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Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.6 
Organization 3.3 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 203 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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C. B. from Houston, Tx
(11/19/2008)
"Great Race and Fans. Work to do for 2009." (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Overall, a fairly nice race. Course and fans were terrific. However, transportation issues were frustrating. It took longer for me to get my bags and get back to my car than it took for me to run the (half-marathon) race. | |
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R. K. from Dallas, TX
(11/19/2008)
"The longest race I've ever finished..." (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my 2nd full marathon, and my first RNR. The start line was chaos, and it was annoying that it took me almost an hour (over an hour if you count the delayed start) to cross the start line. After the half/full split, the course was kind of lonely. The asphalt and smell of burning tar wasn't much fun either. But thank goodness for the TNT and TeamChallenge volunteers out on the course for keeping our spirits up. There weren't many bands still playing for those of us who are not 5-hour finishers. Also, my Garmin indicated that the course was 26.6 miles. At first, I thought that I might just be veering all of the course. But as a passed the cemetery at mile 16, there was a chalk line on the road that said "16." Right at that moment, my Garmin buzzed indicating that I was at mile 16. Four-tenths of mile later, I pass the 16 mile-marker... and that just made me a little curious. Overall, I had a great time and I'm confident that the shuttle buses and start line chaos will be fixed by next year. Just please remember that there are participants that will take longer than 5 hours, and we need a little love too. | |
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C. T. from New York, NY
(11/19/2008)
"Well worth the trip!" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 As resident of NYC for 6 years, and an avid NYC Marathon spectator, I thought I'd seen the best of the best when it came to spirit on a course, but San Antonio far outdid my expectations; I'm slow, and even at the end, the volunteers were still motivating and spirited. People with houses along the course stood outside with signs and salty snacks. The full course was a little challenging towards the end, with not much in the way of encouraging distractions, but guys with free beer at mile 21 quickly solved that! My biggest beef: the finish was up a huge hill!! The "rock 'n' roll" aspect was a little disappointing, as many of the bands didn't play the whole time. Bring your own tunes! | |
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S. B. from The Woodlands, TX
(11/19/2008)
"Great course. Might have been 26.5, though." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Beautiful day, great course. My Garmin said it was close to 26.6, though, so if it's right, then that's a little upsetting. Maybe I'm just looking for a way to take a couple of minutes off my time! Anyhow, once they fix the problems of people waiting forever for the their bags and the shuttle buses, it will be a 5-star race. | |
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J. S. from USA
(11/19/2008)
"Shuttle Bus Disaster" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The Alamadome should have been completely available for expo. Packet pick up was a nightmare. It was so crowded that we just picked up our packets and got out of there. I felt sorry for vendors who were squished into limited space. The shuttle bus service was a total disaster. Need more buses and locations to accommodate 30,000 runners. We arrived 5 minutes before race time. Otherwise, the spectators, band and volunteers were SUPER! Take care of the above problems and we just might come back. | |
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K. W. from Albuquerque, NM
(11/19/2008)
"Not up to other RNR and Elite Racing standards" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Just returning home from running the RNR San Antonio as a "destination marathon" and am searching for something good to say about it. OK, the weather was great. That's about it. The course: whoever designed it is not a runner. There are no fewer than two dozen pace-slowing 90-degree turns in the first 10 miles, and with the exception of the quick dash through downtown, it runs through some of the most ugly urban landscape I've ever seen. (Surely San Antonio is prettier than what they showcased.) The road surfaces were uneven and terrible. Once the marathoners peel off from the throngs of half-marathoners at 11 miles, we get to run the next 10 miles through desolate areas with no spectators and little support. Oh, and there's the 180-degree turn around at an orange cone at 18 miles up a side road (90 degree turns and a 180 degree turn in a quarter mile). What's up with that? Somebody couldn't measure a course and had to stick an extra quarter-mile on with no thought for the runners whatsoever. The last couple of miles go through town again, where we meet back up with the half-marathoners and get to run a 200-meter UPHILL to the finish at 26 miles. Oh, one another plus: the organizers did do a good job keeping the halfers and marathoners separate the last 2 miles, which could have been ugly. The baggage pickup was a disaster with an hour wait at the UPS trucks. No announcer at the finish announcing finishers' names and a cheap, short-sleeve, cotton t-shirt to boot. Come on. With 33,000 entrants, at 100 bucks a pop? Somebody profited big time. They did the runners no favor. Transportation to the start? My wife saw people crying, still waiting for buses to the start, as she was walking to see me come by the two mile mark! (As a veteran I know to allow two hours to be bussed to the start, but a first-timer doesn't necessarily know any better, and many people were heartbroken having missed the start.) Bottom line: Worst marathon overall I've ever seen or done. The City of San Antonio and Elite Racing can do much better than that. RNR Phoenix and Philly DR are much better examples of what they're capable of doing. Unless you're a local, this is not a good destination marathon. Go to Philly the following week instead. Depending on your pace, you'll run 10-30 minutes faster. Ps. As a former elite marathoner and consistent age group winner, I'm no hack and I've seen and run many excellent marathons where the runners come first. Sorry, but they got this one all wrong. Waste of a fall marathon. | |
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R. J. from Oklahoma
(11/19/2008)
"Fine for inaugural but needs a lot of improvement" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Fantastic weather and flat course with neighborhoods of character. Runners and spectators were having a blast, including me and my sister, who was running her first half-marathon. Not enough bands on the half course. We and at least 1,000 other runners were downtown waiting for a shuttle bus at 7:40 a.m. - and this was just one of the downtown shuttle stops. The shuttle worker told us that they were postponing the start from 7:30 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. due to the mass of runners that were still downtown waiting on shuttle buses. Our hotels did nothing special to accommodate runners (like offering coffee/juice/PowerBars earlier than usual). Cytomax is way too sweet. I prefer an expo that is all inclusive, not divided into sections where you pay for official products, and then leave that area to enter yet another line for general products. | |
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r. v. from Dallas, TX
(11/19/2008)
"Poor shuttle/parking arrangements" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This race had really poor arrangements for people trying to get to the start or leave the finish line area. If you had purchased premium parking ($60, and I did buy it) you were OK at the finish. Many people were late to the start and the lines at the finish for the shuttle were very long. It would also be nice if they had a spectator guide on how to get around to various spots on the course. The finisher t-shirt was really bad. They can certainly do better with that. | |
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R. M. from Houston, TX
(11/19/2008)
"The area is not big enough for 30K runners" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 San Antonio is not a large enough area to accommodate 30K runners. The finish was a zoo! Too many spectators and family in too small an area. We waited over 45 minutes to get our drop bag. Rock N Roll should cap their entries at 20K for this event. | |
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S. P. from Tomball, Texas
(11/19/2008)
"Good race, bad logistics" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The race itself was great. I thought the course was wonderful. The shuttle system was abysmal. The shuttles were supposed to run until 7:00. Our group showed up at 6:30 and not a shuttle was seen until 7:20. And, not one porta-potty at the start line had paper by 7:30. Other than these two fairly big issues, the event was OK. |
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