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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 81 to 91]
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S. B. from St. Louis, MO
(4/13/2010)
"Chaifetz arena is awful" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my third time running this marathon. I was glad to see the course back to the old one. Last year's course was modified due to the Highway 40 closure and wasn't nearly as good. The volunteers were awesome, as always. Water, sports drink and gel were plentiful. Packet pick-up was AWFUL. Chaifetz Arena just doesn't have the space to have lots of people standing in line. I was there at 10 a.m. on Friday morning and didn't even pick up my shirt or my goody bag because the lines were so long. The only way to get to Chaifetz is to drive (I thought this was supposed to be a "green" marathon) and there was no street parking available. After paying $70 to run, I don't think I should have to pay $5 to park to pick up my stuff. Once again the half-marathoners outnumbered the marathoners 2:1, which wouldn't be a problem if people actually lined up in the correct spot. I spent the first 3 miles trying to get around people walking 4 across. I started right at the 11:00 minute/mile sign and NOBODY walks a mile that fast, so I shouldn't have had to pass anybody. | |
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J. B. from St. Louis, MO
(4/12/2010)
"challenging yet fun" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 GO! St. Louis Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My first time doing the full in STL. Definitely prefer the half. The hills are challenging, but if you train on hills you will be prepared for this course. Route through AB, Soulard, Forest Park, Clayton, Loop and downtown was nice. Fans for the most part were great... even on the full route they were sparse yet cheered us on. Expo was easy to access and made it simple to collect all our gear. T-shirt was acceptable. Liked the email communication leading up to event. Only cons would be water stations on first half of the course were not prepared at all. After reading some other comments, it seems this is an issue that has happened in past. Organizers need to figure out a way to staff and work them better when you have 15,000 on first half of course... I think more tables at each stop with cups stacked up and filled. Hydration once marathon broke off was acceptable, as I thought it would, only gripe was warm fluid at most. On such a warm day for marathon cold fluid when we got it was nice. Did not like the stretch of Forest Park Parkway back - about 21-23; it was desolate and hot, with no shade and no aid. We could have taken Delmar back to Skinker to Lindell back through CWE to downtown. Some volunteers seemed a little confused about what to do when someone needed assistance... a little common sense to get help and not have runners or family trekking to find some aid would have been nice as well. Plenty of food and drinks waiting for marathoners at the finish. I finished around 5 and all was plentiful. Would recommend this marathon. It was challenging with the weather and hills, but a fun experience overall. | |
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S. R. from columbia,mo
(4/12/2010)
"LIFE-CHANGING" (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is the first race I've ever done. It was amazing. (Some of my friends and I ran the half-marathon.) The weather was beautiful, the course was wonderful, and St. Louis is the best. Thanks for the experience! | |
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C. C. from MS
(4/11/2010)
"A large-city event, but the marathon is secondary" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a big -city marathon, but the half is the real deal, and the whole is a small event in comparison. The course is beautiful for a city, but is seemed to be uphill about 80% of the time. (I know that is impossible.) The volunteers were overworked on the first half and unable to supple drink to everyone, and it was hot enough to need more. By the second half there was no such trouble and the volunteers were great at the aid stations. It was tough for the first few miles to run well due to the presence of so many people, but again, that was no problem the second half. It did get hotter than usual this year, and several people got into trouble due to the heat. The response seemed to be great by the emergency personnel. This is a great marathon run in a beautiful city that has a lot to offer the visitor and the runner. | |
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I. S. from St Louis, MO, USA
(3/4/2010)
"My first marathon ever" (about: 2004)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It was my first marathon, and I never thought that I would even try to do it. The year before I was a volunteer for this race because my friend was in it. I decided that I can do it too, and wanted to extend my regular running to a totally new level. The first 15 miles went in a breeze; around mile 20, the infamous wall started coming at me, and from mile 23 to the end it was a torturous affair. Nonetheless, when we met with our friends at the finish line, my friend and I weren't looking that bad (besides our knees not bending). Weather was great. We had friends and family along the way, joining us for a few miles, taking pictures, and trying to feed us with sandwiches. Since that day, I run one or two marathons or halfs each year (this comment made in March 2010). | |
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B. G. from Michigan
(6/16/2009)
"Nice marathon - enjoyed the course" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my fifth marathon and, yes, I set a PR on it (3:38). Everyone has a different standard for "hills," and this is mine: there is very little of the course that is flat, but there really are no steep inclines. Most of the course is either gradually up or gradually down. I kind of enjoyed that, but you do have to be prepared for it. The highlights: a beautiful course; the best-looking race shirt I've received; on-time start; helpful volunteers. The lowlights: mostly, the absence of any Mylar blankets when I finished (3:38 marathon), especially because the rain made the post-marathon chill come quickly; the muddy finish area - can't blame the organizers entirely, but maybe the tables could be lined up along some sidewalks? My family and I had a fun weekend enjoying the city prior to the marathon. Thank you, St. Louis! | |
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A. N. from New York City
(5/11/2009)
"Overall Good Experience" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I ran this race trying to get a BQ, which I did! The race is smaller, and not as well organized as I am used too, but overall I had a good experience. Despite the bad weather, volunteers and spectators were helpful and enthusiastic. Luckily I drove around the course a day before and knew that the second half had some rolling hills and avoid any surprises. I feel that organization was the weak part. At the end of the race, it would be good to have more volunteers giving us blankets or steering us to where food and drinks where. I felt that I had to find things on my on. But the biggest issue with me was the half and full marathons starting together and on similar course. I feel that either there should be more distinction on each race's course, or the races should start at different times. I was mostly confused at the end when the half and full races merge again. There were loads of half-marathoner walkers all over the course and I found myself trying to dodge them. | |
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K. K. from Newburg, MO
(4/27/2009)
"Very organized, nice course" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Overall, the long, slow hills in the last few miles killed me (I'm used to quick steep hills). It seemed like there were a LOT of hills in the last 6 miles (but maybe I was just under-trained on hills). The course itself was nice: I agree with previous reviewers that it was nice to run by Anheuser-Busch and smell beer/see Clydesdale. Forest Park was pleasant as usual. My only complaint was that the runners were supposed to stay on the right of the cones in the "traffic" areas, on the angled/sloped road. I ended up sticking near or to the left of the cones--listening carefully for cars--to avoid running on a slope for miles on end. When I finished, we got a great medal, but the mylar blankets were gone. I snagged one off a guy (thank you!) who got it from his friend who had run the half marathon. Apparently they gave out tons of them to earlier finishers/half marathoners, and there weren't many left for the marathoners (I was done at 4:12, so not particularly slow). It was rainy, and there were many shivering, wet runners. I went to the medical tent for some ice for my ankle, and they had some blankets there while I was icing. I later saw mylar blankets thrown away on the streets/parking area--what a shame! This was my only real complaint. The mud was a mess in the food area, but no one could help that. Great food (and plenty of it), and Schlafly beer, which was a treat! Yum! Great t-shirt and medal. | |
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K. W. from A Stone's Throw from Little Rock
(4/25/2009)
"First Marathon" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon after running four half-marathons; three in Little Rock and one in Memphis. I grew up in the St. Louis area and have been away for over 20 years. The course was well laid out and I never had any doubt about which way to go. Forrest Park and the varied neighborhoods were nice to run in. People along the course were very supportive. It was somewhat hilly, but I had done hill training, so that was OK. The Go! St. Louis Marathon was a great experience, and one I will always remember fondly. | |
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Emmanuel Enujioke, Ph.D. from Atlanta, Georgia
(4/24/2009)
"A fantastic race with exceptional organization" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 GO! St. Louis Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course has many challenging hills but the rain sort of diluted its otherwise killer effect. This is one of the best organized of the 27 marathons I have run. The expo was large and easily accessible from all points; the t-shirt was tastefully designed; the race start time was perfect and the finish line was well stocked, with enough food and drinks for runners to replenish. The crowd was very enthusiastic; despite the fact that it began raining before the race started and rained all day, these folks were out there cheering for the runners. May God richly bless them all and overtake them with His goodness and mercy. To the organizers, I say a big thank you for a job well done and may the blessings of God overtake you. |
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