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☰
Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.4 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 104 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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N. H. from BC, Canada
(6/23/2016)
"Exactly what you expect" (about: 2016)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race is exactly what you expect from Rock n' Roll and from the other reviews you read here. As with other of this brand, the focus is on the half. The full and half start together and the full folks branch off from the course twice. Both of those branches tend to feel like after thoughts - once is a nice (quiet) park, the other is a bridge with tunnels and sadness in the final 10k. These races have organization down to a science. The expo is organized and efficient and the corral start really prevented course congestion despite all 3 races (8k, half, full) starting in one group. This is my 2nd Rock n Roll and in both the start has been delayed by at least 15 minutes - doesn't seem like much but when you're timing the last pee break and when to ditch your outer layer it can be frustrating. I had to pee for 42.5k. Aid stations in the first 10 miles were crowded as there were so many half marathoners as well. Bathroom lineups, water lineups etc. But plenty of volunteers and actual aid. The pacers were great and the ones I kept my eye on brought folks in just under the goal. I enjoyed the experience. I didn't mind the course, I don't think it really showed off the best of Seattle, but it was fine. Not very hilly. we had perfect weather - overcast and a bit drizzly, not too warm. | |
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J. B. from Silicon Valley, CA
(6/20/2016)
"Parts of course are spectacular" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The part of the course through Seward Park and along the Lake Washington coast was spectacular. It coincided with signs bearing portraits of cancer honorees and fallen soldiers. Those were very powerful miles. The course before that was average. The course after that, across a very long highway bridge and through a very long tunnel, was pretty dreary. Overall, I think they should keep what's good and try to improve the rest. Regarding race organization, I had high expectations from many years running the RnR San Jose Half, and I was disappointed. At RnR Seattle, there was no signage or staff to help when we arrived at the starting area. Everyone was wandering around trying to find the Gear Drop and Staring Line. They were super-slow at starting corrals, pausing at least a minute between each one (there were probably 40 corrals!). It took us an hour to cross the start longest I have ever experienced. On the course, I did not appreciate that a water stop worker didn't want me to fill up my water bottle from the pitcher. It made no sense, and I was dehydrated after 4.5 hours. I paid hundreds of dollars to get here, and you're going to deny me 12 oz of Gatorade? There wasn't much spectator support on most of the course. Maybe due to road closures and parts of the course run on bridges, through tunnels, and on elevated highways. | |
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W. O. from Oregon
(8/12/2015)
"R&R Seattle was my very first marathon" (about: 2015)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 R&R Seattle was my very first marathon and it was a great experience. I thought Seattle was the perfect size. Great course support, a scenic course. Of course, the bands on the course. I would recommend any one of the Rock 'n' Roll races to a first timer. | |
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L. O. from Minneapolis, MN
(7/24/2015)
"Not what I'd hoped for..." (about: 2015)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 10th marathon, first in Seattle and first Rock 'n Roll marathon. I honestly do not see the draw of these Rock 'n Roll marathons. They seem really overpriced for what you get in return. Course - I pretty much hated this course. I did like the part around the Lake Washington but other than that is was pretty awful. Running on freeways and through tunnels with zero spectators and atmosphere was awful - and it comes at the worst part of the race, miles 16-22. The 'Wear Blue to Remember' mile was beautiful and touching. I can't let myself get emotional during a race like this so I had to kind of push it aside - but it was very cool! I did NOT like when we merge back with the Half Marathoners. They did a relatively good job of keeping them separate with tape but there was one water stop where everyone was together. People running a sub 3:40 Full Marathon approach a water stop MUCH MUCH differently than someone running a 4+ hour Half marathon. This should NEVER happen. Also, the screechy DJ music in the tunnels was nothing short of horrid!!! SO completely unnecessary. I couldn't wait to get out of those damn tunnels. Spectators - Maybe I'm spoiled from races like Twin Cities Marathon and Boston but there were hardly any spectators. Some of the bands were pretty good - for the 1 minute that you run by them... But having 'cheer teams' just doesn't do anything for me. I don't pick races because of the 'swag bag' and other little things like that. I pick races because of what fits into my schedule and the course. But this race seemed really spendy for what you got. I hate when they can't even give you a separate shirt from the Half marathoners. And it was just a short sleeve, gray shirt. The jacket for full marathoners is really nice (very thin but nice for summer) though and a fun bonus. There was nothing additional in the bag beside your number and shoe tag. Post-race: I was in the family meeting area when I started having extremely had cramps to the point that I almost passed out. There was no additional medical personnel walking around that could have assisted me. I have seen this before in other races, it would have been nice this time. They had some bands around and it looked festive but after a full marathon, I was in too much pain to enjoy any of that. I trained really, really hard for this race and the conditions were quite nice but I did not meet my goal so I was a little disappointed. I still got a 5+ min. BQ but I had bigger dreams! Something about running on all those freeways just chewed up my legs! I don't regret doing this race but I have zero desire to do this race or another RNR marathon again. | |
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K. W. from Midwest
(7/21/2015)
"Exceeded expectations. Good atmosphere." (about: 2015)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 I like June marathons. It allows me to train through the Spring and minimizes winter weather running. Rock 'n' Roll Seattle is a quality marathon. Scenic course. Good energy. Great organization. The Wear Blue mile was great. I became aware of this organization from watching the Ironman Triathalon last fall. The featured athlete was the founder of Wear Blue. | |
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L. C. from Bay Area
(6/14/2015)
"Love Seattle - the city and this race" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I've been running the various Rock 'n' Roll races since the very beginning. I won't rank the races because each city is unique and every year it's a different experience. This was another good year for Seattle. The weather was sunny, and the temperatures were perfect for a marathon. I like the course. The run along Lake Washington is very scenic. As to be expected from a Rock 'n' Roll race, organization was solid from start to finish. The bands and cheer squads made the run even more enjoyable. Good job Seattle. I'll be back. | |
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R. L. from Oklahoma City
(9/6/2014)
"This race is not for whiners" (about: 2014)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 It is interesting to read the positive and negative reviews of a race. I thought R&R Seattle was well staged. It certainly met my expectations. Was it perfect? No, but I have yet to run in the perfect race. | |
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D. C. from Iowa
(6/27/2014)
"A significant let-down from start to finish" (about: 2014)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This is the first time I ran a Rock n Roll marathon. When you pay top-dollar for a race, you expect everything to be the best - from the goodie bag to the course to the post-race treats. Overall, this race was a significant let-down from start to finish. The expo was well-attended and the typical hard-sell for a bunch of cool stuff. The goodie bag, which didn't even say the name of the marathon on it, was virtually empty. It included the purchased tech t-shirt, plus a small bottle of fish oil and two water flavoring packets. That's it. Not even a little packet of icy hot or a mini-Clif bar. I've run in much less expensive races that went all out on the swag. Not the end of the world, but just wanting value for money. The medal was cool, though. The morning of the race, port-a-potties were at a premium. I estimate the average line was 30+ people long. We scrounged around at an indoor food court to get to a shorter line (for men, anyway). I lined up in my corral at 7am for race start. I was aiming for a sub-4:00 time and was in corral 17. It took me 26 minutes to cross the start line. By the time I started, my knees ached a bit from standing and I had to use the restroom (again)! But away I went. The race was shoulder to shoulder for the first six miles. That's when the half and full marathons split. An earlier split or allowing the marathoners to go first would have been much preferred (there were 6 times as many half marathoners). We spent four days in Seattle leading up to the marathon and found it to be a beautiful city. More than half of the course led us through downtown, around lakes, and in parks. That was great. But a significant part of the run (many miles) were in tunnels. This was a horrible way to run (and I sure didn't train for that). They were dark and without spectators. The tunnels were banked so that by the time I emerged, one leg was killing me due to overuse (until I turned around and ran the same tunnel - then both were in equal amounts of pain!). There was a multiple-mile stretch on an exposed highway, which was without spectators, without bands, and without vistas. Between the tunnels and highway, the run was boring. I had always pictured a Rock n Roll marathon to be highly populated with cheering people and bands rocking the whole way through. Seattle did not live up to this expectation. Im a bit of a data geek and the tunnels totally messed up my watch. By the time I was done, my watch showed 26.8 miles. I checked with a handful of people who finished with me and their watches ranged from 26.5 to 26.85. That made staying true to my plan very difficult throughout the race. I didn't bring music because I expected frequent bands. There were many the first half and they were very enjoyable. The highway and tunnels were lonely and music-less. There were good crowds around the bands, but sparse or non-existent everywhere else. The way the course was designed made it very difficult for families to find a place to watch and cheer (unless you have a car and could navigate around closed roads). The web site did not list 'spectator spots' like most marathons do, because there were none. And signing up for text alerts cost $5 and you had to agree to Facebook updates. Yes, there was enough water and Gatorade. Yes, there were enough port-a-potties on the course. Yes, I got a finisher's medal. But these are not the signals of a well-organized race. These are table stakes. The Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon was poorly done on enough of the basics that it makes signing up for the race a big mistake. | |
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M. S. from Denver
(6/22/2014)
"A great race for slow runners" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 When the Minneapolis Marathon was unexpectedly canceled, I immediately started looking for a replacement race. I chose Rock 'n' Roll Seattle, because I've always wanted to visit this city. As a slow runner, my race experience was very satisfying. Easily one of the best Rock 'n' Roll races I have run in the past few years. Organization was great all around. Everyone was extremely helpful. The expo was big, and there were free samples to be found everywhere. It was like trick-or-treating for adults. The huge Brooks exhibit was really fun. The race shirt is attractive, and the finisher's medal is a keeper. The start line is next to the iconic Space Needle, and the race begins with a run through downtown Seattle. The course is enjoyable despite a few hills and a couple of miles in an industrial part of town. After sharing the road with half marathoners for the first 10K, the marathoners get a separate race lane for the final 20 miles of the course. I loved all the bands and cheer squads. My favorite race moment, though, was the tribute to our fallen soldiers. Amazing! Race day weather was ideal. A sunny day with perfect running temperatures. Beautiful views all around, especially Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier. Aid stations were nicely spaced and well-staffed. More importantly, course support was still out late in the race for all the slow runners. Fans were pretty sparse, mostly there were curious onlookers. I missed the post race concert, but the finish area was well organized and well stocked. I was happy to see plenty of food still on hand since I started in a high number corral and took over five hours to run the course. I was given an arm load of food and drink. The chocolate milk was delicious. I would definitely recommend RnR Seattle if you are looking for a June marathon, or simply want a reason to visit one of America's great cities. One suggestion to the race organizers: Change the day of the race to Sunday. Traveling to Saturday races is more of a hassle. | |
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M. S. from California
(3/16/2014)
"A good summer marathon" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 RnR Seattle is a good summer marathon. 2013 had beautiful weather. The route along Lake Washington is as scenic as any in-city marathon in America. I especially appreciated the aid stations at this race. I tripped during the run and skinned my knee. Luckily there was an aid station at the next mile. The medics had me sit down while they washed the blood off my leg and bandaged my knee. A few minutes later, it looked like I never fell. I was off and running and finished the race. |
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