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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 11 to 21]
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D. B. from Houston, TX
(11/19/2013)
"It's a half with a full tacked on..." (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I've always been hesitant about running a Competitor event. The Rock 'n' Roll franchise has always seemed a bit tacky and commercial. I ran despite my hesitation as I was looking for an early season (for Texas) race, and San Antonio is a very nice city to visit. Overall, the race is very organized. Packet pick-up was easy, and they had a very nice expo. Logistics at the start and finish were fairly decent given the volume of runners. What is clear from the very beginning is this race is very much geared to the half marathon and the more casual runner. There are six times more half finishers than full. The half course (and the first 10 miles or so of the full) is very nice...a good tour of the city...neat neighborhoods and good crowds. The rest of the full course is fairly ugly, running through run down areas, old industrial sites, and a somewhat disappointing park. Not a lot of crowds on the back half, but the volunteer support and water stops were good. I'll give kudos to the race organizers and volunteers for water stop support. It was a warm muggy day, and all stops had plenty of fluids, and a number had hoses or cold sponges. The finish is pretty disappointing if you run the full. It was a sea of half marathoners with lines for finisher photos, and very poor food options. Medal and shirt are decent. Overall...an OK race...probably better just to run the half and save your legs for a better full. | |
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T. P. from Akron,Ohio
(11/18/2013)
"Half Marathon with a full marathon option." (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I trained good,slept great,and my carb loading was excellent but I wasn't prepared for the heat. My only real complaint was miles 20-24 sucks, the sun was punishing,no shade and the spectators were sparse and it was all concrete.Glad to see it moved to December next year. The local college was very enthusiastic. There was about 10 times more half marathoners than full. The best deal was the Via city bus only $1.20 from the airport to downtown. | |
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j. s. from san antonio
(11/18/2013)
"poorly run event" (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 After over 20 years of running, im writing my first critism of an event. The san antonio rock and roll event was horribly managed. Staff allowed hundreds, if not over a thousand, of runners to start in front line corrals, causing havoc for the first 7 miles. Obese individuals standing in front of the water stations blocking thousands of runners could have been avoided by swift action of staff. Instead, each water station (which were not set up where required) became a collission zone each time. Staff should have pulled runners from front corrals but in stead just shrugged their shoulders and laughed when asked to take action. | |
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E. S. from Doylestown, PA
(11/13/2012)
"Hot but well supported." (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I grew up in San Antonio so mixed the race with a family visit. Prior comments might have turned me off from running this race but it seems like nice improvements were made. Pros Nice city to visit Easy walk to expo, start and finish from river walk hotels. Strong expo. Nice shirts and medals. Medical support seemed superb. They were everywhere. There were cooling stations (?AC buses), 2stations with sponges, cold towels at finish. A volunteer was asking if you were ok at mile 20. Water& fluids with nice full cups frequently. Good photo op at Alamo. Cons Hot and humid made for a slower finishing time. Weather has potential to be lovely though. Course is flat but definitely some boring stretches. Finish line food uninspired. Purchased a great burger for $2. Not a lot of spectators. Headliner concert is for half marathoners. | |
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L. W. from San Antonio, TX
(11/12/2012)
"Plenty of hydration, food, and cheer-leading 2012" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My first marathon, after my first 1/2 marathon last year, both in this location. The comments on last year's run were discouraging, but I found plenty of water, Gatorade, GU, and cheer along the way all the way through the last water station (about mile 25). The crowds thinned out after the 1/2, but that's OK, and the final 0.2 miles had lots of cheering spectators as I sprinted(!) the last short stretch. There are also fewer runners so you can concentrate on form. There were several cheerleading groups in the second half that had lots of spirit even for those, like me, who were limping in after 6 hours. There were ample refreshments at the end, staff handing out chocolate milk to the late arrivals (like me), and medical support with a well-staffed facility at the end with attentive personnel along the way in. I plan to do this again next year. | |
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J. L. from Lubbock, Texas
(10/23/2012)
"My least favorite race." (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 If you run this, run the 1/2 because the full stinks. The course is terrible and the crowds are pretty small once you split. Actually, running the half may be bad too. The starting corrals are way too crowded and don't expect many restrooms towards the front. Also there's a big dip right before the finish that tunnels underneath the Alamodome, so expect a big hill. The 2011 race was really hot and humid. I finished towards the front and they were already short of water. After race food consisted of one bottle of water, cytomax,generic fritos, and pieces of bagels. They may have had more food, but I imagine most of it was consumed by 1/2 runners. I don't plan on ever running this race again. It's probably the worst I've ever run in. | |
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I. H. from U.S.A.
(10/5/2012)
"Last half of race was extremely hot!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Enjoyed the first half of the race. It was extremely hot the last half and towards the end of the race (26.2) there was only water, it seemed like even that was almost gone. Needed more ice and cold sponges thru out race. The race should start much earlier, not 7:30am. | |
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M. C. from San Antonio, Texas
(1/4/2012)
"Just call it a 1/2 marathon" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathons
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I was a very disappointed with the lack of attention given to us full marathoners. We pay more for our entry fee, yet we are treated like we don't count. Why would you give us salt packs, really? We need cytomax and gu! In addition, the full marathon portion of the course stinks! It is so boring and ugly! San Antonio is such a beautiful place, I know because I live there, why wouldn't you showcase other more aesthetically pleasing areas of the city. The post race food/drink, or lack there of was pathetic. I don't consider heb brand fritos and water is recovery food. Maybe get better sponsors. I remember when the marathon was run by samarathon.org and we had rice and beans! Miss those days! We know that SA weather is unpredictable, think outside the box Competitor, perhaps start the full marathoners at an earlier time. Unfortunately, this will probably be my last RNR marathon. It's too commercial! | |
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S. H. from Texas
(12/11/2011)
"Why not Dump the Marathon and call it a Half?" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I finished in the top 50% of marathon runners. The post race food that was left consisted of an apple, a bagel and a bag of off brand Fritos. 20,000 half marathoners had cleaned the place out. Pathetic treatment for a race costing over $100 that bills itself as a marathon. Competitor Group has ruined what used to be a good race. It would be too difficult for them to allocate a fair share for the marathon runners. Enter Competitor's races understanding that you may be considered second class for running twice the distance. | |
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D. B. from Texas
(11/17/2011)
"Will not run this one again" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Pros: -decent crowds (mainly in the first half) -organized packet pickup -decent expo (I got to meet Meb) -cool sponges at one water table -cool towels at finish Cons: -they need a separate start for those running the full. WAY too many walkers blocking narrow roads in the first half. -poor course support (I came in well under the course time limit and encountered aid stations that had run out of Cytomax, oranges, nothing at the finish besides water and corn chips). You'd think with Cytomax as a sponsor they'd have plenty of it along the course and at the finish -the expo ended way too early (5pm) and we were herded out like cattle by a rather rude announcer -horrible parking. I wasn't keen on walking over half a mile to the car after running 26.2 -the tech shirts were nice but ran WAY small and they wouldn't let you exchange -desolate 2nd half of the course. Graveyards, airport, seedy areas, and a refinery? Not the best way to showcase your city. *I think it's important to note: the course support was so poor people were coming out of their houses with drinks, pretzels, potatoes, etc. *I live in TX so I'm used to the heat and even I thought it was rough conditions to race-that being said, the race organizers can't control the weather but they can control how they support the people out on the course. If you allow a course to be open for 7 hours, you need to have the supplies to support those people! The last person to finish should be provided the same support as the one who finishes first. |
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