My positives: beautiful course on mostly a paved trail; fabulous volunteers; great, large mile markers (website shows this); plenty of water stops; nice finisher hat and medal; perfect weather; nice small race for those who don't want a big crowd. Bass Pro Shop was a cool place to visit.

My negatives: fast and flat to the locals maybe, but not to a central Illinoisian looking for a fast race on this weekend (I should have known better); a lot of small, rolling hills and turns; two out-and-backs; no race expo (Bass Pro Shop seemed to replace this); very little spectator support.

Bass Pro is a fine marathon with plenty of potential to get even better. My comments on each category are as follows:

1. Course: It's a very scenic course largely contained on various running trails around Springfield. As a resident of the city, though, I would like to see it branch out and highlight the various portions of the city itself. (I understand they are moving in this direction.) One other reason, in my opinion, is that the trails tend to flood... a problem we experienced this year. The course is not what I would call flat, but it isn't difficult either.

2. Organization: This is a well-run race in many ways. Packet pick-up is a breeze, and they provide a lot of extras for the price. I liked getting a high-quality, long-sleeved shirt as well as a nice hat. They mark and control the course well, with the largest mile markers I have seen in any race. One hint would be a couple more aid stations, and definitely more port-a-potties.

3. Spectators: Some parts of the course have a lot of spectators; other parts are pretty lonely - especially in some of the trail areas on the edges of Springfield. The folks who showed up were great, as were the fantastic volunteers. The police are quite friendly as well.

All in all, Bass Pro is well worth the trip to Springfield, and the Springfield area has plenty to do if you bring the whole family. The organizers are committed to getting better each year, making it a race with lots of potential.

This was by far the most beautiful marathon I've run so far! The weather was perfect, and the course was challenging but not intimidating. A definite must run for anyone.

This race is great! I live in Washington, MO and am going to drive every year to run this marathon. The marathon is a great course and the people at the drink stations are wonderful! The staff that works that day are so supportive and it makes a great day for a race! You should come out and join us this year; it is an amazing experience and it becomes addictive!

The course is nice, except for the winding streets full of traffic. A couple of times I wasn't sure where to go. The trails are great, though! I would be happy to see more porta-potties and more aid stations. Also, saying there is entertainment is a big stretch! Maybe a contest for the best aid station would be helpful to get the volunteers more into the race! I'm glad to have one so close to home to do!

I've run this marathon both years and don't have another marathon to compare it to, so I'm not an expert by any means. But I would like to see a few changes made. Add more drink stands with gels in miles 19-25, and take out the winding sidewalk. Considering my legs were about to give out at this point anyway, the turns killed my knees! More entertainment along the way would be great! Having more spectators would be great, but it's kind of hard to control that!

This was my first marathon (I'm 66 years-old). I ran the Cohick 1/2 last year. As a Springfield resident, it is easy to learn the course, but next time they will have to change it because of some planned construction along the way. The celebrities are always great and the runners terrific. However, 2 and 1/2 months later, I am still waiting on my finisher's hat. I sure hope I get it someday because I will probably never be able to run another, as I now have some health issues. Thanks to Bass Pro, Martin, Carol, Zoe, Chris, Linda, and lots of others for all of their hard work to make this a success.

I ran in '07, and again in '08, and I really feel the event didn't progress much in year 2. It's enjoyable and they treat you well, but I really feel the course needs to feature more of Springfield. Run the course through the SMS campus (sorry, Missouri State), Walnut Street and the ballpark area, to the beautiful downtown area and beyond. It's likely spectators would be increased and the community would be showcased to a higher degree. The excellent downtown Springfield organization would likely embrace and support this event. All in all, I just felt a little underwhelmed. The event could be better.

The expo was small but the people were friendly. Kashi had a wonderful display set up and I got a free 15-minute, pre-race yoga class in.

By the way, I am a marathon walker.... I walked with a friend for the first 4 miles at faster than 12:30 pace until the half split off.

I was still feeling great, so I kept my pace well under 13 mpm, even though my plan was to alternate 13- and 14-minute miles in order to finish under 6 hours.

Right here, I should comment on how beautiful the course is in Springfield. The trees were all changing and the color was magnificent: yellow, orange and red with evergreen mixed in. With most of the course on the greenway trails, there is almost no traffic to contend with for the entire race. I highly recommend this race to anyone who is looking for a fall race. They still had an 8-hour time limit, and the weather has been really great both years.

At the half split, 2:47??, I was still feeling great, but I knew I had been going too fast. I kept telling myself to slow down. I tried at that point to get back to the plan and I did slow down considerably because the second half was 3:02.... There are some hills on the course and the worst one is a green walking bridge over a highway at mile 19, which you have to cross again at about mile 24. I only had two miles over 14 minutes, one with a potty break and once when I stopped at 21 miles to get my bearings, eat a gel and talk to two nice young men in uniform who were volunteers on the course. One of them told me he just started his training for the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon next year.

I never expected to beat last year's time on that course by 16:49, or 39 seconds per mile. Funny, the announcer called out the names of the three people who finished ahead of me, but didn't call out my name. I don't know what that was all about, but from the pictures, my race-walking form was still pretty good at the finish. It even looked like I had a straight knee at the end.

A well run marathon with wonderful speakers at the pasta dinner and a great attitude towards the slower runners. I shall return.