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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 101 to 111]
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S. I. from Alabama
(5/6/2009)
"Elite Racing Gets Greedy (or Lazy)" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I have run the CMM several times now, and this year I was disappointed at how it turned out. Nashville is a FANTASTIC city to have a marathon in, and the people there make awesome spectators, but Elite Racing is ruining the experience by opening the floodgates to too many runners without really planning for them. It's no secret that the half-marathon is the lifeblood of the race, but the 4,000 full marathoners completely take a back seat to the 30,000 halfers. (I have run both the half and the full marathons.) Elite is charging $80 for the half and $85 for the full, so it's obvious where they make their money. Sadly, for $85, Elite does little to reward the runners. The race shirt is a disgrace - a black and white, uninspiring print on a shoddy "technical" fabric. This is the tenth anniversary of the race, and the shirt hardly inspires me to want to go back for more. More importantly, the course CANNOT handle so many runners in the out-and-back sections, especially in the first 3-8 miles. It was crowded when they were running 17,000 runners six years ago, but now it's nearly double that. Nashville has many fine streets that could accommodate the race and that would dramatically reduce the congestion. Just adding more start corrals and using the wave start does not alleviate the crowding. Walkers still find their way to the front of the pack and dominate the scene for several miles. I actually found myself walking for the first quarter mile because, even with the wave start, I couldn't get through the walkers. My suggestion is that Elite Racing overhaul the race course and eliminate the out-and-back sections in the first half while maintaining those in the back half. This would consolidate fan support where it is needed most and open up the roads for the tens of thousands of halfers and their fans. Nashville is a great city and the Country Music Marathon is a super fun race to run, but Elite Racing has to either limit the racers to about 20,000 total or make better plans to accommodate the masses that continue to grow each year. | |
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B. Z. from Atlanta, GA
(5/5/2009)
"Hills, Hills, Hills... and then more Hills!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 When the organizers decide to make it more "scenic" in a city marathon... watch out. The addition of even more hills to a hilly course was, at best, unwise. There are too many choices for spring marathons to put up with all of those hills. Sorry, CMM. This is my last one. The overall good organization and a very attractive technical tee for the marathon are not enough to bring me back. | |
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E. R. from NJ
(5/4/2009)
"Left me feeling flat for such a hilly course..." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 For such a hot day and a large crowd, I give Elite Racing a lot of credit for this production, and I pretty much look for reasons to hate on Elite Racing.... This is not a purist's marathon. It's for people who enjoy the crowds, the celebration, and the bling. To that end, if you're OK with paying the steeper prices to register and you don't mind dealing with the crowds, distractions and manhole-cover medals, then you should have a good time. The most important think to note here is that on a hot day like this, the entire production, including the hotels, were on top of things. There were lots of well stocked water stations, medical staff everywhere, etc. If you like large crowded productions, run this race. If you're more into intimate races that leave you on your own for your motivation, or if you like scenic courses and don't care either way for spectators, find something else in TN. My one complaint: late in the race, the half and full courses hook up on the same street. It is clear that halfers should stay on the right and fulls should stay on the left, but the halfers were taking up the whole road. Keep in mind that, at this point, the full runners are running 8-minute miles and the halfers are running 13-minute miles. I didn't appreciate having to cut and run around so many when I was trying to finish the race. | |
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M. R. from Alabama
(5/3/2009)
"Full Marathon Was Tough" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This is not my #1 choice for a full marathon. There were a lot of half-marathoners, which made it tough to get a pace set for the 26.2 miles. The weather made it more difficult to support the runners as the time went on. The folks out watching the race were helpful, giving out water and other items. The medical staff were abundant. The convention center was a mess with people trying to get their race packets on Friday night. My goody bag had no goodies. :( There was no finisher's shirt, which I would have expected to be technical, given the registration fee. I came in from out of town, after work, so I did not have any other options. If you are somewhere local, I certainly would recommend showing up early. The course was overly hilly for what the website was showing. I am not sure if they did not update the information from the previous year. The multiple out-and-backs made this mentally difficult. Coupled with the heat, this was not my day. I would not recommend this race to anyone planning for a full marathon. | |
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L. D. from Illinois
(5/3/2009)
"It's all for the 1/2 marathoners." (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This race is probably great for a 1/2 marathon runner. The focus is truly on that race. The crowds, the bands, and the course are best in the 1/2 marathon (which is the first part of the marathon) race. So these initial 13 miles are very crowded and you must zigzag to get around the slower folks (despite the corral start there were a lot of slower 1/2 marathon runners out front). After the 1/2 marathoners peel off, the course is not very exciting; no bands are playing, and the crowds are thin. Many places, there are no fans at all. Thank goodness for the junior high school cheerleaders, who were stationed every few miles near the end. The water/Cytomax breaks were fine; all of these volunteers were super nice and friendly! But was this really a country music marathon course? On the second part of the course was no music! Honestly, I ran past 4 stages that were empty and two with bands taking a break. I know it was hot (believe me, I felt it), but if the band is not playing, then turn on the radio!!! It was not much of a music marathon - really a disappointment. Oh, and at the starting line, when runners particularly need to relieve themselves... there was a 55-minute wait and... NO TOILET PAPER! Brutal. So, overall, thanks to the wonderful, kind volunteers. But organizers: please try to rev up miles 13-26, if you want this to be a marathon (and not just the famed 1/2 marathon). | |
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N. T. from Buford,Georgia
(5/2/2009)
"Come to Music City Marathon for the Fun of it!" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Actually, the five marathons I've done, including the Chicago Marathon meltdown in 2007, it was at this marathon that I set my PW. The heat and course's long stretch of inclines are the only things my body remembers. But if you are looking for country music fun along the course, a free concert after the race, a beautiful city, spectator support, exceptional race number pick-up, helpful and knowledgeable volunteers, plentiful water and sports drink along the course, no long lines at porta-johns, a methodical corral system, well organized shuttle bus service (from your hotel to the start line and from the finish area back to your hotel), easy gear check in and out, a useful technical shirt, and a nice finisher medal, go for this marathon. Overall, I did enjoyed this marathon and would highly recommend it for the fun of it. It's not a BQ course for the back of the pack. | |
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M. G. from Troy, IL
(5/1/2009)
"Nashville should just stick with the half-marathon" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Course - a beautiful and hilly course surrounded by fans on both sides... for the first 10-11 miles. After that... you're on your own (literally). I really didn't think it would be as desolate as it appeared. Fans were sparse, to say the least. Luckily, this marathon is part of the Rock N Roll Series, so there are bands and cheer stations spread throughout the course. As far as scenery, there isn't much to look at after those first 11 miles either. Organization - the expo was nice, but nothing special. Anyone putting together 26+ bands and 26+ cheer stations knows what they are doing. The wave start is great. I wish every race director would utilize this idea. Unfortunately, a little more time should be devoted to fine-tuning the marathon course and making it more accessible for fans. Spectators - for the first 10-11 miles, fans were out and boisterous. BUT (also see "course") they didn't bother showing up after those miles, except in the last quarter to the finish. I was excited when I signed up for this race, but was disappointed in the end. As you could probably guess... the half and full split at miles 10-11, making the course and fans exciting for halfers. Marathoners were outnumbered more than 6 to 1, with a total of over 30,000 runners. I finished this marathon feeling a little slighted, on the Half-Marathons behalf. Maybe Nashville should scrap the full and devote all (not just most) of their attention towards the half. I won't be back to run this marathon again, but I would come back for their half. | |
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Joshua Holmes from Hollywood, California
(5/1/2009)
"Hot and Hilly but Amazing Spectacle" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this race not to PR but because it was in my home state and there would be a ton of runners and friends running in it as well - even though they all ran the half. The half-marathon draws around 28,000 and the full just 4,000, which is still a very healthy number. The course is very challenging and hilly. The weather was in the 80's and around 86 near the finish of the full. Nashville is a great town and this is a great race. It was one of the more challenging marathons I have done, but I felt really good about it afterward. | |
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j. s. from nassau, bahamas
(4/30/2009)
"Great event, good show" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It was well organized and they had more giveaways and hands on demonstration then most marathons. I got the feeling that they were interested in having us (not like some of those "major" marathons). The route was hilly (long inclines) and it was hot (probably around 85). If they had 30,000 total entrants, 25,000 of them must have been running the half. The group separates out at mile 11 (I did the full), but they had cold water, ice packs, water sprinklers, cold hankies and sponges. The drink - Cytomax - was sweet at some stations and watery at others. I saw all of the bands and the cheerleaders. Elite Racing put on a very good event. It was windy and it seemed that we were running into it. This was my first time with them, I believe. I would run an Elite-supported event and Nashville again. I felt very welcome there. | |
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B. M. from New York, NY
(4/30/2009)
"Great for the half; the full is alright" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The Nashville Country Music Marathon was amazing as a half-marathon. The spectators and the support throughout the center of the city were amazing. However, once the marathon and half-marathon course split, there were virtually no spectators, and for awhile you were running up-and-backs along the interstate. AMAZING for a half, and the course itself was well run (you have to love those rolling hills!); but disappointing after the amazing first half. |
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