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Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 4.3
Number of comments: 49 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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S. R. from Las Vegas Nevada
(5/6/2012)
 "My 1st International" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 After reading posts from previous years I expected less then what I got! Although this was the 1st year Rock and Roll took over the Madrid marathon it was Much More then I expected from beginning to end, The course was challenging with a Never ending uphill to the end. It passed many historical places and neighborhoods, through parks, Water stops were efficient, well stocked with Bottled water and powerade and placed every 5k. The Spanish are serious runners with half the entries finishing at better then 4 hours, including my own 3:54 PR. The expo was large and friendly with welcome smiles and helpful volunteers for us foreigners! Many vendors with many unique products. Spectators along the course were many, loud and encouraging! The only complaint I heard was the gear check was at the finish which was 2k from the start. The weather was so nice I didn't need it. | |
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Z. r. from Jordan
(4/30/2012)
"A Perfect 10K Race" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Perfect organization and a perfect overall race.Nice shirt, great expo before race. The 10K course was a bit of a challenge due to the uphill and race ends at a slightly higher elevation than it started but I still managed to do a personal best. | |
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G. H. from Paris, France
(5/1/2011)
 "Small race offers a great sightseeing experience" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Although not considered one of the best marathons in Europe, the Madrid marathon still has its appeal. On the 17th of April 2011, 10,600 runners completed the Madrid marathon. 16,000 runners actually started the race together, but 5,400 of the runners were competing in the 10k race which occurred simultaneously and branched off into a different direction at the 3.5 km point. The race started right beside the Plaza de Cibeles, cut through the heart of the city (Gran Via, Sol and the Palacio Royal), passed by two famous soccer stadiums (Santiago Bernabeu and Vicente Calderon), and criss-crossed through three separate parks (Parque del Oeste, Casa de Campo, and Parque del Retiro) until the finish line at Parque del Retiro. Madrid doesn't have too many sights, but the course seemed to pass the major ones. The course itself was quite hilly - most of it was slightly downhill except for two stretches of 6 km each that were relatively steep uphill climbs (at both the beginning and the end). Every few kilometers had a refreshment stop that provided water as well as Powerade. Due to the small number of runners and good organization of the race, there was always enough space for everyone to run. The number of spectators was a bit sparce, but those that cheered the runners were very animated. I quite enjoyed the marathon itself - I was very impressed that the race passed through the center of the city. Besides the finish line at the Parque del Retiro, running past the busiest tourist area of the town (Sol and Gran Via) was the highlight of the race. I was also impressed that 16,000 runners could start the race, separate at 3.5 km and not get in each others way. However, there were a couple downsides to the race. The first was the fact that the course was quite hilly, so it wasn't possible to achieve a personal best time due to the additional effort. Secondly, the city is in a dry plain 700 meters above sea level. These conditions made the race difficult for people not properly acclimated to the environment. Finally, I expected a lot more from the expo - there were about 15-20 booths total with only Adidas, Nike, PowerBar, and Powerade offering any products worth buying. Even the few booths featuring races were only limited to ones in Spain. | |
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joe khoury from Sydney Australia
(4/25/2011)
 "great marathon and a great city" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My wife and I ran this marathon last Sunday. It was a great marathon and a great city. There were plenty of drinks and plenty of hills. The weather was fantastic and the people were great. | |
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Dimosthenis Misichronis from Patra Greece
(5/18/2010)
"Great Race - Great City" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great race. Well organized, with a lot of runners (mostly from Spain), and a lot of spectators giving us strength - especially during the last, hilly kilometers. The first 5K are hilly, but after that, for the next 25, it's mostly downhill, where you gain time. Madrid is a beautiful city with a lot to see. I highly recommend this marathon. It also offers you a great opportunity to visit a lovely city. I will definitely be back. | |
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c. r. from Madrid, Spain
(5/11/2010)
"A hilly and twisty course" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Overall, it is a good marathon, especially for a country where marathon running isn't popular - a city of over 4 million has fewer than 11,000 marathon runners, and only 6% of them are women. I wasn't a fan of the course, as it is too twisty and hilly for my liking; it makes it very hard to pace yourself, as you don't know what is around the next corner. An incline? Is it flat? Or is it downhill? There are KM markers, but they could be easy to miss as they are not mounted on street lights. No energy gel or food are handed out. There is sports drink at nearly every aid station after the 10K mark. Crowd support is hit and miss - good in the center but non-existent once you leave downtown. You spend about 5K in the Casa De Campo, (Madrid's answer to Hyde/Central Park); the surface isn't great, and crowds are non-existent. There are very few barriers; this means that the crowds can sometimes run across runners, or push into runners, which is very annoying. The last 5K is all on an incline, with a very steep hill about 1K before the end. The website is woeful - no course profile (this is handed out at the rather small expo), no info about pace groups (they do exist), and no info about aid stations (at least every 5K). Weather-wise, April in Madrid is a lottery, this year was hot. At the start it was 13 C and at 12:30 it was about 23 C. Some years it could be 13C at the finish. A neat feature are the mist showers every 5K or so after about the 18K. There is no runners' re-unite area, so it makes it difficult to meet friends and family at the end. There is plenty of drinks and food at the end of the marathon, including alcohol-free beer. | |
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D. G. from Portland, OR
(4/27/2010)
"A beautiful city, a tough marathon" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The marathon was very well organized. The bib pickup and marathon fair were pretty standard. There is a free pasta party for the runner and 1 guest on the afternoon before the marathon. I had a difficult time pacing myself because the markers are only every 5 kilometers (up until KM 21) and there was only 1 time counter at either KM 19 or 20. The weather was very warm this year, about 80 at the 4 hour-mark. The track is easy for the first half, but between KM 35 and 40 it is mostly uphill. It is a nice course going through some of the best parts of the city, with many spectators along the entire route cheering on the runners. | |
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Tamas Horváth from Budapest,Hungary
(5/13/2009)
"Was the course measured right????" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I loved this marathon because I set a new PR. I have no idea how. :-) That was my 10th marathon, but one of the toughest (somehow I was able to run 4:22/KM average). It was too hilly and cold for me (at the start, it was 7 degrees, and it was 12 at the finish). My GPS watch showed 10.6 KM at the 10KM marker, and it showed 22KM at the race's 21KM marker. Then it showed 43.7 KM (!) at the finish. Great organization, anyway; for me, Madrid is the number one now. :-) | |
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K. N. from Canada
(5/10/2009)
"Great experience" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Challenging course (numerous hills and one long one at the very end). The weather was perfect (especially coming out of a Canadian winter) - not too hot, not too cool. The course passed through busy streets that were closed off, past beautiful landmarks, down small side streets and also on cobblestone roads (which were very slippy after the rain). As a woman runner, there was a lot of crowd support, as there are very few females in comparison to males running. Also, it was lots of fun traveling around Spain after the race. The expo was fairly small. One frustration was having to register through a tour operator because of being an international competitor - it wasn't straightforward. But the obstacles faced were worth it in the long run. | |
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Shirley Emilio from Algarve, Portugal
(5/1/2009)
 "Fabulous" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Brilliantly organized, even down to having our very own inline skaters following us from about 15K onward. You may not get to run up the Gran Via with Shaggy, Scooby or Batman, but you will have a huge blast of "Chariots of Fire," which will bring a lump to your throat and really enthusiastic Spanish crowds. If you are a woman wanting to do a marathon, make this your first. It was so easy to book, and Madrid is so easy to get to (whether by car, train, or plane). We stayed in the Augmar Hotel, which was 10 minutes from the start and finish. Even though I've said that I would never do another marathon, I would definitely consider doing this again. Shirley Emilio |
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