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Jun 30, 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 171 to 181]

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T. G. from San Antonio, TX (11/18/2008) "OK Course for the 1/2" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I ran the 1/2 marathon for this race and so cannot comment on the full. The organization that went into this race was excellent considering the fact that they had 30,000 runners, and all of the volunteers were awesome. Drink stations were well placed, although it would have been nice for them to put signs up high so you could see them coming. I'm not so sure they should call this a Rock and Roll marathon. I saw maybe 8 bands and all but one of them just had music playing through the speakers with an empty stage. Spectators were minimal; many thanks to the few that did show up to cheer us on! The course was OK and only had a few hills, though the one at the last 0.2 miles was not appreciated by most folks coming in. The route left a lot to be desired. At one point we were running through a junky neighborhood for a mile or so. The roads were also pretty narrow for a good portion of the run and so we were always running in a crowd. If you live in San Antonio or close by, then this is an OK event to go to, but I would have been very upset if I would have flown in just for this race. Oh, and having to pay $10 to park at the expo just to pick up the race packet was a joke! This was not a cheap race to enter and I feel that this is the one area where race organizers really dropped the ball.
Ron Stefani from Round Rock, Texas (11/18/2008) "RnRSA Under-delivers" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Let me first state that I was not well-trained for RnRSA, which was my 10th marathon; and my pre-race organization was about the same as usual. Those biases put aside, this one really under-delivered on what was promised. The directions to the free shuttle were incorrect; the wait to get a shuttle to get back to your car was reported to be as long as 4 hours in some cases. The materials said there would be 50 bands along the course. There were maybe 15, perhaps 20 at the most. This was detrimental to my race plan, which was to go slow and listen to the tunes that I've heard so much about at these RnR races. I had run San Antonio (only about a 90-minute drive for me) twice before and vowed to never return because of piss-poor organization. However, when I heard the RnR folks took it over, I thought all would be OK. Wrong again for the third time! I think it just boils down to the fact that San Antonio has always been and will continue to be a small town that just has a lot of people in it. The people were courteous - I will give them that - but I think, in general, the city infrastructure and personnel just can't support something this large. Maybe cap the race at 10,000 people.
Mick Stamm from Abilene, Texas (11/18/2008) "Enjoyed the historic aspect of the Alamo and area." (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This is my second marathon. The race itself was wonderful; the weather could not have been better. The course was well staffed, with an abundance of water and aid stations as well as porta-potties. Locally, I very much enjoyed the San Antonio Riverwalk - the flora and fauna, as well as the historic sites. I had a good time and finished 53 minutes and 58 seconds quicker than my last marathon (February '08 - Austin). Thank you for the run! Challenges: when leaving the area, runners were required to walk down a long set of stairs - then up another set of stairs again to depart the area (Aggh!). Oops, I forgot! This course has a sadistic surprise in the last quarter-mile. Safety hazards: The finisher's area situation was a catastrophe waiting to happen in regard to crowd control. People were coming in faster from the race and to rejoin their families than they were able to leave. Porta-potties and UPS trucks lined up in tight rows, forming blockades that blocked natural exit paths. This resulted in overcrowding. What available exit paths that did exist were bottle-necked with spectators, who were allowed in the finish area and on the exit stairs.
E. N. from Houston, TX (11/18/2008) "ridiculous" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Waited one hour to get off the freeway. Got to the street and saw there was a signal that was not being directed by police. It was 6:00 in the morning and there was no other traffic. Once we got to the AT&T Center, we waited ANOTHER HOUR to get on the shuttle to start. Started 86 minutes late due to delays. Most of the route was way too narrow for the number of runners. Afterward you could not even move in the glut of runners. To top off the whole mess, there was not even a finisher's shirt - just a cotton tee in the goody bag from the expo. Ripoff.
Mark Brooks from Suwannee, Ga (11/18/2008) "With time it should get better" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 You have to realize this was their first attempt. As such, it was a decent effort. There is much to commend San Antonio for. Great spirit and good volunteers. They need to do a better job with the logistics at the end. The course is fairly easy but lacks shade for most of the later part of the marathon. You also have an uphill climb to the finish line that begins at mile 26! I think they will work out the bugs they had this year and next year will be better.
B. L. from Houston, Texas (11/18/2008) "Every phase of the race was very good." (about: 2008) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run this race starting in 1982. I've seen it grow from 2,000 runners to over 25,000, and it's still handled in a highly professional manner. This is a must-run race for me. The water stations, medical tents, and bands all made this a great event. It can only get better for 2009.
l. r. from Texas (11/18/2008) "Wow! Elite pulled it off!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I am from SA and have run the old SA Marathon a few times. I had never run an RnR Marathon before. I signed up despite my fear of warm weather - which can happen here - to see what this first RnR SA would be like. Wow! I worried that the course would be too crowded and too narrow, and that it would be tough to get enough volunteers out to support such a large first time event. From where I was in corral 8, no problems. Plenty of space to run, and no troubles with volunteers. The expo was huge, with lots of stuff to buy. People especially loved the RnR-branded merchandise. It did get crowded, and you did have to pay for parking, which I didn't like. I came early and got dropped off at the start line, so I can't speak to the shuttle situation. The local paper said there were problems - I'm guessing because people waited until the last minute to come. If you come, allow plenty of time to get to the start line. Just common sense, but here in SA people seem to like to wait for the last minute. Corrals were clearly marked and there was no problem getting on pace quickly. The course is pretty good. The interesting sights are right at the beginning, the first five miles, with some pretty houses in the first half, too. The second half has the missions, but also some not-so-pretty scenery, and fewer spectators. Hills? Not really. It isn't flat, but the only real rises are on the east/west street after downtown, a few short ones in the park area after 18, and that last mean 0.2 at the end into the Alamodome. One funny touch: there was ice in the Cytomax! I can't say I have ever had ice in my sports drink at a race before. Bands were fine. Not as dense with music as I would have hoped. The concert after was quite good. No charge for parking then! San Antonio is a great place to visit, with lots of restaurants and things to see and do close to downtown. This is a strong destination marathon for that reason. I thought it was a strong showing for a large (30,000) inaugural marathon. I am sure the bugs with the shuttles will get worked out. Just beware the weather! We were lucky this year with cool temps, but that isn't always the case.
Janie Arroyo from Dallas, TX (11/18/2008) "Great EVENT!" (about: 2008) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Thank you to San Antonio for allowing me to achieve my goal of completing my first marathon. Packet pick up was an easy and very well organized process. There were volunteers always to assist you and direct you in the right direction. Souvenirs were pricey, but everything is expensive nowadays. Weather was perfect. I prepared "AHEAD OF TIME" with warmers to throw away. In my opinion, corrals were a good idea... I've been in events without corrals and you could barely breathe, with people stepping all over you. The BEST thing that made this event happen were the wonderful, generous, smiling VOLUNTEERS!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. We couldn't have done this without them. It was amazing. THANK YOU to the BANDS that kept us going. THANK YOU to the beautiful CROWD that supported us for 26.2 miles. If there was a quiet area, oh well; it is understandable that there were many road closures that happy and anxious supporters could overcome. I trained without BANDS playing along the way, so it wasn't any different. It is GREATLY appreciated that the BANDS hung out there playing for many hours for us to keep it going. Ok, this UPHILL near the finish line some runners complaining about, c'mon... if you are running a marathon or half marathon, we must prepare for any terrain and check elevation before registering. We had goodies at the finish line, enough for recovery. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE SPONSORS. Traffic is always expected for any race event; I decided to cab it and planned ahead of time to arrive earlier and beat the crowds. There was a band playing at the finish line. I sat down to stretch, wait for the crowd to clear up and enjoy my complimentary BEER and took a cab back to my Bed and Breakfast. Overall, I am satisfied and still have a smile. I'm thankful for all of the people who made this happen. THANK YOU, SAN ANTONIO!!!!! Yes, I would do this again.
j. v. from The Great State of Dallas (11/18/2008) "Another Good Elite event" (about: 2008) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was a flat race. We lucked out and had good weather, a first for me at San Antonio. There were more rest stops and porta-potties that I have seen on a course. Good numbers of spectators too! I missed running by as many missions as last year. They had some super glitch in the buses after the race, but once that was fixed I just walked up to a bus. The buses worked great in the morning, but if you come to any large race "late," you will be so stuck in traffic and lines that you will make you hate the race. Come early like they suggest and the system works perfectly! Not sure what happened in the afternoon, but I was waiting for a slow runner and there nothing but tons of food left and no lines for anything! Great job to support the slow runners so well! San Antonio is still a great place for a short vacation. A very walkable tourist area right next to the expo and dining. We got a very nice medal, and, for Elite, a nice shirt. Elite has marginal race shirts, but the rest of their operation is top-notch. Why they can't make a good shirt is beyond me. It is a full-priced race; give us a shirt worthy of that price. But still, it was better than most Elite shirts, though it was still just okay at best. Oh yes, there were tons of bands... never worry about that in a Rock 'n' Roll event. Lots of well stocked rest stops, lots of bands, and plenty to eat and drink afterward. Elite puts on a first-class race. This was no exception.
C. M. from Ft Lauderdale, FL (11/18/2008) "Great city/expo/pasta party/challenging course" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I enjoyed my short stay in San Antonio. The expo was great! The course was not "fast and flat" as advertised because there were several challenging hills and many turns. The only thing that I really didn't care for was the lack of organization they showed in transporting runners to the start line - their own buses were delayed and we almost missed the start.

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