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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 181 to 191]

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S. W. from Gilbert, AZ (11/17/2008) "San Antonio Rocks..." (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Let's start at the expo. I thought it one of the better ones of late. The locals were Texas friendly - no surprise - and it was a smooth experience getting bib and goody bag. Lots of booths and freebies for all. Well done... I was at the first RNR Arizona, so I expected the bus ride to the start to be a challenge, and it was. We were at our shuttle area plenty early, thinking we would avoid it, but that was not the case. The good news is that I hear the busing problems were solved after the first year in AZ and I suspect they will be in San Antonio as well. As bad as the transportation was, the porta-pot situation was equally frustrating at the starting area. Not a square to spare - in fact, there was not a square of toilet paper to be found anywhere. Let me just say that an awful lot of the free gloves from Verizon Wireless never made it to the starting line. The ladies were especially displeased, to say the least. The porta-pots at the finish area also suffered the same resupply failures. Hopefully this too will be reviewed and staffing assigned to resupply these treasured palaces of plastic. God bless Verizon Wireless; they gave us what turned out to be actually a great goody bag item for late and early season races, and for unexpected emergencies. As is most often the case, the volunteers and the crowd support make the event and San Antonio did itself proud. Like some, I tend to zone out and go to my happy place, but I sure saw a lot of great support. At least we are moving and getting warm, but the bands, volunteers and crowd support get a big thanks for doing their thing in the early cold. I heard a few complain about cups being too full at several water stops, but I can deal with that. The devil is always in the details, and this too will be refined I'm sure. I guess I never had the speed to be upset about a cup being too full, but I get it. A few road surfaces were suspect and I saw one small missing utility cover, but everyone was warning each other. The crowds outside the Alamodome were impressive. The finish area was the best supplied one I have seen in a long time. H-E-B and all the folks handing out all the food and drink get a special thanks - very well done. The question I have is: was it only me or did others have no time for the event with the new style chip? I found it easy to use but I didn't receive a time for the day. I think this could be avoided by having us pass by a sensor at the expo like we do with the older style plastic chip to make sure it's working. Bottom line for me is that I think this race is going to explode. With a year in the books and time to refine a few things, the upside for this event is huge. With all of the first-rate attractions, restaurants and hotels downtown, hold on, San Antonio; you are creating a potential monster of an event. - SW
J. M. from San Antonio, Texas (11/17/2008) "What a Fantastic Inaugural Event" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my third marathon in San Antonio and what a difference Elite Racing has made. In addition to drawing 25,000 runners, they improved the course, expo, and course support. The only logistics concern was the shuttles to the starting line and return from the race finish to the parking area. This needs to be addressed before next year. Except for a small hill at mile five, the course was relatively flat. The first ten miles wove through downtown San Antonio and were very scenic. The next five miles went by missions in San Antonio, which were interesting. From 16 - 22 it got a little boring but the race ended at the Alamodome where there was lots of fan support. The course support was exceptional, especially for the size of this race. There was plenty of water and volunteers at every race station. New Balance supported the race by providing cold, red sponges at mile 19. Although the day was cool, it helped me get ready for the final seven miles. There are some areas that need improvement but I still give the entire event five stars so runners can plan for next year.
J. S. from Pennsylvania, United States (11/17/2008) "Frustrating start, excellent finish" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 While the course, crowd enthusiasm and post-race organization were great, the pre-race traffic jam and lack of organization getting people to the start of the race were frustrating. We left at 5:45 a.m., expecting to get to the AT&T Center by 6:15 a.m. We then figured the shuttle would get us to the start by 6:30 - 6:45. The race started at 7:30 a.m., but unfortunately, we did not get to the starting line until 8:10 a.m. I was to start in Corral #6, but had to start with the Corral #20 runners. It was difficult weaving through all of the slower runners for 11 miles. After the half-marathoners split from us at mile 11, I thought the race was top-notch.
K. G. from USA (11/17/2008) "Need for More Buses" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The course and workers did a great job. The number of people trying to get on limited buses was disappointing. Many missed the start time.
T. H. from San Antonio, TX (11/17/2008) "Great race - bad traffic" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 With over 30K runners, we overran the freeway system. I live about 10 minutes away from the starting line and was concerned that allowing 50 minutes wasn't enough. In the end, all worked out okay, but from word of mouth, some people seem to have missed the official start.
D. L. from Houston, Texas (11/17/2008) "Met my low expectations" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I'm very surprised there aren't any comments here yet. Given the transition from small to huge marathon, I knew there would be some hiccups. However, between the long wait picking up my number, the long wait trying to get to the start, the lack of toilet paper in any of the 5 porta-johns I opened, excessive walking to and from the event, poorly planned water stops, the lack of bands and the terrible disorganization at the finish line, I have very little nice to say about this event. What went well? The weather was ideal! But then again, the Rock n Roll Marathon folks didn't have a hand in that, now did they?
DC in KC from Kansas City (11/17/2008) "Mixed Memories" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This marathon left me with mixed feelings. On balance, San Antonio under-delivered. The bright spots were well done but overshadowed by some bad choices and poor delivery. On the good, the bus shuttle to the starting line was well-organized and the wave start went very well. Liquids were plenteous and the volunteers were tremendous. Thanks, volunteers! The first half of the marathon was wonderfully picturesque, as we wove our way through some beautiful sections of downtown. These areas were fairly well-populated by spectators. On the bad, my biggest disappointment was the lack of bands on the course. The marathon literature proclaimed 70 bands and non-stop entertainment. This could not be further from reality. I MAY have seen 15-20 bands. This certainly doesn't qualify as non-stop. Although I genuinely appreciate the ones that turned out, the spectators after mile 10 were very sparse. This was one of the pre-race knocks on the San Antonio community that turned out to be true. The second half of the course was desolate and unenjoyable. There were significantly better options for the last half of the course than the one chosen. The pick-up for the shuttle back to parking was entirely too far from the finish line, where all of the exhausted runners were and we were forced to walk down then back up long series of stairs then half a mile away to board while empty buses sat 6 feet away from us most of the walk. The wonderful air conditioned tour buses that took us to the start were replaced by yellow school buses without air. This was bad form. While I understand that a marathon isn't supposed to be painless, we all (well almost all) wear comfortable shoes and clothing and seek out visually stimulating training courses. The attraction to this particular marathon, the entertainment, was a bust. If it is indicative of how other RNR Marathons deliver, I may not bother. If it is just San Antonio, I certainly will not bother going there again.
S. H. from Austin, TX (11/17/2008) "OK - with Room for Improvement" (about: 2008) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Given the size of the crowd the organization was ok. I was pleasantly surprised that they had any food left for the marathoners given the huge number of halfathoners. I finished just before 4 hours. The full and half courses merged at mile 24. I have never, ever seen anything like the huge mob of walkers in the half marathon. It is hard to describe. I think of Moses walking in the desert with the Hebrews. There were thousands and they didn't look happy. For some reason a few these people thought it was a good idea to wander over to the marathon side. I guess they wanted to mix it up with the runners. They did manage to get in the way. Generally, running beside that slow mob seemed to slow my pace. It was surreal. The weather was practically perfect. But on a typical warm and humid San Antonio November day, many of those under-trained folks would have ended up in the med tent. The pre-race area was a fiasco. I have never seen a race with such bad traffic conditions prior to the start. Attended the expo on Friday night. It wasn't crowded, but it seemed like they didn't have enough space for the crowds. The booths weren't much better than when San Antonio Marathon was a small race with maybe a thousand marathoners. The course is basically flat and moderately scenic. It had a lot of turns. It isn't very shaded. The crowds were good, especially in downtown, but they were very sparse out by the missions. The volunteers and cheerleaders were terrific. The aid stations were well stocked. Cytomax has a funky, flowery taste and fortunately it was not watered down. It seemed like most of the bands were always taking breaks or calling it a day whenever I passed them. The bands that I heard playing were great. Overall, not bad for Elite Racing's first time in San Antonio. The finisher shirt was for sale. I didn't buy one because it was a basic $2 white cotton T-shirt that cost $22. It was hilarious at the start when Governor Perry said, "Welcome to Austin." He corrected himself so I don't think many people caught it.
E. E. from Texas (11/17/2008) "Not my favorite Elite race" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I've done several inaugural Elite events - VA Beach, Country Music, Arizona. I've always enjoyed them but this was a disappointment. VERY over-crowded from start to finish. There was over an hour wait to AND from the race for the shuttle buses to the parking area. They even routed the wait line up and down some stairs (after people had just finished running 26.2 miles!) when it was possible to route them around another way without stairs! INEXCUSABLE! This race would have been enjoyable and manageable if they'd capped it under 20,000 runners, but 30,000 registered runners was just a mob scene. I was in a corral toward the back, but we started 57 minutes after the actual start - no idea why it took so long. I never saw porta-potties along the route that would have had less than a 10-minute wait the lines were so long. Not anywhere near as many bands or cheerleaders as typical at other RnR events. I hope they get Seattle right; I'm hesitating now about registering.
J. H. from Houston, Texas (11/17/2008) "Need to work out the kinks" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The logistics need to be worked out before next year. There was limited parking at the expo, the expo was really crowded, the P.A. announcer kept talking over the speakers, etc. On race day, we left our hotel at 5:45 to go to the AT&T Center to take the recommended shuttles to the starting line. We still missed the 7:30 start time. Traffic getting to the AT&T Center was awful, the line for the shuttle was thousands deep, and there were people still parking as our shuttle pulled away. The course was fine for the first 10 miles, but then turned quiet and boring until mile 22. The race did have plenty of water, Cytomax, etc. But the shuttles after the race were horrible again. Had to stand in line for an hour... not what you want after running 26. Could be a good race if they get these things worked out. Weather was great!

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