This was my 8th marathon, and 6th state. The race organizers were very helpful, and the actual awards were by far our favorites. My wife lost her camera at some point in the recovery area, and when it was found they identified her on a picture that was saved, and went out of there way to notify her that they had it and mail it to us!

The negatives - the 5k awards ceremony started early, so my wife missed it completely. Also the last marathon bus was late, as roads ahead of us closed down and we had to find an alternate route. The bus driver was great, and begged to be let through but was denied by the Highway Patrol. This resulted in my being in the porta-potty when the race actually started. Lesson for me - don't ride the last bus!

Overall this was a fun race, and I would recommend it.

This is a great race! The communication before the race was great; course support was just right; the shirts were nice; the medals/awards were great; and they even had showers for runners after the race! It's a small race, so there aren't many spectators at all, but it's way cool to run along historic Route 66 through the little towns and farmland.

Good course overall - flat as a pancake through 18 miles (other than short dip and rise in Baxter Springs). Pretty big hill at 19. Last 3 miles are gradual uphill most of the way. Would like to see full marathon moved to 7am startand would also prefer it follow same route as the half from Baxter to Riverton. Organization was pretty good, numbers were down quite a bit from first year, hopefully only due to the impact on the area from the tornado. Hospitality on course was plentifuly - excellent for marathon of this size. Medal was good, crowds were courteous but smaller than first year, again probably due to the smaller number of participants. If they can get the numbers back up I think this is a good marathon to run if you want to experience a unique journey with all miles on route 66.

REALLY enjoyed this marathon!! I hope it catches on like wildfire, but stays true to a small race feel. I personally LOVE point to point races. You know you are headed to the finish mile by mile. TONS of water stations with gatorade and water at each stop. At least THREE stations with GU and pretzels. they even thought to give you the gu and then set the water a little further down so you could down your Gu and toss in the next trash and follow with water. GREAT crowd support. The course is not lined from beginning to end with throngs of crowds but there were WAY more spectators that I expected. The course felt VERY safe. AND had the added bonus of LOTS of police patrolling to keep it even more safe. What else- SO fun to cross state lines and see the Route 66 signs everywhere. there are hills but they are rolling. I think there were three long hills. They looked worse in the distance than they were in actuality. Overall a great race. We stayed at the Days Inn. They had breakfast at 6AM ready to go. I think they would have put it out earlier if we had asked. VERY nice staff.

This was an okay marathon. Description stated that it was flat but it was not flat. Last 3-4 miles were all uphill. Many runners started late because there were not enough porta-potties. Also, I had to wait in line 5 minutes to use the porta-potty about halfway through the race. Spectators and volunteers were great. I did enjoy the small-town atmosphere and running Route 66. Race should have started earlier or should have been moved to late October or November timeframe due to the hot temps.

The race is too early in the fall, which local runners told the organizers over a year ago. The average high is 74 and in recent years a good chance of temps in the 80s. Then they start it at 8:00 instead of 7:00 or 7:30, meaning with the average finisher ending in 5 hours the heat is insufferable at 1:00 p.m.

So, let's add to that coming out of the Spring River Valley with a killer hill at 18 miles and then a net elevation of about 200 feet over the last three miles. This was done so it could finish in Missouri, not for the convenience of the runners.

To those who say the race director can't control the weather, well they can control the date. This local runner says if you want to PR or even have a respectable time or not pass out, skip this one. Also, I could not believe there was no expo with 1,400 full and half participants.

I will say, the volunteers were great.

Loved this marathon! The people in the towns of Commerce, OK; Baxter Springs and Galena, Kansas; and Joplin, Missouri are the nicest you will meet anywhere! As we ran into Kansas, everyone greeted us with a hearty "Welcome to Kansas!" Excellent organization - cannot say enough good things about it - this saved all of us since the weather was HOT after 10 a.m. Great medal; great shirt! Loved visiting the little towns along Route 66 in the days before the race. Three businesses opened up for us - where does that happen anymore? :-)

I ended up running this marathon as a training run with 2 of my running friends. It was fairly close to home, reasonably priced, and on a very memorable date. I must say, I was very impressed by this first-time marathon. I also ran two other inaugural marathons in my years, and this was the best inaugural. I loved the Route 66 theme and the cute little towns the course ran through. There was plenty of water/electrolyte support as well as port-a-pots on the course. There were also plenty of port-a-pots at the start. The medical staff support was the best I have ever seen in my 20 marathons run. This was especially important on a warm day such as the one we had. The only improvements I would make are these: think of moving the start to 7:00 a.m. to compensate for any possible unexpected heat, instruct the bus drivers to familiarize themselves with the driving route the night before (our driver turned around 6 different times), and offer smaller shirts (seemed to run large). Another thing to consider would be offering contests for 1st-5th place for the best fan support to encourage more spectators. However, I would still rate this as a great first marathon!

Nice, small marathon. Spectator support was fantastic considering you were going through small towns. The aid stations were spaced apart just right and well stocked. The expo had nothing and the race needs to start at least an hour earlier. This year it was very hot for most of the race - over 80. Host hotel needs to be accommodating of runners with early breakfast and late checkout. There are hills during the last 6 miles of the marathon. The medal is beautiful!

This was a great small marathon. Three states!! Local law enforcement, medical support, volunteers, and spectators were outstanding. It was nice to see people at the end of their country lane cheering you on. I would definitely recommend this marathon.