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☰
Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.8 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 401 [displaying comments 201 to 211]
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B. C. from New Jersey
(1/20/2007)
"Great Event From Start to Finish" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great organization from the time I registered right through the post-race celebration. The expo had plenty to offer and was well staffed. I highly recommend staying at the Hampton Inn in Tempe near the finish. They could not do enough for you. Breakfast at 4:30 a.m., grab & go bags, water bottles, and a shuttle right to the start. We had to wait at the start less than 1 hour. The hotel had shuttles waiting at the finish! The scenery was great - and coming from New Jersey, this was quite a change. Loved the bands, the crowd support, and Spenco sandles at the end! Qualified for Boston again! Super job, Rock-n-Roll!! | |
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L. S. from Alaska
(1/20/2007)
"Met my expectations" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I liked the expo. Lots of vendors and not too crowded. We stayed at one of the hotels that offered a shuttle and had a very smooth experience. Start line area was fine - it could have had a few more port-o-lets, but we made it through the lines in plenty of time. Some parts of the course were less than scenic, but kind of expected that with an urban marathon. Was pleasantly surprised by how pretty some of the course was. Loved the stretch going toward Camelback Mountain. The course was totally flat and we were able to start running pretty quickly from the start. No real congestion spots and aid stations were well manned and easy to get through. Finish area was a bit crowded and we waited quite a long time to have picture taken and get food. Good selection of food made up for the wait. Loved the pretzels and salty foods available as well as the usual post-race food. Only downside to this race (other than the cold weather) was the fans. A few really great fans, but most seemed only there to cheer for either one runner or TNT. Really disappointed by all the people who were standing on the sidelines not cheering at all or only cheering for the TNT runners. Many sections of the course were literally lined with spectators who were just standing there looking at you and not making any noise at all. | |
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d. c. from la habra, california
(1/19/2007)
"Flat, but boring; need more porta-johns" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first RNRAZ Marathon. I liked the flat course, but it was boring. Maybe when they finish the major road construction in the downtown Phoenix area, they can make the course better. The current course goes through some not-so-nice areas in Phoenix, especially in the first 5 miles. I noticed we ran by a lot of check-cashing places and pawn shops. The course does get a little better once we turn onto Camelback Road and run past Camelback Mountian. Also going through downtown Scottsdale was nice too. They need to have a lot more porta-johns on the course. At the halfway point of the marathon, I had to go into a Shell gas station to use the restroom, when there were no porta-johns on that part of the course. As for the marathon organization, I thought it was well organized. The expo was nice. The fluid stations were well stocked. I had no problem getting fluids. I liked the marathon T-shirts a lot and the finisher medal was nice. They hand out a lot of food after the marathon. It was also nice to get that $10 gift card from PF Chang's Restaurant. I don't know if I would do this marathon again, but this is a good marathon for a first-timer because of its flat course and because it's not too large of a marathon. Just put out some more porta-johns. | |
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M. A. from Toronto, Canada
(1/18/2007)
"Bigger Races Are Not Always Better!!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The wait lines for the shuttle bus was ridiculous! We gave ourselves plenty of time so as not to be late for the half marathon. We were adequately dressed in running shorts for the race, but inadequately dressed for standing around in line for an hour waiting for these elusive shuttle buses! I was becoming mildly hypothermic when the buses finally showed up and eventually got us to the race start, 20 minutes after our wave had left! At least we had our race chip to record our time, or so we thought. After the race and upon checking the chip time results online, another SNAFU! The time chip results were not recorded! Due to an "unprecedented power surge" at the finish line, some of the half marathoners would not be able to find their official time results. The full marathoners didn't seem to suffer these inadequacies, and understandably enjoyed their experience more. The course was mediocre. At $75+ USD, I wouldn't recommend this race. With over 38,000 runners, bigger races are not always better. We did, however, enjoy the expo, and all Arizona has to offer its tourists. | |
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C. K. from San Francisco, CA
(1/18/2007)
"Flat, Fast, Ugly and Quiet" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Thanks to this site, we avoided the shuttles entirely and arranged our own transportation for race day. Expo was pretty good, and had some decent deals. The preferred corrals were only a few yards behind the elites so those trying to go for a fast time had little in their way out of the gate. The course was flat, fast, and cool (30 degrees f - brrr!) on this day. Water stops were well spaced and stocked. The course was massively wide, which eliminated the typical water stop traffic jam you get in bigger races through more urban settings. The finish was neat, as you rounded the final corner to the colorful finish line and quickly through to the roomy post-race corral. The course itself is UGLY. This is not a scenic city and proves it along every mile. Strip mall, trailer park, mall, housing development, strip mall, etc. Spectators are sparse, even at the prime cheering spots. Running a course INTO the rising sun seems sort of counter-intuitive, but hey, so does living in the middle of a desert with snakes and scorpions, so what do I know? The town does not really get behind this race the way Chicago, Boston, New York or even San Francisco do. Food at the finish was pretty thin. Tempe restaurants afterward were packed and full of NFL playoffs viewers - TONS of already tipsy double-chinned meatheads upset with all of the runners. Decent food is tough to find in the area, mostly only chain restaurants, but those are available in spades. All in all, I'm glad I did this race, but I'm glad this trip was all on points and miles, because paying full-pop would not be worth it. | |
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Keith Mars from Phoenix, AZ
(1/18/2007)
"My Fastest Marathon in 4 Years" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I'm happy that I live in a town that has a great marathon course. If you love point-to-point, flat courses, then this is for you. About 2/3's of the 30K runners who show up for this event do the 1/2, so the marathon isn't as crowded as, say, Chicago or LA. In fact, they keep the 1/2'ers on a separate course, which I appreciate as a marathoner. Excellent organization, fast course, nice destination marathon. Secrets to success: Have someone drop you off at the start line and pick you up at the finish. DON'T do the shuttles. Put this on your calender as a Boston qualifier - you won't be disappointed. After doing 15 marathons, it's easy to spot the good ones, and my compliments and thanks go out to the Phoenix organizers. See you next year! | |
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A. s. from North Carolina
(1/18/2007)
"Exceeded my expectations!" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 After running over 50 marathons, I wasn't sure what to expect from a marathon of this size (I usually prefer smaller races, with the exception of races like Boston, which are legendary). The race was exceptionally well managed and I was pleased with the logistics for a race with this size (and with half marathoners to boot). All the hydration you could need - just be wise in your training and do a little research to see what will be offered. Accelerade is probably not my first choice, but nothing I cannot plan around. And they had plenty of hydration, which is really the only critical factor. Expo was way too crowded for me, but well managed and to be expected when every runner brings multiple family members. Par for the course with this type of marathon, so again no complaints. Course was better than I expected after reading some comments from years past. No Sedona, but for an urban marathon it was quite pretty. Lots of fan support and helpful police/volunteers. Finish line logistics were perfect, as were the shuttles. My only mistake was getting there too early and standing out in the cold too long... but that was my mistake. I'm sure with warmer weather this would not have been an issue, and we can't fault anyone for the chilly temperatures. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a solidly- run marathon this time of year in a hot climate. Great job, race volunteers and organizers! | |
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D. B. from Chicago, USA
(1/18/2007)
"This was my first and last PF Chang Marathon" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The 2007 Pf Chang Marathon was my 6th marathon. I have run Chicago four times and Miami once. I was very disspointed with the overall experience. First of all, I think it is disappointing to have 2 separate courses for the marathon and the half. If you are a spectator and have friends/family in both races, it is impossible to see them both. There were 14 of us from Chicago running this event and most of us had a very negative experience. The shuttle experience in the morning was very poorly planned. Several in our group did not get to the half start on time due to delays. The course was so boring and didn't showcase the potential beauty of the area. On the course, the fans were sparse. If the directors combined the two courses, you would immediately double your fan volume. The "Rock n Roll" feeling didn't have much rock OR roll. The water stations and those who volunteered did a very nice job. They were very supportive. The drink was too sweet. Post-race was a nightmare. Whoever thought of using the alphabet rather than race numbers? Obviously, some letter sequences will be much more common than others. Some lines had two or three people waiting, others had 75-100 waiting. Friends of mine waited over an hour to get their gear. Try doing that when your pores are open to the cold temp. You need to get long, expansive booths, with a small range of numbers. Just call the Lasalle Chicago Marathon and ask them how they do it. They also have 40,000 finishers and seem to get it done. Bottom line: I will not return, nor will any of my friends. | |
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R. K. from Tucson
(1/18/2007)
"Good course and great fan base" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is a great first-timer marathon course. It's dead flat and there are tons of fans along the way, yelling and cheering you on - especially if you were a Team in Training participant. Plenty of water stops where they needed to be with sports drink and water - they always had sports drink up front and water at the end of the stop so it was really easy to get what you wanted. Plenty of port-o-johns along the way - again, where you needed them. All the hotels recommended were supportive of the runners and helped out with whatever you needed. Very well organized, except: transportation shuttles from the hotels to the start was a little late getting started and some folks got started late. | |
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C. E. from Brooklyn, NY
(1/18/2007)
"Cold, flat, and devoid of enthusiasm" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I came from New York to run a spirited, warm race. Starting in 31-degree temperatures, I ended up with a toe-freezing, boring romp through a visually untantalizing course with only a handful of uninterested spectators. Even for "veteran" marathoners, I would not recommend this as a "fun" race to feed the addiction. It's flat, indeed. Except for the friendly volunteers, who were wonderful, this race has little to offer except a great post-race concert. I love the Gin Blossoms, so they helped make up for the marathon itself. :) Also, don't use their bag check. They hadn't organized the numbers in the trucks so it took hours to get our belongings. Hint, hint. |
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