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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 81 to 91]
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A. E. from PA
(3/28/2011)
"Has potential, but needs work!!" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Well, let me start by saying that I got engaged MID RACE so it will go down as my most memorable marathon ever (and I look back at it in a positive light b/c of the engagement), BUT I want to leave some comments because the race needs work and could be much better! The first sign of trouble was when we were trying to get to the lots to park but there were no signs so we made a wrong turn (with hundreds of other cars) and ended up in grid-locked traffic at 6:30. When we finally got to the parking lots it was 6:50 and we had no time to go to the bathroom. The corrals were such a sh*t show that we just went into the first corral we saw. What was with the corral line up?! Instead of going in a straight line like most races, the corrals snaked through the parking lot at RFK. Big mess. It's too bad that we didnt make time to go to the bathroom pre-race because the race started late (so we might have had time) and then we found the port-o-potty situation in the race to be a total nightmare. I'm currently pregnant so I had to use the bathroom a lot (granted, that's on me, not them, but...) and we spent THIRTY minutes mid race waiting in LONG lines. Unacceptable! The water stations were ok, but I did notice that there was no GU as promised until later miles. The miles were also very poorly marked - I only noticed some. Clocks along the course would also be nice. The course was decent, but I think the course after the 1/2 way point could be re-jigged to be a little more interesting. The part right after the half marathoners broke away was really weird...I felt like we were running backstage or something, it hardly seemed like a marathon course and we had to deal with all the half runners darting infront of us to get across the course! Not cool to the halfers that did this and to the directors for setting it up this way. This isn't totally the fault of the directors, but the road was treacherous! I saw a number of runners fall. Maybe cones could be put up by pot holes, or maybe they could be marked with spray paint or something. I didn't mind the loneliness of the 2nd half of the course, but the point where we did that turn around the bucket was so weird! It went from feeling like a large marathon to a tiny backyard production. The medal was nice this year, nicer than pics from past years that I've seen. I think its cool that they put different DC landmarks on each medal - mine was the White House and my fiance's was the Supreme Court - neat idea. The shirt on the other hand was awful. It's so cheap looking and the design looks very poorly done. Having paid so much money in entry fees, I expected a little bit more. It's also not too warm when this race rolls around, so longsleeved is always a nice touch! Better material and higher quality printing would help. I did like that there were plenty of sizes to choose from, I put XS down when I registered but they were tiny so I went with the Small when I got there. The expo could also use some beefing up - it was rather lackluster. I suggest going to a company that puts on large races and seeking their advice (ex: New York Road Runners, they do an incredible job with a much larger race in a much larger city). Anyway, as I said, the race will go down in history as one of the best for my fiance and I - but I just wanted to leave some comments in the hopes that the next time we come back to run it again there will have been some improvements made! | |
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K. G. from New York City
(3/28/2011)
"Nice course but where were the mile markers?!" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I ran the full marathon and I enjoyed the scenic course as well as the lively spectators. One thing that was very troublesome was the lack of mile markers, and some of the ones that were there were wrong. I missed mile markers 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 17 and 26. Mile markers 22 and 25 were incorrect. This really takes a toll on you because you have no way of gauging your pace so I just treated this more like a long run than an actual race. I was satisfied with my time, but I would not recommend this race to anyone unless they can fix this. On a good note the aid stations were excellent, well placed, well stocked, and the volunteers were very encouraging and cheerful. | |
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E. M. from United States
(3/28/2011)
"Not sure I would recommend this marathon" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The volunteers were fantastic!! On the other hand, the course was really hilly, the marathoners seemed second-class compared to the half marathon runners, and there's a general lack of organization: no corral enforcement, no mile markers until mile 10, very crowded first half, etc. | |
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D. L. from Washington, DC
(3/28/2011)
"Some glitches, but good race" (about: 2011)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. So, with that grain of salt: Pros: I loved the course, including the 2nd half. Not just the monuments, but DC's neighborhoods and long stretches along the water. Beautiful. Race staff were incredibly responsive to questions The start went well I loved the support throughout the city. Not large crowds but lots of spirit. Nice medal Cons: No GU at all during the first half. There was supposed to be one station (not enough) with GU, but it was out. Too much emphasis on the half. Very discouraging to hear all of those "almost there" cheers at mile 12. An official car driving down the course behind me at one point. Inexcusable! Poor food by the time I crossed the finish line; the party was over. So-so shirt. | |
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A. P. from Arlington, Va
(3/28/2011)
"Disappointing" (about: 2011)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Ran the 2011 half. There were maybe 3 mile markers and no time on the course. For the amount I paid to run, that is terrible. Water stations were decent, but no GU (I bring my own, but thought they were supposed to have it available, which probably hurt some people). Not opening the metro early was a terrible decision. Coming from VA, the earliest I could have gotten on the Metro was 6:16 and I would not have gotten to the start until 6:46. So any delays on the Metro may have made me late. | |
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J. R. from Arlington, VA
(3/28/2011)
"Full Marathon still needs work" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The most important thing to get right is the distance, and it was definitely wrong. I clocked in at over 27 miles, and trust me, I run the tangents. The mile markers were slim. I think I only saw a couple throughout the course, and some of them were spray painted on the ground. This is an easy fix. Put big mile markers out, and put them in the right spots. The organizers need to do whatever they have to do to get the metro opened at 5am next year. I can only imagine the panic anyone running a first marathon must have felt getting off the metro with only a few minutes to get to the start. With a cap of 10,000 half and 3,000 full this race is still geared towards the half marathon. There were times I wondered if I had missed a split off somewhere, as I literally had no other full runners around me. This doesn't necessarily bother me, but if you decide to run the full, be prepared for numerous spectators around miles 10-13 screaming 'you're almost done, just a couple left!' Could be considered a little discouraging... The course is nice- several views of the monuments but cutting out some of those tunnels which really affect gps accuracy would be nice. Overall, this is a good race that could be great with a couple improvements. But unless the organization can guarantee an accurate 26.2, I doubt many people would return. | |
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David Trevino from Arlington, VA
(3/28/2011)
"Somewhat different from previous years" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I have run the full marathon four times, and the half only once. The only good thing(s) I can say about this year is the course is great, and the crowd support was good. I even earned my 2012 Boston Qualifier. However, the organization seems to have slipped a little. 1st: the driving directions from National to the stadium were lousy; 2nd: the metro opening at 6 a.m. did not give runners ample time to get to the DC Armory Metro, turn in their bags, and then make it to their proper coral area. I am a dedicated supporter of this event, as well as the Marine Corps Marathon, and plan to return next year - I hope that I, and other runners who may share the same feeling, do not have to experience this same transportation issue again. | |
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R. S. from Baldwinsville, NY
(3/28/2011)
"Good Race" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon so I don't have any others to compare it to yet. Having said that, I enjoyed my experience in Washington. I thought that the spectators were remarkable. I was surprised to see as many of them in the second half of the race and they were very encouraging. The course was fun. Yes, miles 20 through 26 were not as exciting at the 1st 20 but not bad. I had a bit of trouble with the mile markers on the first half of the course since there were so many more people with the half marathoners. These could have been put in a more observable area. Overall though, it was a really good race. I really liked the finisher medal and expo and the volunteers were all very friendly and helpful to me. | |
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M. C. from Atlanta, GA
(3/28/2011)
"Great course, but big issues" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran the 1/2 marathon, and agree with the previous comments about the course. It offered lots of landmarks, a great area of loud and supportive spectators in Dupont Circle and around mile 6/7, and was sufficiently challenging with lots of rolling hills and only one real nasty uphill around mile 6. However, there were also major, major issues with the race organization. I found the lines at the expo to be unacceptably long, with only one metal detector open for 'security' when I went around lunch hour Friday. Also, the bib collection lines were very long and slow. They really need to consider having the expo open for two days, or at least earlier in the day on Friday, to cut down on the lines. The lack of mile markers were ridiculous, although there was a rumor that some of them were stolen. If you didn't have a GPS, you were probably guessing a lot. There were markers at Mile 1, 5 (I think) and maybe another one. Worse yet, there was only one clock, and it was at Mile 1! Echoing a prior comment, I also think the course was mis-measured. My Garmin had it at 13.35 miles. I hit the 10K pad at 6.5 miles. I could understand a slight discrepancy, but something was definitely wrong there. The finish area also had issues. The food lines were slow and backed up into the finishing chute. There were no clear indications of where the bag check area was (turned out it was in the Amory). Also, the race website did not have the official results up at 3PM as promised; and, as of this morning, still appears to only have copy and pasted results from a PDF file, meaning splits are still not available. And the results aren't even searchable by your name! I would run this race again, but only because of the great course. Organizers really need to address the lack of mile markers and measure that course out again! | |
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J. R. from New Jersey
(3/28/2011)
"Metro Madness" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first time running the Suntrust Marathon. I chose to use the metro on race morning. I got myself to the metro at 6 a.m. and then waited 24 minutes for it to arrive. There was chaos coming off the metro at the stadium. The gun had fired as I was walk-running to the starting line. I never made it to my corral. I just merged with the crowd and started to run. Please, please make changes with the metro schedule for next year. It needs to be opened earlier on the morning of the race. The t-shirt was great. I liked how all of the sites we ran past were listed on the front of the shirt. I got some really great clothing deals at the expo - 50% off Nike, Zoot, Saucony... a true runner's delight. |
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