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Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.5 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 417 [displaying comments 231 to 241]
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M. B. from Florida
(6/9/2005)
"Awesome city, treacherous highways" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my third marathon; there will be more. I loved San Diego and its near-perfect weather; nothing compared to Florida this time of the year. Kudos to the volunteers, as they were wonderful (though not as many spectators as I expected). There is a definite lack of porta-potties at the start and along the first several miles; good idea to bring your own TP and find a spot to squat. Plenty of medical stations but they all lacked Bio-Freeze to soothe the painful knees, quads and hamstrings from the cambered roads. The course seemed all-uphill or downhill and always on a slant. If you didn?t have a knee problem prior to running this course, you will after finishing it. This is also supposed to be a Rock ?n? Roll Marathon and although there were lots of bands, they seemed to be on perpetual break. And the feature concert Pinback was a bland, average band. Aside from some of my negative comments, San Diego is a beautiful, clean city and very easy to get around. I enjoyed the expo and all the goodies given before and after the race. Had to walk a long distance to the food booths but it was good for the legs. Overall, it's a beautiful, scenic route and I would run this marathon again if they did away with the highways. | |
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M. G. from Columbus, Georgia
(6/8/2005)
"great experience, bands rock" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my third marathon, my training went terribly - tore my meniscus so I was looking to just finish. It was extremely well organized. The bands were incredible very motivational, so were the spectators - even the coaches and mentors for the Team in Training folks. One minor complaint is that our hotel was in Old Town only 1.3 miles from the finish, so we go the bright idea of walking back. It seemed like it was 1.3 miles to exit the MCRD, so that was a lot more walking than expected! My overall experience in San Diego was awesome. If you want to run a marathon with 20,000 of your closest friends, this is the place to do it! | |
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D. S. from Miami
(6/8/2005)
"My first; got me hooked!" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. There will be more. I loved it. And the main reason was the fantastic support from the whole community of San Diego. The volunteers and spectators were wonderful. They kept me going. From the cheerleaders to the folks in their front yards offering jelly beans and pretzels, I was overwhelmed. They seemed excited for me, warm and encouraging. Whenever I wished for water or PowerAde, it was right there. I skipped the bathroom breaks, because there always seemed to be long lines. The weather could not have been better. Cool, overcast, and comfortable. But, the course seemed all uphill, and often on a slant. And although I was lots of bands, they seemed to be on perpetual break. The feature concert was a bland, average local band. Kudos to the organization and great people of San Diego! | |
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C. E. from San Diego
(6/8/2005)
"tons of energy; flat; perfect weather" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I didn't know what to expect.... I'm only 17 and so the vast majority of the runners appeared a lot older. My only complaint would be the porta-potty lines! They were outrageous, but I guess that's what you can expect. There was plenty of snacks along the way, given out by spectators. I munched on strawberries, oranges, bagels, pretzels, gummy bears, and Jolly Ranchers. Having a band every mile was really uplifting. The fans got rather annoying in the last 10K, cries of "you're almost there" were not helping! I enjoyed running on the freeway, and I didn't notice any inclines, only a few declines - which were enjoyable. There was one small section in the last few miles where the road was uneven but that was over pretty quickly. Overall I had an amazing experience and will definitely do this in the future. | |
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Kathy Holden from Camarillo, CA
(6/8/2005)
"What a great experience!" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was so fun! A year ago I would have never imagined running a marathon. I last raced in high school! In December, my friend asked me if I wanted to run a marathon with her before we turned 40. So, we did! The weather was splendid, bands were fun, crowds were encouraging and the volunteers were amazing. The slants in the road were a minor annoyance and the hills were not bad at all. In fact, I think it makes it easier than all flat (using different muscles is better). I was thrilled with my experience and pleased with my time (4:15). I'd highly recommend to anyone! | |
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S. P. from San Diego, California
(6/7/2005)
"This is no Chicago but it is exciting nonetheless" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The Coca-Cola Rock-n-Roll Marathon was an exicting event during the first 7 miles. However, at mile 7 the course entered HWY 163 and went uphill big time! At this point the crouds died down, but those that were around made their presence known. The bands scattered around the course were located in the right spots to pump you up when you needed it and the scenery around mile 18 (overlooking Mission Bay) was lovely. The marathon staff and the volunteers definitely were top-notch. The weather was divine - about 60 degrees and cloudy! | |
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M. C. from Illinois
(6/7/2005)
"RACE ORGANIZERS - PORTA-POTTIES" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I believe MarathonGuide.Com provides a valuable service by allowing marathon participants to make comments regarding the courses. Everyone has their own personal opinion on each course and that's to be expected. But for those trying to compare a marathon to Chicago, save Boston, you will be disappointed, regarding the crowds. Chicago is huge. Crowds are huge. I hope that race organizers take advantage of these types of websites because they do offer valuable information about what marathoners want in an event. Let's all say, "porta-potties!" There were lines that stretched the width of Balboa Park on Sunday. This is ridiculous. Charge $1 more for an entry fee and put it directly toward the rental of more porta-potties. Otherwise, do like I do and always carry enough supply of TP for 4 squattings! | |
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A. W. from California
(6/7/2005)
"Great race; improved course" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I thought this year?s course was an improvement and the weather again was ideal for a summer marathon thanks to ?June Gloom,? when the marine layer sticks around longer. The expo was nice and well organized. I didn?t hear as many complaints about pre-race traffic, so maybe more people heeded the warnings and got to Balboa Park early as instructed. The port-a-potty lines looped everywhere and didn?t move quickly enough. I eventually gave up after waiting 30 minutes and went in the park, as did many others. I felt badly about that, given it?s such a beautiful place. I heard they were policing the corrals for rogue runners but once we started, it was obviously some walkers had gotten through to the fast corrals. In fact, my only real complaint was having initially to weave around walkers. I don?t want to single out any group, but plenty of them were in purple shirts and wearing bib numbers that should have had them in the back of the pack. That said, I really enjoyed being surrounded by Team in Training runners [and arthritis and stroke charity runners too] and appreciated their supporters cheering for all of us. One TnT coach in particular high-fived every runner at several points along the course. This, I might add, is a marked change from the last time I ran the Rock ?n Roll Marathon. This year?s course was changed to accommodate trolley traffic and to reopen certain residential neighborhoods sooner. As has already been mentioned, we spent more time downtown and went the opposite direction around Mission Bay. That eliminated the big hill on Clairemont Drive but it also meant we hit the worst stretch in my opinion - the scenic freeway, with it's unkind slant and undulating hills - a little later. My quads killed during this part but I loved ?DJ Stretch? standing in the middle of us cheering us on with disco music in the background. Thanks, man! Looking at some earlier reviews, I wonder if we ran the same race - I thought there were plenty of spectators where they were allowed to congregate and I thought the bands were great, and there were even a few unofficial ones to boost us in between. I do, however, agree that the traffic getting out of the parking lot afterward was ridiculous. I didn?t mind the long walk to the car, since I needed to keep moving, but my legs stiffened up from sitting for almost an hour before we got out of the lot and stayed stuck in more traffic. The Spenco sandals, however, were great. Coke was a great sponsor, too, providing all kinds of beverages before, during and after. I?ll keep buying their products as long as they continue their support. Good post-race food, as least for us mid-packers. Nice medal as well. All in all, a great marathon I?ll gladly do again and again. Excellent choice for first-timers, given the lack of serious hills, wonderful course support, huge field and generous cutoff of 7+ hours. Easy to PR for more seasoned marathoners, too. | |
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M. W. from Louisiana, USA
(6/7/2005)
"Props From a First-Timer " (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 To provide a little background on my thoughts, this was my first marathon. I signed up for it with the primary goal of finishing. Secondarily, I wanted to have a good time along the way and finish within what I felt was a semi-decent timeframe. Prior to enrolling, I'd heard or read a few not-so-great comments on this event, so I'll start with my take on some of those: 1) Much of the course is slanted. True. However, the angle along the road isn't all that steep, and there are usually more level spots along the shoulders. Additionally, the road slants at intervals and in different directions. It isn't as though you run miles at a time with the same foot higher than the other. In short, the slants weren't a factor for me. 2. The course is hilly. Somewhat true. But the inclines tend to be long and gradual, and the descents were welcome. I actually liked the variety and preferred this course to the ultra-flat half-marathons I'd run in New Orleans. 3. The scenery is less than stellar: Yes and no. For breathtaking panoramas, St. George and others may be better options. But I enjoyed running through the parks and downtown areas. Most of the race's 2nd half was pretty nondescript. But the scenery isn't bad. Perhaps if I had been running aggressively for time, some of the things I'd heard would have bothered me. But I wasn't, and they didn't. Enough of that. This was a phenomenal event. The bands were playing upbeat music and added a lot to the race. The water stops and aid stations were abundant in number and well stocked. There were numerous cheer squads along the course and a large number of participants. It's a huge event, and due to that, there may be waiting involved when it comes to arriving, departing, port-a-lets, etc. But in all fairness, I have to give the organizers a lot of credit. I've seen worse lines at much smaller venues. It would be nice if the event included a Clydsdale category though - give us bigger fellas a little something to shoot for. There were pockets of fans throughout the course and a sizable crowd at the finish line. The medal is quality, and there was plenty of fruit, Powerade, etc. at the finish line, as well as a Mylar blanket and a pair of sandals. After participating in an event like this, I don't think a smaller venue would feel the same. I'd recommend this race to just about anyone and am already eyeing future Rock 'N Roll races. | |
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M. M. from Fort Mill, SC
(6/7/2005)
"First-Class Marathon Fun" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A first-class experience. Expertly organized, tons of fun and planned down to the smallest detail. Everything from the well-organized course to the finish festival is well done. The course has more hills than I remember (I ran the race in 2003). But hey, I did not set out to run a PR (I did not come close). I was there for the experience. I will be back. |
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