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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 271 to 281]
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M. S. from Baltimore, Maryland
(4/12/2005)
"Great course, great people." (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time ever in the city of St. Louis, my second marathon, and an awesome experience all around. The weather was uncharacteristically warm, but still did not detract from the positive points: 1) Early start time 2) Beautiful course, especially Forest Park and the perfect view of the arch on the final stretch heading east on Market Street. 3) Well-stocked aid stations (I brought some of my own Gatorade to avoid the tangled bodies during the first 9 miles that overlapped with the half-marathoners). 4) Good expo 5) Host hotel was less than half a mile from the start 6) Nice art and music theme 7) Fans' boom boxes playing the Rocky theme - nice! 8) Well-stocked recovery area 9) Mild rolling hills kept it interesting. I would definitely recommend this marathon for anyone who wants the perks of a big-city marathon without the huge crowds. | |
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B. J. from Baltimore,Maryland
(4/12/2005)
"Worst marathon I've run" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This was the most disorganized marathon I have run. They ran out of water at the first couple of water stations. So I was six miles in before I finally got some water. It was 65 at the start and in the mid-seventies by my finish 3:45. Not that I could tell exactly where I was since they had no mile markers. I spoke to one of the organizers and they said the truck was late that was putting out the mile markers. That should be something taken care of way in advance. The course was hilly. The last 3.2 miles you had to run into the finish with the half marathon people, which was very congested. DO NOT DO THIS MARATHON - YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. | |
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B. H. from Jonesboro, AR
(4/12/2005)
"Fun place to visit - but not a good race" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Love downtown St. Louis, and the fans were great, but the rest of the race left a lot to be desired. NO FLATS! The entire course was up and down hills - which could be ok, but the course topographical map on their website sure didn't seem to match the route we ran. The race is classified (according to one volunteer we spoke with) as a hilly course - yet there is no mention of that on their website, in the race guide you get with your packet, or anywhere else. Furthermore, part of the attraction (to me anyway) in running a marathon in different cities is to see the sites a little, but this route incorporated a lot of old brick buildings and not much else. We did get to run by/through the Anheuser Busch brewing facility and that was scenic, but why didn't the route incorporate the Arch? Or Busch Stadium? Or the Governor's Mansion? Or the Edward Jones Dome/Convention Center? Or any road along (or bridge spanning) the Mississippi? So many neat things to see that I had hoped would be included in the route that weren't... The organization was poor as well. The website shuts down or stops accepting pre-registration 2 weeks in advance, so we had to register at the expo. The fee was increased an extra $5 beyond what the website stated for 'late' registration. Staffers were less than cordial to boot. Aid stations were poorly run and understaffed. We lost several minutes off of our time because we had to come to a complete stop and wait in line to get any water at almost every station! I had to ask 4 people at 3 different stations before one of them could provide vaseline! Each time I asked if they had any, I got the same 'I don't think so... but I don't know' until finally finding some. The weather was unseasonably warm... which could have contributed to the higher demands at the hydration stations (as well as my impression of the event.) Comparing this to the only other marathon I have participated in (Memphis 2004), I would have to say this was a very distant second in every respect. | |
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T. H. from Cincinnati, OH
(4/11/2005)
"Bad Choice for 13+ min. pacers or 1st timers." (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The 2005 Spirit of St. Louis will always be a source of warm thoughts as it was my first full marathon. However, the course closure strategy beginning at 14 minute intervals felt to those of us in the back with 5+ hour goals like we were trying to outrun a tsunami. By mile 13, in spite of our being on about a 12-13.25 mile pace, police had already left major intersections leaving us to navigate for ourselves. Orange directional cones were also stacked at this time one on top of another creating a mystery of sorts as to which way to turn...by this point, Forest Park became a mystery. Cones stacked left us fearing that we would get lost or worse, run off course and feel like we failed to run the true intended course. Thanks to Jim, a wonderful course volunteer who ran alongside me, I got out and remained on course. The pride and thrill I felt crossing the line with a respectable 6:10 outweighed my disappointment to see just a few spectators remaining to cheer us on. St. Louis will always be my first -- but never a return. | |
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Q. M. from Minneapolis, MN
(4/11/2005)
"Good, but not great" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I just got done with the 2005 version of the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon. Generally, I thought it was a good race, but had several areas in which it needs to improve. 1) Water Stops: Getting water and Gatorade in the first 8 miles was nearly impossible. They had about two tables for 6,000 runners at each stop. It was chaos and anyone who wanted to keep a consistent pace had to skip the water stops until the half-marathoners departed just before mile 10. This is inexcusable, especially on a day where the temps hit 80, hence the low score for organization. 2) The half marathoners had an out-and-back loop that was not clearly defined. Specifically, the lead pack for the half was coming back on the left side AND the right side of the large group was still heading out. No one in the main pack knew where to go. Again, it was chaos and very poorly organized. There were volunteers in the middle of the road trying to direct everyone and keep them from stopping for water that was reserved for the lead pack. Again, this was not very well thought out. 3) It was a beautiful day for watching a marathon (though way too hot for running one). However, the crowds were sparse. I expected a lot more out of St. Louis. And I could have really used some crowd support in the last few miles. 4) We tried to drive the course the night before the race. We got lost several times and eventually gave up. The course maps left something to be desired. 5) Very minor point, but my T-shirt is paper thin. It looks good, but will be worn out in 3 months. With all of that said, it was an okay race. Though it is extremely hilly (again the course map does not tell the whole story), it went through some cool parts of the city and I liked being able to see a real Clydesdale. If you have a reason for running this race, then I would recommend that you prep for the hills. However, if you are just looking for a good spring marathon, there are probably better races than this. | |
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Tara Kelly from University City, MO
(4/11/2005)
"Amazing Race!" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Wow! This was my first marathon and I don't regret running it here in St. Louis at all! The packet pick-up was a breeze. I wish there were more fans along the big loop in Clayton/University City because that's when it started getting pretty hilly. However they did a great job with the course and keeping the streets open for the runners. The fans were great because they came ready to cheer people on and lose their voices for the runners. It was a great change of pace when there were people on the side of the road playing music for all of us. The volunteers really made the race though. They were always ready to give us a drink and help someone out if they were hurt. I would definitely recommend this race to any marathoner --first timer or a veteran! | |
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L. M. from Madison, WI
(4/11/2005)
"Race heading downhill: literally and figuratively" (General Comments)
3 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I ran this marathon in 2004 and did the half in 2005. I noted some problems in the organization last year, but this year there were even more. They changed the course this year, so virtually the entire half-marathon course was run through sad-looking industrial areas of the city. The full marathon course is somewhat better as you at least get to go through Forest Park, but overall the course is fairly depressing. More importantly, there were only two water stops in the first 7 miles, and both were woefully understaffed and unprepared. It was as if they were completely taken by surprise by the thousands of runners that were coming through. Finally, they closed online registration a full 9 days prior to the event, and although they allowed registration at the expo, they ran out of shirts and race packets. I also thought the crowd support for the half was minimal. Understandable though, as I wouldn't want to go out of my way to cheer runners if it meant standing around a decaying industrial area for several hours. Overall, probably not a race I would do again. | |
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David Young from Stanford Kentucky
(4/11/2005)
"5 stars for this marathon" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great marathon. The weather was the only piece that was not perfect. From mile 16 in got a little warm. As for the hills, that I was warned about in other runners comments -- Y'all need to get out a little more. Never did I see a challenging hill, just minor grade changes. People along the course were so supportive and they need to be thanked. The run through ABusch facilities was neat. The volunteers at the finish line were tremendous. Thank you, St. Louis. | |
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B. F. from St. Louis
(4/11/2005)
"getting better" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 St. Louis, the marathon has improved greatly the past few years but if you want an event to compete with others, you are going to have to block off the WHOLE road. You can't have runners dodging traffic, or walkers who in many places decided to walk 3 and 4 across! It would have also been nice to have scheduled the expo somewhere that didn't conflict with Cardinal opening day--it caused great problems with traffic and parking. | |
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G. R. from Barnhart, MO
(4/11/2005)
"Great experience for a first-timer" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Overall the course was a lot of fun. A little hilly, but not bad. The worst hill came early at mile 3, the rest were long and rolling. Starting with a loop through the brewery where 2 Clydesdales looked on, then on through St. Louis University, Forest Park, and the upscale Clayton district. Lots of variety and history to look at (and SHADE!). Mile markers were easy to spot, each one in front of a colorful 6 foot sculpture. It was unusually hot for April, over 80 by 11 AM, and times were slow. The organizers and volunteers were first-rate. The first few water stops were overwhelmed, but after the half-marathoners split off it was fine. We were originally told there would be water every 2 miles until mile 18, then every 1 mile; but due to the heat they had water every mile after 14. I finished in over 5 hours, but there was plenty of food and drink left at the end. Not a lot of spectators, but enough to keep you going. The volunteers and police at intersections did a lot of cheering also. |
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