As other reviewers mention, run this one for the course, not the "experience". Spectacular route through the best part of St. Louis. You'll run past the world-famous zoo, the Muny … MORE
As other reviewers mention, run this one for the course, not the “experience”. Spectacular route through the best part of St. Louis. You’ll run past the world-famous zoo, the Muny theater, and multiple passes of the amazing Art Museum. The view of the art museum past shimmering fountains on a lovely fall day is worth the price of admission. This is a rolling hill course, so probably not a PR course. I enjoyed this one as a measuring stick on my path to getting back into running shape.
A HUGE thank you to the volunteers that showed up. This isn’t a big race, so you could tell the outreach to find people willing to do water for runners is difficult. I brought my own water/snacks so I didn’t get disappointed as others might. There are no photogs on the course, so if you want a picture of yourself running with a bib through Forest Park, you’ll need to bring a spectator. I tried to take mind pictures of some of the scenes — the aforementioned Art Museum view was one I’ll never forget. Perfect.
This is a small race organized by a small organization. If you have expectations set correctly, you’ll enjoy this. The April race (GO St Louis) is larger and better “experience”, but this wasn’t bad by any measure.
I did the Veterans Day 5K the day before in downtown StL. I intended it as a shake-out, but ran it a wee bit too fast, thus my lackluster HM pace. The support/experience of the 5k on Saturday was much bigger than the HM on Sunday. They weren’t a combined event, just a nice happenstance that I could do a combo weekend. I don’t regret anything from a wonderful weekend running in StL.
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Forest Park Gem
As other reviewers mention, run this one for the course, not the "experience". Spectacular route through the best part of St. Louis. You'll run past the world-famous zoo, the Muny … MORE
As other reviewers mention, run this one for the course, not the “experience”. Spectacular route through the best part of St. Louis. You’ll run past the world-famous zoo, the Muny theater, and multiple passes of the amazing Art Museum. The view of the art museum past shimmering fountains on a lovely fall day is worth the price of admission. This is a rolling hill course, so probably not a PR course. I enjoyed this one as a measuring stick on my path to getting back into running shape.
A HUGE thank you to the volunteers that showed up. This isn’t a big race, so you could tell the outreach to find people willing to do water for runners is difficult. I brought my own water/snacks so I didn’t get disappointed as others might. There are no photogs on the course, so if you want a picture of yourself running with a bib through Forest Park, you’ll need to bring a spectator. I tried to take mind pictures of some of the scenes — the aforementioned Art Museum view was one I’ll never forget. Perfect.
This is a small race organized by a small organization. If you have expectations set correctly, you’ll enjoy this. The April race (GO St Louis) is larger and better “experience”, but this wasn’t bad by any measure.
I did the Veterans Day 5K the day before in downtown StL. I intended it as a shake-out, but ran it a wee bit too fast, thus my lackluster HM pace. The support/experience of the 5k on Saturday was much bigger than the HM on Sunday. They weren’t a combined event, just a nice happenstance that I could do a combo weekend. I don’t regret anything from a wonderful weekend running in StL.
Beautiful Race
You can't pick a better place to run a half marathon than in Forest Park. The time of year this is held the trees are phenomenal. The half marathon has … MORE
You can’t pick a better place to run a half marathon than in Forest Park. The time of year this is held the trees are phenomenal. The half marathon has you running on the streets of the park. There were court marshalls and people to hold up traffic for you. Packet pickup was super smooth. (I chose the day of). A nice medal is given at the end. Nice after snacks and water. Chip timed. Water stations, there were only 3 this year due to people cancelling at the last minute to volunteer and help. Be prepared with your own water (I do this at ANY race). There was only water and maybe gatorade or something at the stations; no snacks. The park has rolling hills, some a bit bigger than others, but all are manageable.
I signed up for this one because 20 miles was on my training schedule for my marathon training and decided 13.1 with others is much better than by myself. I continued running the additional miles in the park.
If you are from out of town, plan to visit the Zoo, Jewel Box, and other areas of the park. They are free admittance. Plenty of hotels in the area to stay.
Missouri makes state #35
Another race, not a ton of reviews for but for some reason this one was calling my name for Missouri. Pre Race: Not a ton of communication but the one … MORE
Another race, not a ton of reviews for but for some reason this one was calling my name for Missouri.
Pre Race:
Not a ton of communication but the one week of the race provided all information needed from parking, packet pick up etc.
Packet Pick up:
No expo, just folding tables set up outside. Seemed a bit disorganized as the line was super long to pick up bibs and just a shirt.
Swag:
Just a shirt-a great shirt-nice long sleeve, women’s cut-not a running shirt. I really do like it.
Race Morning:
I was a bit hesitant as they mentioned all the road closures on parking, however, found parking at the visitor center easy and plenty of space available. Super easy! They do offer race day pick up as well-line super long there too.
Course:
The course is really pretty all in Forest Park. It is hilly so be prepared-some long uphill and downhill stretches. You do get a peek of the Arch as well but it does not go anywhere near the arch. It is lovely how it stays all within the park. You loop through so run the hills both up and down.
Aid stations:
Aid stations were a disorganized mess. There was only 4 on the course about 3.5 miles apart but not 1 was ready for runners and only 1 had gatorade. When I say disorganized, no water was ready for runners, no one handing out-volunteers were trying to scoop each cup of water out of the large tubs while runners were waiting. Most only had 1-2 volunteers at them.
Finish Line:
Again, finish line-bit disorganized-there is no finisher shoot so families were literally waiting at the mats for their family member to cross plus others were taking photos. Made it really congested and hard to navigate. Medals were still wrapped in plastic and you had to weave through the crowd to find the people who had them. Medal is smaller but cute.
There was plenty of bottled water and snacks at the finish for runners-fruit snacks, cheez its etc.
The course makes this race worth it-but really middle of the road for everything else.
Fantastic race, gorgeous scenery
Lots of rolling hills! It was mostly in Forest Park and the fall foliage was spectacular! Organizers did a great job ensuring safety with the pandemic. Highly recommend, would do … MORE
Lots of rolling hills! It was mostly in Forest Park and the fall foliage was spectacular! Organizers did a great job ensuring safety with the pandemic. Highly recommend, would do again!