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Marathon Details - Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon

North America Marathons > Canada > QC > Montreal > Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon

Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon

OASIS Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

Montreal, QC Canada

~~September 20, 2020~~ - CANCELLED

http://www.runrocknroll.com/montreal

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2019 2018 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Top 3 Finishers

Race Details

The start is on the beautiful Jacques-Cartier Bridge. the course passes through the F1 circuit, Montreal's old port and finishes into the olympic Stadium.

Contact Information

Name:
Address:	Competitor Group 9477 Waples Street, Suite 150 San Diego, CA 92121
Phone Number:	(858) 450-6510
Fax Number:	(858) 450-6905
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (74)

Course 4.0

Organization 3.5

Spectators 3.2

Write a review

Number of comments: 74 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > ]

Y. M. from Montreal Canada (10/10/2019) "Disappointing...." (about: 2019) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I'd like to say that the organizer are improving this event but unfortunately not. They corrected last year flaws (no finisher beer, no free bus/metro ticket) but introduced more serious 'bugs': - 50 minute start delay - PA system muted for 5-10 minutes after the elite started - Elite runners had to dodge slower half-marathon runners - boring marathon course (half marathon was ok) - First Aid slow response time - Sub par live entertainment - Frugal post-run snack For all of this, I think I paid too much for what I got in return. Being owned by both Rock'n Roll and Ironman, the whole organization must be a real mess.. Too many cooks spoil the broth. That was my 4th participation to it but it's over - I'm not coming back next year.
B. G. from New York (9/24/2019) "Not worth the effort" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 There are a few good things about this race. The run through Air Force station and later into the arena with cheerleaders, and the people at the water stations all positive. However the rest very poor. You can't call it a Rock and Roll race with no bands. A few individuals play guitar and or music out of computer? Really? Aids stations with tab water that had such a high chlorine level difficult to drink and Gatorade. One station had half a banana. Started an hour late, great just standing around not knowing what is going on. After 8 Rock and Roll races and 7 Marathons this is by far the worst. Many out there better than this one.
Wayne Wright from Palmdale, California USA (11/26/2016) "Not Your Usual Rock n Roll" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 INTRODUCTION: I am a race-walker with a median marathon completion time of 5:17:35. The Marathon Rock n Roll de Montreal was my forty-first 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: temperature on Pont Jacques-Cartier start was 44 degrees (7 Celsius) with a northerly head wind that certainly provided a wind chill factor equivalent to a temperature in the high-thirties. The course can easily be divided into four parts of similar length, starting with the descent from our bridge that crossed over the Saint Lawrence River onto Ile Sainte-Helene. After descending to the shoreline just after the first kilometer, we were in flat territory for six-plus miles. Our tour around the outer edge of the island included going through La Ronde theme park before crossing over Chena Le Moyne onto Ile Notre-Dame, where our path took us on a Formula 1 race course, perhaps the smoothest and flattest part of a marathon route this side of Berlin. We began our second course segment a little over 10 kilometers into the race, we headed north toward Centre-ville (Downtown), crossing over the Saint Lawrence River on Pont de la Concorde and staying close to the piers as we entered Vieux (Old) Montreal, including traversing the most photographed street in town, Place Jacques-Cartier. After passing by Hotel de Ville (City Hall) on Rue Notre-Dame, with a clear view of the gigantic Molson brewery, we soon turned north, uphill into Ville Marie and later toward Parc La Fontaine, where we would separate from the half marathoners, who outnumbered us by almost four-to-one, just before mile 13. The third part of the course comprised of two out-and-backs, one initially going west on Boulevard Saint-Joseph toward Mont-Royal and one initially going north on commercial Avenue Christophe-Coulomb and returning mostly on residential Rue de la Roche. The roads were of rolling terrain and were mostly straight, thus allowing us not to worry too much about finding the shortest path. Beginning just past mile 20, the fourth and final leg of the course was characterized by a T-shaped out-and-back, toward the east, mostly on Boulevard Saint-Joseph. At mile 23, we were afforded a brief glimpse of the Olympic Stadium before returning toward the finish line at Parc La Fontaine. Finish time temperature was 61 degrees (16 Celsius). ORGANIZATION: Nicely done, with the usual Rock n Roll efficiency. Well organized expo, but with a little less logoed merchandise than your usual Rock n Roll race. Also, unlike the other Rock n Roll expos, marathon tee shirts were not sold at the Rock n RollBrooks booth just after leaving the bib pickup area, but at a separate booth just before departing the convention hall. One unique aspect of this race was both English and metric oriented participants could run in harmony: signs for each mile (in blue) and kilometer (in red) were posted. SPECTATORS: Typical in number for a marathon of this size, enthusiastic in support. Most of the bands were in the front half of the race. CONCLUSION: This race was more subtle than your typical Rock n Roll event; perhaps one may liken it to an acoustic version of the same amped-up tune. Nevertheless, it was a well done affair and worth considering for those who want to do a race in Francophone Canada. Bravo, Montreal.
S. M. from ottawa, ontario (9/26/2016) "87th Marathon! Bon Marathon pour tous!" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This was my 87th full marathon! The race offered runners free subway passes the day of and that is truly awesome in itself. All marathon finishers received a jacket at the end as well, this in addition to the shirt. My only complaint was the information given during the race expo. I would have preferred receiving a sheet with instructions in both official languages for fans. Parking was very difficult and expensive due to the construction. Not many bands in the second half. Most of course is not shaded and that is why I and may runners had cramps in their lower legs in the last half. The jacket pick up was not intuitive in the finish area and I preferred it be near the finish line.
Go Blazers from Austin, Texas, USA (9/26/2016) "Very well organized considering its size" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Note: I ran the half, not the full marathon + Pretty impressive that they are able to handle 30,000+ runners all getting to the starting point with public transit. The one day passes were a great idea and although the Berri-UQAM station was packed, we made it no problem. + Each corral had it's own starting 'gun' - much nicer than having only one start + The course (through an island park, amusement park, Formula 1 racetrack, old section of town, and ending in a park) was very, very scenic - After exiting the subway station closest to the starting area we waited for 40 min for 30 or so portapotties until giving up. Then when we walked to the bridge we found there were maybe 100 or so portapotties there with much shorter lines. It would have been nice if we were made aware of this - maybe at the Expo there could be a big map of the starting area. - There were sections of the course that were packed, for example at mile 11 over the Pont de la Concorde and on the road across from Habitat 67. With this many runners that may just be the price to pay. - After the race we had to run to the airport and were delayed by a big construction project on Hwy 20. It would have been helpful for the race organizers to at least warn runners of this kind of construction over race weekend.
c. b. from New York (9/21/2015) "Only two watches on 42KM !" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 One of the nicest Marathon course. But... What was the course time when I cross the start line ? I didn't know. The same when I did cross 10K,20K, half, and so all the way to finish line 42.2K. I'm thinking will be help full for runners and spectators to have displayed the course time on several places not only 5K and 42K
M. K. from NYC (10/1/2013) "Magnificent Montreal" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The Montreal Marathon is a nicely run Rock & Roll Event. There are actually 4 other races at the same time, a half marathon, 10K, 5K, & 1K. The organizers will say over 20,000finishers but only about 3,000 finished the marathon, which is typical for a Rock & Roll event. Course: First half is flat with some great scenery along the 2 smaller islands of Montreal. You start on Jacques Cartier Bridge, run through an amusement park, Biodome, on Grand Prix race track, across another bridge, past Habitat 67, then past some of historic Old Montreal waterfront. This year there was a slight rain at the start causing some major puddles in the flat area in the first 5 miles. The second half had some slight hills (underpasses) but nothing to worry about. It takes you through some nice areas north, and east of the finish area. You actually run by the Olympic Stadium (it would have been better to finish on the stadium like Bruce Jenner (Kardashian) did it 1976. Getting to the start of the race is easy on the Green Metro line but congested do to the amount of runners. Course is littered with bands as usual, some quite interesting, others not. Plenty of water, Gatorade and gels on the course. The start area could have used more toilets. I did not use the baggage, so I cannot comment. There was a slight race waiting on the bride and the first 5 miles. Bring some toss able clothes. Fans: I was quite surprised by the turnout of fan support along the entire course. Way to go Montreal!! Expo and swag: typical but convenient expo, nice runners shirt but no separate shirt for the marathoners. Nice big finishers medal as typical with Rock & Roll with the Biodome as the center piece. Finish: Smooth finish line area with food bags for finishers. A little disappointing though, other Rock & Roll races (DC) had ample food stuffs and chocolate milk. None here, nice post-race festival with free beer for finishers, concert and finishers gear for sale. There were many vendors giving out free samples if you needed more food. Overall this is a nice race to run and a great destination race. The city of Montreal is beautiful to visit in September. Weather overall is cool early fall. I recommend the Botanical Jardin at the Olympic park, it is worth the price of admission
M. L. from Chicago, IL, USA (9/30/2013) "Not bad, but not great...!" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was my 8th consecutive marathon over eight years, second in Canada, but first Rock n' Roll Event. All in all, this event was 'meh'... in my humble opinion. It's an incredible city with friendly people, a decently organized event, but it's another example of a race getting greedy. Here are my specific thoughts: 1) The expo was small and pretty boring, and the volunteers had no energy. The Brooks merchandise was decent but of course pricey. 2) The official race shirt is pretty ugly and short sleeve, which is unacceptable to me. It's an autumn marathon (well, basically) and it's in Montreal! 3) It is evident from the expo on that this event is ALL about the half marathon. I got the overwhelming sense at the start line that I was overcome with half marathon runners, and many first timers amongst them. This was the second race that I've run that had the half end right along side the marathon course and it's an INCREDIBLY disheartening set-up. It messes with your mind! I really think that the course organizers need to reevaluate the course and/or the timing of the events if they want to grow the actual marathon. For this reason alone, I would not run this race again. (Caveat: I have NOTHING against half marathon runners and think it's an incredible running accomplishment!) 4) (These things seem petty but)... Where were the thermal blankets at the end!?! It was cold, windy, damp, and we had been rained on (the first several miles were MISERABLE, but luckily the actual rain stopped)! Also, the medal is decent, but looks kinda cheap. 5) The overall course of the marathon was less scenic than I imagined it would be, but all in all not that bad. The biggest problem was the lack of spectators on the second half (again, because most people were there to cheer for half runners). With all this said, I would rate the event as slightly below average. It's a flat course which allowed me to get a P.R. (the rain and wind might have helped with that) and it was a very fun weekend in a great city. I just think that the event has tried to get to big and that the half marathon overtook the day. And little cutbacks might seem minor but they matter to the runners!
Francois Belisle from Sherbrooke, Qc (9/26/2013) "Great 1st marathon. Flat course..." (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my very first marathon, and I was kind of worried about everyone saying it was a hard course. I live near Montreal, so I decided it would be wise to choose an event close by for my first full marathon. The timing in the season, and location were just perfect for me. When you read comments about the course, you can see that many runners say it's a hilly course, and most talk about the Berri street hill. If you've ever ran on a course that is not 100% flat or downhill, you will find the course very flat, and easy. That said, I loved everything about the event, but mostly, the thousands of fans who cheer you up, and shout your name (written on your bib). This is a very nice touch, and really makes a huge difference on the mental state. As others mentionned, there were way to few toilets. The waiting time for a toilet 1 hour before the start was about 3 hours... Like most runners, I simply decided not to go, and see what would happen. There aren't very many toilets after the start either. The bands were really good, and over all, I really loved it. I'll be back next year to beat my 3h32m mark.
M. D. from New Jersey (9/23/2013) "Great first marathon" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I it far exceeded my expectation. The course if flat, flat, flat and the first half is very scenic. You start on a bridge, run through an amusement park, across another bridge, on a race track, across another bridge, past Habitat 67, then past some of historic Montreal. The race then splits off at mile 13 when 3/4th of the runners stop at the half marathon. The second half of the course is less scenic and a bit repetitive but the on course Music breaks it up and keeps you entertained. The fans along the course are great and will high-five you and cheer you on, even calling you out by your name which is on your race bib. The course is also great for spectators, my parents saw me at mile 5, 10, 15, 20 and 26! In summary, I think the more popular half-marathon is probably better because of the scenic course, but the full marathon was an amazing experience.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > ]



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Y. M. from Montreal Canada (10/10/2019) "Disappointing...." (about: 2019) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I'd like to say that the organizer are improving this event but unfortunately not. They corrected last year flaws (no finisher beer, no free bus/metro ticket) but introduced more serious 'bugs': - 50 minute start delay - PA system muted for 5-10 minutes after the elite started - Elite runners had to dodge slower half-marathon runners - boring marathon course (half marathon was ok) - First Aid slow response time - Sub par live entertainment - Frugal post-run snack For all of this, I think I paid too much for what I got in return. Being owned by both Rock'n Roll and Ironman, the whole organization must be a real mess.. Too many cooks spoil the broth. That was my 4th participation to it but it's over - I'm not coming back next year.
B. G. from New York (9/24/2019) "Not worth the effort" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 There are a few good things about this race. The run through Air Force station and later into the arena with cheerleaders, and the people at the water stations all positive. However the rest very poor. You can't call it a Rock and Roll race with no bands. A few individuals play guitar and or music out of computer? Really? Aids stations with tab water that had such a high chlorine level difficult to drink and Gatorade. One station had half a banana. Started an hour late, great just standing around not knowing what is going on. After 8 Rock and Roll races and 7 Marathons this is by far the worst. Many out there better than this one.
Wayne Wright from Palmdale, California USA (11/26/2016) "Not Your Usual Rock n Roll" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 INTRODUCTION: I am a race-walker with a median marathon completion time of 5:17:35. The Marathon Rock n Roll de Montreal was my forty-first 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: temperature on Pont Jacques-Cartier start was 44 degrees (7 Celsius) with a northerly head wind that certainly provided a wind chill factor equivalent to a temperature in the high-thirties. The course can easily be divided into four parts of similar length, starting with the descent from our bridge that crossed over the Saint Lawrence River onto Ile Sainte-Helene. After descending to the shoreline just after the first kilometer, we were in flat territory for six-plus miles. Our tour around the outer edge of the island included going through La Ronde theme park before crossing over Chena Le Moyne onto Ile Notre-Dame, where our path took us on a Formula 1 race course, perhaps the smoothest and flattest part of a marathon route this side of Berlin. We began our second course segment a little over 10 kilometers into the race, we headed north toward Centre-ville (Downtown), crossing over the Saint Lawrence River on Pont de la Concorde and staying close to the piers as we entered Vieux (Old) Montreal, including traversing the most photographed street in town, Place Jacques-Cartier. After passing by Hotel de Ville (City Hall) on Rue Notre-Dame, with a clear view of the gigantic Molson brewery, we soon turned north, uphill into Ville Marie and later toward Parc La Fontaine, where we would separate from the half marathoners, who outnumbered us by almost four-to-one, just before mile 13. The third part of the course comprised of two out-and-backs, one initially going west on Boulevard Saint-Joseph toward Mont-Royal and one initially going north on commercial Avenue Christophe-Coulomb and returning mostly on residential Rue de la Roche. The roads were of rolling terrain and were mostly straight, thus allowing us not to worry too much about finding the shortest path. Beginning just past mile 20, the fourth and final leg of the course was characterized by a T-shaped out-and-back, toward the east, mostly on Boulevard Saint-Joseph. At mile 23, we were afforded a brief glimpse of the Olympic Stadium before returning toward the finish line at Parc La Fontaine. Finish time temperature was 61 degrees (16 Celsius). ORGANIZATION: Nicely done, with the usual Rock n Roll efficiency. Well organized expo, but with a little less logoed merchandise than your usual Rock n Roll race. Also, unlike the other Rock n Roll expos, marathon tee shirts were not sold at the Rock n RollBrooks booth just after leaving the bib pickup area, but at a separate booth just before departing the convention hall. One unique aspect of this race was both English and metric oriented participants could run in harmony: signs for each mile (in blue) and kilometer (in red) were posted. SPECTATORS: Typical in number for a marathon of this size, enthusiastic in support. Most of the bands were in the front half of the race. CONCLUSION: This race was more subtle than your typical Rock n Roll event; perhaps one may liken it to an acoustic version of the same amped-up tune. Nevertheless, it was a well done affair and worth considering for those who want to do a race in Francophone Canada. Bravo, Montreal.
S. M. from ottawa, ontario (9/26/2016) "87th Marathon! Bon Marathon pour tous!" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This was my 87th full marathon! The race offered runners free subway passes the day of and that is truly awesome in itself. All marathon finishers received a jacket at the end as well, this in addition to the shirt. My only complaint was the information given during the race expo. I would have preferred receiving a sheet with instructions in both official languages for fans. Parking was very difficult and expensive due to the construction. Not many bands in the second half. Most of course is not shaded and that is why I and may runners had cramps in their lower legs in the last half. The jacket pick up was not intuitive in the finish area and I preferred it be near the finish line.
Go Blazers from Austin, Texas, USA (9/26/2016) "Very well organized considering its size" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Note: I ran the half, not the full marathon + Pretty impressive that they are able to handle 30,000+ runners all getting to the starting point with public transit. The one day passes were a great idea and although the Berri-UQAM station was packed, we made it no problem. + Each corral had it's own starting 'gun' - much nicer than having only one start + The course (through an island park, amusement park, Formula 1 racetrack, old section of town, and ending in a park) was very, very scenic - After exiting the subway station closest to the starting area we waited for 40 min for 30 or so portapotties until giving up. Then when we walked to the bridge we found there were maybe 100 or so portapotties there with much shorter lines. It would have been nice if we were made aware of this - maybe at the Expo there could be a big map of the starting area. - There were sections of the course that were packed, for example at mile 11 over the Pont de la Concorde and on the road across from Habitat 67. With this many runners that may just be the price to pay. - After the race we had to run to the airport and were delayed by a big construction project on Hwy 20. It would have been helpful for the race organizers to at least warn runners of this kind of construction over race weekend.
c. b. from New York (9/21/2015) "Only two watches on 42KM !" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 One of the nicest Marathon course. But... What was the course time when I cross the start line ? I didn't know. The same when I did cross 10K,20K, half, and so all the way to finish line 42.2K. I'm thinking will be help full for runners and spectators to have displayed the course time on several places not only 5K and 42K
M. K. from NYC (10/1/2013) "Magnificent Montreal" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The Montreal Marathon is a nicely run Rock & Roll Event. There are actually 4 other races at the same time, a half marathon, 10K, 5K, & 1K. The organizers will say over 20,000finishers but only about 3,000 finished the marathon, which is typical for a Rock & Roll event. Course: First half is flat with some great scenery along the 2 smaller islands of Montreal. You start on Jacques Cartier Bridge, run through an amusement park, Biodome, on Grand Prix race track, across another bridge, past Habitat 67, then past some of historic Old Montreal waterfront. This year there was a slight rain at the start causing some major puddles in the flat area in the first 5 miles. The second half had some slight hills (underpasses) but nothing to worry about. It takes you through some nice areas north, and east of the finish area. You actually run by the Olympic Stadium (it would have been better to finish on the stadium like Bruce Jenner (Kardashian) did it 1976. Getting to the start of the race is easy on the Green Metro line but congested do to the amount of runners. Course is littered with bands as usual, some quite interesting, others not. Plenty of water, Gatorade and gels on the course. The start area could have used more toilets. I did not use the baggage, so I cannot comment. There was a slight race waiting on the bride and the first 5 miles. Bring some toss able clothes. Fans: I was quite surprised by the turnout of fan support along the entire course. Way to go Montreal!! Expo and swag: typical but convenient expo, nice runners shirt but no separate shirt for the marathoners. Nice big finishers medal as typical with Rock & Roll with the Biodome as the center piece. Finish: Smooth finish line area with food bags for finishers. A little disappointing though, other Rock & Roll races (DC) had ample food stuffs and chocolate milk. None here, nice post-race festival with free beer for finishers, concert and finishers gear for sale. There were many vendors giving out free samples if you needed more food. Overall this is a nice race to run and a great destination race. The city of Montreal is beautiful to visit in September. Weather overall is cool early fall. I recommend the Botanical Jardin at the Olympic park, it is worth the price of admission
M. L. from Chicago, IL, USA (9/30/2013) "Not bad, but not great...!" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was my 8th consecutive marathon over eight years, second in Canada, but first Rock n' Roll Event. All in all, this event was 'meh'... in my humble opinion. It's an incredible city with friendly people, a decently organized event, but it's another example of a race getting greedy. Here are my specific thoughts: 1) The expo was small and pretty boring, and the volunteers had no energy. The Brooks merchandise was decent but of course pricey. 2) The official race shirt is pretty ugly and short sleeve, which is unacceptable to me. It's an autumn marathon (well, basically) and it's in Montreal! 3) It is evident from the expo on that this event is ALL about the half marathon. I got the overwhelming sense at the start line that I was overcome with half marathon runners, and many first timers amongst them. This was the second race that I've run that had the half end right along side the marathon course and it's an INCREDIBLY disheartening set-up. It messes with your mind! I really think that the course organizers need to reevaluate the course and/or the timing of the events if they want to grow the actual marathon. For this reason alone, I would not run this race again. (Caveat: I have NOTHING against half marathon runners and think it's an incredible running accomplishment!) 4) (These things seem petty but)... Where were the thermal blankets at the end!?! It was cold, windy, damp, and we had been rained on (the first several miles were MISERABLE, but luckily the actual rain stopped)! Also, the medal is decent, but looks kinda cheap. 5) The overall course of the marathon was less scenic than I imagined it would be, but all in all not that bad. The biggest problem was the lack of spectators on the second half (again, because most people were there to cheer for half runners). With all this said, I would rate the event as slightly below average. It's a flat course which allowed me to get a P.R. (the rain and wind might have helped with that) and it was a very fun weekend in a great city. I just think that the event has tried to get to big and that the half marathon overtook the day. And little cutbacks might seem minor but they matter to the runners!
Francois Belisle from Sherbrooke, Qc (9/26/2013) "Great 1st marathon. Flat course..." (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my very first marathon, and I was kind of worried about everyone saying it was a hard course. I live near Montreal, so I decided it would be wise to choose an event close by for my first full marathon. The timing in the season, and location were just perfect for me. When you read comments about the course, you can see that many runners say it's a hilly course, and most talk about the Berri street hill. If you've ever ran on a course that is not 100% flat or downhill, you will find the course very flat, and easy. That said, I loved everything about the event, but mostly, the thousands of fans who cheer you up, and shout your name (written on your bib). This is a very nice touch, and really makes a huge difference on the mental state. As others mentionned, there were way to few toilets. The waiting time for a toilet 1 hour before the start was about 3 hours... Like most runners, I simply decided not to go, and see what would happen. There aren't very many toilets after the start either. The bands were really good, and over all, I really loved it. I'll be back next year to beat my 3h32m mark.
M. D. from New Jersey (9/23/2013) "Great first marathon" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I it far exceeded my expectation. The course if flat, flat, flat and the first half is very scenic. You start on a bridge, run through an amusement park, across another bridge, on a race track, across another bridge, past Habitat 67, then past some of historic Montreal. The race then splits off at mile 13 when 3/4th of the runners stop at the half marathon. The second half of the course is less scenic and a bit repetitive but the on course Music breaks it up and keeps you entertained. The fans along the course are great and will high-five you and cheer you on, even calling you out by your name which is on your race bib. The course is also great for spectators, my parents saw me at mile 5, 10, 15, 20 and 26! In summary, I think the more popular half-marathon is probably better because of the scenic course, but the full marathon was an amazing experience.

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Marathon Details - Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon