more difficult course. Add to those leg-ripping hills a course that's predominantly run on concrete roads and, well, you have the makings of a painful day and a slew of slow times (except the stroller dudes). I will not do Tulsa again for this reason. The big upside was the many volunteers who made the day a positive experience. Excellent work, Tulsa. Just get rid of the hills and concrete (and the 10K of headwind on the river road!).
Mark Long from Hamlet, NC (11/24/2009) "Excellent" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first trip to Tulsa, OK and the Route 66 Marathon. Almost everything to me was perfect. Excellent course, excellent aid stations, excellent medal, shirts, and processes. They ran out of food for the marathoners; however, I wasn't discouraged by that. I would recommend it and would go back again.
B. E. from Carrollton, TX (11/24/2009) "Great support" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Route 66 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Pros: I was really impressed by the support from the spectators and the medical crews - especially late in the race, as it started getting warm, there were guys on bicycles constantly circling to make sure everyone was OK. Great medal also. Course was as described - not terribly difficult at all. Lots of music along the way. Cons: Post-race food... I don't know, maybe I was looking in the wrong place or something, but all I found in the food tent was cold pizza, bagel pieces and orange slices - and I was ahead of 85% of the marathoners, so who knows what they got? The full/half course split was very clearly marked, but there was way too much traffic when the courses came back together (with 5Kers mixed in too?).
S. T. from Tulsa (11/24/2009) "Great start and finish area" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Route 66 Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Registration/packet pick up seemed well organized, pasta party seemed like a class act, and I appreciated the confetti and the fireworks at the beginning of the race. Glad to get the hills out of the way at the beginning, and I was so glad that there was still a crowd at the finish line by the time I came through!

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