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May 6, 2024

Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 4.5

Spectators 3.7

Number of comments: 33 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 > ]

S. M. from Texas (10/9/2011) "Great course. Friendly small town feel." (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was an unexpected surprise. Crowds were sparse, but very friendly. Water and Gatorade stops were well staffed and enthusiastic. Very flat PR course. Reasonably priced hotels within blocks of the start/finish. Plenty of restrooms along the route. Expo lacked run related stuff. Not many eating options Sunday in Wichita unless you have a car. Usually not much for finishers medals, but this one was a keeper. Nice tech shirt and cotton race T as well. This is a second year race, so it has had a few growing pains, but all in all, the experience was very positive.
sergio baez from topeka.ks (2/10/2011) "Very pleased with it." (about: 2010) First Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This happened to be my first marathon, and I must say that I was truly impressed with the set up and the atmosphere around the finish line. I felt like a true athlete coming down towards the finish line; it was a welcome finish. I loved it. I am doing it again this year.
Jacob Hall from Andover Ks, USA (12/10/2010) "great race" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first half-marathon and it was a great. The course was relatively flat, and it went by a lot of landmarks and through a lot of residential areas so we had lots of support. One family even set up a little water station for us! We ran on back roads through Bricktown but it was short and unavoidable. They had lots of post-race food and entertainment. I really liked how the half marathoners got finisher t-shirts. The porta-potties were a little far away but the lines were good. We live just a few minutes away and parking was not too bad. All around, it was a good race and we will be back.
M. M. from USA (10/23/2010) "Great weather for a marathon" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The marathon was good, and we got a nice finishing medal, but the finish area was a mess. They did not tell you where anything was and I happened to walk past the finishing shirts. They could have put a map where things were going to be or had a person telling you. The massages were gone; if the course is open for six hours, then they should been there. Where are the results?
C. S. from Wichita, Kansas (10/21/2010) "Wichita Did Us Proud" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 A far cry from the previous marathons. It had the feel of an actual, real race. The expo was a big change from the past, as there has never been one. The finish area was done well. Those looking for a Midwest marathon should definitely have Wichita on the list. As a runner, I can now say that I am proud of my hometown marathon.
B. G. from Wichita, KS (10/20/2010) "The most beautiful neighborhoods of the city" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I was very excited about the new Prairie Fire Marathon as a resident of Wichita and the Riverside neighborhood that the marathon passed through. I was very proud of the locations and landmarks that were highlighted by the route. Wichita is a great city and has a lot to offer. Bob Hanson and his team did an outstanding job of organizing and will continue to do so in future years, I'm sure. I hope that increased awareness and the success of this year's race will bring more spectators.
N. C. from United States (10/12/2010) "great event" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The inaugural Prairie Fire Marathon was a great event! This race was basically a make-over for the old Wichita Marathon and what an improvement it was. The expo was larger and had some fun/interesting booths (more running and less health-related booths may be nice). The start/finish area seemed to have plenty of porta-pots and was located near numerous downtown lodging options. The course itself was a nice change from the old course (basically a south-to-north course across city) traveling in every direction through many shaded neighborhoods and areas. I would recommend changing the last 6 miles or so as that stretch got lonely and wasn't as interesting as the rest of the course. Overall the course was very flat with only a couple of uphills and downhills. There were many, many turns though. Crowd support was pretty good over much of the course, especially for a smaller size event. My wife commented that she was able to get around the course very easily to cheer me on. A good number of neighborhood residents came out to cheer. The final 6 miles did not have much crowd support until getting back into the downtown area near the finish, which was very loud and fun to run through. The swag was outstanding! One short-sleeve cotton t-shirt in the registration pack, a long-sleeve, tech t-shirt at the finish and my new favorite medal. Lots of food at the finish although some of it did not seem quite right for post-marathon (doughnuts and pizza). Overall, a great new event. The bar has been set high this year. I look forward to running it again in the future.
B. B. from Wellington, KS (10/12/2010) "Great Job" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I liked the new course; it had a lot of shade and different scenery to look at.
S. H. from Atlanta, Georgia (10/12/2010) "Beautiful and fast course" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was a huge surprise. I did not know what to expect with a race in Wichita, Kansas. This was not only my first time in Wichita, but my first trip to Kansas. The city and course were beautiful. The highlights: beautiful neighborhoods with tree lined-fall foliage, beautiful parks with views of lakes and rivers, Old Town, Cow Town and a great finish over the bridge to The Hyatt. Speaking of the Hyatt, it is a must if you are coming from out of town. It is the location of the start, finish and pasta party - and only a short walk to the expo. I enjoyed both this town and this marathon.
J. M. from Wichita, KS (10/11/2010) "Best Marathon in Kansas!" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 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!

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