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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 31 to 41]
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C. H. from Oceanside, CA
(6/6/2012)
"This race is great when the weather stays cool" (about: 2012)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I just finished my first full marathon at this year's SD RNR. I ran the half last year. The weather this year was ideal. At 5:30AM it wasn't cold enough to need any extra clothing yet it stayed overcast and low 60s my entire race. The organization of the race was incredible. The FastPass parking upgrade worked flawlessly, amazing course support in terms of aid stations and medical tents, fantastic cheer groups and enthusiastic spectators. In the past there were issues with people being confused about half and full separation and merging, but I have no idea how anyone could have been confused this year. They kept ropes between us the whole time and the signage was very obvious. The start was extremely crowded as usual. Porta pots were impossible - a line of 100 people at each one it seemed. Best bet was to run off into the park and go if you really had to. The long hill you see in the elevation chart is just a gradual upslope. It's not bad at all, just adds +5bpm to your HR for 30mins or so. :-) The camber on 163 is annoying but if you've done trail running it won't bother you much. I assumed the course was flat after mile 11 but there were a couple of small hills around miles 19 and 20 that I definitely noticed. The worst part of the course is the last 6 miles running on the Mission Bay sidewalk and around Fiesta Island, as many have said. Unfortunately I was hampered with leg cramps this entire section so the hardness of the sidewalk was the last thing I was concerned with - it didn't really bother me. Fiesta Island is completely fine when the weather is cool. I'm sure if the sun was out and baking it would not be so good. Same thing with the finish area. When it's cool it's totally fine. Not so much fun in the heat. There was a ton of food and drink goodies available. Overall a wonderful experience. I think this is a great first marathon because there is support everywhere, the course is relatively flat, and the weather is (usually) perfect. | |
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J. J. from San Diego, Ca
(10/25/2011)
"Great place to run a marathon" (about: 2003)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great place to run your first or 100th marathon | |
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G. l. from los angeles, ca.
(10/24/2011)
"Please go back to the former finish line" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Running the island at the end of the marathon is a very difficult task. Once across the finish line there was chaos trying to find our shuttle to our hotel. An exhausted runner is in no shape to walk 2 miles that was necessary to find our shuttle. Please fix this big problem. | |
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J. A. from Wylie, Texas
(6/15/2011)
"I would run it again...glad I planned ahead though" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This wasn't my first RnR event, so I knew what to expect in terms of event organization and logistics. These folks get more right than wrong across the board, but there are always trade-off's it seems in any RnR event. I figured out three things ahead of time. The first was to stay close to the finish area - it was about a mile back to my hotel. The second was to cab it to the start and arrive psycho early - cabs were already arriving at the hotel at 4am and I shared the ride/fare with two really nice runners who walked down at the same time. We were dropped literally right at the start line. The third thing was to make peace with the course, warts and all. I loved what I got to see of San Diego along the marathon route. Going through the ball park was great. I thought running on the closed freeway was actually kind of cool. I didn't like the out-and-back's either but knew they were coming. The worst of the course was indeed the last 6 miles though. The park trail when I came through was extremely slow and crowded. The island loop which followed amounted to a spectatorless, featureless slog to the finish. That was a shame. It was an extremely uninspiring course design element until you began to hit the finishing chute. Otherwise, the Expo was quick and easy, even though it was very crowded when I came through on Saturday. The water/Cytomax stops and the two Gu stops were plenty to get me through the race. I too noticed that there was a lack of on course signage demarking the Half and Full routes, especially compared with what I have seen at other RnR events. And some of the course marshalls were not shouting out the course changes as they needed to have been without the necessary signage. I can see how some people were able to get confused and maybe off course. As I say, I would do this one over again, but only the way that I was able to do it. Had I not been able to stay close to the finish, I don't see how this would have worked at all. The limited number of roads coming into the finish area, mixed with the summer throng trying to get into Sea World must have made this a nightmare for those trying to get in to the finish, back home or into the city. | |
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A. W. from san jose, california, USA
(6/11/2011)
"beautiful!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 loved it! Is there somewhere we can see results for HALF marathon? love the way you graphed the results for the full marathon! I'd like to see how I did compared to others in my age range :) | |
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B. G. from California, US
(6/10/2011)
"Not that great" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 RnR has great production capabilities, but 163, 2 out and backs, 3 miles on a hot dusty island at the end and finishing in a hot, uncomfortable parking lot was awful. Great logistics and great start. | |
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D. P. from San Diego
(6/9/2011)
"Fun Race/Need Better Finish Locale" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Can someone that ran the 2011 San Diego Rock and Roll marathon with a Garmin please post what they recorded for the distance of miles 6 to 7 to 8 to 9 to 10? My splits seemed really strange through these markers, even when taking into account the elevation changes. Just curious. As for the race, there was a lot to love. The expo was fun, nice t-shirt, nice medal, some really nice moments on the course (Balboa park was awesome), nice starting area... I didn't care for the Fiesta Island bit, nor did I enjoy ending my day in a disgusting parking lot. Overall, though, for the number of runners, I thought they did a great job. | |
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bernardo monroy from Mexico City, Mexico
(6/9/2011)
"GREAT MARATHON" (about: 2011)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I read the comments before my registration to the marathon and I thought it was going to be a bad experience. But now after that Ive got my PR in this great course. The organization was pretty good. I did not like the medal, and there were no spectators on the course. But Ill be there next year. | |
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D. C. from Columbia, SC
(6/8/2011)
"Nice, but could be better." (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I did the full marathon as part of Team in Training, and we flew in from South Carolina. I did not have any of the logistical issues other runners faced because everything we did was organized by TNT, who did an amazing job! Good: 1. The expo was huge, and they had beer for $1. Can't beat it. I went on Friday and had no issues with crowding. 2. The medal and shirt are great. 3. Most of the course is very pretty. 4. Spectators are great and very enthusiastic 5. You're never alone on the course Bad 1. Running on concrete. I'm sorry, but it's absolutely insane to put the last 5-6 miles of a race on concrete. Any runner knows how much harder it is impact-wise on your joints, and I was in so much pain I had to pull off onto the grass repeatedly. 2.The loops - everyone complains about them, and they really are demoralizing, especially when you're running uphill for what seems like forever and you're watching everyone else run downhill. 3. The finish is in a parking lot. I don't normally care where the finish is because I'm so relieved to be done, but there was nowhere to sit, no shade, etc. 4. The areas where the full and half marathoners split were very confusing. There was no signage and if you didn't happen to hear a volunteer say 'half left, full right,' you could easily end up on the wrong course. I didn't mind the highway miles, at least they came early in the race and it's a pretty highway. My biggest problem is the concrete and the last 3 miles of the race run on 'Fiesta Island.' It is not a fiesta. It is a boiling hot sand dune of pain. I had a great experience overall, but there's got to be better races than this for the money. | |
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C. L. from Denver, CO
(6/7/2011)
"Chip didn't work, baking sun, few spectators" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Just ran S.D. and for a city as beautiful as San Diego is, the course didn't capture it. There is a LOOOONNNGGG stretch of the course that runs on the interstate - baking in the sun, with no spectators, and no support. I ran past the only band on the highway, and they played their last song as I passed - I finished in the top 1,000 runners - feel really sorry for the other 39,000 people behind me. I might have let all of this slide if I actually knew my time! the chip didn't catch the start time - no idea why, and Competitor hasn't fixed it yet. What do you get for $80 bucks?! |
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