Paul Anderson's Staging Area

This is a fine race. The race director does a great job with communication. I received many emails and lots of Facebook posts. The race itself was great. The course is very flat with lots of long stretches with no turns. The scenery is mainly rural countryside with occasional river crossings and sightings. There were few spectators so you will run alone a good part of the time.

Course support was a little sparse. There are only two aid stations in the first 6 miles. After that, they are more regular but one spot around mile 15 had been abandoned and many had only one volunteer. The weather was cool so hydration was not too much of a concern.

The medal and shirt designs are attractive. Overall a great smallish race. Give it a try!

This race is very well organized. The app and website is the best I have seen. The pre-race communication is outstanding. The course is relatively flat but has a couple of long gradual uphills. The support was outstanding with many official and unofficial aid stations. It was a warm, sunny day so the extra stations offered by individuals were welcome. The start could use more port a potties. Lines were long and many could not get in before the start. The medal is nice. Wish the shirt was a tech shirt.

This race was great! Well-organized, good communication, lots of course support. The course is fairly flat, point-to-point. The ptp arrangement requires a shuttle which makes for a very early start to the day. The start is in a pretty state park. Plenty of restrooms at start. Finish is downtown. Run winds through the park, then neighborhoods and then along the harbor road. Race medal is nice, but plain. I had a terrible performance, but the race was good.

The Grand Lake Marathon was a very nice small town race. The organization was great. Frequent communication through emails and Facebook with information about the race. The organizers were responsive to questions. Volunteers were plentiful and friendly. Parking is easy. Post race band was great!

The course is a flat oval through rural roads around Grand Lake. It is very flat over good surfaces. My one small complaint is that there are not very many places where the lake is in view. All in all, a excellent race!

It was great to find a marathon open during COVID. The course is an out-and-back on the Frisco trail, an old railroad bed. The trail was mostly gravel which made for a nice soft running surface. Scenery was Missouri farmland. This course is very flat.
There were aid stations every 2.5 miles that were well-stocked with drink, gels, and other food. The volunteers were enthusiastic and helpful.
This was a great experience. My one quibble would be that the shirt was a regular t-shirt instead of wickaway, but it was a nice design. Medal was very nice. Go run this one!

First, the good. Race organization was excellent. Using the high schools at start and finish allows two great features. One, plenty of bathrooms at the start and plenty of room for spectators in a stadium finish and showers for out of town runners. There were lots of volunteers and course support was good. A lot of people liked the course, but I did not. Most of the course is open to traffic. The roads are winding, with many blind curves and very narrow shoulders. It seems a little dangerous for a race. The sponsors are upfront about the open course, but this one was particularly bad.

Great race. Large race, well-organized. Aid stations were enthusiastic and plentiful. Course is flat. Largest hill is bridge going out of bricktown.