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Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon) Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon) Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 3.5 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 286 [displaying comments 101 to 111]
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NC RunningGal from NC
(3/25/2010)
"PW on the 1/2 marathon; water stop chaos" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Having grown up in the DC area, I was looking forward to running the National Half Marathon for the first time. Unfortunately, this was by far my worst running experience. I will admit I was a little rusty on the pre-race rhythm and could have hydrated a little better - YET, when I started out, I found it VERY hard to really gauge anything in this race due to poor organization. I usually run a steady pace just shy of 8 min/mile. I was trying to find my corral YET no markings available at the start line. Total chaos. Don't hear the gun go off, yet figure time to run. The crowds were all compacted, so I aimed on doing a little weaving to get into some space to run my pace. First mile 8:30 (I thought), but then it really seemed the mile markings were random (as others with GPS commented on), and I had trouble gauging my pace. I thought I was running 8-minute miles, but apparently not. Worse yet was the water situation. It was so VERY hard to even see the location of the water tables - sometimes on one side of the road, sometimes on another. The water and Gatorade folks were standing all interspersed, versus the typical "Water! Water!" folks in front and "Gatorade! Gatorade!" towards the end of the stop. Cups were plastic, so you couldn't form a crease/"funnel" so as to help the fluid get into your mouth. Splash. Splash. Little ability to take solid gulps of fluid. I ended up getting seriously dehydrated around mile 8 (after the hills)... felt very ill, dizzy, shakes, heart racing. The police officer had no idea where the aid station was. I kept asking people, "Where is the first aid station?" Finally, at mile 10, I found a paramedic truck on the side of the road. Got EKG monitoring and pulse... still 160 after having walked. I asked for water and they at first said they "didn't have any." Finally, the guy said, "Well, you can actually have my bottle of water." I gulp it down. Eventually I head back to the race. Still having trouble finding the side of the road with the water stops. Thankfully I had brought 2 PowerGels with me, which helped lessen the impact of the dehydration. I ran 2 miles, and by mile 12 felt like myself again and picked up my pace for a kick. Split times 7:52 at 10K followed by a 9:28 for the race. I would second the recommendations regarding getting better organization for: 1. adhering to time corrals for start line; 2. making sure mile markers are visible and accurate, 3. sticking with water stations on one side of the road only, with a longer set of tables with water first and Gatorade second (and teaching volunteers how to yell loudly which it is, and getting paper cups); 4. rechecking the topo map regarding the elevation gain on the hills per GPS reports; 5. having CLEARLY marked aid stations. Had my dehydration gotten any worse, it could have possibly been dangerous to my health to have to keep searching for medical attention. Although it was a blast running around the capitol and other neighborhoods, I do not want to run this again unless the organizers can indeed organize this race better. The sheer size of it necessitates that it be WELL organized. | |
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L. E. from DC
(3/24/2010)
"Great Race" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was a great race and the miles went by extremely fast! If you love DC, you will love running through the city! The fans were great (could have been more). The weather was beautiful and it runners were able to see ALL parts of DC. The downsides: there needed to be more water stops towards the end...it was very hot! Also, the hills at the VERY end are hard when your body is already dead. Not all miles are very clearly marked. Race packet/bag of goodies could have been much better. Be prepared to get up at 4am to be at metro by 5am. | |
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A. E. from Bethesda, MD
(3/24/2010)
"My first marathon. Great race." (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 1st marathon and I'm really pleased with the entire experience. The course was great, especially running downtown by the monuments, etc. Great volunteers at all the water stops! Really helpful and lots of them. All in all, I really enjoyed it. No major complaints other than the hills in the last 2-3 miles. If they were in the beginning, I guess I wouldn't have cared or noticed them as much, but they were much tougher than I expected right at the end. Made it tough for a good final push. Otherwise, really fantastic day. | |
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J. B. from Las Vegas, Nevada
(3/24/2010)
"A very pleasant half course" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The positives: (1) first half of this course is fast and visually stunning as you run by many of the D.C. monuments; (2) the tech shirt is one of the better ones given; (3) I also thought allowing participants to lounge in the adjacent armory before the race was a good touch to stay out of the cold; (4)the half was fairly flat with occasional rolling hills. There is noticable climb at miles 6-8. My criticisms: (1) water stations from miles 13-26 were way too random, i.e. some were placed 2 miles apart; (2) if you don't have a Garmin/GPS, be prepared to only see random mile markers; (3) really noticeable hills at miles 14-15, 24-26 were challenging given the race's express representation that its a fast course. All in all, this was my 6th marathon and I ran my second fastest time. So I would rate this marathon 3.5 stars out of 5. | |
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C. J. from Eagle Mountain UT
(3/23/2010)
"Good Course; 'Billing' as Fast Course Not Deserved" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The run through Washington DC was great; it was a good course and just fun to run through the Nation's Capitol and neighborhoods. However, the billing as one of the fastest marathons or half-marathons was definitely only applicable for the elite runners and a few others in the first rows of runners. What happened to the wave/corral start? For people like myself (running the Half) who started where their pace was indicated, the first mile or more was excruciatingly slow; there was nowhere to go. The road at the start and continuing for at least a mile was much too narrow to accommodate the field - all you could do was grin and bear it - or get frustrated. Consequently, at least the first, and really the first two water/hydration stops were useless. If you weren't on the side of the road where they were, you couldn't get to them. (Even after that it was sometimes confusing where water was and where Powerade was.) The congestion issue could have been fixed through the corral/wave start that was advertised; what happened to it? Those issues notwithstanding, I enjoyed the race. The hills were definitely present, but the course was a good one, spectators were often enthusiastic and plentiful, and the weather was great. If you still want to become a large, premiere race - you need to keep in mind that there are more folks to please than the handful of elite runners. There may have been many who would have like to shoot for PRs, but race logistics at the start made that virtually impossible. | |
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David Trevino from Arlington, VA
(3/23/2010)
"Another Great Year for the National" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is my 5th straight year in running this event (4 marathons and 1 half), and all I can say is that it gets better and better each year. The Washington DC area has two of the best marathon events in the Nation - the National and the Marine Corps. Anyone looking for a good marathon event to run in early Spring (National), or in the fall (Marine Corps) look no further - you will not be disappointed. The course for the National can be a little challenging (some slight rolling hills here and there), but with the proper training (running hills, and hill repeats) the course can be a breeze. The crowd support tends to increase every year, and it was good to even see some of the district police cheering on the runners. The water stations, I felt, were adequate. My only negative, and it is minor, is directed to the expo - the 'Official Merchandise' section was small, and even some of the merchandise had not arrived - there was a board that listed the items that were expected to come in, but like anything else in life - mistakes can, and will, happen. All and all, another good year for the National. | |
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N. A. from Maryand
(3/22/2010)
"Good course but not the best" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I enjoyed the course and it helped it was such a nice day. The thing I disliked the most was the corrals. The organization listed corral times on bibs; but it really did not matter. No one was there to check people into corrals and it took 2 miles to get around people that were in the wrong corral. There were limited spectators. The problem with an early spring marathon is dodging all the potholes on the poor maintain streets of DC but not the marathons part. The expo was pretty lame and took 10 minutes to go through. I will not be running it again and will just stick with another fall marathon. | |
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C. F. from Margaritaville
(3/22/2010)
"Half-Marathon Masquerading As Full Marathon" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This marathon means well, but it needs to decide whether it is a half-marathon or a full marathon. In 2010, the two did not peacefully co-exist. The race is clearly geared toward the half, with multiple water stops (including the first stop about 1 mile into the race causing a serious back up) and sporadic music. Once the marathoners peeled off from the 6,000 half-marathoners, things changed. After the 19 mile mark, the course became fairly ugly and the water stops fairly sparse. Runners looking for encouragement from any type of crowd, or a boost from some music (ANY type), must have been disappointed. Although the start had tremendous energy and the PA announcer kept the runners informed, the 'corrals' were a disaster. Most runners summarily disregarded the signs and jammed the front, resulting in a traffic jam more akin to the Beltway than a road race. On the positive side, all the volunteers as well as the police conducting traffic control were exceptionally nice. The expo was enjoyable, and bag check was smooth both before and after the race. There were plenty of portable toilets, and the post race food was plentiful. Having the Metro open early to accomodate the runners is a real positive, as well as the ability to hang out in the Armory before the start. Overall, a good but not great experience. | |
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G. N. from Washington DC
(3/22/2010)
"Needs Some Improvements" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I live in DC and while it was nice to sleep in my own bed before a marathon, I was slightly disappointed with the race. The organizers need to add the ability to track runners during the race. This seems standard in many other races; especially if you have a relay option, which they did. The half marathon course was good; but the 17 to 24 mile portion was unimpressive. Also, there were 2 180 degree turns on the course, with a whole city and 26.2 miles can't these be avoided? While it hurt I was glad to see the hills in the final 2 miles. I agree with the comments about the start. I know there are always runners creeping toward the front (I don't know why), but this seemed worse than usual, if you are going to demand 'qualifying' races, than try some enforcement of starting positions. I do all my training alone so don't mind if there are spectators or not, but for people who want the boost from cheering crowds, this is not the marathon for you. | |
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J. P. from Philadelphia, PA
(3/22/2010)
"An Underachieving, mediocre marathon that could be" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This is a half-marathon event. Period. There is a marathon attached to it that nobody seems to care about and that's too bad given the geographic layout of the nation's capital. The first 13 miles offer interesting scenery, moderately challenging terrain, and decent crowd support. But once you run past RFK Stadium for the second time and retread miles 1-3, you might wish you had just shut things down and headed to the food tent. Miles 18- 25 are boring and uninspiring as you make your way toward south and southeast DC. You run along the Anacostia River toward Minnesota Ave. The environment has an industrial feel. There are a few long straight-aways and out and back type stretches which forewarn you of the dreary landscape ahead. Perhaps course designers can explain why the race doesn't head west on Mass Ave toward the Potomac and Georgetown or venture a bit farther north past Columbia Heights. A few scattered spectators ringing cowbells was about all the fan support you got. I expected this type of non-stimuli when I ran Charlottesville, but not in DC. If you need a lot of energy and excitement to carry you through, think twice about this marathon. To conclude, the Expo was good. The guest speaker series was informative. The bag check/bag retrieval process went smoothly. The water stops were plentiful but a bit chaotic and congested, especially in the beginning. I've enjoyed better, more tasty post-race snacks but that would be the least of my concerns. Stayed with friends so I can't comment on lodging but the DC Metro was very convenient. It is more hillier than many expect so make note, and beware of potholes! Overall, an average marathon at best with much room for improvement. If you don't live relatively close, like me, skip it. |
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