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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 171 to 181]
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R. S. from Washington D.C.
(3/22/2009)
"Great Marathon/Nicely Organized" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I was really impressed. I'm a DC resident, and the course takes you through the entire city, including areas that I've never been before. The course is attractive and relatively flat. There is one notable hill that really presented no issues at mile 6-7 and a few rolling ones (only because you're exhausted) from miles 23-25. You retrace your steps after the halfway point (which is excellent because you get to go DOWN Capitol Hill again). Overall, I'd say it's fast. No huge crowds in the second half, but I'm not a huge rah-rah guy anyway and the volunteers and water stations were plentiful and incredibly enthusiastic. Miles 17ish-25 are tough, but for a first marathon, it really was fantastic and I'd recommend it to anyone. | |
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J. M. from United States
(3/22/2009)
"A great course and way to see the real DC" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I am a native and loved seeing all four quadrants of the city shine. It helped that the weather was beautiful. The course had a few hills but just enough to give the legs some variety. The management was impressive. Being able to wait indoors in the Armory was a fantastic treat (thank you!). I'd definitely recommend it. I am looking forward to running it again next year. | |
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P. S. from Washington, DC
(3/21/2009)
"Good 1st-time marathon, but some growing pains" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon, and overall I was satisfied with the experience: 2009 was the 4th running of the DC marathon, and the organization is going through growing pains. They did some things very well, but other areas are in need of improvement. All of the following were highlights: -Online registration was easy, and there were lots of helpful email updates in the weeks before the marathon. -The expo had lots of booths and was well-organized. -The pre-race countdown was well organized and went very smoothly. -There were hundreds of helpful DC police on the route, which was well-marked and took us through a variety of neighborhoods. The course was fast and mostly flat. -There were plentiful volunteers who seemed well-briefed, and enthusiastic. -The finish line area was well-organized, and well-stocked at the, ahem, 5-hour mark. There were a few frustrating moments, and I think these are the result of a rapidly-growing organization; 2009 had 8,000 runners, compared with 4,000 in 2008. Three quarters of the 8,000 runners were there for the half marathon. Because of this, the first half of the course was crowded, and the second half wide-open. Also frustrating: -Water stops were at odd-numbered mile markers throughout the race. Running at a 10-minute/mile pace for the first half, there were no cups remaining at miles 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Race volunteers had runners sip from 1-gallon water jugs, which led to lines. -There were very few porta-johns on the course, leading to long lines for the first half of the course. Given that the entire course is in urban areas, this was very frustrating. -There were 3 GU stops on the course. All 3 were folded up and gone by the time I passed through. -There were very few spectators on the course (though those present were very enthusiastic). Riding the metro home, most passengers seemed unaware that there was a marathon occurring today. I suspect that a lot of these concerns will be addressed for future years. I was happy with my decision to have this be my first marathon. | |
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George (Ted) Hobart from Arlington, VA
(3/21/2009)
"Awesome Course, But Ran Out of Water!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I did the half marathon and the course was spectacular! I was very pleased with almost everything, except that there were 4 water stops without cups and 2 water stops without water. Fortunately for me, I carry my own water, but I wonder about everyone else. Other than that, the race was amazing with many wonderful views of the US Capitol. | |
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R. S. from Washington, D.C.
(3/21/2009)
"Could be great with some improvement" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Mostly I echo the other comments, with the exception that the hills are not entirely insignificant. If you are shooting for a BQ, expect to lose two minutes because of the hills on the course. Assuming the race directors read this, here are some spots for improvement: 1. Great technical shirt in the goody bag, but cheapo stenciling for logo and lettering. Wash it a half-dozen times and you'll see what I mean. 2. Who decided that putting porta-potties right next to the start line was a good idea? Yes, they form a good "wall" for the starting corals. But the stench as you wait for the start is horrible! Especially at 7 a.m., this is not good. 3. Granted, this is a city marathon and you take what you get, but couldn't they prod the city into traversing the course and filling potholes? I saw three runners fall; one had what appeared to be a nasty head bash, though the others were not as bad. 4. Elevate the mile markers! With 5,000 runners and mile markers at ground level, they were impossible to see. Not good when you are trying to stay on a particular pace. 5. The narrow starting corals are good because they provide for a smaller flow of runners over the starting line, which helps with early course crowding. But the pacing markers in the starting corals should be farther apart for the more popular times, rather than evenly spaced. The area for the 7:00 pace was wide open, whereas the area for the 8:30 pace was extremely crowded. There needs to be more space between pace corals to accommodate the number of anticipated runners for that pace. 6. Does there really need to be metal detector security for the expo? I mean, Bart Yasso is famous, but he's not exactly a target! That may be the policy of the D.C. Armory, but it seems like the marathon could get an exemption. Waiting out in the cold for someone to wave a wand over each person entering is kind of silly. | |
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Daryl Anderson from Houston/Humble Texas
(11/7/2008)
"Great Race for First Course." (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is an excellent course for any first-time, second-time, or 50th-time runners. This was the first time I had ever run a marathon and I actually forgot that I was running 26.2 miles. There are so many wonderful sights to see, and the race was well organized. I was completely at peace the whole time I was running. I would highly recommend others to run this course. | |
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J. B. from West Chester, PA
(5/5/2008)
"Great first marathon" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Some highlights - Metro opened at 5am to allow runners to get to the start on time (thanks DC!) - Cold and windy at the start but great weather overall for the run - Nice course through parts of DC I know well and some that were new to me - Ran with Mayor Fenty for miles 5 and 6 and then again around 21-22. - Spectators were good in the first half - Loved the sign held by a couple north of the Capitol 'If you lived here, you'd be running faster now.' - Bag drop-off/pick-up was effortless. Nice job! - Great announcing at the start/finish. Came across the finish line with U2's Beautiful Day blaring from the speakers. Nice. - Good aid stations but what was up with the Red Bull station and Red Bull girls? I think that's the last thing I'd want on a long run. Running past the station smelled like a bad night out! Overall, a great race. I'll be back! | |
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H. G. from Fairfax, VA
(4/15/2008)
"Great experience for first marathon" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I'm glad that I chose this as my first marathon. It was a great course. Mostly flat with a couple of small hills. The course went through almost every section of the city so I got to see areas that I haven't been to before. The weather was perfect and it was timed nicely with peak bloom of the cherry blossoms. There were plenty of water stops, however I couldn't find any Gu at the half when it was supposed to be there. The crowd support really lacked on the second half. I will probably do this again sometime but my sights now are on preparing for the MCM in the fall. | |
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S. K. from USA
(4/13/2008)
"Wonderful experience" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The first part takes you to the traditional sights of DC and the second to the "hidden" southeast. Excellent course; the hills are mainly in the 6-9 miles, some hills in the 23, but nothing terrible. I cut 6 minutes. I wasn't too strong for this one, but if you come prepared, you can have a great performance. Plenty of water/Gatorade stations and Gu. I particularly enjoyed that it was not too crowded. It's never nice to share the course with the half-marathoners, but it's a fact in most of the marathons. My big complaint is that the 26-mile marker was way off; at that point you can tell what it means to run .2, and that was way more than .2. But overall, a wonderful experience; I hope it won't grow too much. | |
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t. g. from arlington,va
(4/12/2008)
"great marathon" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I loved every bit of this marathon. It could have used more vendors at the expo. But when I got the email about the metro being open at 5 a.m., I got this warm feeling of love. It had a great course, great spectators, and great medal; I will definitely be around in 2009 to run the half marathon. |
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