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☰
Run Mother Road Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Run Mother Road Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 17 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
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Chris Vasquez from Houston TX
(11/1/2018)
"Recommend. You get to run through 3 states!" (about: 2018)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first and said only marathon but has encouraged me to do another one. It was well organized with water stations every 3 miles and fun spectators. You get to knock out 3 state at once (OK, KS, MO) for those of you questing to run 50 states. A bit difficult from mile 18 on as you gradually start to climb in altitude (about 214 ft) to finish in Joplin. Medal is awesome! Only bad was the expo was cancelled without warning which was kind of a bummer but the cost to enter the race was very reasonable for a marathon so didn't make a fuss. | |
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I. C. from Oklahoma
(10/2/2017)
"Not the best experience. Bathroom disaster." (about: 2017)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 350 full marathoners sharing only 2 small bathrooms at the start. The ladies ran out of toilet paper and the men were forced to share only 2 stalls. Let me elaborate, many of the ladies were not in there to just pee...The race started late to accommodate people waiting in line which only shifted things to the hotter part of the day. Why race directors fail over and over with the basics. Spend a couple of bucks and get some portajohns. Whatever you math tells you that you need, double it. I would run this race again, but I plan on checking out the reviews of future Twelveone events to see if they get their act together and learn from mistakes. | |
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K. A. from Massachusetts
(10/18/2013)
"Historic but tough when windy" (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon is a good one. Small field probably due to 39 other marathons run on this same weekend. I won't give you the details of the marathon here, you can look them up but from my perspective: It's an easy fly in to KC airport and drive. It was just fun to be on old Route 66 for the entire race. Some of the pavement appears to be the original. There isn't that much to see as you pass through some small towns along the way in OK and KS. Packet pickup was easy and the staff at City Hall were helpful and informed. No real expo but Joplin has everything you need. This year, of 139 runners, only 5 had a BQ. And that was due to the headwind that just never gave us a break for the entire distance. It is also uphill, subtle, but most noticeably in the last third of the marathon. If it were run in the opposite direction I might have had a PR. But then, as one local runner put it, you'd be in Oklahoma. Nice medal, very nice awards, 3 deep. You can buy last year's volunteer shirt at City Hall which is cool. Police and volunteers took good care of us en route. Gatorade and GU when it was needed. It is well organized. Ample food and entertainment at the finish. No negatives to speak of, just a windy day knocked us all back about ten to fifteen minutes. Certainly a thumbs up from me on my 62nd marathon and 45th State. | |
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R. S. from Colorado Springs, CO
(11/2/2012)
"Great Small Race" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 8th marathon, and 6th state. The race organizers were very helpful, and the actual awards were by far our favorites. My wife lost her camera at some point in the recovery area, and when it was found they identified her on a picture that was saved, and went out of there way to notify her that they had it and mail it to us! The negatives - the 5k awards ceremony started early, so my wife missed it completely. Also the last marathon bus was late, as roads ahead of us closed down and we had to find an alternate route. The bus driver was great, and begged to be let through but was denied by the Highway Patrol. This resulted in my being in the porta-potty when the race actually started. Lesson for me - don't ride the last bus! Overall this was a fun race, and I would recommend it. | |
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L. M. from Richmond, VA
(10/19/2012)
"Great small race!" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is a great race! The communication before the race was great; course support was just right; the shirts were nice; the medals/awards were great; and they even had showers for runners after the race! It's a small race, so there aren't many spectators at all, but it's way cool to run along historic Route 66 through the little towns and farmland. | |
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D. B. from Tulsa
(10/10/2011)
"Good small marathon" (about: 2011)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Good course overall - flat as a pancake through 18 miles (other than short dip and rise in Baxter Springs). Pretty big hill at 19. Last 3 miles are gradual uphill most of the way. Would like to see full marathon moved to 7am startand would also prefer it follow same route as the half from Baxter to Riverton. Organization was pretty good, numbers were down quite a bit from first year, hopefully only due to the impact on the area from the tornado. Hospitality on course was plentifuly - excellent for marathon of this size. Medal was good, crowds were courteous but smaller than first year, again probably due to the smaller number of participants. If they can get the numbers back up I think this is a good marathon to run if you want to experience a unique journey with all miles on route 66. | |
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S. L. from Colleyville,TX
(10/10/2011)
"GREAT RUN ACROSS THREE STATES!!" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 REALLY enjoyed this marathon!! I hope it catches on like wildfire, but stays true to a small race feel. I personally LOVE point to point races. You know you are headed to the finish mile by mile. TONS of water stations with gatorade and water at each stop. At least THREE stations with GU and pretzels. they even thought to give you the gu and then set the water a little further down so you could down your Gu and toss in the next trash and follow with water. GREAT crowd support. The course is not lined from beginning to end with throngs of crowds but there were WAY more spectators that I expected. The course felt VERY safe. AND had the added bonus of LOTS of police patrolling to keep it even more safe. What else- SO fun to cross state lines and see the Route 66 signs everywhere. there are hills but they are rolling. I think there were three long hills. They looked worse in the distance than they were in actuality. Overall a great race. We stayed at the Days Inn. They had breakfast at 6AM ready to go. I think they would have put it out earlier if we had asked. VERY nice staff. | |
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J. G. from Fayetteville, AR
(10/27/2010)
"Hot and Not Flat" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was an okay marathon. Description stated that it was flat but it was not flat. Last 3-4 miles were all uphill. Many runners started late because there were not enough porta-potties. Also, I had to wait in line 5 minutes to use the porta-potty about halfway through the race. Spectators and volunteers were great. I did enjoy the small-town atmosphere and running Route 66. Race should have started earlier or should have been moved to late October or November timeframe due to the hot temps. | |
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E. R. from Missouri
(10/15/2010)
"Uphill, hot course" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The race is too early in the fall, which local runners told the organizers over a year ago. The average high is 74 and in recent years a good chance of temps in the 80s. Then they start it at 8:00 instead of 7:00 or 7:30, meaning with the average finisher ending in 5 hours the heat is insufferable at 1:00 p.m. So, let's add to that coming out of the Spring River Valley with a killer hill at 18 miles and then a net elevation of about 200 feet over the last three miles. This was done so it could finish in Missouri, not for the convenience of the runners. To those who say the race director can't control the weather, well they can control the date. This local runner says if you want to PR or even have a respectable time or not pass out, skip this one. Also, I could not believe there was no expo with 1,400 full and half participants. I will say, the volunteers were great. | |
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C. K. from SC, USA
(10/15/2010)
"Friendliest Spectators and Volunteers!" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Run Mother Road Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Loved this marathon! The people in the towns of Commerce, OK; Baxter Springs and Galena, Kansas; and Joplin, Missouri are the nicest you will meet anywhere! As we ran into Kansas, everyone greeted us with a hearty "Welcome to Kansas!" Excellent organization - cannot say enough good things about it - this saved all of us since the weather was HOT after 10 a.m. Great medal; great shirt! Loved visiting the little towns along Route 66 in the days before the race. Three businesses opened up for us - where does that happen anymore? :-) |
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