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Sep 20, 2024

Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.8

Organization 4.2

Spectators 4.4

Number of comments: 481 [displaying comments 161 to 171]

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Michael Edwards from Nashville, TN (4/30/2008) "Great half, bad full" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. The first 11 miles are incredible. That's when the halfers and the fullers are together. After mile 11, the spectators leave and it's just you and the road. Being my first marathon, this made it more difficult. I will do the half next year at this race, but probably will not do this full for a long time. The fans were great, while they were there. They cheered pretty much the whole time. It was a very festive atmosphere, almost like a tailgate party. The organization of the event was fabulous. Even though there were 30,000 participants, I got my number, goody bag, and shirt in less than 5 minutes.
Oldman of the world from local (4/30/2008) "Great race. Traffic TERRIBLE." (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 One negative: TRAFFIC. No excuse. Nashville is behind the times.
F. L. from Littleton, NC (4/29/2008) "Good but not great" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 PROS: - First 11 miles were nice - Great bands... heard GREAT music virtually the whole 26.2 - Cheerleaders everywhere! Really helped! GREAT SPIRIT! - Aid station teams were wonderful! - Great crowd support through mile 11 or so. After 11... not so much. CONS: - Second 1/2 of the race was not as interesting as the first. Nashville is a really GREAT town, but the second half didn't show the beauty. Did not like the two out-and-back sections. - Not enough parking for the race finish - 3 aid stations after mile 11 were out of electrolyte replacement fluids Course had a few hills but they were not all that significant.
A. B. from Arkansas (4/29/2008) "A must-do marathon for all" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second ever full marathon and I was a little apprehensive with such a large number of people doing it. I'll have to say this was the best organized event I have ever been to. I never felt crowded, even at the start. The wave start took a little long but it was worth the wait. Water stops were awesome. They always had plenty of volunteers and plenty of water and Accelerade. Some of the water stops were even placed on uphill sections of the course, which was nice and helped keep the race times up. The course was not bad at all. There are some hills, but they are all mostly rolling hills. Nothing really long or extremely steep. But I would recommend doing hill training if you are running this course. Spectators were a blast! There were bands at almost every mile along with cheerleaders, kids, spectators. There are only a few sections of the course where there isn't a lot of support but its not long. I really liked seeing my friends running back towards me on the out-and-backs. This helped give me extra motivation. We stayed at the Ramada Inn at the stadium and it was very convnient. All we had to do was walk across the street to catch the shuttles to the start (which was very fast) and we were right there at the finish line. It's also only one mile from downtown, so you can walk to the expo and all of the clubs. Nashville is a "must do!" I will be back next year!
S. F. from Birmingham, AL (4/29/2008) "Great marathon!" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Expo: Get there EARLY!!! It gets VERY crowded on Friday afternoon, but had lots of good stuff! Start: We drove to the finish at Titan's Stadium, got there around 5:15 a.m. and took the shuttle buses to the start. Plan extra time here (information pamphlet recommended being parked by 5:00a.m.). It took us about an hour in total to get parked, catch the shuttle, and arrive at the start. Everything went smoothly despite the rain. We got to the start line at about 6:15 and hung out in the lobby of the Marriott, which was at the start. We were able to stretch, buy some water, and use clean bathrooms. Race: The rain stopped at about 7:00 and we started about 16 minutes after gun time (I was in corral #9). I had no problem finding my pace and getting into the racing "groove." The wave start really helped with that. There was not so much "weaving." It was humid and overcast, with no rain and a cool, light breeze. The bands were fun and the crowds were great. The half/full marathon split came really quickly at mile 11. Then WHAM! - no more spectators. It was quiet and the course really thinned out, which I really didn't mind. I was kind of tired of hearing tambourines and "clappers." At mile 11 1/2, there was a Convent with about 10 Nuns waving us on (including one elderly nun in an electric 4-wheel chair who was standing up to high five runners). Followed by the nuns was...you guessed it: a "HOLY WATER" stop!!! So, OF COURSE, I had to get some water at that stop :). Miles 12 - 18 were pretty uneventful, running through what seemed like a giant office park, along the river and back toward Titan's stadium. The final 6 miles were out past the stadium and around a large park with a pond, then back in. Having a LOOP at the end is brutal on you mentally since you can literally SEE your distance in the loop ahead. But having said that, I don't think I'll like any marathon course after mile 18! They are all tough after mile 18! I had an 8-minute PR on the course. I did not think the hills were bad at ALL, but I train on hills. This course is mostly flat, but there are some long, gradual uphills. Nothing bad. Post-Race: Since there were only about 4000 folks doing the full, the finish chute wasn't too crowded (as compared to last year when I ran the half-OMG!). Most of the halfers were done already, so it was easy to get your photo and food. My group met up at the family reunion area as planned and laid in the sun, basking in the glory of some awesome PRs and indulging in some cold $6 beers! YES, that's EACH...but they were cold and yummy! I really liked CMM. It was expensive and crowded, but it was an experience. I think the course was pretty good (rolling hills) and I liked the wave start. There was PLENTY of water and Accelerade on the course! It seemed like they were present every two miles! Not a big fan of Accelerade, but this year they poured it from plastic bottles rather than mixing if from powder (as they did last year, when it was just GROSS). The consistency was MUCH better this year than last year. Great group of volunteers: TONS of vounteers handing out water who were very nice and always encouraging. This one was well organized and fun, especially the finish. The family reunion area is close to the beer tent, porta-potties, a fun stage playing music, and the pedestrian bridge that takes you into downtown to the restaurants, honky tonks etc. I would say this race was great all around. Organzing 28,000 runners can't be easy, but Elite did a great job.
J. B. from Midwest (4/29/2008) "Great Race; Great Town; Must Run!" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race was a great race. Although it was geared more towards the half-marathon, the full marathon course was great. It was great to wind around and encourage other runners as you ran going in opposite directions. The organization was great, the city was great... overall I would tell everyone to run it. The only negative I could think of is that I had hoped we would see more of downtown. Great race!!!
A. F. from Memphis, TN (4/29/2008) "Very well organized and a great weekend." (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course was harder than I expected, but thankfully the 2nd half eased up for those of us running the full. The organization was outstanding, and the volunteers were friendly and helpful. The water stops stretched on for yards - enough to grab a second cup. And the folks at the medical tents were attentive and responsive. The cheering contest made for some really fun and frequent spectators along the course route, and lots of bands. We made a weekend out of it and had a terrific time. I highly recommend the Embassy Suites Vanderbilt - great accommodations, service, food and manager's reception, which we took full advantage of, plus only a mile from the start. A great time - many thanks!
A. P. from Chicago (4/29/2008) "Good Support, Decent Course, Weak Organization" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I've run 25+ marathons and I've never had such a disorganized experience. I was told to arrive in the shuttle area by 5 a.m., which is what I tried to do. Unfortunately, it took me an hour and 15 minutes to drive the last 1/2 mile to the stadium. The problem was that there were only two cops watching (not directing) traffic off of the highway and I only saw one guy in the entire stadium area directing parking. That's completely unacceptable for such a large race with a huge crowd. I've been to 5K races that had better traffic management. It was just as bad trying to get out of the stadium after the race. The course was fine (a bit hilly) and the crowds were decent, but I won't be doing this race again. If you want a good spring marathon, run the Derby Festival race in Louisville. The courses are similar but Louisville is much more beautiful and the organization is less frustrating.
G. B. from Birmingham, AL (4/29/2008) "Poor Planning" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 To the poster who said the Mercedes Course in Birmingham is harder: I would have to disagree. I live, train, and run in Birmingham, and the hills on the Nashville course were far worse. I have run Music City before, and this was the absolute worst year ever. There was poor police presence throughout; no police were there to direct traffic coming into LP field in the morning, so traffic was tied up for miles coming in. As I was finishing the marathon, the police allowed about 100 people to cross right in front of 3 other runners and myself before we turned the corner to finish, which was extremely disrespectful. The Accelerade was a horrible choice. Not only did I cramp, but I noticed that several runners coming back running in the 2:50-3:00 range between miles 24 and 25 were forced to walk. Of course, this could also be due to the fact that ABSOLUTELY NO FUEL OF ANY SORT, BE IT POWER GEL, FRUIT, OR ANY OTHER SUSTENANCE WAS GIVEN OUT BETWEEN MILES 9 AND 21. This lack of fuel absolutely ruined my race. It should not be the runners' responsibility in a large, well-organized marathon to be forced to carry 10 gels throughout the race, especially when running at 7 minutes per mile pace or below. The Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham gives out gels every 3 to 4 miles, starting at mile 4, and the difference is astronomical. Needless to say, until Elite Racing gets their act together, I will not be doing any of their lame music-themed tourist marathons again.
S. W. from United States (4/28/2008) "I definitely expected more from this marathon." (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Maybe Im being biased, but I did not have the experience that I'd expected on this marathon. It was my first full marathon, and I was very excited to simply finish - something I'm ashamed to say I couldn't even do. The topographic map made the race appear flatter than I'd expected, so I did not do much hill training, which was a definite mistake. The course was not well chosen either. With at least three drawn-out turn-arounds, I found that myself, and other marathoners I met along the way, could not help but wonder where the turning points were - an awful way to experience so many miles of running. The web page for the marathon left the run feeling overrated and much more difficult than it had to be; the page advertised 50 bands along the course and a flat, thrilling course. I counted fewer than 20 bands, and this course was not flat. Overall, however, the fans were amazing! I have never run a race with this much support! The aid stations along the path were very well put together, offering pretzels, fruit, water, sports drinks, gel, and other helpful necessities. The weather was also amazing, and, coming from Nevada, the elevation was to my advantage. The scenery was pleasant when winding around the lush neighborhoods and the park, but downtown Nashville is not the ideal marathon location in my opinion.

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