Let me start by mentioning that the name of the marathon is deceptive; there is nothing "prairie" about the course - it is 100% urban.

I could not be happier with inaugural Prairie Fire Marathon. This was not an upgrade to the old Heart of Wichita Marathon; this was a 100% new event. The old marathon and its tedious course are thankfully a thing of the past. A lot of people in Wichita harbor an inferiority complex about their city, but this marathon is something to be proud of - everything about it stacks up to what one would expect from any other big-city marathon.

The Good:
-The course was amazing. I've done weekly long runs through every section of Wichita for years now and I could not have put together anything this good. Much of the course is run through some of Wichita's swankier residential sections, and there were quite a few people out in their yards watching and cheering the marathoners on. There was never a dull moment and it showcased Wichita beautifully.

-Spectator support increased significantly from previous years. It probably helped that a lot of the course went through residential areas, but there was rarely a spot in the entire course that didn't have someone clapping or cheering. There were costumes, free beer tables, people handing out candy and donuts, live music, and plenty of people making a party out of it and having bloody Mary's and mimosas in their front yard!

-Free beer and pizza at the end!

-Two shirts! A cotton participation shirt and a long-sleeved tech shirt at the finish line! Im getting frustrated with the trend to provide only tech shirts for races, so I was very pleased to also have a cotton one.

Suggestions:

-The website said there would be GU at mile 17 but I didn't see any. I would have brought an extra packet if I had known.

-I know its subjective, but I thought there could have been two or three more water stops throughout the course, especially towards the end. I dont know what the standard is. Maybe I was just thirstier than usual.

-There were two locations towards the end of the race that required a turnaround at a pivot point, and this made it hard to maintain pace. Perhaps tweaking the course just a bit to avoid the deeper parts of Sim Park and incorporate the Douglas section of Delano instead would solve this issue.

-The finish corral was a little confusing, as there were runners and non-runners coming and going. After getting the medal (which was awesome) and the space blanket, it was kind of confusing what I was supposed to do next, so I just wandered around until I found the fruit/beer/pizza.

-I like to collect posters from marathons that I attend. The Prairie Fire logo is so cool that I would have loved to have been able to buy the artwork at the expo. Perhaps this can be offered next year.

-The map that was offered in the program was decent, but next year it would be nice to have a page for spectators, explaining where they could go to see different portions of the race.

-Great Job, Wichita Area Sports Commission; you guys put on a near-perfect event!

Nice marathon. Course is flat, and is scenic in many places. Problems with the course included some brick roads, and a lot of the roads were in bad need of repair. Also, the marathon went on a few-mile detour from the half-marathon, and when the merge occurred, marathoners had to contend with throngs of slow or walking half-marathoners. Not good. Water stops were good - could add both sides of the road for the first few. Decent food and beverages (beer!) at the finish. Very nice medal, and 2 shirts (one at the expo and one at the finish). Expo was okay, but needed many more running store booths. And a special thanks to whoever got the clouds to roll in for the second half of the race. :-). Highly recommend staying at the Hyatt - it's right next to the race start, and offers a great rate.

I live in Wichita, Kansas and this was my first half marathon 2:22 (unofficial). WHOO HOO!!! I was so impressed and grateful to the community who came out and lined every block of the race cheering all the runners on. There were "extra" water stations put up by the community. Over half of the supporters had their children out watching too and the kids were really into the race when we passed. A lot of them high-fived the runners and or cheered and manned their signs and noisemakers as the runners passed. This is my home city and I was proud to say that after participating in this race. When I finished I went into my neighborhood and paid it forward to the full marathon runners. I went over a couple of blocks from home and stood with my neighbors cheering on the runners as they passed mile 19-ish. So inspirational. Thanks to those who made the running of this race so seamless, and thanks to all of those Wichitans who made me proud to call this city home.