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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 381 to 391]
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A Runner from Modesto, CA
(6/9/2001)
"Wonderfully supported on the course," (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Having just come off of Big Sur, I was ready for a 'flat' course. This one was not as flat as anticipated. However there were no back breaking hills. Those that whined about the lack of scenery need to look up and not at the pavement/ground. I brought my camera and got some good memory shots. The support from the sidelines was fantastic. Plenty of water, sports drink, gel, and power bars. For those that can't handle the taste of the drink, you are not working hard enough. Ending at MCRD brought back memories of that parade deck from 30 years ago. It was ...surreal. Lots of eats and drinks at the end. Thanks to the volunteers, from start to finish, for being there. I understand that the bus transportation was less than desirable. One of the lessons that I have learned, as I have marathoned about, is to be self reliant and plan ahead. Thanks to Chris, there was a very short walk to the car after enjoying the shaded grass and encouraging on the mass of TEAM Leukemia runners (no longer in training, they had done it!). A truly enjoyable race that, in my book, has surpassed L.A. | |
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A Runner from Albuquerque, New Mexico
(6/8/2001)
"A good race for locals, but not worth a trip" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 As everyone has said, the traffic and shuttle situations were dreadful! Organization up to that point was fine, but noone wants to stand in the hot sun waiting for the shuttle for more than an hour. Weather this year was nice and cool during the race. No complaints about that. However, I didn't think crowd support was that great. Sure, there were patches of supporters, but much of the race was without any crowd support. More replacement drink please! I knew it would only be at about 1/2 the stations, but there was often only one table of Ultima. If you weren't able to weave to the side in time for the first table, you were out of luck! The course was hilly, but not unbearably so. My complaint about the course was that so much of it was run either on or right next to freeway traffic. Still, I thought it was a nice city, a good expo, and good starting line organization with a lot of water and food available. I'd run it again if I lived in San Diego, but I wouldn't travel across country for this one again. | |
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A Runner from Riverside, California
(6/8/2001)
"Everything was great, except the finish area." (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The finish area was too crowded and the transportation and access in and out of the finish area was real bad. Outside of that the race was great!!! The registration was fast and organized. The support on the course was great and it was a perfect day for a race. Thanks for all your hard work volunteers. | |
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A Runner from San Francisco, CA
(6/7/2001)
"A Solid Urban Marathon" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I just ran Rock and Roll last weekend, so while it's fresh in my mind, here are some points: -A very pretty course considering this is a city. -The finish area is a mess. Plan on getting your medal and food and get out of there. -Getting out of there is also a problem. My suggestion is to get a hotel that's walking distance from the finish. With the ugly shuttle situation and the fact that the course ties up all traffic in the city, you're best off walking. -If you are planning on catching a plane the afternoon of the race, factor in the traffic. -I loved the organization at the start line. There was lots of food and water. Plus, there were pre-race massages. Very nice. | |
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Dave H. from Madera, CA
(6/7/2001)
"Traffic situation was a mess!" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was my fourth marathon, and it would rank fourth. Having the bands and the cheerleaders along the course helped me stay motivated throughout the race. However, the traffic logistics (getting to the start and the finish) were awful! It took me over an hour to reach the start area from the freeway. My wife had to drop me off about seven city blocks from the start because of all the traffic. Some runners were leaving thier cars on the freeway, so they wouldn't miss the start. Later, it took my wife almost three hours (a little under what it took me to run the entire race) to drive from Kearny Mesa (about 9 miles from downtown San Diego) to the finish line area. I ended up having to wait for two hours after the race for her to arrive. She was not the only one in this traffic nightmare, several runners could not find their families after the race because they were stuck on the freeway exit ramp. The course was not the most exciting I had ever run, but the aid station volunteers made up for it with all of their enthusiasum and spirit. I will not be repeating this race next year or in the near future. P.S. If you do decide to run this race, give yourself plenty of time to reach the start area before the 6:45 a.m. start. I mean PLENTY OF TIME (1-2 hours)! | |
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A Runner from Seattle, Washington
(6/6/2001)
"Great Marathon but Poor Finish Area" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This is my second RnR marathon. The overall race was great with excellent support from volunteers and crowd appeal. BUT the end was BAD!!!The queuing area after the finish area was SMALL AND CROWDED. I waited in the line for the city buses for two hours. I ended up just walking to the parking area. I was not in bad shape but I saw lots of folks who were limping along to the parking area. I am sending an email to the organizers of the RnR to let them know the finish area needs improvement and better coordination for the buses. Why was there no race offical passing out information? All the runners were just clueless on what was going. I encourage all other runners to do the same. The marathon is an excellent marathon and with our input it can be better for next year. | |
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A Runner from Los Angeles
(6/5/2001)
"post race" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I agree with the previous comments on the post race organization. I assume that most people, like myself, did not realize the parking lot was so close to the finish area. I would have never in a zillion years waited for the buses in those ridiculous lines! One other point - I wish they would change the finish line procedures. I think it's nice when you cross the finish line and immediately get your medal put around your neck. You get that sense of the reward for your accomplishment, rather than having to meander your way through a crowded maze getting food first before you get the medal. But this is a small point. And I do have to compliment the other aspects of the race, especially the volunteers. They were magnificent. | |
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A Runner from Philadelphia PA
(6/5/2001)
"I thought the event was orgranized beautifully." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I thought it was awesome! The organization of water stations, medical stations, etc. was magnificent. The volunteers were so enthusiastic and helpful. I thought the finsih area for runners was okay but there was a lot of confusion at the end of the race finding family, etc. I guess it is hard to organize that many people. I think the worst part was the line for the buses, at that point I either wanted to pass out or just fall over, and it was complete torture waiting for a bus! All in all though it was a fantastic event! | |
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A Runner from Minneapolis, Minnesota
(6/5/2001)
"Worthwhile experience, but needs improvement" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Overall the 2001 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon was defintely worth running. The spectators, volunteers, bands and cheerleaders were awesome! The UPS trucks with the gearbags worked great and the start area was well organized (except the start gun misfired and if you weren't near the front of the pack you couldn't tell the race had started). The weather was also near-perfect...60's and cloudy! On the flip side, the course could be improved. Several miles of the course were run on sloped streets which were difficult to run on. There were also many more hills than anticipated. The two bummers about the event were the finishing shute and the shuttles. The 'secured' finishing area was so backed up it took over 25 minutes to get out of the huge swarm of people. I couldn't get to many of the food/water stations because it was so packed. The shuttle buses to and from the finish were a disaster. It took my family almost 2 hours to get to the finish line once they exited the freeway (as a result they missed me crossing the finish line). It took them another 1 1/2 hours to get back to the car when they left. Brutal - especially for the runners that had just completed the marathon and had to wait in line for nearly an hour to catch a shuttle! Perhaps some more thought should go into the shuttle bus situtation in future years. Other than the finishing area and the shuttle buses, the marathon itself was pretty cool. I would HIGHLY recommend the TEAM IN TRAINING program for this event. The TNT support was amazing and they were INCREDIBLY organized the entire weekend! | |
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A Runner from Tucson, AZ
(6/5/2001)
"Okay course, poorly run" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. I was prepared for the course, the weather and (let's face it) the pain. My goals were to finish and have fun along the way. The first half of the course was very nice, though running on concrete up the 163 was very hard on the knees. The second half was really ugly. Running down Morena was certainly less than inspiring. As beautiful as San Diego is, they could have found a better second half. Whoever organized the aid stations and the medical tents should organize the entire marathon next year! They were well prepared, efficient, and generally awesome. (A special thanks to Alex at the medical tent by mile 24 -- he saved my aching IT band and I was able to run the rest of the way!) As good as the aid/med stations were, the rest of the organization was just inexcusable. The start was chaotic, but nothing compared to the disaster at the finish. What a nightmare. I think I finished with the bulk of the pack (4:30) and they were completely unprepared for a mass of dazed runners wondering where to go to find friends and families. Being forced to wait for over two hours for a shuttle to take us 1/4 mile to the parking lot was absolutely infuriating. It would have been nice have the winning times posted at the finish. I couldn't believe that no volunteer I asked knew what the winning time was! What planet were they on? Finally a note from my husband (a spectator) -- if they're going to hand out information packets for spectators with directions and good spots to watch (a nice touch), they should alert traffic control and expect very heavy traffic going into those areas. Depending of local lights is foolish. If the organizers can shut down freeways, they have enough clout for a few more traffic control officers. After all, my husband saw me at mile 10 (95 min into the race) and then headed for the finish line. He nearly missed my finish due to traffic. What's wrong with that picture? |
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