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Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.8 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 4.4
Number of comments: 481 [displaying comments 91 to 101]
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S. P. from Memphis, TN
(4/26/2010)
"Hilly and not the best time of the year in TN" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 At the outset, I would like to establish that I am a disgruntled customer, having been cut off 3 miles shy of the finish on account of the severe weather in 2010 - though that's no fault of Nashville. My experience can be summarized in 3 succinct points: 1) the course was too crowded and narrow when it mattered 2) hot and humid for me, based on training through the winter 3) more hills than I had expected and unnecessarily so I don't expect to run this marathon ever again. | |
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S. R. from Des Moines, Iowa
(4/25/2010)
"2010 Country Western was decent - not great" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I went to the 2010 Nashville County Music Marathon and Half with two other friends. We all have raced in 6 or so major races. One friend ran the full at Nashville, while my other friend and I ran the half. The weather was predicted to be dangerously stormy, which cast concern on the whole event. The race director cut off the marathon course at 4:30 pace, which was probably prudent. It started storming hard as we were leaving (our marathon friend ran 3:41). The City of Nashville is definitely nice-looking, and the honky tonkin strip of bar restaurants was great after the run. The run itself had a great amount of spectator support and a few bands along the route, but really not enough. Maybe fewer bands showed up due to weather. Our general consensus is that it was a decent but not great race, of questionable value for the money, with lower marks for the full marathon. Two notes are that the weather dampened things a bit, and your race bib counted as a ticket to some country western headline concert later in the day, but we wanted to see the city more than a show in an arena. + great spectator support + decent looking half course + good sized expo + medals look better than most + staggered starts for each corral eased congestion + water stops were good + nothing wrong with shuttle process at the start; they had enough busses + route was appropriately hilly - not too much or too flat - questionable value for the money - only 1 free beer for runners; more beer cost $6 each - post-race festivities were pretty bland - modest assortment of post-race food - porta-potties at the end of the race are outside the runner-only area, and you aren't allowed back in - no massage tents - second half of the marathon course is desolate - management of exit traffic really bad - we thought the run would finish on the field at Titans stadium, which would have been cool, but it actually finished outside of it - not as cool - GU stops spaced poorly - announcer at finish line had British accent... where's the Southern accent?? - run tracker text messages cost an extra $5 when it should be included in $100=plus race. | |
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D. P. from Mitchell, Illinois
(4/24/2010)
"2010 was very disappointing!!!!" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 At the start of the race we were told max time would be shortened to 4:30 hours due to weather. You had to be at a sufficient pace at mile 11.2 to continue on the full course. At mile 22, at 3:21, we were directed to the finish line a mile farther down the course. I paid a lot of money and came from out of town to be cut short by 3 miles. I understand it was done for public safety, but I stood at the finish and watched people finishing in excess of 4:30. Course is extremely crowded - 32,000+ runners. Corral start was a train wreck! Great idea, but very poorly excecuted. I was in Corral 6, and at the start for Corral 1 they dropped all of the ropes and ended up trying to stop runners pushing to get to the start. Needless to say that was nearly impossible. Some of the water stations that served both half and full marathoners were situated at bottlenecks and made it impossible to keep any kind of steady pace in these areas. I still need Tennessee, but it won't be this race. Maybe they will refund some money to those cut short? HA! | |
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JP White from Hendersonville, TN
(4/16/2010)
"MUSIC is this marathon's middle name" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I walked the 1/2 marathon for the first time last year (2009). It was in fact my first entry into any type of marathon anywhere. It was a lot of fun (I'm no elite runner - no illusions of doing well in any category). Having a musical band at many locations on the marathon makes this an especially enjoyable event. It isn't possible to walk or run without doing so in sync with the music. :-) The only criticisms I have are the very slow start for those at the rear corrals (45 minutes or more) and that they ran low on fluids at mile 11/12. It was hot last year. | |
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C. S. from Nashville
(4/12/2010)
"It is a beautiful, easy walk" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The music is fabulous (but there is not enough). The walk is lovely. It is not that the city is so beautiful or spectacular in itself, but the walk is just beautiful, with pretty, level walking paths; nice, supportive, cheering neighbors; and great sun - really great sun. The walk in Selby Park at the end is worth everything. It's like no other. Who wouldn't want to walk or run 25K! P.s. Hayes St. is a hill. Nashville doesn't have any. | |
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G. T. from Greenevlle, TN
(12/14/2009)
"10-Year Runner: a REAL marathoner's marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have run all 10 full marathons, and must agree that after the first two years, the support for the full marathoners kind of took a back seat to the halfers. However, being a Tennessee resident, I take much pride in this race, as it is a challenging course and really displays the beauty of the Nashville area. The spectators are fabulous and the bands add much-needed inspiration. Also, don't forget the cheerleaders! I would recommend a one-hour earlier start for the full marathon, as it is difficult to get up to pace, as many of the halfers don't seem to be interested in a decent pace but somehow get in the top 3-5 corrals anyway. Overall, I plan to return each year, as this race is one of the highlights of the year. | |
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Mark Ferrell from NC
(10/9/2009)
"This is a great half-marathon to participate in" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The Nashville course is just perfect - it challenges, it's fun, there's lots of fan support, and it's in a very friendly city with lots of great restaurants. I would definitely return to this one. | |
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C. L. from Cleveland, OH
(5/26/2009)
"Half-Marathon Event with an Optional Marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Overall, I think that Nashville did a really nice job compared to some big-city marathons. As mentioned earlier by several posters, it is definitely a half-marathon event, with a marathon thrown in for the heck of it! The course was basically two runs: The half-marathon, then another half just thrown together. The first half was a lot of fun, and even reminded me of Boston in some parts (with the great crowd support). The second half was more like a small marathon, with very few spectators and running through isolated parts of the city. It would have been nice to run through some of the downtown parts in the later half. The weather (which no one has control over) was brutally hot, yet the organizers seemed prepared for it. Pros 1. It's a Saturday marathon, so you can enjoy the famous Nashville night life. 2. The expo was decent, as far as expos are going. 3. The first half of the course was really neat. Cons 1. All of the official merchandise was running stuff; whats wrong with a cotton t-shirt? Just because I run doesn't mean I want only to buy running stuff! 2. If you want a party atmosphere, DON'T CHARGE BALLPARK PRICES FOR BEER! Why would I stick around for the band (who was good by the way) when I can cross the bridge and hit the main strip and buy cheaper beer?! 3. The second half of the course was a big letdown after the first half. 4. Using an obscure energy drink on the course is not fair or smart, as some people are very sensitive to what they can and can't take in on a run. 5. GET BETTER control of the runners. Around mile 20 the half-marathoners were supposed to be on one side of the road, and they were overflowing onto the marathon side, getting in the way. Put some more volunteers there to control it. Overall, I would recommend this race, as there are a lot worse out there. By the way, thanks to all of the volunteers! | |
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J. W. from Chicago, IL
(5/15/2009)
"Hilly course; more for half-marathoners" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 A group of us picked the Country Music Marathon for our spring marathon and I believe that, for the most part, everyone was pleased with the event. Nashville is very welcoming to visitors. There is nothing you can do about the weather, but the heat along with the rolling hills was a big challenge for a person coming from flat Illinois. I would classify this as a hilly course - nothing overwhelming, but you know you are running hills. I thought the expo was good, but a little small for the number of people coming to the event. There was plenty of merchandise with various levels of prices. Now, I have to be a little nit-picky. This is clearly a half-marathon event. It is very frustrating when runners fib about pace times to get a earlier corral and you subsequently have to run around the half-marathoners. I have no problem with people walking, but it would be nice if the organizers would announce at the expo or at the start for walkers to move to one side and not have 4 people walking shoulder-to-shoulder, forcing runners to zigzag around them. I did not feel I got into a rhythm running until I was pass the 13.1 split. Now, I know it was hot, but I thought I would have seen more bands. Maybe some bands were no-shows, but there was a lot of silence on the course. The availability of the porta-potties was adequate, but I wish they had more at the start. I ended up running into McDonald's within the 1st mile. I thought the water stops were undermanned after the half-marathon mark. At a couple of stops, there was only one or two volunteers frantically trying to service all the runners. The fan participation was good, and some spots did not have any spectators, but that's fine. Organizers could do more with the food after the finish. On the course, the bananas and oranges are always nice. But was not impressed at all with the finish-line food. I would recommend the CM for the experience of Nashville and the challenge of the hills, but I was not overwhelmed by the event. If you are looking for a fantastic half-marathon, then this is the place. But, I think the marathon falls short. | |
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A. R. from Shawnee, Kansas
(5/11/2009)
"Amazing marathon, crummy weather" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I can't say enough good things about it. The first half of the course was fabulous, with tons of fans, signs, bands and shady trees. The second half had a little too much concrete and asphalt for me, but isn't that always the case after the half-ers split off? There's nothing anyone could do about the 80+ temps, though they really messed up my race. The aid stations, med tents and race volunteers did an outstanding job, having sprayers on hand to cool us off, lots of sunscreen, plenty of fluids, salt packets and even ice at some points. A wonderful first marathon in a crazy-friendly, hospitable city. I'll be back! |
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