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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 51 to 61]
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Cory Martin from Franklin, TN
(5/2/2011)
"Lots of people!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If you are a social person, you'll probably love this course. I think there were around 30,000 entrants (between the half and the full) this year. Crazy! There are TONS of spectators who do a great job of cheering you on. Plenty of water stops, porta-potties, even 2 Gu stations! Lots of medical folks there to help out too. Great organization. The one thing I didn't like was the timing. Since I live in the area, I trained in the cold throughout the Jan-Apr months, and then just as it starts to get hot - that's when the race is. That hurt me. Also it's kinda hilly, but not too bad. It was my first marathon - not sure if I'll do this one again, but I'd definitely do the half here. | |
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S. D. from Kentucky, USA
(5/2/2011)
"course change good, disappointed in finish" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The course change was for the better, even though it made it hilly. Two beefs: I was in corral 13 - about a 4:10 pace, and somehow, there were WALKERS and very slow runners that somehow got into earlier corrals and slowed a lot of us down. How that happened, I don't know. Also, at the Finish, there were lots of people handing out medals but no one handing out water. After a last few miles in the hot sun, I was dying. It seemed a long way to walk before I found water and almost had to stop & ask someone. It was easier to find food, which isn't nearly as important. | |
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J. B. from Middle Tennessee
(5/1/2011)
"Where was the 'rock n roll'?" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran the Half and was SO under whelmed by the bands and many of the spectators. I imagined one band's noise would fade out as the next was starting but I was dead wrong. The bands were very spread out and half the time they weren't even playing when I ran by. Oh, and one was singing 'Running on Empty'. Really?! Just because a song has the word 'running' in it doesn't meant it's an appropriate choice. There seemed to be a decent amount of spectators throughout the course but almost half were just standing there with their arms folded across their chest. If you're there, please yell, clap or do something! The water stops, volunteers (thank you!!) and organization were great and I liked the wave start but those aren't enough to compensate for lack of music and spotty support. Sorry Music City, I love you but I will not run this race again. If the Half was this bad, I can't imagine how the full marathoners felt...unless they were smart enough to wear their ipods. | |
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S. S. from Tennessee
(5/1/2011)
"Where was the food?" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Might want to consider moving the packet pickup away from the convention center and outside of the city. Traffic was very bad. Packet pickup ended at 7:00. They shut down and left a lot of very upset runners still in line or caught in traffic without a packet until race morning. A lot of runners were in line five minutes before the race trying to get their bibs. The 'free' shuttle service to the start line was a joke from the beginning. We were moved from one place to another and back to another. Once we finally got on the bus we went the long way around to the start line. The race started as soon as we got off the bus. Great course if you like rolling hills. The course seemed to finally flatten out around mile 17. Just about got sea sick from going up and down so much. Great crowd of people from start to finish. The people in Nashville really like this marathon and show their support in many ways. Plenty of watering stations until you get to mile 22-23 and really need it. Seemed sparse but the heat and fatigue were really setting in. The food at the finish was a joke. Apples, bananas, bagels, and a pack of really dry cookies. I had to drive to a convenience store and buy chocolate milk. Not one slice of pizza to be found anywhere. Nice Medal, I guess they spent all the pizza money on it. I will run this race again, just gotta remember to bring my on food for the finish. | |
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A. H. from Tennessee
(5/1/2011)
"Much improved course" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The 2011 course for the marathon was much more scenic and improved over previous years. I feel that more spectators were on the new course route, and it was not as boring. | |
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T. M. from Fort Mill, SC
(5/9/2010)
"Never again" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I have run 8 marathons, and this ranks at the bottom of the list. I might go back and do the half but would never do the full marathon there again. The 1st half of the course was pretty good - a scenic route, good bands along the way, many spectators. The 2nd half was totally boring. We ran through an industrial park and around a baseball field complex. There were no spectators and very little music on the 2nd half. I must thank the volunteers at the water stations in the 2nd half and the few small groups of enthusiastic cheerleaders; they did a good job and were the only bright spot to the 2nd half. There is a nice 2-mile stretch along the river in the 2nd half, but that's it. Starting the race 15 minutes early without notifying anyone is unacceptable. I started in Corral 2 and was able to run unhindered, so I have no complaints about the start. I also was able to finish the full marathon, but I can definitely sympathize with those who were not allowed to finish, though you can't do anything about the weather. The expo was extremely crowded, and nobody was giving anything away free. I thought the T-shirt was ugly, but the medal was very nice. Nashville is a fun town and we had a great time there, but they can do a better job with this race. | |
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J. R. from Tulsa, OK
(5/8/2010)
"Good race" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The race was affected by the rain in many ways. I assume that it caused some of the bands to stay home. Overall, the course was nice. Organizers have to cover their behinds. I understand cutting the race short. Three Positives: - Great water stops. Best I've ever seen. They seemed to be a quarter-mile long. - Spectators are great. - Expo was smooth. I think half of the runners showed up at the same time. They moved everyone through the packet pickup very well. Three Negatives: - The finish is outside of LP Field. I thought we were going to finish inside the stadium. - After the race, prepare to wait. Traffic is ridiculous. The only way to avoid this is to have a hotel downtown within walking distance. - The half course meets the full course around mile 19. There are cones designed to separate the two, but the half runners take over the whole street. I was ready to start throwing elbows. Also, if a half marathoner is on the course when marathoners are on mile 19, the speeds are not going to be the same. Two volunteers would be enough to fix this. Four other things - The course is far hillier than the elevation map shows. Come prepared. Mile 18 stopped a lot of plans for PRs. - Reserve your hotel early. I waited and got stuck at the millennium. It was nice, but smelled like a Motel 6. - People who complain about the weather should be happy that the race wasn't a week later. We would have been swimming to the finish. - Nashville is awesome. Make sure to plan to stay for a couple days if you can. A lot to see and do. | |
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W. D. from Canada
(5/7/2010)
"Nice Event" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Interesting, scenic route - I would recommend it as a destination race. More hilly than expected from the elevation profile (please change the scale on the vertical axis!). I ended-up doing this race instead of Hamburg because of a little volcano in Iceland! Happy I came to Nashville (went from Lederhosen to lariats, I guess). Despite inclement weather, the race organizers did well to give everybody a chance to finish before closing the course. The ending WAS a little lackluster - parking lots are never interesting. But overall, well done, y'all! Thanks from a Canuck. | |
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P. D. from Arkansas, USA
(5/5/2010)
"Early start" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 This was my fourth year in a row to run this race. The course was nice and the fans were great, considering the weather forecast. My biggest complaint is a huge complaint. I have done nearly 100 races from the 5K to marathon distance, and I have never, never, never been in one that started early without notice. This really screwed up my race. I was supposed to be in the first corral but instead wound up in the 15th. Trying to run a 6:45 pace that far back is more than difficult, especially since they let walkers start in corrals that they shouldn't have. I had to pass literally thousands of people before I could get to an uncrowded road. Did starting 15 minutes early really help with the weather? Give me a break. This race cost way too much to have someone make a horrible decision like that. A small gesture such as a coupon for next year should be expected, but I wouldn't hold my breath. | |
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w. r. from Maryland
(5/3/2010)
"Worst organization ever" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I came to Nashville to finish my 10th marathon only to have it cut short by weather. You can't control the weather, but you can control the plan. For starters, the start wasn't too crowded, but the water stops were. There weren't nearly enough people giving out water for the first 10 miles. Everyone was running into everyone else. I would put up signs before the water stops like they do at Columbus so that you can see where the water stops are. The pace group for 4 hours was bad. He told us he wasn't stopping and getting water at every stop. You are with a bunch of first-time marathoners. The pacer had to have screwed up a lot of peoples hopes of a PR. I had to catch him twice in the first two miles. It was hot, but that can't be controlled. Cutting the course short wouldn't have been such a bad idea if you didn't have so many people standing outside in the rain. I paid all of the money, and couldn't even get a blanket to stay warm. Also, the plan should have been to reschedule the race for Sunday. I know not everyone could have stayed, but this race needs to come up with a plan to be flexible to be able to move the day of the race if needed. Lastly, they gave me my 20.4-mile time and a half marathon certificate. They have said that they would fix it twice now, but have failed to do so each time. I won't be coming back to Nashville ever to run this race again. |
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