Marathon Details - Mo' Cowbell Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > MO > St. Charles > Mo' Cowbell Marathon

Mo' Cowbell Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

St. Charles, MO USA

October 6, 2024

http://www.mocowbellmarathon.com

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Phone Number:	(636) 441-6880
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Reviews

Course 3.5

Organization 3.6

Spectators 3.3

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Number of comments: 12 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

D. F. from MO (10/3/2022) "Great for a first timer" (about: 2022) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. The first half is on roads and miles 6-9 run through a neighborhood with lots of spectators and a DJ. Great for motivation. The 2nd half is mostly on the Katy trail. For some it is boring but it is flat and smooth. There are fans near the Family Arena at mile 16 and 23 so a nice little boost to get you to the end. I would for sure recommend this race.
R. A. from US (10/7/2021) "Skip if you're a slower runner" (about: 2021) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I wish I can recommend this one, but with all the hiccups I absolutely do not recommend. The only positive thing about the full marathon course is that it's relatively flat save for miles 9-11ish, and some of the scenery was nice. The second half is on a gravel trail with no real markers save an 8.5x11 sign on a cone or mile marker banners. At one point along the second half, you're dodging half marathoners and their support people who are finished. There is no separation between the full marathoners still running vs. the half marathoners that are finished and walking with their friends and family. You're on the same path. You'll even have to cross a busy street and dodge cars leaving the area. This isn't safe. Then, the course runs along a huge car track where cars are pulling Fast & Furious type moves, barely able to control their cars. It's hard to focus when you're worried about cars drifting and doing donuts nearby. And if that wasn't bad enough, if you happen to be slower, they will cut your course without telling you. Slower paced 50 staters take note. My running partner and I had our course detoured without any warning whatsoever. We came off a turn and followed the sign on the cone pointing left to merge with runners coming off a bridge. I thought it was weird that everyone just stared and no one said anything. We kept thinking there must be a roundabout somewhere to enter the bridge, but nope, our course was diverted without a single warning. None of this was mentioned on their FAQs page. In fact, they edited the page AFTER the race to add details that would've been useful beforehand. I'm assuming we weren't the only ones that had issues, and this led them to add an additional blurb on their FAQs page two days AFTER the race. Had any of this been clear from the very beginning, we would not have registered for this race. Wasted our time and money on this one.
P. E. from Missouri (12/27/2017) "Run historic St Charles, Cross Missouri River & BQ" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Mo' Cowbell Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a very cozy race. The participants, volunteers, and spectators are friendly and welcoming. The setting is historic St. Charles, a jumping off place for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Racers cross the Missouri River twice. Spectators are sparse, but there is a great cheer section at mile 7ish. Relatively flat course that's great for a BQ.
R. G. from CA (10/2/2017) "Please change your advertising it's misleading." (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 First of all, this was not a fast course as it was advertised. Over 9 miles of dirt road which we have to run/walk. I was dying for ice, there was no ICE available during the 26.2 miles. No spectators and above all no food or drink you will have waiting for you if you finish the marathon after 6 hours.
J. W. from Missouri (10/2/2017) "Race is geared for half marathon" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Mo' Cowbell Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The route was changed in 2015 to try to get more spectator support, it is a bit better but doing so did add in a few small hills to the second half. Second half is along the Katy trail and across a bridge and back. It is still pretty lonely and a large part of the second half is on chat rock. The second half is an open course, so if it is a nice day expect to weave around bikers and walkers. Aid stations only every two miles. Biggest complaint is the about miles 14-15 and 25-26 are right in the middle of spectators milling around that either don't realize or care that people are trying to run a marathon. I have also ran the half several times and I give that portion of the race 5 stars.
Matthew Dunlap from Missouri (7/18/2017) "Fast course, well organized" (about: 2016) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I was able to get a BQ. That in itself is a testimony to how fast the course is. There are basically just three hills: at miles 11, 18, and 22. Just 315 total feet of elevation. The first half is a loop through town, where fans gather at multiple spots. The 2nd half is out and back on the Katy Trail, a bit lonely, packed gravel with nice views of the river and some natural areas. I heard complaints from others that there were not enough water stations on the 2nd half, but it suited me just fine. Nice shirt, decent medal. The age group awards were little cowbells with nothing written on them. Plenty to eat and drink after the race. There were medical personnel on the course and medical tent at the end. I can't wait to run this one again.
E. T. from St. Louis, MO (10/28/2016) "Lonely second half" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran the MO Cowbell Marathon this year after running the half marathon the year prior. This is a race geared for the half marathon. The last 13 miles of the marathon are run on a trail that is very lonely and boring. Spectators were very sparse due to the fact that the trail did not have easy access. There was a water stop near mile 16 where most of the spectators gathered. I would not run this full marathon again but would run the half marathon. I did not like running on the Katy Trail at all. If you enjoy marathons with very little crowd support and the solitude of running with very few runners, then this may be a race for you. I wish I could say better things about this local race, but this is not a marathon that I would recommend. The positive aspect of this race was that it seemed well organized with good communication prior to the race. However, they could have used 1 or 2 additional water stops on the trail.
D. W. from St. Louis Missouri (10/5/2015) "Perfect Race if you like it flat" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Mo' Cowbell Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Smooth start with a slight uphill to find your legs. Then its flat ground to the 10th mile. After that a good hill around 16th. No worryies with traffic and everything is marked off for knowing where you are. Just a great Marathon and a great area to run. Still kind of lonely for the Marathoner. Races are so geared to the ones that run the half. That's where the money is. No thrills at the end. Just some cookies and stale bread with a beer and some chocolate milk and a bag of chips. I'm not for one after a run to eat this huge meal anyways. It's about the marathon and the pain that all marathoners respect and the trill of competing with some of the finest people in the world. Try this one. It's a great run and each year it get just that much better at the Cow Bell.
k. k. from st louis missouri (10/6/2014) "pretty good race" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 For a small town race, it was very well organized. There were plenty of water stops which were well stocked, and volunteers were great. There was beer, chip and bananas at the finish which was more than enough for me. Course was fine. My only problem with it was the trail portion of the course where it seemed like long stretches of the surface was uneven so it felt lot more taxing on my left leg than right. Spectators were sparse but that's to be expected in a small town race. Few that were out there were great though. St Charles is a very charming little town with cobble stone streets, unique shops and plenty of restaurants so I think it's worth traveling for this race.
R. K. from West Des Moines, Iowa (10/6/2014) "As flat and fast as they claim..." (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon did a great job of offering some of the perks of a big-city marathon (solid crowd support, a lot of post-race food, good expo) along with the luxuries of a small-town marathon (easy parking, friendly community, not-too-crowded roads and trails during the run). They bill this as the 'flattest' and 'fastest' marathon in Missouri. I believe it. I set my PR here by ten minutes, and the only hills were two back-to-back hills at around mile ten. After that, it was very flat. This would make a good qualifier course for anyone interested. The crowd was great. Even on the secluded trail portion, spectators were frequent enough to provide a morale boost when needed. The volunteers were very helpful at water spots. If you're running from 3:15 to 4:30 overall time, you will not be alone at any point. Cheerers and runners will be nearby (so it wasn't as lonely as I feared it would be). A few minor criticisms: At certain parts in the race, you had to jog almost two miles before the next water station. That can be a bit long. Also, I almost missed the turn-off for the marathon portion. A lady had to jump in front of me and point me in the right direction (apparently someone was on a megaphone shouting directions but I wasn't paying attention). I was hesitant about running on hard-packed gravel (the last 13 miles of the course) since I did not train on trails with that surface. It ended up not being a problem and may have actually saved my feet and legs (neither were particularly sore afterwardusually they're both killing me around mile 20). I really enjoyed this race and would recommend it.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

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D. F. from MO (10/3/2022) "Great for a first timer" (about: 2022) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. The first half is on roads and miles 6-9 run through a neighborhood with lots of spectators and a DJ. Great for motivation. The 2nd half is mostly on the Katy trail. For some it is boring but it is flat and smooth. There are fans near the Family Arena at mile 16 and 23 so a nice little boost to get you to the end. I would for sure recommend this race.
R. A. from US (10/7/2021) "Skip if you're a slower runner" (about: 2021) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I wish I can recommend this one, but with all the hiccups I absolutely do not recommend. The only positive thing about the full marathon course is that it's relatively flat save for miles 9-11ish, and some of the scenery was nice. The second half is on a gravel trail with no real markers save an 8.5x11 sign on a cone or mile marker banners. At one point along the second half, you're dodging half marathoners and their support people who are finished. There is no separation between the full marathoners still running vs. the half marathoners that are finished and walking with their friends and family. You're on the same path. You'll even have to cross a busy street and dodge cars leaving the area. This isn't safe. Then, the course runs along a huge car track where cars are pulling Fast & Furious type moves, barely able to control their cars. It's hard to focus when you're worried about cars drifting and doing donuts nearby. And if that wasn't bad enough, if you happen to be slower, they will cut your course without telling you. Slower paced 50 staters take note. My running partner and I had our course detoured without any warning whatsoever. We came off a turn and followed the sign on the cone pointing left to merge with runners coming off a bridge. I thought it was weird that everyone just stared and no one said anything. We kept thinking there must be a roundabout somewhere to enter the bridge, but nope, our course was diverted without a single warning. None of this was mentioned on their FAQs page. In fact, they edited the page AFTER the race to add details that would've been useful beforehand. I'm assuming we weren't the only ones that had issues, and this led them to add an additional blurb on their FAQs page two days AFTER the race. Had any of this been clear from the very beginning, we would not have registered for this race. Wasted our time and money on this one.
P. E. from Missouri (12/27/2017) "Run historic St Charles, Cross Missouri River & BQ" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Mo' Cowbell Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a very cozy race. The participants, volunteers, and spectators are friendly and welcoming. The setting is historic St. Charles, a jumping off place for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Racers cross the Missouri River twice. Spectators are sparse, but there is a great cheer section at mile 7ish. Relatively flat course that's great for a BQ.
R. G. from CA (10/2/2017) "Please change your advertising it's misleading." (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 First of all, this was not a fast course as it was advertised. Over 9 miles of dirt road which we have to run/walk. I was dying for ice, there was no ICE available during the 26.2 miles. No spectators and above all no food or drink you will have waiting for you if you finish the marathon after 6 hours.
J. W. from Missouri (10/2/2017) "Race is geared for half marathon" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Mo' Cowbell Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The route was changed in 2015 to try to get more spectator support, it is a bit better but doing so did add in a few small hills to the second half. Second half is along the Katy trail and across a bridge and back. It is still pretty lonely and a large part of the second half is on chat rock. The second half is an open course, so if it is a nice day expect to weave around bikers and walkers. Aid stations only every two miles. Biggest complaint is the about miles 14-15 and 25-26 are right in the middle of spectators milling around that either don't realize or care that people are trying to run a marathon. I have also ran the half several times and I give that portion of the race 5 stars.
Matthew Dunlap from Missouri (7/18/2017) "Fast course, well organized" (about: 2016) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I was able to get a BQ. That in itself is a testimony to how fast the course is. There are basically just three hills: at miles 11, 18, and 22. Just 315 total feet of elevation. The first half is a loop through town, where fans gather at multiple spots. The 2nd half is out and back on the Katy Trail, a bit lonely, packed gravel with nice views of the river and some natural areas. I heard complaints from others that there were not enough water stations on the 2nd half, but it suited me just fine. Nice shirt, decent medal. The age group awards were little cowbells with nothing written on them. Plenty to eat and drink after the race. There were medical personnel on the course and medical tent at the end. I can't wait to run this one again.
E. T. from St. Louis, MO (10/28/2016) "Lonely second half" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran the MO Cowbell Marathon this year after running the half marathon the year prior. This is a race geared for the half marathon. The last 13 miles of the marathon are run on a trail that is very lonely and boring. Spectators were very sparse due to the fact that the trail did not have easy access. There was a water stop near mile 16 where most of the spectators gathered. I would not run this full marathon again but would run the half marathon. I did not like running on the Katy Trail at all. If you enjoy marathons with very little crowd support and the solitude of running with very few runners, then this may be a race for you. I wish I could say better things about this local race, but this is not a marathon that I would recommend. The positive aspect of this race was that it seemed well organized with good communication prior to the race. However, they could have used 1 or 2 additional water stops on the trail.
D. W. from St. Louis Missouri (10/5/2015) "Perfect Race if you like it flat" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Mo' Cowbell Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Smooth start with a slight uphill to find your legs. Then its flat ground to the 10th mile. After that a good hill around 16th. No worryies with traffic and everything is marked off for knowing where you are. Just a great Marathon and a great area to run. Still kind of lonely for the Marathoner. Races are so geared to the ones that run the half. That's where the money is. No thrills at the end. Just some cookies and stale bread with a beer and some chocolate milk and a bag of chips. I'm not for one after a run to eat this huge meal anyways. It's about the marathon and the pain that all marathoners respect and the trill of competing with some of the finest people in the world. Try this one. It's a great run and each year it get just that much better at the Cow Bell.
k. k. from st louis missouri (10/6/2014) "pretty good race" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 For a small town race, it was very well organized. There were plenty of water stops which were well stocked, and volunteers were great. There was beer, chip and bananas at the finish which was more than enough for me. Course was fine. My only problem with it was the trail portion of the course where it seemed like long stretches of the surface was uneven so it felt lot more taxing on my left leg than right. Spectators were sparse but that's to be expected in a small town race. Few that were out there were great though. St Charles is a very charming little town with cobble stone streets, unique shops and plenty of restaurants so I think it's worth traveling for this race.
R. K. from West Des Moines, Iowa (10/6/2014) "As flat and fast as they claim..." (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Mo' Cowbell Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon did a great job of offering some of the perks of a big-city marathon (solid crowd support, a lot of post-race food, good expo) along with the luxuries of a small-town marathon (easy parking, friendly community, not-too-crowded roads and trails during the run). They bill this as the 'flattest' and 'fastest' marathon in Missouri. I believe it. I set my PR here by ten minutes, and the only hills were two back-to-back hills at around mile ten. After that, it was very flat. This would make a good qualifier course for anyone interested. The crowd was great. Even on the secluded trail portion, spectators were frequent enough to provide a morale boost when needed. The volunteers were very helpful at water spots. If you're running from 3:15 to 4:30 overall time, you will not be alone at any point. Cheerers and runners will be nearby (so it wasn't as lonely as I feared it would be). A few minor criticisms: At certain parts in the race, you had to jog almost two miles before the next water station. That can be a bit long. Also, I almost missed the turn-off for the marathon portion. A lady had to jump in front of me and point me in the right direction (apparently someone was on a megaphone shouting directions but I wasn't paying attention). I was hesitant about running on hard-packed gravel (the last 13 miles of the course) since I did not train on trails with that surface. It ended up not being a problem and may have actually saved my feet and legs (neither were particularly sore afterwardusually they're both killing me around mile 20). I really enjoyed this race and would recommend it.

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Marathon Details - Mo' Cowbell Marathon