Prairie Fire Marathon is a relatively flat to rolling course that takes runners through some of Wichita’s historic neighborhoods. While on the course, runners will begin in the Old Town district, run along the Douglas Design District, and pass through the lively College Hill area. Runners will then head through Downtown before taking in the views along the Arkansas River and the historic Riverside Park area.
The Prairie Fire Marathon was the 180th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 190th largest in 2022.
This year 7.5% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 5.8% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Prairie Fire Marathon the 316th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 205th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 99.23 ranks it as the 159th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 3rd fastest course in Kansas.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Prairie Fire Marathon a PR Score of 98.54. This PR Score ranks it as the 210th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 6th fastest in Kansas.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Prairie Fire Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 1374 feet (418m) Min Elevation: 1293 feet (394m)
Race logistics went very well. The mass start had plenty of room for runners, our hotel was 0.4 miles from the starting line, the course was relatively flat, and there were no problems to speak of. This was my 57th and one of my most enjoyable.
Race Tips
Start the first five miles getting into a smooth groove and take it easy on the short grade at the 1 mile mark. Not bad at all and you will make up time going back down.
I've waited long enough for a response from race organizers that I suppose it's finally time to publicly say that I don't recommend this race. I'll start by saying the course itself is great. Nice and flat, and easy roads to run on (there's an odd stretch that takes you on a trail in between the back sides of some houses, but I actually found that to be interesting though it would be tough in a crowd).
The reason I can't recommend this is that the course was not properly marked at a key stretch of the race. I was running 3:04 pace so there was a large gap in front and behind me by the time I reached mile 20. I passed a volunteer around that point and hit a long stretch of road with a slight curve and lots of trees, so I couldn't see all that far ahead. After a while I realized I hadn't seen any signs, cones, or flags in quite some time. (It was a 4 lane road with broken medians along the way, yet no cones indicating to stay on the side you were on, which is what I would have expected.) I started to question if I was on the course. I couldn't see anyone, couldn't hear anything, hadn't seen any signs that I was on course for over 6 minutes (almost the full mile). I finally decided I must have missed a turn and circled back until I came upon the next runner behind me. He too thought we had missed a turn so he circled back until we found the next runner and turned back around. About a hundred meters passed where I initially turned around (around a bend) was the mile 21 flag and a little further up, a water station. When I later looked at the course map, the water station was supposed to be prior to mile 21 so it was set up at the wrong spot and was probably what was supposed to clue people that they were going the right way.
Anyway, I won't say this mishap cost me a BQ because I still finished several minutes over, but I don't feel like I got a fair shot and having paid for the race, the trip to Wichita, the lodging, etc, I'm not happy about it. As I said above, after numerous attempts at contacting the organizers and not getting anything but an automated response, I need to put this out there for others as a warning.
Race Tips
Drive the last 6-7 miles of the course prior to race to be sure you know where you're going.
Good:
- A nice urban loop course, mostly scenic through nice neighborhoods and/or parks
- Smaller event (maybe 450 marathon runners, probably more than 1000 in the half) makes it easy to get to the expo, parking, and start area.
- Friendly volunteers
- Expo was small (to be expected), but nice
- Traffic control was excellent
- Shirts are nice (you only get one if you finish), medals are huge (if that's your thing)
- Decent food at the finish (pizza, bananas, oranges, gatorade, water, chocolate milk (yes!), beer)
Could Be Better:
- Merging with the half-marathon runners between roughly miles 13-18 was a but tough, as many were walking, sometimes 3-4 abreast and I had to weave several times to get around them.
- Different tents around the start area (like bag check) weren't marked clearly (or not at all).
- With a concurrent marathon (400+), half-marathon (1200+), and 5k (400+) start, it's pretty crowded at the start (plus there was some road construction in miles 1-2, which created a bit of congestion, but nothing that slowed me down. Nothing the race organizers can do about that).
- Water and Gatorade at the start would have been nice touch
- Because it's a smaller race, the crowds will thin out, especially after the half-marathon runners split off again between miles 17 & 18. I was running with no one else in sight from just past mile 18 to just past mile 22. I almost missed 3-4 turns after mile 18 or so, simply because I had no one to follow, the course wasn't marked very well (some simple sandwich board signs in the 18-23 miles stretch would be a great help) and (the most frustrating part), there were either no volunteers to point the way, or the volunteers who were on the course were either caught up in conversation and I had to yell to ask where to go, or they were staring at their phones and didn't bother to look up.
Race Tips
- If you're running sub-4:00, be prepared to run alone in the later miles
- Even effort is probably the best strategy, given the relatively flat course. Of course, that means you go a bit slower on the uphills, and a bit faster on the downhills, but since it's mostly flat, there's no need to vary your effort significantly at any point along the course.
- The course is all roads and concrete paths. There are a few spots later in the first half where you'll run on a concrete bike path through a park or along a canal.
- Miles 18-23 can be disorienting and confusing lots of twists and turns that aren't necessarily well marked. If possible, try to drive that part of the course beforehand to get a feel for the surroundings.
- Be prepared for a variety of weather conditions, but you can count on some kind of wind (according the locals, race day winds were pretty light). The race started well enough with temps in the mid-50s and a slight cross-wind (~5 mph) from the south, which isn't bad at all. The temps warmed up to the low 70s near the end, however, and the winds picked up to 10-12 mph, creating a headwind for the last 2.5 miles. Could have been a lot worse.
- Parking west of the finish across the river at the baseball stadium was easy and convenient. I got there about 6:45 (race start was at 7:30) and had plenty of time to get to the start and check my gear.
- If you stay at the Hyatt or Drury, you won't have to worry about parking at all. The Hyatt is right next to the start/finish area, and the Drury is about two blocks to the north.
- Get in line for the porta-potties no later than 7:10 or so. There's only one set near the start area, and the lines are long.
Anonymous's review of 2016 Prairie Fire Marathon.
1 /
5 Stars
Review
Ran out of food and drinks at the very end. Even the volunteers said, "Wow, that was bad." I want to recommend it because it is my home town but man, I'm embarrassed. Even the 4:30 marathon group had nothing. And it's happened a number of years in a row. People complained, then they turned the music back on for finishers.
3.6 Stars from 7 Reviews
