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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 31 to 41]
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Sandy Lightner from Dixon, IL
(4/11/2014)
"Well organized with plenty of water stations" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I found the course to be a little challenging with more hills than expected but they probably seemed a little tougher due to many missed runs in my training from an injury. There was plenty of water stations and gu. It seemed a little more low-key along the course in comparison to other large marathons that I have run but overall it was a great race. | |
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B. R. from Nebraska
(4/9/2014)
"overall positive experience" (about: 2014)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Really enjoyed the Go! St. Louis Marathon. Everything seemed well organized from the expo and packet pickup, to race start, on course aid stations, and post race festivities. Overall the course was quite good. A few highlights included the Anheiser Busch brewery, Busch stadium and Forest Lawn Park. A lot of small, rolling hills. No monster hills but felt like you were going either up or down pretty much the whole race. A few of the roads had some treacherous potholes and manhole covers. There were a couple boring stretches, but nothing terrible. I'd prefer a course with fewer turns and fewer sharp turns especially but that's a minor complaint. Gatorade, water, and gu were adequately available. Finisher medal was good. Bananas, chocolate milk, fruit cups, bottled water all available at the finish. Pretty much everything you'd want. Weather was absolutely perfect. Special shout out to 3:25 pace group leader Jordan who got me in under my BQ. | |
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A. L. from New Jersey
(4/8/2014)
"Well organized, but geared towards half marathon" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 While I had a great race, running easily and exactly as planned, I didn't like the race itself. With about 10,000 half marathon finishers and about 1300 marathon finishers this is a race clearly geared towards half marathoners - and - as a marathoner, it felt like it. I am a 5 hour marathoner - with 19 marathons under my belt and from the beginning felt a bit like a 2nd class citizen. Pros: 1. Nice course. Not really as hilly as everyone says. At least not to me. Holy Hill is barely an incline. Park section was lovely. (gave 3 stars due to long section on concrete) 2. Great volunteers. 3.Frequent aid stations. Lots of GU choices. 4.Nice finish line area. Announcer called out each finisher by name which is fun. Good medal, lots of food left (a rarity for a 5 hour marathoner), even got a massage without waiting in line. 5. Easy logistics between airport to downtown hotels, shuttle to expo, and getting to and from start/finish line (if you don't mind a little walking) Cons 1.All the announcements at the start line were inaudible from my Coral (D) which was the 2nd from the end. Missed everything that was said. 2. LOTS of walking before the start just to get to the corals and then to the actual start. 3. Bogged down bag check. No way to attach ID number to provided bag. I brought my own zip tie as this often happens but it slows down the line at bag check. 4. As a 5 plus hour marathoner felt secondary on the course in the later hours - chocolate station - saw the signs but there was no chocolate. Police stopped US to allow traffic to go by - this happened at one intersection after mile 18 - and they stopped a lot of runners and let about 2 dozen cars go past. I have NEVER encountered this in 19 marathons. Police said not one word to us - not an apology or an explanation. And other runners I have told were shocked to hear that this had happened. Understandable for emergency vehicles - which these were not. 5. Lots of hoopla about Holy Hill - even a video on the website of the priest who would be sprinkling Holy water on us - There was no Priest. Kind of disappointing not to get the whole experience. 6. Three sections on concrete. Two were relatively short but one was very long and after mile 20. 7. Gear check was gone when I went to pick up my bag. And there were no signs or anything telling where to find my bag. Fortunately, I was feeling good and able to handle all the walking required to find my bag. Website said the bags would be moved at 1pm. It was 12:50 when I went to find my bag. Should have had volunteers at the finish line telling people where to find bags. This was a good race for me, personally. Ran well and have recovered well. I expected a LOT from this race since it has been run for so long but I think it's a 'half-marathoners' race. Side note: I spent the afternoon exploring the Gateway Arch which is a beautiful and magnificent monument. Also, the metro link makes it cheap and simple to get around. | |
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D. H. from St Louis, MO
(4/7/2014)
"Another great race from GO! St Louis" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Last year I ran the half, and this year the full. The course was virtually the same. Starts in downtown, runs you out through Forest Park, through Clayton & University City, and back to finish the last 3-4 miles on the half course. This last is significant because the dedicated full course had water stops roughly every mile. The half course was roughly every 2. There were some spots, particularly between 10-12.5, where water would have been very welcome. But the race runs well. Expo is small, and lacks any other race portion. Pick up was extremely smooth. Shirt looks about the same as last year's, but the medal is waaaay better. I like GO! alot. The events they put on are well run, and this race was no exception. Were I going to be in the area, next year, I'd run it again. | |
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Casey Samborski from Saint Louis, Missouri
(9/10/2013)
"First timer and great experience!" (about: 2013)
1 previous marathon
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I know it wasn't smart but this was a last minute decision. I gave myself three weeks to train for it and I think overall I did pretty well. | |
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S. B. from Vermont, USA
(4/27/2013)
"Great race! Little bit hilly, mostly fun." (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was an awesome marathon! It was lively and active the first 10 miles with half marathoners outnumbering the full marathoners by 5 to 1. It was like cattle in the first 5 to 7 miles. The first 10 miles until the half split off were so full of activity, cheers, spectators, and energy. Then it was like a switch went off at mile 10 and the second half of the race for the full marathon was much more calm as it ran outside the downtown area and through residential neighborhoods, an arts and culture district, a gulf course and some parks. It was like 2 different races in one (an urban race for the start and a pleasant suburban run for the second). I wouldn't change a thing! I needed the energy in the beginning and the focus in the end. It was just right! Tons of water stations and every one fully stocked with water, Gatorade, most had oranges or something else too. Plenty of port-a-potties, some without hand sanitizer :( I was so so so happy to finish at nearly 6 hours and still there was a complete setup at the finish and plenty of food, including ice cream sandwiches that weren't melted! Cheers to the race organizers for the best end of race for end of pack finishers ever. Holy hill was fun! The priest with the holy water really made it work. The entrance inflatable arch was a great addition. The race tee and medal were great! Really nice quality and detail in the medal. There were more hills than I would have liked, than I would have assumed for Missouri, and most in the early part of the race, but still manageable. Overall, it was a great race and I highly recommend it. | |
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J. C. from Philadelphia, PA USA
(4/21/2013)
"Challenging rolling course. Good support!" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 After 12 years away from marathon running this course and the warm conditions (in the 70's at the finish) provided a good test of my fitness level. This race is a half (15,000 runners) with a marathon (1,600 individual finishers) tacked on but that didn't subtract from the experience. There was plenty of support and aid stations especially on the second half of the course including 3 Gu stations. Crowd support was enthusiastic with neighborhood themed 'cheer zones'. I liked that my first name was on the Bib as people used it while shouting encouragement which (surprisingly) really mattered especially during those tough patches. This is not the race you run to attempt to qualify for Boston as it is a rolling course t/o and the weather varies widely year to year. Only 4 people out of 90 in my age group ran qualifying times. I got the VIP package which was well worth the additional fee. VIP provides a separate tented area for potties, changing area, post race massage, bag check, nice buffet pre and post race with parking near the start. The expo was lacking as I saw no retail vendors. Expo location and number pick up was easy. Everyone I encountered was so helpful and friendly t/o the race and while visiting St.Louis. This is a race I will likely return to in the future. | |
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J. L. from Columbus, Ohio
(4/20/2013)
"This could be a big race someday (maybe)" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It was unseasonably warm on this day and the course was certainly not flat containing many inclines but not really steep hills. And while it was lopsided toward half marathon entrants, the course itself was wide and could accommodate a much larger field. I chose to stay a little away from downtown in an area called The Hill which allowed a short, easy drive on surface streets down to plentiful, inexpensive parking on race morning. It also looked like a metro rail strategy could work for this race but I drove, so I had a car. The Expo was so-so but probably good enough considering the size of the race; however, it was on the St Louis University campus away from downtown (and not right on the metro line). Crowd support was pretty good but admittedly much better where the course coincided with the half. Leave extra time if you can. I managed a Blues game on Friday night but couldnt stay for opening day with the Cardinals on Monday. The park with the Gateway Arch and nearby Lacledes Landing are a must see but its too bad the actual race course doesnt go through either; aside from that, the views on the course are quite good. The wave start was helpful as there is a sharp right only a few blocks into the race. I found the water stops and traffic control to be acceptable. There was a local flavor to some of the post race food; the frozen yogurt sandwich hit the spot on a hot day but I took a pass on the toasted ravioli. Nice shirt, solid medal; this race was well organized and had a big race feel even though there were only ~1,600 marathon finishers. I would recommend it, but honestly I didnt scope out other Missouri races since this one was in the date range I was seeking. | |
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L. C. from USA, Kentucky
(4/14/2013)
"Great half marathon, not great full marathon." (about: 2013)
2 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 I chose this marathon to do as my 3rd. I was searching for a marathon near my home state (Kentucky) and around this date. I would recommend some changes be made to increase marathon support. I have passed this along in the form of a written letter and review to the organization. I was quite disappointed with the race. - Restrooms at the start were not easily found. - Water stations throughout the course should have been marked that they were ahead. Early stations really slowed down my pace because runners would stop when they saw the station. - I would have preferred water first then gaterade (just a silly preference i have). - support was lacking drastically for the full. This is a HUGE half marathon and it was obvious that its geared toward a half runner and not a full runner. Support fell off drastically when we split. - Expo was lacking some interesting booths. I love to get a fun tshirt (not necessarily a running shirt) for the city I race in. They didn't have much merchandise advertising the city -which i would recommend they add. - Post race was one of the worst I've experienced. No chocolate milk, no bagels, nothing that runners are used to having post race. Very disappointed. - Roads were NOT shut down! I was shocked to have to wait for cars to pass. I'm a 4:25 marathoner and roads were running throughout the marathon course. I was shocked. Positive: Wave start was smooth. The first half was greatly supported and had interesting views. Very residential for the second half, which i don't mind. St. Louis is a really interesting city, but I might recommend another marathon instead of the Go St. Louis for the marathon runner. | |
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K. H. from St Louis
(4/9/2013)
"Hilly in the Clayton area" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 For a slow runner like me it was somewhat hot, finished in 4:58. The sun was out and it was pushing near 80. The course is fair in the first half but when you leave Forrest Park and hit the Clayton area is where you realy hit the teeth of the course. It is very hilly in this six mile stretch. Overall I would run the race again in fact I have completed the full Marathon three times on this course. |
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