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Jul 5, 2024

Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.6

Organization 3.3

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 203 [displaying comments 111 to 121]

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G. G. from Sarasota, FL (12/2/2008) "Great Inaugural Event - But Bag the Busses" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my ninth marathon this year, and I would rank it about 4th on the list. I definitely enjoyed it more than Nashville. San Antonio is a nice venue and staying on the Riverwalk makes food, drink and entertainment at your fingertips. Another solid Elite event. They have excellent communications and packet pickup was a breeze. (The reason that I give them 3-stars for organization is detailed below.) The expo was very good and the speakers did a good job. We skipped the pasta dinner and did the pasta bar at Chaps Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk on Saturday evening. Great salads and pasta - all you can eat for $12.95! This event just reinforced two Elite flaws - one of them major - and one other complaint. (Incidentally, the two flaws are the only things they don't survey the runners on....) DON'T EVER TAKE THEIR SHUTTLE BUSES!!! Same nightmares as what happened in Nashville. They even had to delay the race by 20 minutes or so. Getting back to downtown after the race was even worse... so we just walked. (Just what you want to have to do after running a marathon.) The other complaint is their cheap T-shirt. I understand the idea is to get you to buy all their "logoware." Fine, just give us a decent technical T or even a long-sleeve cotton similar to Marine Corps. Their freebie will never get worn... doesn't do much to "advertise" the event to the other runners in our area. My complaint, which was rectified within a week, was that my D-Tag did not register a time when I crossed the finish. It also didn't pick up my 6.1 time. It also missed the 6.1 split time of a friend of mine (not running with me). I also ran Marine Corps with my wife, where it didn't pick up her 30K time. As I said, Elite corrected it quickly (had a photo of me at finish with D-Tag on and clock in photo), but it sure took some luster off the rose. The course was really nice. Hills weren't bad at all, except for the Marine Corps-style hill at the finish. The crowds were bigger and more vocal than I expected - especially for a first time event. A word to the wise: if you aren't in one of the first five or six corrals, don't waste time in the porta-john line. As the gun nears, you can zip out of your corral, run to one of a million empty porta-johns and be back in a flash. All you miss is standing in the corral for three or four minutes. I like the corral start. Having run three marathons with over 30K runners, it sure is less hectic at the start. Additionally you get a chance to talk to some people you ultimately run with for the next few hours. Remember, if you are in a later corral it takes almost 2 minutes per corral to get to the starting line. MY BEST ADVICE: get a ride to the start (cab?) and plan to get to your corral no earlier than about the time the gun goes off. I backed up to corral 23 to run with our group - it took 42.5 minutes to get to the start. Water and aid stations were sufficient and well staffed. There were no oranges on the course thank goodness, like there was in Nashville. There it was a slippery disaster. I absolutely recommend this event. The city and the people are great. I would do it again, if I didn't have 43 more states to go....
David Trevino from Arlington, VA (12/1/2008) "I enjoyed the San Antonio Marathon" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 After reading some comments on the event being too big, the course, and hills, I offer this: (1) Well, if anyone thinks that the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is too big, you better not sign-up for the Marine Corps Marathon, NYC Marathon, Chicago, London (just to name a few) because these are just as big in attendance, or bigger. (If you haven't made it to Boston yet (working on getting your qualifier), Boston is just as big; however, making it to Boston one quickly loses sight on the magnitude of the whole event because you made it to Boston!). Don't get me wrong, I strongly recommend all of the events that I have mentioned, but for those who apparently prefer smaller events, I like to help in your decision making, but staying away from them will only make you regret down the road. (2) As for the course - hate to break the news to you, but not all courses are going to be the same. (3) The hill at the end... if this bothered anyone, you may want to consider not signing up for the Marine Corps Marathon. The very end is running up a hill. (If you haven't incorporated hill repeats in your training event, you may want to consider this.) I thought that the whole San Antonio experience, from checking into the hotel, to the expo, to race day, and even the post-race refreshments went fine. As for those who did not get a race shirt, than this is something that the race organizers will need to look into. As in other facets of life, mistakes will be made, and disappointments will be encountered - deal with it; life is too short. My wife and I had a good time in San Antonio, as well as all the other racing events that we have gone to - each one has their own storyline.
Mark Johnson from Plano, Texas (11/30/2008) "Good job, but room to improve" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I had never been in a marathon this large, and the hassles leading up to the race were many: long wait to get my rental car, long wait to get into the expo late Saturday afternoon, long wait in traffic to park, long drive to the start and more long waits for portable toilets and bag check-in. But from the time I made it to my corral until I got in another long line for the return bus to my car, everything was terrific: nearly perfect weather, the staggered start, the mostly flat course, the music and cheering squads, and first-rate fans. The course became more boring the farther we got from town, but what can you do? It's San Antonio, not NYC. And many of my problems before the race were self-inflicted. Arriving mid-afternoon Saturday was not such a good idea, and I could have left my hotel earlier, as well. That said, this is the rare point-to-point race that requires TWO bus rides, so you're going to do some standing around. Maybe the smartest thing I did was get a low-priced hotel by the airport and rent a car. Rooms out there seemed to be plentiful; I booked mine just a few weeks before the race. The drive downtown from the airport is only about 15 minutes. Obviously, the organizers messed up with the downtown buses, but everything else seemed quite organized and efficient. The volunteers were helpful and friendly. Two other minor complaints: The food at the finish was a disappointment. It was OK, but nothing special. (Where was race sponsor, Subway?) At the Cape Cod Marathon, we got pasta and chowder. Nothing hot and fresh made here. Also, I missed not getting a finisher's shirt. Good job, San Antonio. But five stars? Sorry!
P. L. from Houston, TX (11/30/2008) "Okay for first one, room for improvement" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The good: Marathon day weather was nice; Wave start system (even better than Houston); Friendly volunteers; Lots of water and Cytomax stations; Very nice city; Fans. The bad: Overall organization; Shuttle system; No free finisher/technical shirts; Finishing area too crowd - hard to get in and out; Hill at the finish - would love to have last few miles generally flat or downhill instead of uphill, such as in Austin or Houston; Not as much music as expected.
T. P. from Texas (11/30/2008) "Better off going somewhere else" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I'd rank this as the lowest of the big marathons I've done. Shuttles to the start were a pain, bag drop and pick-up areas were a nightmare, and the finish area was congested. It's an R'n'R event; what happened to all of the promised entertainment? Essentially zero fan/entertainment support from miles 14 to 20. If you were not downtown, then forget about it. Lastly, I hope Cytomax paid a bundle as a sponsor because they deserve an award for providing the nastiest-tasting beverage ever. What happened to readily available, good, ol' Gatorade?
B. B. from Baton Rouge, LA (11/29/2008) "I hope this great start continues" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was an amazing race. I love the Elite Racing organization. The people were friendly and supportive no matter where you are from. I only wish my feet didn't blister up so badly or I would have qualified for Boston. This race was fast and pretty flat and it was very pretty. Again, great fan support and an awesome water staff. My only problem with the race was the post-race shuttle service, but I understand that there was a lot of people and it was handled as best as possible.
M. B. from Gimli, Canada (11/26/2008) "Good, bad and ugly" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Good: When there were fans along the course they were awesome; the volunteers were extraordinary; the food at the end wonderful; the medical tent helpful; pre-race information was excellent. Felt like everything was going to go off without a hitch. Bad: For a Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, we sure seemed to hit a lot of bands on their breaks - what's up with that?! No technical T-shirt - are you kidding me? Ugly: The hill at mile 26 is just plain mean.
K. L. from San Antonio, Texas (11/25/2008) "Great Event" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My wife and I had a great experience. The turnout was huge, so we got to the parking at the AT&T Center early. We're glad we did, as we didn't experience the traffic jam; our review might not be so positive if we had. The start area was great, with free bagels, water and sports drink (Disney charged for any refreshments at the start area). The corral system was a good idea. I didn't notice the turns as being a problem. The course was a big improvement over the SA course in '05. Support on the course was great. The later stages of the course saw the fans thin out, but I never felt like they were completely absent - very supportive throughout. The snacks at the finish were well stocked. The expo was nice and getting my packet was a breeze - a lot faster than other marathons I've been too. I agree that the t-shirt was pretty cheap; I guess that is supposed to be an incentive for us to buy more stuff. Overall, a good event and I plan to be back.
K. R. from Des Plaines, IL (11/25/2008) "Disappointing" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Things got off to a pretty poor start at the expo. It was way too crowded. We neded up leaving because you couldn't maneuver the tight walkways. Then came the shuttle to the race. There has to be a better way than what they did. It took us over an hour to get 2 miles. The race itself was good for the first half until we split from the half-marathoners. The second half was desolate and sparsely populated with spectators. All in all, they need to get their act together. I also had an issue with my timing chip, which did not record my time. I emailed the administrators to ask how I can receive credit for finishing and the email has not been answered.
T. G. from Lincolnshire, England (11/25/2008) "Great experience start to finish" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Visiting from the UK to run this marathon, I found the organization to be faultless, support fantastic (better than anything here other than the London Marathon), and the bands and course great - not crowded (unlike London). I got a 30-minute PR and qualified for Boston to top it all off. I have run marathons in New Zealand and Canada, among others, and this was definitely the better organized and had the best expo. I thought that the t-shirt was eye-catching, and it fits - here we usually get a third-rate shirt, often in just one size! With regard to the shuttle bus issue mentioned by others, we arrived at the bus stop about 5:40 and had no problems. I always try to arrive at a race start at least an hour prior to gun time, and merely planned ahead to allow for the number of other participants - after all, if you have put the training in, you don't want to spoil the race by being late. My husband ran the half-marathon and he too found the experience a huge improvement on UK races. San Antonio itself was fantastic, a jewel in Texas' crown. We're now looking for another US marathon to match this.

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