Day 4,371—2 Runs until the Greater St. Louis Marathon: the Course Comparison—

 

   I started thinking more about the different routes that I have run since I started running the St. Louis Marathon. The first one I did was in 2010. After that, I ran the half in 2011, but since 2012, I have not missed the full marathon, so this Saturday will be my 16th St. Louis Marathon, my 17th consecutive appearance at the race, and my 15th consecutive marathon. It seems crazy to have been doing it for this long, but at the same time, not crazy at all. When I first did it, I was so excited, and my goal was to get under 3:30, which I did. Part of me thinks that should be my goal this year, too. Since it changed to the “Greater St. Louis Marathon” in 2024, I have had an issue every year. In the first year, the lack of a water station was the main issue. Last year, it was more about how confusing the course was because they had to change the route at the last minute, which caused me to add over a mile to the race.

    I was reflecting on it and thinking I could look through all of the courses over the year to consider what changes have been made, but I was curious if that was something I could get a language model to do for me, and this is what it came up with after much “thinking,” “searching.” It does a good job breaking it down, and the most consistent change has been from a hillier loop format to a flatter format that covers less of St. Louis but includes the run over the bridge and sections by the Arch, rather than more in Forest Park:   

Year Start → Finish Course Type River Crossing Forest Park Use Key Areas Covered Toughest Segment Overall Terrain

2010 Downtown → Downtown (Union Station area) Loop ❌ No ✅ Major Downtown, CWE, Clayton, U. City, Delmar Late climb Market St (~24–26) Rolling, tough late

2011 Downtown → Downtown Loop ❌ No ✅ Major Same as 2010 Forest Park Blvd → Market climb Rolling, heat-impacted year

2012 Downtown → Downtown Loop ❌ No ✅ Major Downtown → west to Clayton/U. City → back Mile 24–25 uphill to Market Rolling, sustained hills

2013 Downtown → Downtown Loop ❌ No ✅ Major Same general route family Late Market St climb Rolling

2014 Downtown → Downtown Loop ❌ No ✅ Major Adds strong Delmar Loop presence Delmar (~18) + Forest Park Blvd (~24) Rolling, punchy late

2015 Downtown → Downtown Loop ✅ Yes (Eads + MLK) ⚠️ Reduced Downtown, East STL, central corridor Mid-to-late rollers Moderately hilly

2016 Downtown → Downtown Loop ✅ Yes ✅ Significant Similar to 2015 + Forest Park loop Forest Park late miles Hilly despite “fast” claims

2017 Riverfront (Arch) → Riverfront Loop ✅ Yes ✅ Yes Arch, East STL, Soulard, Tower Grove, FP Long mid-race fatigue stretch Rolling

2018 Riverfront → Riverfront Loop ✅ Yes ✅ Yes Similar to 2017 Western miles (FP return) Rolling

2019 Riverfront → Downtown (adjusted) Loop (modified) ✅ Yes ✅ Yes Similar to 2018 but altered finish Variable due to reroute Rolling

2020 — ❌ Cancelled — — — — —

2021 Riverfront/Greenway → Kiener Plaza Out-and-back hybrid ⚠️ Minimal ❌ Minimal Riverfront Trail focused Mental monotony, exposure Flat

2022 Forest Park → Downtown Arch Point-to-point ❌ No ✅ Start-heavy FP → Midtown → Downtown Transition miles (~15–20) Rolling to flat finish

2023 Forest Park → Downtown Arch Point-to-point ❌ No ✅ Start-heavy Similar to 2022 Mid-late fatigue stretch Rolling

2024 Downtown (west) → Downtown Loop ✅ Yes ⚠️ Minimal Downtown, North City, CWE, Midtown Mild rollers mid-race Flatter overall

2025 Downtown → Downtown Loop ✅ Yes ⚠️ Minimal Same as 2024 Similar mid-course rollers Flat–moderate

2026 Downtown → Downtown Loop ✅ Yes ⚠️ Minimal Downtown, riverfront, central corridor, north city Mild rollers, no major climb Flat–moderate