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☰
Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.8 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 401 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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Ryan Wrigley from Birmingham, Alabama
(1/23/2016)
"An okay course, but comes with plenty of rewards" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a well organized race that takes you through a bit of the cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. While the race was great for getting a BQ and one out of colder areas in the country this marathon was one of the least scenic which is a surprise for Arizona. Still fine weather and a couple of respectable hills near the finish in Tempe. Packet pickup at the expo was a breeze and the medal,food and live music made the bland course worth the effort. Come here for the bling, the weather and a good chance of a BQ, but running for scenery will have to be done elsewhere. | |
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A. B. from Tucson, AZ
(1/25/2015)
"Improved over 2011 Experience" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my second time running the marathon here (first being in 2011). In '11, the marathon felt very much like an afterthought to the half marathon. This year, thanks to the completely separate start locations and courses, the marathon actually felt like a nice mid-sized race. Course was very well marked, aid station plentiful and well-staffed. Great expo and easy race-day logistics (the VIP Warm Zone was worth every penny!) Bonus: Brooks finisher's jacket for marathon participants Excellent post-race party at Tempe Beach Park with concerts, food trucks, etc. MUCH improved logistics and location than before. As others have noted, the late start time makes it tough as the temperature climbs quickly. The course was surprisingly shady the first 12 miles (when you don't really need it) and then totally exposed the back half when you do. While this isn't a challenging course, don't underestimate the 3 mile incline on the out-and-back in Scottsdale, or the rolling hills at the end. Overall, I enjoyed the new course and logistics for this race much more than my 2011 experience, and was happy I gave RNRAZ another shot! | |
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M. G. from AZ
(1/21/2015)
"Easy race to run..." (about: 2015)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Simple race for a big city. Expo, bib pick-up easy. Corrals easy to mange. Race starts on time. Wide streets, big and friendly water stops. Crowds are small, course mostly flat (with a hill at 24), finish line area easy to navigate. Expect sunny, dry weather (in the 70s towards the end). Good medal. The bands are there but not as many as led to believe. The race used to attract more but the entry fee is high compared to other races with a lot more crowd support and better scenery. Well executed, parking easy, but little frills if you're looking for that sorta thing. Nice job overall. | |
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Joseph LaScola from Scottsdale, Arizona
(1/19/2015)
"The wonderful spirit of Marathon is contagious!" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 What better way to spend a Sunday morning than participating in a spirited, vibrant and enthusiastic event. Thanks to you all!! Joseph LaScola, Scottsdale, AZ | |
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K. M. from Oregon, USA
(10/6/2014)
"Great Boston qualifier" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race is top notch. Pretty flat and it wasn't too hot like I thought it might be, so I was pleasantly surprised. And, I qualified for and ran Boston in 2011... | |
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S. C. from Florida
(1/29/2014)
"easiest logistics for any marathon I have traveled" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Delightful experience all around! It was a quick weekend marathon trip for us from Florida, and could not have gone more smoothly. The light rail from the airport dropped us off one block from our hotel. We hopped down to the start line 10 minutes before the race start the next morning and enjoyed the flatland runner friendly course. The Hotel Palomar was very accommodating for runners and the perfect spot to stay. It was nice to ride the Light Rail back from Tempe for only $2. Easy! As a bonus, we walked across the street from the hotel and saw the Suns play that evening. Great weekend race. | |
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J. V. from Austin, Texas
(1/27/2014)
"Excellent Organization" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was, overall, an excellent race. The website and information leading up to the race were thorough. The expo was full of great information and products and the line to pick up the bibs and shirts was short. The transporation from the light rail to the starting line was smooth, and we were able to wait inside a building lobby to avoid the chill. Plenty of portable bathrooms at the start line. The coralls were spacious and the wave start was very nice. The fact that the half marathoners ran a different course was very, very nice. I didn't feel crowded at all. The spectators were very enthusiastic and friendly and provided a lot of moral support. The volunteers were very helpful. This was a great marathon! | |
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W. O. from Arizona
(1/23/2014)
"Won't run this one again" (about: 2014)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Pros - close to home for me; nice weather; easy packet pickup; arrival at starting line and expo easy with light rail. Cons - - Expensive - Race starts way too late for serious runners hoping to PR; there is plenty of light at 7 a.m and race didn't start until almost 8. Even 3 hour marathoners will experience significant heat and sun by the end - Course is relatively flat until almost the end, when there are a series of relatively small but nevertheless substantial hills right when you are hoping for a strong finish and are at your most exhausted - Finish area was the worst that I have ever experienced. There were volunteers handing out medals, and then there were the photographers wanting to take photos, but no one was handing out water bottles or gatorade. The person I was running with was dizzy and nauseated, and I was unable to find any fluids for her - all the ice filled bins were empty and we finished at 4 hours. I exited with her and was thinking I could find fluids at a medical tent, but I could not locate that either. I ended up retrieving my drop bag where I had stashed a bottle of Gatorade and gave her that. Absolutely the worst experience I have ever had. To add to the frustration, the snack selection at the end consisted of a bag of pretzels, a Dole fruit cup and a Power Bar. That was it - no sliced bananas or oranges, nothing. Horrible. For the price paid for this event, this is really outrageous. Furthermore, the finish area was dirty - trash cans overflowing and no one around emptying them or putting new bags in the trash bins. The whole finish area was depressing, crowded and dirty. Never again. There are plenty of better marathon choices out there. | |
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k. L. from Seattle, WA
(1/23/2014)
"Huge race" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I just ran the 2014 Marathon. It was a massive race that is point to point; starts in one city, ends in another. I personally prefer traditional races over the RnR's, but this one was well organized during the race and the bands were pretty good. Here are the pro's and cons Pros: 1. Fun Expo, easy pick up, easy to find 2. Ample Water/Gatorade supply 3. Huge race, but the streets were large enough to accommodate everyone without feeling crowded, relatively flat (see cons) 4. Spectators were awesome and able to access the course almost everywhere. 5. Occasional Hoses offered a few minutes of cooling down before the climate dried you out completely again 6. Nice medal, typical RnR style 7. Finisher shoot long and easy for family to find you as you come out of it 8. Train between cities is relatively easy to use. 9. Being in Phoenix/Scottsdale in January after the race and getting some sun makes this race all the more worthwhile for those of us from cold climates ;) Cons: 1. Huge race. Full and Half are at 2 separate locations making logistics difficult if someone in your group is running the full and someone is running the half. There is a train, no shuttles. 2. Start time...8AM in a desert climate...WTF? The start temp was 46F, cool and comfortable, by 11AM I was starting to bake even with the mild cloud cover. I finished before the sun could bake me completely and we did have nice weather this year, but they need to make the race earlier for slower runners to avoid the baking heat. Runners can handle getting up at the crack of dawn for a race. 3. The course is relatively flat, some slow rolling 'hills' throughout. The one steep hill is short but it is right before mile 25. The last bridge to the finish is concrete. 4. Medic tents were few and far between. They needed medics on bikes for the last six miles as people started dropping like flies. Really, there was a guy out cold mid way through the small hill up to the 25 mile marker and we were all running trying to frantically find medics...none were around until we finally got back where cars were and someone found a police officer. The last medic tent I saw was also a ways off the course. It was obvious that whoever set up the tent was not thinking about injured people in a race, because the thing was down an embankment. Just what a runner with IT band issues is going to want to do, walk down a slight ramp to get biofreeze then walk back up and start racing again. D'OH! 5. My running buddy had a bad race and we waited for 2 hours, which was ok for us, because it was warm. But when she finished we had to give her water and snacks because they were breaking down tents/putting away stuff and didn't give her anything. Lame. The course says it's a 7 hour limit, they should not have been breaking down when she walked through at 6 hours. 6. I wouldn't call the course scenic. It's relatively uninteresting but it's a flat course that you can PR/Boston Qualify on if you're prepared for the heat near the end. All in all, it was a good race though. If you like the RnR series and large races, this one is for you. I would run it again if they made the time earlier to avoid the heat. And as I said, getting out of the cold North and having a run in weather that was NOT freezing rain/snow in January is what makes this race worth while. | |
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G. I. from AZ, USA
(1/20/2014)
"Boring course, scarce crowd support, starts late" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 PROS: great start line organization/wave starts, weather, very well organized, water/gatorade station well supplied, volunteers CONS: very boring course, the start time is way too late for a race that takes place in the desert, finish line is bland and cramped |
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