Marathon Details - GO! St. Louis Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > MO > St. Louis > GO! St. Louis Marathon

GO! St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon, Marathon Relay, 10K

St. Louis, MO USA

April 27, 2024

http://www.gostlouis.org

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Contact

Name:	Brian Lyons
Address:	GO! St. Louis 300 Hunter Ave. Suite 107 St. Louis, MO 63124
Phone Number:	(314) 727-0800
Fax Number:	(314) 727-0893
Email:	Email the organizers



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Reviews

Course 3.9

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.5

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Number of comments: 357 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 36 > ]

Emily Jones from Usa (3/31/2023) "They ruined what WAS a great race." (about: 2022) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ GO! St. Louis Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This used to be a 'must run' for me. Cute, featured the city, host hotel, a historic train station, could spend one night, walk to the start and from finish, and the course included great sites, churches, and campuses that loved to come out and make the course fun. NOT ANYMORE. First, no dedicated run expo - tacked it on to an outdoor festival. I pity the first time racer who thinks this is how expos treat Runners. Then lets change to a point to point race to make it extra inconvenient for runners and spectators. To show more of the city? Not at all. Such a heinous course remodel. It's not really the Go! anymore - just a race that happens to take place in St. louis. No churches singing, no brewery, no college campuses, last year they forgot THE ARCH. They took away all the hills that made the course challenging and unique. The second half on the river walk is flat, sunny, boring, and smells like cadavers then finishes straight uphill to a lackluster finish line with no fanfare - to go find your car you paid $23 to park 5 hours ago to catch an overheated shuttle nearly late for the start. I do it every year in the hope it'll be the race it was.
N. S. from FL (4/11/2022) "Go! See St. Louis!" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'm doing states and am very, very glad I chose St. Louis as my Missouri marathon. I particularly look for great organization and this one fit the bill. Outstanding volunteer support, plenty of aid stations. The one improvement that could be made is a greater number of portopotties on the course (thus 4 stars). There were people standing in lines for them, and I added a few minutes to my time waiting for one at the 6 mile point. Plenty in the start area. The course is scenic, starting in Forest Park, through a beautiful college campus, and around areas of town. The half finishes, the full marathon runners go out & back on a bike trail that parallels the Missippi river. There is some industrial stuff (shipping activities, after all), but eventually gets more scenic. Very short uphill to finish, but not bad. Good finish area, this was a surprisingly fast course. Nice size too. Recommended race (this was my 47th).
c. w. from pottstown, pa (4/14/2019) "A race with lots of potential" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I have been waiting for the construction at the arch to be completed before running the race. The arch was completely open for 2019 and then the race organizers completely re-design the course. The double river crossing and Budweiser brewery were removed and now there are a series of out and backs to take up the 26.2 miles along with visiting 2 parks. They also removed the finish at the arch due to the recent rains. The expo was pretty small for a race this size. My only plus for this race was the food and beer at the end along with the ease of transportation to the start or from the finish. I hope the organizers go back to the old course and hit the highlights of the city.
Sanjay Mohanta from Ottawa, Ontario (4/10/2019) "131st Marathon! About those hills...." (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The race was well organized with water stations every 2 miles in the first 12 miles and every mile there after. Enthusiastic volunteers at every stop. There were LOTS of hills! Some seemed endless! The temps hit 80 F at the end so I took it slow and finished before the cutoff. The race kit pick up was easy and the parking was cheap (a quarter for 15 minutes!). Won't do it again but St. Louis is a great town with lots to see. Should stay for 3 days after to take it all in. Saw the movie US at the Chase hotel/theatre. Got in for free! highly recommended people to check out this cool theatre in a historic upscale hotel.
K. M. from OH (4/9/2019) "Overall decent marathon" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Pros: Best part of the course was running in Forest Park. What an amazing place. Expo was average and difficult to find a parking spot. The volunteers were amazing and water stops were perfect. No problem finding a porta potty before and during the run. Cons: There were a ton of 'ankle breakers' on the course. I saw many people around me tripping or tumbling into dips in the road. While I enjoyed parts of the course I really like it when events like this show off their city. The course never went downtown so you miss out on some of the highlights of St. Louis. Food was decent at the end; seen worse and seen better.
C. K. from Kalamazoo, MI (4/8/2019) "Hilly, a little too warm this year" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Pros: In spite of quite a few out and back stretches and some not very enjoyable highway running, I really enjoyed this course, which went through Forest and Tower Parks, past Washington University and St. Louis University, and through a number of St. Louis neighborhoods. The course is closed, and volunteers directing traffic were great. Plenty of water/gatorade stops with enthusiastic volunteers. There was also one Gu stop. It was nice to have the visitor center at the start to be warm, have access to a water fountain, etc. There were also plenty of porta potties at the start and on course. Nice medal. The expo wasn't very big, but it was easy to navigate and do packet pickup when we were there on Friday. We stayed downtown and it was easy to take the Metrolink to the start. Cons: Temperatures were less than optimal this year - 60s at the start - 70 by the time I finished. On the plus side, the t-storms never did materialize. This was a very hilly course - not much in the way of really steep hills, but rolling up and down throughout the race. There were hardly any flat stretches. Depending on how you feel about hills, this could be a pro. There were not a ton of spectators or entertainment on course. Food at the end was OK, but not amazing - just some fruit cups, potato chips, toasted ravioli and Ted Drewes ice cream sandwiches. I didn't see the promised Chocolate Crown station on course, which was disappointing. I was looking forward to it! Overall, a nice marathon with lots more people running the half - and maybe also the marathon relay? - then the full.
C. K. from Dallas, TX (4/14/2018) "Pretty much as advertised" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Nice race, especially for a city not well known for being a running hub. Expo was small but efficient for getting what I needed to get. The corral system worked great, and the course was open enough that I never felt like I was having to weave/bob through packs of folks to get some open space. The course itself was nicer than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be much hillier and 'industrial' based on earlier descriptions. Other than the handful of bridges and the one decent hill around Mile 7-8 it didn't seem all that bad. The hills provided a nice chance to break up the wear and tear of 26.22 miles. My only real negative take away from the race were the placement (or lack thereof) of the mile markers. Sometimes we'd go stretches without them (like 8, 9, and 10) and sometimes they were horribly far off (16, 17, and 18). As with all races nothing is guaranteed, so either run with a GPS watch or be very confident in your own pacing ability.
D. W. from MO (4/10/2018) "Nice Marathon" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 There were lots of volunteers to help you out at the expo. The expo itself was limited in the amount of vendors available. The location of the expo was not easy to find for someone not familiar with the area, due to parking and traffic restrictions. The course was nice, though the weather (2018) was horrible. 28 degrees at the start and compounded by a late start and wind chill. Having port-a-potties closer to corral A and B could have been helpful, especially with the early corral times. Crossing the bridge to East St Louis was interesting, though I wish there were some port-a-potties available after crossing the bridge. There were a handful of volunteers in E. STL to offer drinks at mile 3(ish) and the first sign of port-a-johns. Not sure that is the best impression of East STL. Cruising back through STL was nice, chocolate at mile 6 was frozen, and turning up towards the Groves and onto Forest Park the weather soon worsened. Fighting the cold was tough this year. The finish area was good, though they ran out of Raviolis quickly. Once you leave the chute, you cannot re-enter to get more water. The 'beer tent' was bit of walk away from the arch and not very entertaining for post race party. Overall, this marathon was OK. Very cold; Low support by the public; Excellent water and hydration stops; very good volunteer group; horrible weather; good climbs and descents; good course; average expo; less than average post race food activities; hard for spectators to move around; parking at 7th street parking garage was perfect to start and finish, but cost about $16 - did not need shuttle.
D. W. from Colorado (4/10/2018) "fun course, low-key race, well-organized" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 PROS -fun course over the bridges, through soulard and tower grove, and beautiful forest park. sure, there are some industrial areas, but overall I enjoyed the variety of the scenery. bridges were a highlight - especially with almost no wind on race morning. -organized start / good energy / good announcer. J-J-K at the start was AMAZING -VERY NICE support teams at water stations and street crossings --- water stations FULLY STAFFED and energetic and street teams / police were very encouraging. KUDOS TO THESE VERY FRIENDLY FOLKS WHO REALLY HELP MAKE THIS RACE POSSIBLE AND SAFE FOR THE RUNNERS. -plenty of restroom facilities -despite half, full and relay races all starting at same time, start was staggered perfectly and course NEVER felt bogged down - plenty of room to run despite the large crowd -expo very small, but friendly, efficient volunteers. PLENTY OF VOLUNTEERS TO GET YOU IN/OUT AND OFF YOUR FEET. Convenient shuttle from downtown to the expo which was a plus -pacers with whom I ran with for a while were really energetic and really did an amazing job keeping us on pace and adding value to the race. CONS -not many spectators, and roughly 1000 marathon participants, so back half can get a bit lonely at times, but course is out and back much of the 2nd half so you still see other runners for support -multiple long inclines and a few hills which will get your attention. personally I like a few challenges to mix up the course a bit. I would simply say that SOME hill training would be helpful if you plan to run this race -weather in st Louis is unpredictable with temps in 70s in 2017 and starting at 26 degrees in 2018. be prepared for both. Overall, I had a really good time. A more relaxed, low-key feel than some of the larger urban marathons I have run. A really positive vibe with an army of friendly volunteers. KUDOS, ST LOUIS-GO TEAM
L. S. from PA (4/10/2018) "Overall would describe it as" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Expo was small but packet pickup was easy and seamless. Good quality shirt. Course: The marathon definitely takes you through the highlights of the city. Some parts were not the prettiest looking areas but that's to be expected at time in a city marathon. Running through forest park and the grove was great. All of the volunteers were great. Now for the negatives. There was almost no course support. Even at the end the race just felt empty. The finishing miles were boring. I finished the race around 4:30 which was way before the course cut off and some of the food had already run out. Overall it was an ok marathon. I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you live near by.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 36 > ]

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Emily Jones from Usa (3/31/2023) "They ruined what WAS a great race." (about: 2022) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ GO! St. Louis Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This used to be a 'must run' for me. Cute, featured the city, host hotel, a historic train station, could spend one night, walk to the start and from finish, and the course included great sites, churches, and campuses that loved to come out and make the course fun. NOT ANYMORE. First, no dedicated run expo - tacked it on to an outdoor festival. I pity the first time racer who thinks this is how expos treat Runners. Then lets change to a point to point race to make it extra inconvenient for runners and spectators. To show more of the city? Not at all. Such a heinous course remodel. It's not really the Go! anymore - just a race that happens to take place in St. louis. No churches singing, no brewery, no college campuses, last year they forgot THE ARCH. They took away all the hills that made the course challenging and unique. The second half on the river walk is flat, sunny, boring, and smells like cadavers then finishes straight uphill to a lackluster finish line with no fanfare - to go find your car you paid $23 to park 5 hours ago to catch an overheated shuttle nearly late for the start. I do it every year in the hope it'll be the race it was.
N. S. from FL (4/11/2022) "Go! See St. Louis!" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'm doing states and am very, very glad I chose St. Louis as my Missouri marathon. I particularly look for great organization and this one fit the bill. Outstanding volunteer support, plenty of aid stations. The one improvement that could be made is a greater number of portopotties on the course (thus 4 stars). There were people standing in lines for them, and I added a few minutes to my time waiting for one at the 6 mile point. Plenty in the start area. The course is scenic, starting in Forest Park, through a beautiful college campus, and around areas of town. The half finishes, the full marathon runners go out & back on a bike trail that parallels the Missippi river. There is some industrial stuff (shipping activities, after all), but eventually gets more scenic. Very short uphill to finish, but not bad. Good finish area, this was a surprisingly fast course. Nice size too. Recommended race (this was my 47th).
c. w. from pottstown, pa (4/14/2019) "A race with lots of potential" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I have been waiting for the construction at the arch to be completed before running the race. The arch was completely open for 2019 and then the race organizers completely re-design the course. The double river crossing and Budweiser brewery were removed and now there are a series of out and backs to take up the 26.2 miles along with visiting 2 parks. They also removed the finish at the arch due to the recent rains. The expo was pretty small for a race this size. My only plus for this race was the food and beer at the end along with the ease of transportation to the start or from the finish. I hope the organizers go back to the old course and hit the highlights of the city.
Sanjay Mohanta from Ottawa, Ontario (4/10/2019) "131st Marathon! About those hills...." (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The race was well organized with water stations every 2 miles in the first 12 miles and every mile there after. Enthusiastic volunteers at every stop. There were LOTS of hills! Some seemed endless! The temps hit 80 F at the end so I took it slow and finished before the cutoff. The race kit pick up was easy and the parking was cheap (a quarter for 15 minutes!). Won't do it again but St. Louis is a great town with lots to see. Should stay for 3 days after to take it all in. Saw the movie US at the Chase hotel/theatre. Got in for free! highly recommended people to check out this cool theatre in a historic upscale hotel.
K. M. from OH (4/9/2019) "Overall decent marathon" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Pros: Best part of the course was running in Forest Park. What an amazing place. Expo was average and difficult to find a parking spot. The volunteers were amazing and water stops were perfect. No problem finding a porta potty before and during the run. Cons: There were a ton of 'ankle breakers' on the course. I saw many people around me tripping or tumbling into dips in the road. While I enjoyed parts of the course I really like it when events like this show off their city. The course never went downtown so you miss out on some of the highlights of St. Louis. Food was decent at the end; seen worse and seen better.
C. K. from Kalamazoo, MI (4/8/2019) "Hilly, a little too warm this year" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Pros: In spite of quite a few out and back stretches and some not very enjoyable highway running, I really enjoyed this course, which went through Forest and Tower Parks, past Washington University and St. Louis University, and through a number of St. Louis neighborhoods. The course is closed, and volunteers directing traffic were great. Plenty of water/gatorade stops with enthusiastic volunteers. There was also one Gu stop. It was nice to have the visitor center at the start to be warm, have access to a water fountain, etc. There were also plenty of porta potties at the start and on course. Nice medal. The expo wasn't very big, but it was easy to navigate and do packet pickup when we were there on Friday. We stayed downtown and it was easy to take the Metrolink to the start. Cons: Temperatures were less than optimal this year - 60s at the start - 70 by the time I finished. On the plus side, the t-storms never did materialize. This was a very hilly course - not much in the way of really steep hills, but rolling up and down throughout the race. There were hardly any flat stretches. Depending on how you feel about hills, this could be a pro. There were not a ton of spectators or entertainment on course. Food at the end was OK, but not amazing - just some fruit cups, potato chips, toasted ravioli and Ted Drewes ice cream sandwiches. I didn't see the promised Chocolate Crown station on course, which was disappointing. I was looking forward to it! Overall, a nice marathon with lots more people running the half - and maybe also the marathon relay? - then the full.
C. K. from Dallas, TX (4/14/2018) "Pretty much as advertised" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Nice race, especially for a city not well known for being a running hub. Expo was small but efficient for getting what I needed to get. The corral system worked great, and the course was open enough that I never felt like I was having to weave/bob through packs of folks to get some open space. The course itself was nicer than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be much hillier and 'industrial' based on earlier descriptions. Other than the handful of bridges and the one decent hill around Mile 7-8 it didn't seem all that bad. The hills provided a nice chance to break up the wear and tear of 26.22 miles. My only real negative take away from the race were the placement (or lack thereof) of the mile markers. Sometimes we'd go stretches without them (like 8, 9, and 10) and sometimes they were horribly far off (16, 17, and 18). As with all races nothing is guaranteed, so either run with a GPS watch or be very confident in your own pacing ability.
D. W. from MO (4/10/2018) "Nice Marathon" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 There were lots of volunteers to help you out at the expo. The expo itself was limited in the amount of vendors available. The location of the expo was not easy to find for someone not familiar with the area, due to parking and traffic restrictions. The course was nice, though the weather (2018) was horrible. 28 degrees at the start and compounded by a late start and wind chill. Having port-a-potties closer to corral A and B could have been helpful, especially with the early corral times. Crossing the bridge to East St Louis was interesting, though I wish there were some port-a-potties available after crossing the bridge. There were a handful of volunteers in E. STL to offer drinks at mile 3(ish) and the first sign of port-a-johns. Not sure that is the best impression of East STL. Cruising back through STL was nice, chocolate at mile 6 was frozen, and turning up towards the Groves and onto Forest Park the weather soon worsened. Fighting the cold was tough this year. The finish area was good, though they ran out of Raviolis quickly. Once you leave the chute, you cannot re-enter to get more water. The 'beer tent' was bit of walk away from the arch and not very entertaining for post race party. Overall, this marathon was OK. Very cold; Low support by the public; Excellent water and hydration stops; very good volunteer group; horrible weather; good climbs and descents; good course; average expo; less than average post race food activities; hard for spectators to move around; parking at 7th street parking garage was perfect to start and finish, but cost about $16 - did not need shuttle.
D. W. from Colorado (4/10/2018) "fun course, low-key race, well-organized" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 PROS -fun course over the bridges, through soulard and tower grove, and beautiful forest park. sure, there are some industrial areas, but overall I enjoyed the variety of the scenery. bridges were a highlight - especially with almost no wind on race morning. -organized start / good energy / good announcer. J-J-K at the start was AMAZING -VERY NICE support teams at water stations and street crossings --- water stations FULLY STAFFED and energetic and street teams / police were very encouraging. KUDOS TO THESE VERY FRIENDLY FOLKS WHO REALLY HELP MAKE THIS RACE POSSIBLE AND SAFE FOR THE RUNNERS. -plenty of restroom facilities -despite half, full and relay races all starting at same time, start was staggered perfectly and course NEVER felt bogged down - plenty of room to run despite the large crowd -expo very small, but friendly, efficient volunteers. PLENTY OF VOLUNTEERS TO GET YOU IN/OUT AND OFF YOUR FEET. Convenient shuttle from downtown to the expo which was a plus -pacers with whom I ran with for a while were really energetic and really did an amazing job keeping us on pace and adding value to the race. CONS -not many spectators, and roughly 1000 marathon participants, so back half can get a bit lonely at times, but course is out and back much of the 2nd half so you still see other runners for support -multiple long inclines and a few hills which will get your attention. personally I like a few challenges to mix up the course a bit. I would simply say that SOME hill training would be helpful if you plan to run this race -weather in st Louis is unpredictable with temps in 70s in 2017 and starting at 26 degrees in 2018. be prepared for both. Overall, I had a really good time. A more relaxed, low-key feel than some of the larger urban marathons I have run. A really positive vibe with an army of friendly volunteers. KUDOS, ST LOUIS-GO TEAM
L. S. from PA (4/10/2018) "Overall would describe it as" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Expo was small but packet pickup was easy and seamless. Good quality shirt. Course: The marathon definitely takes you through the highlights of the city. Some parts were not the prettiest looking areas but that's to be expected at time in a city marathon. Running through forest park and the grove was great. All of the volunteers were great. Now for the negatives. There was almost no course support. Even at the end the race just felt empty. The finishing miles were boring. I finished the race around 4:30 which was way before the course cut off and some of the food had already run out. Overall it was an ok marathon. I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you live near by.

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Marathon Details - GO! St. Louis Marathon