Bass Pro Shops Marathon

This race had great crowd participation in all the neighborhoods. Each neighborhood had a nice aid station. Traffic was not stopped at all intersections, which you had to be aware of in some cases. The pacer I was running with also fell behind pace somewhat significantly which was a disappointment. The course ran through mostly residential. Would have been nice to run through a park or two. Some directions for pieces of the event were not conveyed clearly via email, though this did not effect the race.

Really liked this event! After going to the website numerous times, I was skeptical about the race. Traveling 8 hours to Springfield with doubts about a race is an uneasy feeling. All I had was a receipt that I paid, but had zero confidence in the event based on the website. The website is my only complaint. Once I got to Springfield, all my concerns were alleviated. Very easy and nice Expo. Everything was well organized, clean and efficient. Very easy parking at the Bass Pro store parking lot and I didn't even get there too early. Started with the smaller races (5k & half-marathoners) but was still OK. Loved seeing the painted bass (fish) on the course to keep us on track. A lot of turns but that was OK. There were some mild hills in the early miles but not too steep for this flat-lander. I would not call this a flat race but wouldn't call it hilly either. We had a warm and windy day which prevented me from meeting my time goals but would do this race again if the weather was better. Plenty of water/Powerade support throughout. Worked with the 3:30 pacer later in the race and he was a great advocate for the race! Was a little surprised that the half marathoners turned off so early in the race, but not a big deal. Love these smaller races! With less than 400 marathoners, I was alone only a few times. Very happy I did this race. Had the weather been cooler, it would have been an excellent event for me personally. Summary - Great event, race and well organized!! Mild rolling hills early. Adequate spectator support. Really bad website.

This was my Missouri marathon on my 50 state marathon quest. It was a really good choice! The organization was excellent, the course wasn't too hilly, and the finish area was excellent. There were plenty of aid stations. You go through a lot of neighborhoods which can get a bit boring, but some of those neighborhoods did a great job of being enthusiastic and entertaining. There was some nice scenery along the course but I would not call it a scenic marathon. The Bass Pro Shop store as the site of race central was really cool. The expo was nice for its size and there was plenty of parking. The finish area a had a lot of food including ice cream! The mile markers were the best I have seen at any marathon. I drove the course the day before the race and those people were working hard to construct the scaffolding that the mile markers were placed on. KUDOS to them for their hard work!! There wasn't much in Springfield in terms of sightseeing so the marathon was really the main attraction. I rented a house through Airbnb that was less than 2 miles from the start and was much cheaper than a hotel. Overall I'm glad I did this marathon for Missouri and I would like to congratulate the race committee for an excellent job.