Lewis & Clark Marathon (MO) - Race Reviews

Lots of half marathoners! I did the full and finished ahead of a least 3,000 of them. Did they save me any food worth eating? No! Luckily for me there was plenty of Michelob Ultra Light. Oh yeah: don't oversleep for this race; traffic is bad.

I did the half in 2007 and trained for the full in 2008, only to be disappointed by Mother Nature. Not to worry - she delivered this year!! This was a great race with plenty of support and enough scenery change to keep it interesting. 370 and the bridge is always a highlight for me, and despite the not-so-pretty jaunt on Hwy94, the "country leg" that follows is a great change before heading towards the half. I realize the Family Arena lot was a necessary add to get mileage, and I really appreciated the volunteers there who tried to make it interesting for us. The Superstar photo (mirror) cracked me up. The "add" of the subdivisions was great and added a little hilly interest and an excuse to walk. The mini-crowds in the residential area were awesome. Ending on the Katy trail was perfect relief from the sun, and for the legs. It also allowed for some nice solitude at the end of a long run...definitely a good revivement for the finish line crowd! I'm curious to see how this will evolve into a St. Louis-St. Charles Rock 'n' Roll, yet so sorry to see this great race go away. Thanks for another great run, Fleet Feet!

This was my first marathon so I was not sure what to expect but I was definitely not disappointed with any aspect of the course, the organization, etc. The full marathon starts with the half marathon so there is considerable congestion at the beginning but this is offset by offering areas for different pace groups to gather and chip timing. I was actually still in line for the potty when they fired the starting gun! :) Once underway, the course was enjoyable and there were several spectators along the way. I was able to get good luck hugs and kisses from my family at the 13.1 mark; just what I needed! Water, GU Brew, GU Gels and Chomps and other items were readily available so hydration and nutrition was not an issue. There was also plenty of food and drink left at the finish (even after my 4:30 finish!). I thoroughly enjoyed the Katy Trail portion as the gravel trail was a welcome relief to my legs after all the time on the roads. Have fun with this run!

Race parking and support on the course were very good. Could have done without the stones in my shoes for 10 miles. Shuttle service was abysmal. Buses were leaving with empty seats, and marathoners were made to wait 30 minutes due to 1/2 marathoners and families being in lines. There should have been a marathon finisher only line!!! Once again, marathoners could not get massages due to 1/2 marathoners taking up all the tables. Who do you think needs a massage more: 13.1 milers or 26.2 milers? No chairs in men's changing tent. End of race had too many turns in St. Charles. St. Charles should have its own marathon only race; I would come back for that.

Just ran the 2010 Lewis and Clark Half Marathon. The day was cold, but still was a great race. Kudos to Fleet Feet for putting together a great race. The half-marathon course was mostly flat with two small hills at mile 7 and mile 12. Plenty of spectators along the way to help encourage the racers along. At the end, there was plenty of food, snacks, and beer for all runners to enjoy. My only recommendation is to have signs informing racers how to get to the shuttle bus. There were plenty of folks looking for directions.

I ran this in 2009 two weeks after New Mexico. Ran with a friend running his first. Ran just to pace him and finally get Missouri off my list. This was supposed to be my first in 2008, when the remnants of Hurricane Ike perfectly coincided with the start of the race. Wow! What an experience. The entire race had to be shortened to 10 miles due to flooding of large portions of the course. The out-and-back on the Katy Trail would have been a swim leg. I don't need large crowds cheering me on to run, so I don't mind the Katy Trail portion. I thought they did a good job overall of dealing with a very unfortunate situation. Mother Nature always wins.

People are crazy if they didn't like the back half of this marathon. Running on the hard-packed dirt was ideal for running quickly without injuring myself. The second half of a race is always tough, and I feel like other people blamed the course instead of a lack of training. One of the best events I have ever run.

The first half was great. Some parts didn't have many spectators, but the ones that were there were great. Also, there were enough other runners around to have encouragement. The second half was terrible: 6.5 miles out and 6.5 back on a gravel trail. Yes, there was shade, but no breeze and very little spectator support. Also, not enough water stops. Next year, I will stop at the half.

I found this flat course relatively easy. It got warm in the later stages, and having a goodly amount of shade on the trail was welcomed. Like many smaller races, spectators are sparse. This was no exception. I like the frozen banana Popsicles at the end, as well as the announcer who announces your name as you finish.... I would have like to have a split time at the half, but there was no mat. It turns out that I ran a negative split. I think they could have done a nicer job of highlighting the beautiful St. Charles area. Sorely lacking on porta-potties at starting area. Sadly, most marathons are this way. I ran New York City (11/1/09) and they had more than enough porta-potties (which was a surprise for a large marathon). Very nice medal.

I ran the half-marathon, which was my first after running three marathons previously. The course was mostly flat, with a couple of short, easy climbs before reaching the Missouri River Bridge, which was a steady, long climb. Most of the race was devoid of spectators with a few notable exceptions; the finish line in St. Charles was packed with spectators. I do have to ding the race organizers for the inadequate number of port-o-potties at the start. At gun time, there were still a few hundred people in line and they all got panicked at being left behind. I stayed in line since I was only focused on my chip time. Also, there was no crowd control after the finish line. Spectators mingled with runners in the chute and I had to fight my way to get my finisher's medal. The finisher's tent was a mess, with a huge, slow-moving line. I felt not taken care of at all in the finisher's area - especially in comparison to other marathons. I doubt that I will run this event again.

I ran the full marathon. I really liked the option to have the race packet mailed. That worked out nicely. Good medals (the medal is important to me). The post-race party was good. Overall, the race was well organized. The course was a little boring; however, it was pretty much flat. I liked running in the downtown area. I didn't love running on the Katy Trail. I got several small rocks in my shoes and didn't like sharing the trail with the bikers. It wasn't terrible; it was just something to deal with. The shaded areas of the trail did help with the heat and sun. I would suggest that the marathon runners have different color bibs then the half-runners so that spectators could know when to say, "You're almost there...." I'm not sure how I feel about running right next to the half's finish chute. I was concerned that I missed a turn for the full. Overall, I am very happy with my run. It was a little hot, but that's kind of expected for mid-September. I think next year it is being moved to October. The race was very well organized! Thanks!

Decent half-marathon. Nothing too thrilling or exciting. Rather industrial versus scenic but a good training run. LOSE THE ANNOUNCER AT THE STARTING LINE. Good organization, nice amenities (shirt and medal) and the post-run food was good and well organized. It would have been nice to have run the full, but it just didn`t fit the schedule.

The course is rather boring, but the organization is good. One concern is that the sports drinks were so watered down that they seemed literally like water, which was a big negative for this heavy sweater.

The first 13.1 were great, with good roads and everything. Just past the half-marathon finish, the full marathon hopped on the Katy Trail, and that's where it all went south. The course for the second half seemed like an afterthought. There were still sufficient aid stations and volunteers, but with virtually NO spectators it felt a lot like a training run. If you feel like the crowd helps you overcome the mental drag of running 26.2 miles, this is NOT the marathon for you. Post-race facilities were fine, spectator areas on the FIRST half were great, and volunteers were great. I don't know how many johns there were at the start line, but there weren't enough. I waited in line for 25 minutes and didn't get halfway though it; I had to use the first one I came to out on course. My honest appraisal: do the half, but skip the full marathon at Lewis and Clark unless they change the course.

My comments concern just the half, which I ran, but I have run in this area quite a bit over the years, particularly the marathon course. The course is very boring if you are coming in from out of town. Crossing the Mo. River is about the highlight of this course. The half marathon dwarfs the marathon as far as number of participants, but if you need another state for your resume, this is fairly flat, especially when you hit the Katy Trail. Organization/support is very good, but don't expect much crowd support, especially for the marathon course.

I flew all of the way from Key West to run this because it was supposed to be flat. The second half was, but the first half had two doozy hills. AND OH MY GOODNESS, WE WERE SWAMPED WITH HALF-MARATHONERS! The first half was really tough because there were just thousands and thousands of half-marathoners. Plus, it was 100% concrete, which wiped out your legs for the second half. But the second half was wonderful - flat as a pancake, uncrowded, on hard-packed gravel. Unfortunately, by the time you got to it, it was 85 and humid. It was an out-and-back on the trail, so you knew what to expect and where the aid stations were. I saw people turning around, avoiding several miles; I hope they didn't claim to have finished! Great medal, and very nice, but limited spectators. Lots of aid stations too.

Let me initially say that the support surrounding this race was great! The volunteers were tremendous, every single one. However for me they couldn't overshadow the course on the back half of the marathon. If you choose to run this course be forewarned that miles 13.1-26.2 are run on the Katy Trail, which is a crushed stone/crushed gravel trail. It was very uneven, with numerous bike ruts and washed out tiny gullies. I should have known that I was in trouble when, while the majority of the race's half-marathoners were finishing, the chute for the full marathon participants to continue the marathon portion was actually being crowded in on by the spectators and only one volunteer was assigned to keep them back off of the course. Then on the Katy Trail I was quite surprised to see non-race traffic in the form of bikers of all ages on their usual Sunday rides, walkers with their dogs, and other people out jogging. And not just a few isolated incidents but it appeared that there was no attempt to keep these folks off the course. I saw several runners who needed to move out of the way of the bikers! Also there didn't seem to be a sufficient number of water stops on the back half of the course, as there were several times when I found myself thinking, "Boy, I'm getting a little thirsty!" One other item for the organizers would be for the volunteers to all wear the same-colored shirts so they could be distinguished from the non-race participants on the course. Finally, at the beginning of the race in the amphitheater, there were an insufficient number of porta-potties. I'm going to estimate that there were about 30-40 of them and I had to wait from 6:30 a.m. until 7:05 a.m. to use one, which meant that I just barely got back to the start corral by the 7:15 a.m. start.

I ran the half this year for the second time. I just wanted to say that Fleet Feet always does a great job hosting this race. Spectators could have been more plentiful, but I also enjoy the silence sometimes. Overall, great race!

Overall, this marathon had good organization, and at $55 it was not too pricey. It would have been nice if they had some sort of expo as the packet pickup was at the various FleetFeets in the area, but they are the major sponsor so understandable. The first half of the course was not bad. There was even a stretch where you could see other runners on the other side of the road. The last half was on the MKT trail where you run out 6.5 miles and back on fine gravel. This seemed long and lonely until on the way back when I got to see the others running out. It is almost like the marathon was an afterthought for this race since over 4,500 finished the half and only 688 for the full. I do feel like it is a fast course if someone wants to BQ, even with the trail portion. I think a full road course might get better participation. There were sparse crowds along the first half and a lot close to the finish. Spectators were very few along the trail. The volunteers, though, were plentiful at the water stations. The finish area was great and there was plenty of food. I am glad to have run the marathon and most importantly I did have a good time.

This is the first time I had run the "new" course, and after the first 9 miles (dull stretches through industrial parks - though it's not like you need much stimulation at that point in the race), it's beautiful and flat. The aid stations were fully supported even for us back-of-the-packers, which I always greatly appreciate. Superb organization and enthusiasm from race personnel!

No hurricane to battle this year. I had a wonderful time and loved the city. I can't run anymore because of injuries, but I still like to compete, so I walked. I did a time of 5:54. I was still able to beat 68 runners. I was actually wondering if there were any more walkers that were involved. I plan to do this one again next year with my son. Lots of water and fluids were provided. Half of the course is a trail. It was a fun experience. There were around 5,000-6,000 participants, I believe. Most did the half. We all started at the same time, which made it interesting. Around 688 completed the marathon itself.

This is my second time running this marathon. Last year I ran the shortened race in Hurricane Ike. The organization was good and the spectators were great for the first 13 miles and at the very end. But other than the aid stations, there was no one out on the section of the race on the Katy Trail (miles 14-25). Overall, the course itself is BORING. The race starts with 8 miles through an industrial park. The only thing interesting to look at was the runners on the other side of the loop. Then there are about two miles of winding through corn fields - no scenery and no shade. The Katy Trail portion of the race was also surprisingly dull. There were a couple of nice views of the river, but that's all. I might do the half-marathon as training for another race, but I won't be doing the full marathon again.

I ran this because the date was convenient and I needed one in Missouri. The organization was so good that it overshadowed a so-so course and the few spectators. Good water and Gatorade support; plentiful porta-potties.

This was to be the first marathon for me and my son, and I will never forget the experience. We drove from Bowling Green, Kentucky the night before, and enjoyed St. Charles (the town) a lot. The run was total confusion, only because of IKE. We were soaked and cold, but I'll never forget running across the I-64 bridge, as I have traveled it many times in younger years. Overall, I enjoyed the run, but was disappointed that we were unable to finish it. N. Yates, Bowling Green, KY

This was the second time this was to be my FIRST Marathon. Last year, I had an injury just five weeks out and ran the half instead. This year Ike won. However, once over the disappointment, I did enjoy running with 4,000 other crazy runners in this shortened race. Course - very good course; too bad we did not get to experience all of it this year. Organization - Registration: Except for having to drive in an extra day to pick up a packet... and not much of an expo to experience once there, registration was exceptional. It would have been nice if at the 8-mile mark, when we first took a modified turn, they could have told us that the races were shortened to 10 miles, but under the circumstances, I'll give them a pass. Volunteers were amazing!!!!! At least we were able to warm up by running. They braved the rain and steady 25 MPH winds and up to 40 MPH gusts just to support us... THANKS VOLUNTEERS! Spectators - more abundant than you would think in this weather. Thanks to those who were there; I told my wife to stay at the hotel because it was so bad. For the runners coming back next year: I encourage you to drive to the parking area the night before and see the best way to get in. There are two roads that lead into the parking area. People coming from Highway 365 were all going into one entrance, which was not the best entrance for this event. By the way, thanks to the family who gave me a ride from the hotel.

Too bad about the weather, but kudos to the race committee and volunteers who performed brilliantly in 5 1/2 inches of rain and winds gusting up to 50 MPH. Though I was disappointed at the shortening of the race, it was the correct call. The few complaints registered, I venture, are from those who have never been involved in organizing a race. Courses must be certified well in advance; any alteration to the course would have invalidated the results. And given the weather, there would have been nowhere safely to re-route runners anyway. My hat's off to the race committee and those great volunteers. I'll be back next year.

I understand that the weather can't be controlled, and that made things difficult this year, but this was still not a very well organized event. There is no race-day packet pickup, so I had to make a trip from out of town twice. The traffic getting into the race was horrible, with around a 1-1/2 hour wait to get to the parking. Then, the start was being delayed and most people were standing around in the driving rain with no idea when/if the race was going to run. Finally, with no announcement, the race was started to general confusion as many people had to scamper from all over to get to the line. They decided to shorten the race, as you have read, but weren't able to inform us of this until we had less than 1/4 mile to go. I know circumstances were difficult, to say the least, but bad weather was predicted days in advance. People paid a lot of money and put in a lot of effort to do this race; a contingency plan and better communication would have been nice.

We give a lot of credit to the Fleet Feet staff and race directors to put on the best race they could considering the conditions and necessary last-minute changes. We went into it with an open mind and still thoroughly enjoyed the insanity of participating - in 22+ years of running, we've never seen anything like it! Special kudos to all of the volunteers, the police, and those spectators that braved the conditions!!! Were we disappointed in a couple of things? Sure, we felt the volunteers directing traffic could have been more proactive/organized (the poor people in the east lot must have been surprised to find their cars partially underwater after the race). We wish there had been a way to finish the half (we especially felt badly for the full marathoners, though), but knew that was near impossible with such short notice. As a former race director, I understand and can appreciate how difficult it is to rearrange race-day plans due to inclement weather. Two things are for certain, though: we will both be back to run another Lewis & Clark, and we will NEVER forget our crazy experience in '08!

So, I didn't run my half-marathon, but I got to experience something more spectacular. All of us who ran showed amazing perseverance as we were tested to the limits. For the majority of the half-marathon course that I did run, I thought it was nice and flat. If the weather cooperated, I could see being able to set a PR on this course. I applaud the race directors for doing the best they could with so many obstacles, and I especially want to thank the volunteers and spectators who came out to support us. You were amazing!! Maybe I didn't reach my initial goal for the day, but I came away with something much better. I now know I can run in a deluge and live to tell the tale. What a great one to share for future long runs!! Great job, everybody! We definitely made some lemonade - buckets of it!!

I have no regrets about not finishing my first half-marathon. There were 3,000 runners who showed their spirit in this horrible weather, and I was one of them. I gave thanks to all organizers, volunteers, and spectators.

This is one to remember, that's for sure. I signed up for the marathon, so as others, I was disappointed that the race was cut short; but it was understandable. As everyone knows, forecasting weather is a crapshoot - sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you do not. With a double whammy of a strong cold front AND Ike, the amount of rain was more than anyone expected. I survived Chicago last year, and in my opinion, the Lewis and Clark organizers did a far better job dealing with adverse conditions than Chicago. I'll be back again!

First, to the volunteers and supporters, you were AWESOME! To stand out in those conditions, was going "above and beyond" what was expected! Now to the race itself. We all knew there was a very big chance of rain on race day, as well as rain several days before that. The 10-day forecast for St. Louis had been telling us that for 10 days! If you knew that and you knew the last 1/2 of the marathon course was through a low-lying flood plan area, operated by the Parks Service, why did you not have an alternate route set up through the city streets? There is always very little traffic early Sunday mornings and even less on a rainy day like that. You guys "blew it BIG time" and we all know it! Also, the race started 20 minutes late again this year. To make us stand around that much longer waiting to begin was another failure point. For the guy I met from California who flew in for his "Missouri Marathon" in his quest to join the "50 States Club," I apologize that my home state let you down! I know how much money I spent driving to the race and spending the night in a hotel. I'm sure your flight costs were much higher! Again, to the supporters and fans, you ROCKED! To the organizers, consider free entry fees to next year's race for all the folks you "let down this year." I know you had expenses anyway, but I'm sure you saved a lot of money on food, water, etc.

I am sure the race directors heard from disappointed folks, but I think the race directors deserve HUGE credit for having the race at all. It was one of the most amazing races ever. The volunteers were absolutely OUTSTANDING. It's one thing to have paid for a race and get up and brave the elements, but the volunteers did it free, and in my opinion, they had to endure worse conditions than the runners. Wow. What an incredible experience. One thing that is inexcusable is the traffic tie-up at Riverport Amphitheater. I've never understood how you can have a venue like that with such terrible traffic flow. It's not the fault of the race directors, but I think there's a lot of places that could work better. Family Arena, maybe?

This was my sixth time running Lewis & Clark (full marathons). Yes, it was terrible weather-wise, but as usual it was well organized with amazing volunteers standing out in the rain and wind to cheer us on and offer support. It was a big disappointment to have to stop after ten miles, but it makes for a heck of a story and I'll be back again next year for #7!

What can I say? The race organizers did the best job that anyone could do under the circumstances. Fantastic effort, guys! Any other race may have been canceled from the get-go, and then the runners would have had nothing to show for their money. The fact that we got 10 miles and medals was great. Anyone complaining should go talk to the three people who died from the storm and all the people who are now homeless! In the first half of the marathon the roads flooded out, and the second half of the marathon had trees that blew down across the trail. Tell me what the race organizers should have done. The best thought is that maybe they should have just stopped the race in its track and not given anyone anything. I think they chose the best option! This is hands down the best organized race around that cares about the people!

It was hard to see the course, since wind and rain were blowing in the runners' faces, but events like this really makes you a proud part of the brave outdoor community. Volunteers were incredibly brave. I saw someone holding a broken-by-the-wind stop sign in his hands. It's one thing to support runners on a normal day, and totally different to be on the course on a day like this one. I drank water given to me by volunteers, even if I had enough of it in my sleeves just to show how appreciative I am of their efforts. Yes, organization crumbled a bit under the stress, but it was not broken, so I give them 5 stars for that. When I came home after the race, I found that my entire street was flooded and I had to spend the rest of that day dealing with it. Thankfully I didn't run a full course. :)

I should have known this was going to be a disaster when I couldn't find the packet pickup: the directions on the website to the Ameristar were wrong, and once I got inside the hotel, there were no signs directing people where to go. The organizers knew the storm was coming and everybody in St. Louis knows that St. Charles lies in a flood plain (it's not like this is the first time St. Charles has flooded), so this could and should have been anticipated. Worst of all, I didn't find out that the race had been cut to 10 miles until I could see the finish line, after I had been running for close to two hours. Do the organizers honestly expect me to believe they had no way to get word to the runners before then? If there was no way to communicate with the volunteers on the course, doesn't that say something about the lack of safety at this event? What would they have done in the event of a medical emergency? The only good thing to say about this race is that the volunteers were incredible.