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☰
Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon) Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon) Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 3.5 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 286 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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m. p. from canada
(3/24/2009)
"challenging but average" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The course itself was just so-so, as we could have seen more of the icons of DC along the way. The last few miles had some tough hills. No plastic ties for the timing chip (they seemed to expect us to untie our laces and put it through the laces!); I have never seen this before! My GPS (and some others who finished near me) all read 26.65 miles, and my time seemed longer than I expected, so... all in all, there are better courses with better organization out there, not to mention better expos. | |
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J. F. from York, PA
(3/24/2009)
"Excellent Tour of the Nation's Capital!!!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was a well organized marathon. From the view at the back of the pack, the only problem was lack of water cups from 2nd/3rd station until you cleared the 13.1-mile mark. Then the problem cleared. Excellent traffic control/safety, very impressive finisher medal, and super metro system. I would strongly recommend this as a must-do marathon. Keep up the good work, DC! | |
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D. S. from Valley Forge PA
(3/24/2009)
"Well-Run Race" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My 2nd National Marathon and overall a positive experience. The changes to the course from 2008 made it even better and the support from the volunteers is terrific. A well-run race with a challenging course. One complaint I have pertains to my experience with the pace group. I was with the 3:40 group, which should have run 8:23 splits. At the half mark we were running 8:00 splits - way too fast. That burned out a lot of people from the group - no thanks to Nathan for that experience. Run the pace you advertise in the future or do not lead a group. | |
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c. m. from Maryland
(3/23/2009)
"Loved the course" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course was wonderful and I would certainly run this again; however, I don't know what water stops the previous posters are talking about. More than half that I came by were out of cups. One volunteer even asked me for my cup back "as we are running low." The GU station at mile 7 was totally empty - not even a volunteer in sight when I got there. Admittedly I am not fast, but it was at mile 7 at about 1:06 into the race, so I'm surely not a back-of-the-packer either. As for the port-a-johns? I saw the first ones (4) at mile 5. That was it - I finally stopped at a construction site. I hate to complain because I loved the course, but it really needs some logistical help to make it competitive with others in an area that offers so many other choices. | |
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P. B. from Michigan
(3/23/2009)
"D.C.'s "other marathon" has it all" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Scenic! Capitol building, Washington Monument at sunrise - memorable. Two-loop marathon with enough variety to keep it "interesting" (some hills). Thanks for letting us stay warm in the armory. Thanks to all of the police and volunteers for keeping the course free of traffic. Nice expo too. First-class event; this race is on the way up. Weather was A+++. | |
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Don Allen from Georgia
(3/23/2009)
"Clear roads, great scenery; BEST big-city marathon" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I loved the National Marathon! I have run 50+ marathons and this one was perfect: beautiful route, beautiful day, and great support at all of the aid stations. The only thing I would fault would be the baggage check trucks; the location didn't match where they said they would be in the online maps, and the baggage retrieval was difficult since they weren't laid out by bib number. However, the race itself was particularly memorable for the traffic-free route. I have run marathons in several major cities, and this was the first one where most of the roads had ALL lanes of traffic closed, which made for a more serene and less toxic run. And this wasn't because the race was confined to back-alleys and ghettos: this went right through the main parts of DC. I heard one runner complain that we didn't get very close to the sites during the run; but I don't see how you could get much closer to the Supreme Court building without a security badge! In addition to benefiting the runners, motorists enjoyed reduced traffic impediments since much of the route had overpasses that allowed traffic to progress without being stopped by runners. The early opening of METRO, the proximity to well-marked and staffed facilities, the beautiful weather, the clear streets, the monuments and lawns with many trees and flowers already in bloom, and the enthusiastic and helpful volunteers made this one of my all-time favorite marathons. | |
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K. F. from Arlington, VA
(3/23/2009)
"Good for a first-timer!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I truly enjoyed the course. It was relatively flat, with some hilly sections during miles 6-8. I ran toward the back of the pack and they ran out of cups at several water stations during the first 13 miles, forcing runners without water to share the water jugs offered. They also ran out of GU gels at the first station. Luckily, I had my own water and gels! The spectators were good during the first half, but pretty sparse during long stretches of the second half. However, the volunteers at the water stops were wonderful and extremely encouraging. It was also nice to see police officers at every intersection. I would run this race again - I think there are some kinks to be worked out, but I loved the course and thought it was relatively well organized. | |
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Dotty Maddock from Phoenix, AZ
(3/23/2009)
"A nice race, with some "growing pains"" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Overall, I would recommend this marathon. Fortunately, we were able to stay with friends, so that really helped with the expense. EVERYTHING in D.C. is expensive! The metro was a great way to get to the race, and I appreciated it being open. You were crazy to try to drive and park with a transportation system like that. There was also construction around the Armory, so that really made traffic a mess. Packet pickup went smoothly, except for the security scanning. It was very inefficient and not set up to handle a race that had more than doubled in size. The same goes for the drop-off area before the race and aid stations on the course, where the volunteers just couldn't keep up with the crowds. And a suggestion would be to have the same set-up at every aid stop and different-colored cups for water versus sports drink. It was OK, but those are a few ways they could improve my rating of "Organization." But you'll have these "growing pains" when you increase that rapidly. The weather was VERY chilly (it was 36 degrees before the start and only 46 when I finished (around 11 a.m.). For me, that was GREAT running weather! I was surprised since it was the National Marathon that they didn't play the national anthem before the start (or did I miss it?). The first few miles were super (Constitution Ave.), then we ran through some nice areas, and then some not-so-nice areas. The "monument" part of the race probably only composed about 5 miles in total, so don't be expecting all monument views. But they were still impressive as long as they lasted! Then miles 18 to 23 were about as desolate as you can get. So just look forward to the excitement at the finish and get 'er done. The finish went smoothly, and the medal is nice. The food was a little meager (bagel, banana, cold unsalted pretzel). There was a beer area, but they corraled you in there and wouldn't let you leave that area with beer. I like to sip while I make my way out. All that said, I had a good finish time (for me) and felt great. So the combination of the weather, starting on time, the support, and the course worked for me. I wanted to include D.C. in my 50 states quest, so this fit the bill. I still want to come back for Marine Corps another year, but the lottery and the Virginia start and finish (versus truly D.C.) made it less appealing for me this year. | |
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M. W. from Fanwood, NJ
(3/23/2009)
"Great Day in Washington D.C." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my first National Marathon and I enjoyed it overall. I didn't realized the course had so many rolling hills but my determination to PR pulled me through. I was told that the slower runners had no cups to drink from through miles 5 and to the 13 mile point. I just realized now that I placed 3rd in my age group and of course am very excited about that. All in all, for a fairly new race it was good. I especially liked the early opening of the subway - and having the armory open until 1:00 p.m. was just great for keeping warm on a brisk day. | |
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J. M. from Vienna, VA
(3/23/2009)
"Great course, but no cups and no GU" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my third marathon, and overall it was a great experience. Parking was easy, there was no problem getting to the the starting line, the spectators were great, and, of course, the scenery can't be beat. BUT 3 of the aid stations prior to the half-way mark were out of cups before I got there, and the 7-mile GU station had no GU. Over 500 hundred people finished behind me so I'm sure I'm not alone in being upset at having to try to drink from one-gallon water bottles. Luckily, my running partner was smart enough to bring some Shot Bloks with him, which he shared with me. I can see no excuse for the organizers not providing sufficient supplies. This is a major safety issue. When you pay for a race, support is supposed to be part of the deal. It's not like the number of runners was a secret. |
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