Anyone running in it next weekend?

^

I'm pretty much in the same boat.



It sounds like the marathon has grown every year since its inception and that the group that organizes it has done a great job. And anything promoting fitness in St. Louis is a good thing.

DeBaliviere wrote:^

I'm pretty much in the same boat.



It sounds like the marathon has grown every year since its inception and that the group that organizes it has done a great job. And anything promoting fitness in St. Louis is a good thing.

I run the half-marathon every year.



It's definitely grown each of the last few years.

In fact, it's pretty amazing to see not only how many runners there are but how many people come downtown to watch and cheer.

My roommate is running, last year my other roommate ran... I was going to run but I F#%#d up my ankle.



Our marathon is so close to being a premiere marathon. We have lots of runners, what we need it more community support and a better route. I would prefer a circle route as compared to the “out and back” route that they currently use. (from my comments I heard at the race last year) Also the vast majority of the route is virtually empty of spectators… The beginning/end had lots of people, but the middle was sparse at best. Most people in STL don’t even know its going on… except the people who run in it… they need a better PR team to get the word out to the communities – and maybe we can get people on the route cheering them on.

I'm doing the STL Marathon's 5k on Saturday - that's about all I can handle right now!



I think that the community will become more involved as the event continues to grow - it's only been around a few years now, I think.



Edit: just looked it up - this is the seventh year for the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon.

I ran a half marathon in San Diego about 8 years ago. I could probably do it again, but I've torn the ACL and MCL in my left knee, so have decided to change the lifestyle a bit and put less stress on the knees.... I can kick ass on an an elliptical though.



That's great about our marathon. Hope it's a success!

tbspqr wrote:My roommate is running, last year my other roommate ran... I was going to run but I F#%#d up my ankle.



Our marathon is so close to being a premiere marathon. We have lots of runners, what we need it more community support and a better route. I would prefer a circle route as compared to the “out and back” route that they currently use. (from my comments I heard at the race last year) Also the vast majority of the route is virtually empty of spectators… The beginning/end had lots of people, but the middle was sparse at best. Most people in STL don’t even know its going on… except the people who run in it… they need a better PR team to get the word out to the communities – and maybe we can get people on the route cheering them on.

Actually, the route (at least the half marathon) has spectators the whole way.



And they've changed the route a few times. I like this one better than what it was 3 years ago or so. Also by having it overlap it keeps the crowds more dense - you can find spots where the runners will go by twice as opposed to a big circle route. And some things are more important to the runners than the scenery such as the inclines and width of the roads.

I'll be doing the half along with a few friends. Hopefully the weather'll change next week and it'll get a little warmer. But not too warm...

The lack of the arch and washington ave were the two complaints that my roomie had about last years route. But I guess it is ONLY 26.2 miles... they can't cover it ALL!?! I wish they would also go by Missouri Botanical Garden / Tower Grove Park becuase they are very pretty this time of year.

How big is this marathon compared to other cities?

^^Just did a quick check of last year (2006) results....



The big 3 in the nation:

Boston has 20,000

NYC 36,000 last year (90,000 applications this year)

Chicago – limited to 45,000 on first come first serve basis



Denver: 1,200 or so.

Twin cities: 2,000 runners doing full

STL: last year about 1694 doing the full

Atlanta about 600



so we are good against our peer cities, but no where near a premier event

"about 1694"

tbspqr wrote:^^Just did a quick check of last year (2006) results....



The big 3 in the nation:

Boston has 20,000

NYC 36,000 last year (90,000 applications this year)

Chicago – limited to 45,000 on first come first serve basis



Denver: 1,200 or so.

Twin cities: 2,000 runners doing full

STL: last year about 1694 doing the full

Atlanta about 600



so we are good against our peer cities, but no where near a premier event

How big is Cincinnati's? The Flying Pig Marathon is one of the more established marathons in the midwest.

vollum wrote:"about 1694"

Reminds me of an ad I saw offering "exact estimates".

vollum wrote:"about 1694"

according to an article -- ABOUT 2,200 this year.



As marathon here grows, so do the costs

By Cindy Billhartz

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

04/13/2007





They talk mostly about the costs (obvious from the title) but also some features we have compared to other similar sized ones.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports ... enDocument

Marathon route.



http://www.mayorslay.com/news/display.asp?prID=618

How big is Cincinnati's? The Flying Pig Marathon is one of the more established marathons in the midwest.[/quote]





I've run Cinci's twice and it's about 15,000, both half and full marathoners. Probably a little bigger than STL's, but it's very popular for serious runners because it's a very hilly course, making it a good prep run for Boston.

^ ?



Boston is always the third Monday in April while Cincinnati is in May.



I think the 'Nati had ~3,500 marathon finishers last year, so maybe 4,000+ starters?

how many turned out?

Actually, I have run the St Louis Marathon for the last three years but this year I was out of town running a marathon in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. I love my city -- St Louis! -- but this marathon is not one of my favorites (I've done about a dozen). Other folks have mentioned the problems with the course (go to www.marathonguide.com for more comprehensive comments on any marathon) but for me the biggest issue is the lack of PR and community support. What makes the Cinn Flying Pig Marathon so great (and I have ran it twice!) is the fabulous community involvement (the entire city shuts down all affected streets and people aren't even mad!). Also, you also get lots of free stuff (like a different bag every year).



I think the St Louis Marathon will get better (and it's not bad-bad now) but I think we need more of the community behind it in order for it to be a "big event." I am just a middle-of-the-packer so maybe those folks in front of me feel differently ... St Louis is really a great running city (because of the numerous running events from the St Louis Track Club, Running Start, Fleet Feet Sports, etc). As a future downtowner (my husband and I are moving into the Syndicate building!) I have high hopes! Dianna!

bronte, if you've run the STL marathon the last few years than surely you've noticed huge improvements? It's gotten bigger and better every year for almost the past decade. 8 years ago there were under 1000 runners - this year there was over 16,000 that participated in any of the runs over the weekend. And the community involvement has increased every year too. I'll agree, it would be great to see even more, but it's definitely headed in the right direction. Do you know what they do in the other cities where you have noticed more community participation to get it to that level?

buckethead -- Sure, I love the Art and Sole theme (did they do that again this year? I think a catchy theme is a great way of grabbing folks) but keep in mind that my thoughts come from someone who is not one of the fast runners. I just remember being frustrated the last two years (2005 and 2006) because there was really no food (I love a piece of fruit or some bread right after I finish) left by the time I got to the finish (2005 I think) or I had to wait in a line for 10-15 minutes to get something (not a fun thing after 4 hours!). So for me -- just getting more people to run every year doesn't mean that a marathon is necessarily "better" (though I think it's great to see so many folks getting up and running!).



I'm just a runner (and a teacher in my real life) so I don't know what other marathon organizers do but I have seen several "fights" in my history of running St Louis between runners and drivers. I can only guess that this is because the drivers didn't know about lane closures (though you can still tell people and they still would get mad). This must happen in other cities too but I have only noticed it here. So I think more advertising -- but I am sure that all costs money. I know that in Cinncinnati the marathon organizers offer a "spirit award" to the house that inspires the passing runners the most (some of this run is through residential sections).



One more thing by the way that I personally like when I run the full marathon distance -- I saw this at the Memphis Marathon -- each mile marker had a time split that was big enough for everyone to see it. I think a lot of the other half-marathons and full-marathons I have done have only done this every 5K or something shorter maybe. Anyway, the St Louis folks could better advertise amentities like split timing and perhaps do a unique giveaway (like the totally cool bags that Cinncinnati is famous for!). And I know this would cost a ton but get this info into runner "bibles" like Marathon and Beyond and Runners World. April is such a busy marathon time -- give me a reason to run St Louis (and I know that I have somehow digressed to another topic! Sorry!).



I adopted St Louis as my home just a few years ago so please don't misunderstand how much I love this city. You are probably right that the St Louis Marathon has improved (I have always liked the technical shirt) but ..... this race is not one of absolute favorites.

^

You should pass your suggestions on to the organizers of the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon. I'm sure they'd be interested in hearing input from an experienced marathoner like you.