GO! St. Louis Marathon

My comments are primarily for the race I competed in, the half-marathon. I have run the STL Go three times but 2025 was the first time since 2009. The Good: Solid crowds at start and finish and along the course, especially in Soulard and Lafayette Park. Very good finish area with food and beverages. Though give out more than one beer ticket! :) Not Good: Certain sections of the course were horrible, pothole city!! Really, really bad reflection on how the city of St. Louis is doing. As a runner I was very disappointed in the condition of most of the course. Need mile markers throughout the course, not just randomly. I get many run with a watch that tells them what mile they are on, but some runners do not. Put mile markers throughout the course. Course organization. My son, who placed top 5 in the full marathon, ran 27.3 due to poor course directions and staffing. He would not have won but he ended up running 27.3 miles, I know because I saw this on his watch. For a runner who placed in the overall top 5, that is horrible.

This was a very well-organized event in a really pretty city. However, I wasn't thrilled that the bulk of the course was a double loop. While it's quite an achievement to pull off a marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K simultaneously, it made for quite a crowd in the early stages of the course. Things eased up when we split from the half-marathoners, many of whom appear to be addicted to their phones. There were plenty of water stops and volunteers. Temperatures ranged from 54-64 in the 3:30 that I spent on the course, although the wind was tough and took its toll. The start corrals were pretty exposed, so keeping an old sweatshirt to toss just before the gun could have really helped. My main complaint was a lot of bad road surface, which had me looking down more than I usually do in a marathon. There are also a lot of long grades, although the hill at mile 3 and again at mile 17 was steep. The medal and long sleeve tech shirt were fine. There were abundant hotels within walking distance for any out of towner. Post-race food seemed okay, although I can't eat for a few hours after a race, so don't hold me to it.

This used to be a 'must run' for me. Cute, featured the city, host hotel, a historic train station, could spend one night, walk to the start and from finish, and the course included great sites, churches, and campuses that loved to come out and make the course fun. NOT ANYMORE. First, no dedicated run expo - tacked it on to an outdoor festival. I pity the first time racer who thinks this is how expos treat Runners. Then lets change to a point to point race to make it extra inconvenient for runners and spectators. To show more of the city? Not at all. Such a heinous course remodel. It's not really the Go! anymore - just a race that happens to take place in St. louis. No churches singing, no brewery, no college campuses, last year they forgot THE ARCH. They took away all the hills that made the course challenging and unique. The second half on the river walk is flat, sunny, boring, and smells like cadavers then finishes straight uphill to a lackluster finish line with no fanfare - to go find your car you paid $23 to park 5 hours ago to catch an overheated shuttle nearly late for the start. I do it every year in the hope it'll be the race it was.