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 An important part of the overall race experience for a participant is the support and encouragement along the 26.2 mile marathon course. Area neighborhood associations can be part of the action by applying to become an Official Cheer Zone, while receiving a $1,000 donation for neighborhood improvements or projects. A post-race marathon participant survey will be conducted to select the overall Cheer Zone Award, where the winning neighborhood will receive an additional $1,000.
Soulard Area’s Pajama Party Wins 2012 Neighborhood Cheer Zone Award
The Soulard Restoration Group was voted the top Neighborhood Cheer Zone at the 12th Annual GO! St. Louis Marathon Weekend. The award was confirmed after marathon participants were asked to select the top zone in a post-race online survey. Participants selected Soulard among the five official cheer zones. "Soulard is a neighborhood that knows how to throw a party, especially for thousands of runners and walkers at 7:15 on a Sunday morning," said Jackie Parker, head cheer leader for Soulard's cheer station. "It's becoming a tradition for Soulardians to roll out of bed and show up - in our pajamas - to cheer on the GO! St. Louis participants. You have to be part of this event to see how amazing it is to get high-fives from the runners, see their smiles and hear them thank us for being there at Mile 3. Talk about our neighborhood giving a little and getting back so much!"The Soulard neighborhood enhanced their involvement by adding a “Bring a Can Because You Can” food drive, collecting much-needed food for the Trinity Lutheran Church pantry.
2012 Cheer Zone themes included:
Central West End Association – Toga St. Louis!, Loop Special Business District – Carnival , Skinker DeBaliviere – Michael Jackson, Soulard Restoration Group – Pajama Party and University Heights Subdivision No. 1 – Neighborhood to the World
What Participants said...
"All of the neighborhoods were great!! All the spectators were magnificent. I had fun with the Hornblowers at mile 10 and mile 19-20 was awesome!! Great idea having neighborhood competitions. Best idea! Thanks, GO! St. Louis!!"
"Soulard was RIDICULOUS! Reminded me of some of the neighborhood hot spots in older, bigger, more prestigious races like Chicago or Boston. GO! St. Louis has done so much in the past couple of years to push our marathon closer to a bigger and more prestigious race and it was especially prominent this year! The atmosphere in the whole city during marathon weekend was electric and contagious. Keep up all the great work GO! StL crew!"
"The oranges were so fantastic, I recommend handing out slices next year at half the aid stations next year! Such a great idea. Overall, I really enjoyed the cheering support, it helped pushed me along. Thanks so much for all of it."
"This was very hard to choose! The entertainment and support along the way throughout the entire marathon was tremendous. I had such a good time throughout the whole thing, even despite the heat!! I loved that there were people with water sprinklers and hoses to cool us off :-). Thanks so much for everything!"
"All were great! Being a resident of St Louis, it was a wonderful way to explore the city and appreciate the folks" |
