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GO! St. Louis Marathon Runner Comments
Back to GO! St. Louis Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 357 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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P. C. from Columbus, Ohio
(4/19/2007)
"Great Expo; Fun Race; Great Sights" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a very enjoyable race. The course provides a lot of variety. The only course issue was at the end where the finish line is hidden from the main route and could cause one to miss their target time. The expo is one of the best I have attended! Great pace team as well. | |
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Mark Dingmon from Lenexa, Kansas
(4/19/2007)
"THANK YOU, ST. LOUIS" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 19th marathon, and fifth time for St. Louis. This marathon event has experienced tremendous growth since its inaugural run in 2001. The preparation and organization of this event was flawless, and the course was scenic and spacious, featuring city landmarks, with some rolling to moderate hills. Mile 25 was downhill with a dramatic view of the Gateway Arch on the horizon. Volunteer support at the aid stations and finish area was outstanding; all were friendly, courteous and eager to assist. Spectator support was friendly, vocal, and solid throughout the course. I wore my Oregon Ducks attire for the race, and I was overwhelmed with chants of GO DUCKS! GO OREGON! GO PRE! It was very inspiring and encouraging. Thank you, St. Louis! Will I run this marathon again? ABSOLUTELY! I am making plans now for 2008. | |
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J. D. from St. Louis
(4/19/2007)
"Fun! Fun! Fun!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Well, this was my first marathon and a great experience! I live in St. Louis and heard the course was hilly, but I don't think it was too bad. I do love hills though! :) My only complaint is that there should be 3 gel stations and NOT the gels they had... they were so thick and they were given out without water. My friend and I had to spit them out! Please hand out softer gels (Powergels!) with water/Gatorade. I had great personal fans (including my dad who jumped in the last 2 miles to finish with me), but there were several bare parts of the course. And how about passing that building with all of those smokers?? Overall, though... I'm ready for my next one! | |
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T. B. from Springfield,Il.
(4/19/2007)
"Run for fun and to meet great people" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I finished my 34th marathon with a great guy who was running his 1st marathon in honor of his mother who passed away (cancer). Mike Gibson informed me that he was going to visit his mother's grave after he finished. I cannot tell how many times I have been touched by people setting their goals to finish for loved ones (myself included). I ran my best time in St. Louis (3:12/1988). Almost 20 years later I still ran my best time (5:38), because I finished and thought about all the runners who finish for loved ones and not just for the time. The race was great and I shall return. No complaints. Keep up the great job. | |
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B. W. from Louisville, Kentucky
(4/19/2007)
"A great local run with Midwest flavor." (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I happened to be in St. Louis on other business and entered this race at the last minute. It was a pleasant surprise. The expo was small but well organized, and the was staff friendly and helpful. The weather was about as perfect as you can have: chilly at the start, with a gradual increase in temp, little wind and blue skies. The run through Budweiser was neat, but the route to and from the plant was a little too urban wasteland for me. Miles 6 through 10 are along a continual grade to the park.... So much for the flat Midwest. The trip through the park and the neighborhoods beyond the park and leading back to the park at mile 20 were the most scenic and had the best neighborhood support. The final miles back repeated miles 6 through 10 and were less scenic, but mostly downhill, with a couple of exceptions. Seeing the arch in the distance for a couple of miles as you near the finish line was neat. The start line could have used a lot more organization. I agree with an earlier comment that better efforts need to be made to keep walkers from the front part of the start, to avoid tripping over people walking several across. However, it was evident that this was a local community event with lots of meeting and greeting of friends and neighbors, which sets this type of race apart from the more impersonal large marathons. Traffic control was great, and water stops with the different cups for water and Gatorade were easy to manage and well run. Spectators were sparse or non-existent in a lot of areas, but the ones that were out were energetic. Mile markers and time clocks were missing at some points, and the finish line area needs to be revamped for better flow after the race and to ensure that there are drinks and goodies for everyone. Overall, I would give organizers a good grade for how this race was put together and encourage you to give this medium-sized marathon with a lot of local flavor a try. | |
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N. P. from Lawrence, KS
(4/18/2007)
"Low turnout" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my third marathon and I did have a PR. I am comparing this to Chicago and Twin Cities, so I was a bit disappointed at the fan turnout. Running through the brewery was awesome! The weather was nice, one of those layer-peeling days. Good thing my wife was there to catch my hat and extra shirt. I am not fond of covering the same ground twice. It was an out-and-back to the brewery, then an out-and-back from the middle of Forest Park. The only one-stop real estate was from mile 12 to mile 20 - the rest was covered twice. I was prepared for the hills and don't see what other people were complaining about. Marathons (except for Chicago, Vegas, and London) have hills. The course elevation map was a bit off. My Garmin did a much better job and would have helped me prep better than the information provided from the race directors. Having only 2000 marathoners was a bit disappointing, as was dodging all the 1/2 marathon walkers on the way back. Can you believe one of them actually yelled at me when I politely informed him I was coming up on the left? I guess I could have just elbowed my way through, but that would have been rude. I must have passed 400-500 1/2 marathon walkers on the way to the finish. Post-race had really FRESH BEER! St. Louis bread bagels, bananas, water, cereal bars, and apples. No festivities; no real enthusiasm. I've had better 5K finish lines. | |
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M. H. from Cincinnati, OH
(4/18/2007)
"Well-organized, low-key race" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I enjoyed the race overall very much. It delivered on all the things that are important to me, including: - Aid stations where they are supposed to be, with plenty of water, Gatorade and well-trained volunteers - Most mile markers were in the right place (though mile 5 was about .1 mile too soon). - Stuff to buy at the expo. - Race hotel not too far from the start/finish of the race. I was surprised by the hills but that was because I didn't do my research, and since I run in a place that is hillier than this all the time, it was no big deal for me. I thought it was a very nice, well-designed, urban course. Even though I was in the back of the pack, there was plenty of water and Gatorade at each aid station. People who complain about the gel stops should carry their own and quit whining. I thought it was very generous of the race to provide multiple gel stops. The expo was bigger and had more stuff to buy than I expected. I did not attend the pasta dinner so can't comment, but I do wish there had been more interesting options in the neighborhood besides the hotel restaurants and the chain places catering to the stadium crowd. But that's not the race's fault. The one-mile walk to the start was fine but it would not have been if we had had a rainy day. The organizers can do a better job making it clear on their website exactly where the start and finish line of the race is located. The tiny map on the website and in the printed material (Who picked that light blue design? What were they thinking?) was very hard to read. Though this is a smallish race, as a back-of-the-pack runner, I was never alone or lonely. I think this would be a nice event for a first-time marathoner if you didn't need an excessive amount of hoopla. This was my 29th marathon, and I much prefer a race like this to Chicago, NY, etc. I agree that the finish area was not fabulous, but so few of them really are anymore. The main thing is you're done; who cares what happens after that? But it would be nice to have a little more food and have it closer to the finish so you don't have to hunt for it. From a marketing perspective, I think they could do more to tie the race into the location. I don't get why they used a single photo of a young woman runner as the graphic for most of their promotional pieces, instead of the Gateway Arch or Spirit of St. Louis? But who cares, the most important thing to us runners is the race (or it should be!), and this one delivers. | |
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B. B. from Columbia, Missouri
(4/18/2007)
"Very pleasantly surprised" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I don't have anything negative to say since I was pleasantly surprised by all aspects of this race. As has been noted numerous times, this is not a flat marathon. And even though there are numerous hills, they are all gradual with none being anything close to being steep. I was able to set a PR here even though my previous marathons were run on very flat courses (Chicago and Marine Corps). The positives that are worth mentioning are: 1) Easy-to-see mile-markers, with clocks at every mile. I am surprised that some thought that the mile markers were not easy to pick out. They were very visible and having the clocks at every mile is better than what you will find at the mega-marathons. (Now, I was frustrated with the fact that the markers for miles 7, 8 and 9 were off distance-wise.) 2) Plentiful aid stations and gels. I must object to a previous reviewer thinking that it was "ridiculous that there were only two gel stations" on the course. That's more than you will get at Chicago. I was pleased that there were two (even though I didn't use either, as I brought my own gels). 3) I was concerned that once I hit the final stretch I would be slowed down by the walking half-marathoners, but this was nicely organized with the halfers taking the right side of the street and the full marathoners having the left lane all to ourselves. 4) I thought the finisher's area was just fine compared to the other marathons that I have run. Perhaps I just enjoyed the "smaller" aspect of this race, as I found it to be a lot more comfortable all around. | |
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M. M. from oak park Il
(4/17/2007)
"St. Louis does it again for me" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 3rd time running the St. Louis Marathon. I thought it covered all the bases. Plenty of water/Gatorade. Volunteers were great. The expo was a bit cramped, but over all I think this year's marathon was the best. | |
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Danny Fleener from Silvis, IL
(4/17/2007)
"okay" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The race itself was fine. The course has a lot of turns and loop backs. It breaks up the run nicely. It is a bit hillier than advertised. From about mile 9 on, it is a steady line of hills - none overwhelming by any means, but together they make for a tough run at the end. The post-race was below average: Poorly placed/organized, and many of the volunteers appeared to be unhappy to be there and were often less than helpful. |
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