GO! St. Louis Marathon
Race Day Weather
Cool start, manageable winds ahead
Runners will face a temperature rise from 49°F at the start to 59°F by the finish, with averages around 63% humidity. Winds will be moderate, with a SSW direction providing a tailwind between miles 2-3 and 9-20, but headwinds will challenge runners between miles 4-5, 7-8, and 14-19. Adjusting pacing during these segments will be crucial, and a light layer may be beneficial during the pre-race wait.
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Race Info
The GO! St. Louis Marathon is run on the streets of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, on a Saturday in early spring, with a half marathon, 10K, 5K and one-mile family run on the same weekend. The 2027 race is on April 3, with the marathon, half marathon and 10K starting together at 7:00 AM Central. The marathon has a 6.5-hour course limit, and walkers can apply for a 6:00 AM early start. Source
Race Day Tips
Keep something back for the riverfront. Wind off the Mississippi hits you there, so don't burn energy on a big surge before you reach it.
Plan to ease off on the uphills and bank time on the downhills. The rolling terrain rewards steady effort more than an even pace on the watch.
Keep something back for the riverfront. Wind off the Mississippi hits you there, so don't burn energy on a big surge before you reach it.
Plan to ease off on the uphills and bank time on the downhills. The rolling terrain rewards steady effort more than an even pace on the watch.
Tips from runner race reports
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When is the 2027 GO! St. Louis Marathon?
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Reviews & Race Reports
Rolling hills and a windy riverfront make this a tougher marathon than it looks. Brewery and Arch sights are the highlights.
Rolling hills all the way — A few runners found the course hilly with little flat ground. One said the trail hills were not terrible alone but were mean when stacked with the wind.
Wind off the Mississippi — A couple of runners were hit hard by wind along the riverfront. It left them slowed late in the race.
Past the brewery and the Arch — A couple of runners noticed the brewery complex, one smelling it and one running between its buildings. One also ran by the Arch.
Fought cramps and headwinds but still hit a huge PR
Weather. Was. Perfect. Well, until the last third of the race, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Started the first couple of miles with the 3:30 pace group before striking out on my own. Actually was on pace for sub-3:25 until mile 17 at the river when I started fighting cramps in my left calf.
Pushed through a tough headwind to finish strong after mile 23
At mile 20ish I took a 100 mg caffeine gummy and my last gel, with the plan of it all kicking in by mile 22ish and then I was gonna try and cut my times down a bit. Well, all that was during the out and back portion which I was prepared for to be hard, but obviously it was extremely hard. Mile 22 I decided to just stay with the 4 hour crew, prob 8 of us at this point. But at mile 23 just after the beginning of the “back” part of the out and back, I couldn’t hold back any more and I put some music on my aftershokz for the first time of the day, a playlist just for this moment, and I gave it my best primal gutteral roar and made my move and pushed ahead of the 4 hour group.
Faded in the final miles but enjoyed the race experience
I had a blast during the race and felt strong for most of it. I finished the half-marathon split faster than my October dedicated half-marathon and felt good. I was still with the pacers going into mile 21, though was not able to speed up past them. By the end of mile 23 I was starting to fade a bit and the pacers pulled ahead of me.
Struggled with heat and humidity after a strong start
As you can see by my splits above, around mile 15-16 I started to really struggle as the heat, humidity, and hills really caught up with me. It was close to 60F at race start time and only climbed from there. I believe it was close to 70F by the time I finished. If you know St. Louis, then you know how humid it can get and it definitely got humid that morning.
Felt delusional at mile 21 but pushed through to hit my goal.
The race was TOUGH! I woke up 3 hours before the race and ate 2 bananas and drank 2 pitchers of water with a Nuun tablet. I wore light shorts and a tank, and my fanny pack that holds my water bottle, Gu, and other provisions. Right after the National Anthem I ate a Gu packet. I set off and just kept my eye on my pace; I wanted to look down at my watch and see 8:40-ish at all times; sometimes it was low 8s so I'd slow it down, other times I saw 9:10s and had to speed it up!