Not generally a fan of 'Rock n Roll' series events - I find them a bit overcrowded, impersonal, and expensive. This was my first time running the STL event, and I was pleasantly surprised! Weather was PERFECT for running, first half of the course was GREAT (nice tour of city neighborhoods), second half a bit boring, although the portion thru Forest Park was pretty, but repetitive. Overall, I thought the course design was very good, with MANY rolling hills. With a few exceptions, I found the hills to be a nice challenge and kept things interesting ... and most of the time, the course gives you a downhill portion to counter most of the climbs. Organization was adequate, which is all I ask for in a race, and I was actually surprised by the number of spectators on the course. I enjoyed the race and would run it again, but be prepared for numerous long rolling hills throughout the course - and a tough climb at mile 13-14. While I don't run races to listen to the bands playing, it did appear that half of the bands seemed to be 'on break' as I ran by ... not a big deal for me, but it seems a bit odd considering the music-theme of the race. Plenty of porta-pottys along the course, water stations well planned (very friendly volunteers!) NICE COURSE, CHALLENGING ROLLING HILLS, BEAUTIFUL WEATHER, BE PREPARED TO RUN SOLO IN SECOND HALF (majority of participants run the Half). I WOULD RUN THIS RACE AGAIN

Horrible course lots of turns with no scenery other than a great view of the arch. Miles and miles of run down buildings showcasing an absolute dump of a city. The Forest Park section was nice but boring. Crowd support was non-existent in the second (marathon) half and entertainment was sparse after the half turn off. That said the course was not hilly at all. Maybe some inclines but nothing compared to KC and San Fran races.

The Rock n Roll theme was a joke. Lame (none of which were 'rock') cover bands that half the time weren't even playing.

Ugly, poorly designed finisher's medal and tech shirts. Wouldn't recommend this one to anyone. Wouldn't run it again even if it were free.

The race was very well organized. The race course was beautiful beginning and ending with a spectacular view of the arch. The crowd support was the best of any marathon I've run. The race course was very hilly. St. Louis is a wonderful city full of great sports venues, Broadway plays, and wonderful downtown scenery.

We came from Ohio to run the marathon in St. Louis. I ran the full and a friend ran the half. The first half of the course gave us a fantastic look at a beautiful city. The second half wasn't as nice. The course is hilly compared to flat northern Ohio, but organizers can't flatten St. Louis for us. I thought the organization was excellent and the spectators were great. It was an all around great experience.

I was suprised at the hills! I was figured I was in shape to run itleast a few minutes faster and gradually fell off even though the effort was at pace in begining of race. It honestly was very hilly... Of the 21 marathons I have ran this one takes the cake for most hilly. I am not trying to whine to much since I wasnt mislead about course just suprised. Other than that everything was great! Course was manned perfectly and there were great pre-cautions to make sure people were off the course so we could start (there were random people driving around on course at guntime) I recommend this race if you are not shooting for a PR, unless of course your from the area (like the winner who prd) then you know no different. Great day to run also it ended up getting into the 80s later that afternoon.

The first eight miles of both the half and full marathon were run on streets lined with boarded up buildings. For anyone who traveled here, they had to be thinking, 'Why did I come here? This place is a dump.' I was embarrassed for the city. There were scant spectators in this deserted area. Paucity of rock 'n roll bands. Moderately hilly course. I ran the half, perhaps 2nd half was better.

I entered this after having a great time at the inaugural 2011 event. This year, due to complaints about traffic, the course was changed. What a disaster. Basically in an effort to minimize road closures, every hill in St. Louis is included in the course. Apparently only country/bluegrass bands could be found, making the 'Rock n Roll' title a little ironic. The water stops only included gatorade at every other stop, leaving pure water on what turned out to be a sunny day. Won't be running the full marathon anytime soon unless the course is tweaked again. On the flip side, the half course was great, they should make it a two looper, but then I'm sure entries will drop off. It's a shame because last year was great.

Packet pick up - huge headache. Parking is a huge challenge - not so much if you stay in a hotel there but if you live in STL and drive in, the parking is a disaster. Partially understandable.

We did the relay and I had the 2nd leg. The shuttles were supposed to run from close to the start to the relay point throughout the race, from 6-10. We all waited at the relay point for over an hour to pick up the shuttle - when we called the race organizers they told us they'd 'get back to us.' Some people missed their relay exchange because the shuttles were so late. Furthermore, one of the organizers told one of the runners on the phone that, 'We have bigger issues than you right now.' Runners were taking cabs with their own money to the relay point. Other than that it was a great race. Attitude of the organizers was poor and I will probably never do a Rock N Roll again.

Overall a good marathon. Expo was above average. Start was well organized. Somewhat crowded the first 3 miles but thinned out after that. Good spectator support. Water stations were great. Rolling course with a hill challenge mile 19. Parallel course with the half marathoners the last few miles was awkward at times. Post race food was adequate. A nice change of pace from traditional St. Louis running.

This inagural marathon was a great experience. It provided a nice foot tour of the city complete with a good number of enthusiastic spectators and great bands. The weather was fairly warm for Oct.

My only complaints are:
- the expo closed at 5:00pm the day before the race; hard to get there on time.
- they ran out of shirts at the expo and now 5 weeks later have still not recieved the one they promised to send.
- the food at the end was skimpy and tasteless: all that was offered was a recovery drink, dry (!!!) bagels, and an energy bar.