GO! St. Louis Marathon
Race Day Weather
Cool start, warming trend ahead
Runners will face a temperature rising from 49°F at the start to 70°F by the finish, with humidity averaging 71%. A light breeze from the ESE at 9 mph will provide some relief. Given the warmth and humidity, it's advisable to start conservatively and stay hydrated throughout the race.
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Race Info
Discover the excitement of the Greater St. Louis Marathon, set to take the city by storm in April. This not-to-be-missed event promises a weekend filled with new courses, iconic landmarks, and vibrant celebrations, including the first-ever National Running Club Championships & Rally. Source
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Reviews & Race Reports
Hilly and challenging. Key mental battles at mile 20. Manage your energy and nutrition to finish strong.
The Hilly Challenge — This course is no walk in the park. Multiple runners noted that the hills really took their toll around mile 15-16, making the final miles a struggle.
Mile 20 Mentality — Several reports highlight the tough out-and-back section around mile 20. Runners felt the mental and physical strain here, especially with headwinds making it even harder.
Cramps and Fatigue — Cramping became a common theme after mile 17. Many runners, including those who started strong, faced challenges with cramps and fatigue as they approached the final stretch.
Fueling Strategies — A few runners mentioned the importance of timing their nutrition. Taking gels and caffeine at critical points, like mile 20, helped some push through the tough last miles, but others struggled to find their rhythm afterward.
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!