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Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.5 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 417 [displaying comments 171 to 181]
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F. T. from Austin, Texas
(1/7/2007)
"Great marathon overall - definitely recommended" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. I thought the marathon was very well organized and San Diego is a great city to visit. The positive aspects are (a) that the weather is almost perfect this time (except if the sun comes out as it did briefly when I ran). b) The course is manageable - certainly not fast, but also not too difficult. c) Very good fan support, and the bands were fantastic and provided great motivation. d) Great expo, well organized finish area, and no problem with the water stops. The negative aspects were: a) Too many runners, so I was dodging people for at least the first ten miles. b) I stood for too long in the porta-potty line and hence started late and missed my pace group. c) Some parts of the course suck - around 163 (the freeway) and miles 17-20, and then mile 23 at the out-and-back. But I would recommend this race to anyone because my overall experience was great. | |
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B. W. from Honolulu, Hi
(12/10/2006)
"I'll definitely do it again" (General Comments)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 After doing my 5th marathon in Honolulu, I realized how great some stuff is about Rock N' Roll. The expo is awesome and enjoyable to walk around and see everything going on. Plenty of exhibits, companies, races for the next year so you can start thinking where you might want to go for your next marathon. The finisher medal and organization at the end are great. Within yards of the finish line, someone takes off your chip for you and gives you your medal. UPS is great for a sponsor. The bags you can put stuff in for after the race is a great help if you want to change your shoes or whatever before you go to find your family/friends. The course: What can you say? Make sure to check out the course before you commit to it obviously. I'm pretty sure it mentions the freeways. Same with an elevation chart for those that were disappointed with the course. The scenery: You're there to do a race, not sightsee. While scenery definitely adds to the race, that's not what the race is about. Hopefully you get to stay a couple of extra days before or after and see some of the sights. Keep in mind race officials are always trying to make the course sound more scenic/glamorous than it might actually be. (For the new Las Vegas Marathon last year, they were really advertising you get to run on the world famous Las Vegas Strip. The first 6 miles are on the strip, then you're not for the rest of the course.) The only thing that was annoying the first time I did it was the finish. You start seeing the recruiting depot at, I think, about 22. Then when you turn the corner, you expect to see the finish line. It's probably another half-mile past the gate. So all the fans, while trying to be supportive, are trying to tell you, "It's right around the corner." Until you have done a marathon, you should not be allowed to say that. If someone tells me it's right around the corner when I've just done 26 miles, it better be around the corner!!! | |
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k. c. from texas
(11/29/2006)
"Change the race course." (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 San Diego is a beautiful city and we see very little of that beauty while running this marathon. I was disappointed that much of the course was on the slanted freeway. The angle of the road caused knee pain and shin splints for the three of us who finished the course. Upon completion, we sat in traffic for one and a half hours to get out of the parking lot. Please change the course. | |
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L. C. from Iowa
(11/28/2006)
"Very over-hyped" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I believe this marathon is over-hyped. There is more advertising and focus on the "event" than attention to the race (it is, afterall, a race, isn't it?). For such a scenic area, the course was not, especially the last 2/3 once you enter the freeway (that's right, freeway; one of at least two run on) north of downtown. The long stretch surrounding the 13-mile marker was a five-lane, non-descript suburban road with strip malls and boring housing. The area north of SeaWorld (?) was barren at times. Never found my beer and it was a LONG walk to the trolley station across a gravel parking lot. Great organization though - lots of corrals for separation. Good city, but not worth the trip for the marathon. | |
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T. S. from Mt. Airy, Maryland
(11/15/2006)
"Get rid of the off-ramps on the course!!" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I was very displeased with this marathon. I thought the music was too spaced out. The first 9-10 miles were good, with running through the city, many bands, and lots of spectators. Then you get out and away from the city and you are running on the highway and off-ramps, which are slanted and terrible for the knees and surrounding joint. GU was given out at mile 17, but it was a nasty rasberry flavor. At the finish you had to walk so far just to get out of the finish area to meet up with friends and family. I was told later that there was a beer garden, but never saw or got my free beer. The course was hilly and I would not recommend it for first-time marathoners. | |
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S. M. from Pensacola, FL
(10/13/2006)
"UNEVEN COURSE IS BAD ON JOINTS" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This course is terrible if you have bad knees, ankles or hips, especially. The uneven freeway running was especially bad. I will not run this marathon again unless they reroute it. | |
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J. S. from Arizona
(10/1/2006)
"Don't run this one unless they change it!!" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 It started out good. But then we had to stop at porta-potties and the lines where long - 12-15 minutes. We stopped twice, and that added an additional half-hour to our time. I hated running on the highway; it put pain and stress on my knees. The last miles, in particular, I think, between mile 22-23 have hardly anyone there, and volunteers didn't direct us and some of us missed the turnoff onto that private road. And then when we run down the freeway again and it's an out-and-turn-around, many runners were cheating and running straight across and race. Volunteers said nothing at all. Hotel shuttle info lied to us. We booked months in advance, and there was no shuttle to the race. We had to go stand-by and stressed out about being there on time. I will never run this until they change the course and have it better organized. I will advise all not to run this - you can put too much stress on your legs (ankles/knees) from the uneven highways and freeways. Really, running on a freeway? | |
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P. M. from Minnesota
(9/26/2006)
"Just okay." (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Given the natural beauty of San Diego, I was somewhat disappointed with the actual route - which was less than scenic most of the way. The traffic congestion getting to the parking lot in the morning was really irritating. It took us 45 minutes to go the last mile - which caused us and thousands of others to miss the start. No excuses for this! The expo was great. The bands were fewer than advertised. Go to San Diego to enjoy the town, but don't expect too much from the actual race. | |
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V. K. from New York
(8/27/2006)
"Can't wait for 2007!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon was my first (although I have run many half marathons) and a wonderful experience. The crowds were great and very supportive; I was even handed fresh picked orange slices that a spectator picked from a tree in front of his house along the race course. Although the course was hilly and at times challenging, it was a great race and one I look forward to running again! | |
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P. K. from New York City
(7/25/2006)
"Disappointed" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This was my second marathon and I came away disappointed. Before the race, it took over 75 minutes to get from the freeway off ramp to the parking lot. Once there, I had to queue for another 15 minutes to get a bus to the start. The bus competed with traffic to get to the start line at which meant that I got to my corral 3 minutes before the race started. This left very little time for all the all-important final bathroom break. The parking lot officials were not very civil, arguing amongst themselves and providing little help to the runners. The course is not flat, as advertised. The camber on the highway is exceedingly uncomfortable even when you do manage to find space on the hard shoulder. There are many critical areas of the course where there are no crowds when you need them. I had previously run the supposedly tough course of the New York City Marathon but I found the San Diego course a much tougher proposition. The positives; the crowds that did turn up were great. There is something really special about being cheered on by members of the military. The music was ok. The set-up at the end of the race, for runners at least, was nicely done even if we did have to trek over a mile back to the car park. Overall, not recommended. |
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