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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 21 to 31]
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B. G. from Scottsdale
(1/20/2014)
"Crowd" (about: 2014)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 This was by far the worst experience I have had as a spectator. I cannot run but my wife has for 7 years. Each year the course changes and I could not see anything of the race except the beginning and the end. The bridge viewing was awful. Most folks around me had a similar bad experience. Never again. | |
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M. G. from AZ
(1/19/2014)
"Sadly, not the race it used to be..." (about: 2014)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Elvis has left the building...and it appears this race as well. Have run all 11 of them and this race is now a skeleton of what it once was. It all just looks stripped down. Entries down to 2700 (from well over 10-12000 in its heyday) and half down to 11500 (down from 20000). What went well-easy packet pick up. Good race tech shirt. Nice medal. Easy corrals to get into. Race starts on time. Pancake flat course. Mild weather. Friendly water stops. Mile markers/clocks easily visible. Results posted quickly. New finish line/reunion area nice improvement. Still a good place to PR and perhaps qualify for Boston (barring hot weather). A good race if you're looking to run something without all the frills-just go out and run it even though this is advertised as an RnR party/music-filled race. What needs works/lacking energy-bands and music very scantnot nearly as many as advertised (again), boring, boring, boring course-boring. Very few spectators (though the ones there were cheering). Miles 21-25 even more boring. Finish line-who hired all the crickets? Post-race food even less than last year. No energy at the new reunion area. Race fee, while not off the charts, does not equate with what was delivered. Expo greatly reduced-only one shoe company there-others bailed a few years back. Again, little energy there, too. This race is dying a slow death even though the minimum needs are met (maybe that's the problem). Like other RnR events, the emphasis has shifted to the half. Runners have spoken loudly-they have moved on to other races-they expect more now, there's more competition for your race dollar. Probably explains the lower turnout this year. Would like to see this race get its mojo back-apparently, that doesn't seem to be in their future. | |
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J. S. from Quincy, IL
(5/8/2013)
"Great race all around!" (about: 2012)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Did this race as my second marathon and I ended up running a personal record of over 10 minutes. I would consider this a good fast course. I would definitely love to run this marathon again. I put down a 4 for the race starting late even though it worked out to my benefit since I had to use the restroom still, but every race should start out on time regardless. | |
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Rob Hazelett from Denver, CO.
(4/24/2013)
"Great run in my home state" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I really enjoyed running the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon. I want to definitely point out the crowd support was wonderful and the aid stations were well placed and well stocked, especially since it turned out to be one of my slowest marathons. The only problem I had with the course was during my run from miles 11-19 into Scottsdale that were an an out-and-back course. But hey, it just made us cheerful spectators for the first four miles clapping for the leaders and then cheerful supporters for the next four miles pulling for our comrades trailing us. I highly recommend running this marathon and will run it again myself because it's in my home state and there isn't a better month than January to run a race in Phoenix. It's a little pricey to register, but it's part of the Rock 'n' Roll series, so register early! It was well organized and I thoroughly enjoyed the expo and interaction with some of the premier runners the marathon currently has to offer. Keep up the good work. P.S. The medal is huge, typical of a Rock 'n' Roll marathon finisher's medal and has a fantastic design. | |
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Robin Grover from Alexandria, VA
(1/23/2013)
"Extremely well-organized; would repeat." (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I thought it was a wonderful race; no shortage of fluids, reasonably good bands (or piped music) and spectator support, a good Expo with lots of quality booths, no shortage of really fine people, young and older, volunteering to help and being of great help. Broad streets on the route, never felt crowded, a very nice bunch of runners. Meeting Frank Shorter and listening to him speak at the Expo was a bonus. Started out with a great (for me) Half, but my legs cramped at 16 miles due to new shoes and no socks (my stupidity, had nothing to do with R&R), but I finished, laid down on the ground and had involuntary leg muscle spasms (again, nothing to do with the race organizion or organizers, my fault solely). They were great at the Volunteer Med Tent with a bottle of Gatorade to restore the salt/electrolyte balance, which ended the muscle spasms (though my feet are still badly cut). Only two criticisms. 1) I would start the Full an hour earlier to avoid the late morning sun; and, 2) the finish area had very little non-alcoholic food and drink for sale outside the runner chute. I would have thought this would be golden for such vendors, given the total number of runners (18,000 in both Half and Full) and their families hanging around. My advice is to stay at one of the downtown hotels (I was at the Hyatt, which like others, is about 100 yards from the start line). Overall, a job very well done by R&R, just the same experience as I've had in their other races. | |
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W. C. from Phoenix, AZ
(1/22/2013)
"Needs to get back to basics" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I didn't run this year, was cheering a friend from the sidelines, but I've done the full twice before (including the inaugural 10 years ago). To the previous poster who complained about the weatherthat definitely couldn't have been accounted for and a suddenly announced earlier start would have been a mess logistically, especially since Competitor nixed bus transport to the start after the 2011 race and all runners must use the light rail system. (BTW, Metro Phoenix had below freezing temps and highs in the 40's the week before the marathon, so my friend who ran thought the 60-70 temps were perfect). However, it's evident that Competitor is really in all of the RnR races for the money, not for charity, the city, or even for the love of competitive running. So if you're looking for a smaller, more personal,less generic race, there are several to choose from in AZ now between January and March. This marathon is well-organized and can be a PR course, but is currently at least $25 too expensive and I foresee that it will continue losing participants. Ideally Competitor would reach out to the Phoenix running community and the community at large to improve, but since it is a big cooperate 'machine', unless something goes drastically wrong here (a la Vegas in 2011) nothing will change. | |
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J. G. from PHOENIX, AZ
(1/22/2013)
"Please look at your race day promises" (about: 2013)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Overall the race was fine, but parking was a disaster. Materials said traffic would be directed into a certain garage. There was zero direction. I know this isn't the first time this issue has come up either.. FIX IT! | |
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M. G. from AZ
(1/21/2013)
"RnR you're going thru the motions and it shows..." (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Have run all 10 and many other RnR races, I think it's time for some new energy and honest introspection. # of entrants were down again this year. Maybe too many other RnR races, maybe runners are tiring of the lapses, maybe too many other better choices, maybe RnR continues to ignore the feedback - good or bad. The good: Easy packet pick-up, Expo had plenty to peruse, Race started on time, Volunteers very friendly, Miles clearly marked, Tech shirt had good design, color. Lackluster: Medal was good but smaller this year, Almost no crowds/cheering along course, Course has nothing memorable; miles 21-25 through industrial boredom (could almost here crickets out there), Bands barely played and only a few (maybe 6 or 7?) - not even close to covering 26 miles, Clocks not all working, Inconsistent water stops; many without Gatorade. The bad: This year was 10th annual - legacy runner info inaccurate, Ran out of most of post-race fluids/food with a third of runners still on course - even pulling down tables as runners came through, Emphasis more on half than full entrants, Race bag full of wasteful leaflets, samples you can't travel back with. Overall - this race has almost no energy; nothing compelling - other than excellent weather. Course is pancake flat, plenty of width but most all of it is boring. They need to rethink the path, get neighborhoods way more involved, try to add some 'wow' somewhere along the course, give this race some 'oomph'. There are way better choices out there; RnR races used to be fun and full of characternow they're just money machines setting up shop all across the country. Caveat emptor... | |
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C. Y. from Louisiana
(1/21/2013)
"What has happened to Rock N Roll's?" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 First RnR in about 3 years and very likely our last. Little medal, almost nothing in the runner's village (unless you paid extra); had to walk a mile for a free beer (which we didn't) and everything was an extra charge. Couldn't even get water at the start line unless you paid another huge fee. It's not their fault that it was brutally hot for January in Phoenix, but they could have started the race an hour earlier to help the slower runners. Spectators and course support were good although not nearly as many bands as the past. All-in-all, very expensive race (and I didn't buy all the extras) and cured me of RnR's for a long time to come. | |
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C. K. from Southern Oregon, USA
(5/10/2012)
"Great Time in Phoenix for a Marathon" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 For Phoenix, the weather was perfect for a marathon. The course ran through varied sections of the metro area. The spectators were numerous and great. I loved interacting with the locals, especially the little kids standing there so thrilled to get high-fives from the runners. The school cheer crews were also fantastic. I loved the bands and the variety of music. My favorite part of the course was making the turn and heading toward Camelback Mountain. Awesome and inspiring view. The on-course and finish organization was spot on. The start was organized well, but, the late start was annoying. The running crowd I was with was friendly and enjoyable. There was about a 10k out-and-back section and I really cherished the camaraderie with the oncoming runners in both directions. I really enjoyed my experience. |
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