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Marathon Details - Rocket City Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > AL > Hunstville > Rocket City Marathon

Rocket City Marathon

Rocket City Marathon & Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

Hunstville, AL USA

December 15, 2024

http://www.rocketcitymarathon.run

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Race Details

Starts and finishes at the Von Braun Complex. Runs through downtown, historic neighborhoods, through the US Space and Rocket Center and the Botanical Gardens. Mostly flat and fast. Boston Qualifier.

Contact Information

Name:	Dwayne and Dana DeBardelaben
Address:	Huntsville Track Club 4800 Whitesburg Dr, Suite 30-354 Huntsville, AL 35802
Phone Number:	Dwayne: (256) 226-3556, Dana: (256) 714-2681
Email:	Email the organizers

Race Organizer

Questions? (7/3/18)

Dana

Have questions? Please contact us at rocketcitymarathon@gmail.com

Runner Reviews (285)

Course 4.0

Organization 4.7

Spectators 3.5

Write a review

Number of comments: 285 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 29 > ]

David Zajic from Huntsville (12/11/2023) "Another Great Race" (about: 2023) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Rocket City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The course was changed from the last time I ran this race and I really enjoyed the new route. This was the first year I've run the race with it having 2 half marathons simultaneous with the full. The result was many more participants and spectators on the course so more fun for me. There are a few major hills but nothing too hard. I highly recommend this new course.
T. Y. from Ohio (12/13/2022) "Fantastically well organized" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very good small to medium sized race (just over 900 finishers in 2022). Some rolling hills, about 750 feet of elevation gain according to my watch. First 16ish miles is a little boring through some neighborhoods, space and rocket center was nice and botanical gardens weren't too bad. Most roads were still at least partially open to traffic, but fortunately vehicles seemed aware/tolerant of runners' presence. Course support was good, aid stations averaging between 2 and 3 miles apart probably. Great signage alerting you to aid station coming up and mileage to the next porta-pottie. Post race food was pretty good (pizza, pbj, fruit, chocolate milk, salted potatoes and some other stuff I forget). A little wet this year so I was concerned about inside finish on smooth concrete venue hall floor, but they had thought to put grippy tape down the finish chute which was very nice. All in all a great race to check Alabama off your list if you're a 50 stater, great enthusiasm, thoughtfulness and communication from the race directors.
B. W. from Michigan (12/13/2022) "Little details make the race unique" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Expo: Not huge, but well organized. Good deals on old merch. Unique Details: I could purchase a spectator medal for my curbcrew. Also, race packet was in comic-book form that connected to the cool medal (it lights up!) Course: Some nice neighborhoods. It was cool to run around the space center with the rockets. Pacer was dead-even at the half and ran really consistently. Not a lot of spectators on the course, but the few were encouraging. It was easy for my curbcrew to navigate. Nice early start for those who needed it.
D. P. from Atlanta, GA (1/10/2020) "Fun Race" (about: 2019) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Overall this was a good race. I really liked that they had a volunteer yelling the current gun time at every single mile. There seemed to be plenty of parking in the area of the start line, which made getting to the race pretty easy. I have one major complaint that in my opinion in inexcusable. I believe this race had 1000+ runners for the marathon starting at 7am, yet they had 7 (seven) port-a-jons at the start line. the line for each port-a-jon was 10+ people deep 10 minutes before the gun. A race this size should probably had triple the restroom availability. So we passed our first section on restrooms around mile 5. There were 3 restrooms, all occupied. Trying to hit a time goal, I opted to pass again. At mile 8, 1 more restroom occupied. Finally at about mile 10.5 after an hour and a half holding #1, I found an empty port-a-jon. Aside from this restroom hiccup, this was really a great race and well organized. The people of Huntsville are really proud of this race and it showed. It was an honor to run it.
J. S. from Fargo ND (12/31/2018) "Great race" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a great race in an interesting area. I like running a marathon this time of year because it gets you in good shape going into the holiday season and dead of winter. Take time to visit the space center when you're in town it's impressive. The southern food and hospitality were great as was the organization, area and venue. Beautiful course through historic lovingly restored neighborhoods, the space center and botanical gardens. The rain was cold and challenging but that is part of this outdoor sport. The course is moderately difficult with a hilly section through the gardens. The course has a lot of character to make it very interesting. I'm glad I did it. It's a good choice for 50 staters.
D. W. from Missouri (12/10/2018) "Marathon without a hitch" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Marathon without a hitch. Expo was small. Get your number. Look around. OK that is over. What is next kind of Expo. There was fresh fruit at no charge at the Expo. That was a plus. We had rain this year so it is what it is. There was plenty of shelter in the auditorium prior to the race and plenty of restrooms for a small race. Parking great at $5. Right across from the start and finish. Arrive around 530 for a great spot. The markings on the racecourse were good. Always a yellow marker for a turn and plenty of volunteers to make sure you were going the right way. Every mile you had a volunteer telling your time. I thought this was great until the 20th mile where you really do not care about your time unless you are trying to get to Boston. This is a no thrill marathon. The only excitement was the space center and that was nice. The rest of the no thrill marathon runs mostly in the local hosing subdivisions. So a runners race. Race shirt and medal average. Support after the race above average. Just an overall good race with great volunteers and a race director that cares about the runner.
T. E. from Alpharetta, GA (12/14/2017) "Fantastic Race" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great race. This is a small race (less than 2k runners), but so well organized and supported. Obviously running the big races (Chicago, RocknRolls) are fun and have great appeal to them, but to me running the full with so few people around you was a welcome change. From the start to finish the course is yours, plenty of separation from other runners, no jockeying in the corrals, just runners ready to go hit 26. The course is flat with enough rolling inclines to engage some other leg muscles to keep your legs in balance. Running through the rocket center was the highlight, really cool scenery, running right under the huge rockets was cool. Weather was cold to start, (30 degrees, warming up to 44), but that is really perfect running weather and was not even an issue. I was pleasantly surprised with the fan support and well stocked aid stations. The expo is small, quick and leaves you with more time to rest up the day before. You can wait inside the arena area before the start, which was a nice treat with the colder weather at the start of the race. Also, plenty of food/drink/soup and PBJs at the finish. Thanks to the race directors. I had heard for many years that this was a great race and I'm glad I finally ran it.
Eric Oldroyd from Minneapolis, Minnesota (12/13/2017) "Good course, lots of specators, lots of turns" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a good, well-organized race. I enjoyed being able to wait for the start indoors with plenty of space. Finishing inside was also great given it was below 40 degrees for the entire race. One benefit was that this race was a marathon only-there was no traffic jam with slower half-marathoners on the course. The course gave a good tour of the city, but after leaving downtown in the first half it felt like it just kept going around in circles without much to see until returning downtown. The second half was better with the space center and botanical gardens giving something interesting to see at the point in the race when you need a boost. There were also a lot of spectators. One guy dressed up as Elvis and sang Christmas songs as we passed through, although his neighbor held up signs for us to be sure we knew he wasn't pleased with the Elvis being so loud on his street. Post-race food was good with hot chicken noodle soup perfect for a slightly chilly day. I also liked the warming blankets that we can keep with a marathon logo on them-that's better than a disposable shiny reflective blanket. This was definitely a good choice for an Alabama race.
P. M. from A place, USA (12/13/2017) "Solid, well-run course" (about: 2017) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Very well organized with no shortage of pace groups despite the small size. If you sign up early it's super cheap - almost the price of a 10K these days. First half was great with good crowd support. The second half gets a little lonelier...despite the Rocket Center and Botanical Garden, there are a lot of long straightaways as the runners start to thin out, and the supporters become fewer and farther between. But it was great to finish indoors, especially on such a cold day. Rolling hills, nothing crazy...just a lot of turns, so you will probably technically end up running more than 26.2! They even gave out nice towels to go along with the medals - a nice touch!
S. S. from Memphis, TN (12/12/2017) "A very well organized race" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A very cold day for a race, but the race was very well organized, particularly the finish line, which moved runners through efficiently, giving them medals and blankets, and them leading them to a large spread of food that included fruit, bagels (plain or with peanut butter), and PBJ sandwiches. The course mostly winds through residential neighborhoods, but the section through the Rocket Center was particularly nice. Runners pass the space shuttle, various rockets, and an SR-71 and other military aircraft. There's a short section on packed gravel between the Rocket Center and Botanic Gardens, but otherwise the race is run on streets. The aid stations were well stocked, and there were several bands on the course playing music.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 29 > ]



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David Zajic from Huntsville (12/11/2023) "Another Great Race" (about: 2023) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Rocket City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The course was changed from the last time I ran this race and I really enjoyed the new route. This was the first year I've run the race with it having 2 half marathons simultaneous with the full. The result was many more participants and spectators on the course so more fun for me. There are a few major hills but nothing too hard. I highly recommend this new course.
T. Y. from Ohio (12/13/2022) "Fantastically well organized" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very good small to medium sized race (just over 900 finishers in 2022). Some rolling hills, about 750 feet of elevation gain according to my watch. First 16ish miles is a little boring through some neighborhoods, space and rocket center was nice and botanical gardens weren't too bad. Most roads were still at least partially open to traffic, but fortunately vehicles seemed aware/tolerant of runners' presence. Course support was good, aid stations averaging between 2 and 3 miles apart probably. Great signage alerting you to aid station coming up and mileage to the next porta-pottie. Post race food was pretty good (pizza, pbj, fruit, chocolate milk, salted potatoes and some other stuff I forget). A little wet this year so I was concerned about inside finish on smooth concrete venue hall floor, but they had thought to put grippy tape down the finish chute which was very nice. All in all a great race to check Alabama off your list if you're a 50 stater, great enthusiasm, thoughtfulness and communication from the race directors.
B. W. from Michigan (12/13/2022) "Little details make the race unique" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Expo: Not huge, but well organized. Good deals on old merch. Unique Details: I could purchase a spectator medal for my curbcrew. Also, race packet was in comic-book form that connected to the cool medal (it lights up!) Course: Some nice neighborhoods. It was cool to run around the space center with the rockets. Pacer was dead-even at the half and ran really consistently. Not a lot of spectators on the course, but the few were encouraging. It was easy for my curbcrew to navigate. Nice early start for those who needed it.
D. P. from Atlanta, GA (1/10/2020) "Fun Race" (about: 2019) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Overall this was a good race. I really liked that they had a volunteer yelling the current gun time at every single mile. There seemed to be plenty of parking in the area of the start line, which made getting to the race pretty easy. I have one major complaint that in my opinion in inexcusable. I believe this race had 1000+ runners for the marathon starting at 7am, yet they had 7 (seven) port-a-jons at the start line. the line for each port-a-jon was 10+ people deep 10 minutes before the gun. A race this size should probably had triple the restroom availability. So we passed our first section on restrooms around mile 5. There were 3 restrooms, all occupied. Trying to hit a time goal, I opted to pass again. At mile 8, 1 more restroom occupied. Finally at about mile 10.5 after an hour and a half holding #1, I found an empty port-a-jon. Aside from this restroom hiccup, this was really a great race and well organized. The people of Huntsville are really proud of this race and it showed. It was an honor to run it.
J. S. from Fargo ND (12/31/2018) "Great race" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a great race in an interesting area. I like running a marathon this time of year because it gets you in good shape going into the holiday season and dead of winter. Take time to visit the space center when you're in town it's impressive. The southern food and hospitality were great as was the organization, area and venue. Beautiful course through historic lovingly restored neighborhoods, the space center and botanical gardens. The rain was cold and challenging but that is part of this outdoor sport. The course is moderately difficult with a hilly section through the gardens. The course has a lot of character to make it very interesting. I'm glad I did it. It's a good choice for 50 staters.
D. W. from Missouri (12/10/2018) "Marathon without a hitch" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Marathon without a hitch. Expo was small. Get your number. Look around. OK that is over. What is next kind of Expo. There was fresh fruit at no charge at the Expo. That was a plus. We had rain this year so it is what it is. There was plenty of shelter in the auditorium prior to the race and plenty of restrooms for a small race. Parking great at $5. Right across from the start and finish. Arrive around 530 for a great spot. The markings on the racecourse were good. Always a yellow marker for a turn and plenty of volunteers to make sure you were going the right way. Every mile you had a volunteer telling your time. I thought this was great until the 20th mile where you really do not care about your time unless you are trying to get to Boston. This is a no thrill marathon. The only excitement was the space center and that was nice. The rest of the no thrill marathon runs mostly in the local hosing subdivisions. So a runners race. Race shirt and medal average. Support after the race above average. Just an overall good race with great volunteers and a race director that cares about the runner.
T. E. from Alpharetta, GA (12/14/2017) "Fantastic Race" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great race. This is a small race (less than 2k runners), but so well organized and supported. Obviously running the big races (Chicago, RocknRolls) are fun and have great appeal to them, but to me running the full with so few people around you was a welcome change. From the start to finish the course is yours, plenty of separation from other runners, no jockeying in the corrals, just runners ready to go hit 26. The course is flat with enough rolling inclines to engage some other leg muscles to keep your legs in balance. Running through the rocket center was the highlight, really cool scenery, running right under the huge rockets was cool. Weather was cold to start, (30 degrees, warming up to 44), but that is really perfect running weather and was not even an issue. I was pleasantly surprised with the fan support and well stocked aid stations. The expo is small, quick and leaves you with more time to rest up the day before. You can wait inside the arena area before the start, which was a nice treat with the colder weather at the start of the race. Also, plenty of food/drink/soup and PBJs at the finish. Thanks to the race directors. I had heard for many years that this was a great race and I'm glad I finally ran it.
Eric Oldroyd from Minneapolis, Minnesota (12/13/2017) "Good course, lots of specators, lots of turns" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a good, well-organized race. I enjoyed being able to wait for the start indoors with plenty of space. Finishing inside was also great given it was below 40 degrees for the entire race. One benefit was that this race was a marathon only-there was no traffic jam with slower half-marathoners on the course. The course gave a good tour of the city, but after leaving downtown in the first half it felt like it just kept going around in circles without much to see until returning downtown. The second half was better with the space center and botanical gardens giving something interesting to see at the point in the race when you need a boost. There were also a lot of spectators. One guy dressed up as Elvis and sang Christmas songs as we passed through, although his neighbor held up signs for us to be sure we knew he wasn't pleased with the Elvis being so loud on his street. Post-race food was good with hot chicken noodle soup perfect for a slightly chilly day. I also liked the warming blankets that we can keep with a marathon logo on them-that's better than a disposable shiny reflective blanket. This was definitely a good choice for an Alabama race.
P. M. from A place, USA (12/13/2017) "Solid, well-run course" (about: 2017) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Very well organized with no shortage of pace groups despite the small size. If you sign up early it's super cheap - almost the price of a 10K these days. First half was great with good crowd support. The second half gets a little lonelier...despite the Rocket Center and Botanical Garden, there are a lot of long straightaways as the runners start to thin out, and the supporters become fewer and farther between. But it was great to finish indoors, especially on such a cold day. Rolling hills, nothing crazy...just a lot of turns, so you will probably technically end up running more than 26.2! They even gave out nice towels to go along with the medals - a nice touch!
S. S. from Memphis, TN (12/12/2017) "A very well organized race" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rocket City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A very cold day for a race, but the race was very well organized, particularly the finish line, which moved runners through efficiently, giving them medals and blankets, and them leading them to a large spread of food that included fruit, bagels (plain or with peanut butter), and PBJ sandwiches. The course mostly winds through residential neighborhoods, but the section through the Rocket Center was particularly nice. Runners pass the space shuttle, various rockets, and an SR-71 and other military aircraft. There's a short section on packed gravel between the Rocket Center and Botanic Gardens, but otherwise the race is run on streets. The aid stations were well stocked, and there were several bands on the course playing music.

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Marathon Details - Rocket City Marathon