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Apr 29, 2024

Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.8

Organization 4.0

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 401 [displaying comments 61 to 71]

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Charles Turner from Half Moon Bay, CA (1/24/2011) "Well run marathon & great BQ course" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Overall, I had a great experience at this marathon. This was my first time at the Arizona RNR Marathon. I came down from San Francisco since I've run most of my local marathons. I found the packet pickup at the EXPO to be easy and efficient, but the health side of the EXPO was PACKED with people. The start was GREAT. Plenty of parking close by, well marked runner drop off and separate starts for full and half marathons make the corral start work better than most. I didn't use the shuttles from the finish to the start, so I can't comment. My wife and son drove me to that start, where we parked. I stayed warm in the car until about 15 minutes before the start, then we walked the 2 blocks to my corral where we kissed and hugged and I shed my outer layers. The course runs through Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. People comment/complain that the course is boring. Come on... this is an urban marathon. None of the urban marathons I've run have been beautiful and engaging for the entire route. On-course support is frequent and very good. The water stops were better than most. The volunteers didn't crowd the course, like often happens. I was surprised at the number of fans who were out. I especially liked the family that was playing music on their front lawn at 11.5 miles. The finish area was CROWDED with folks meeting their runners. I don't normally have a problem with that, but I had some dehydration at the finish (3:26:22) and found the crowds overwhelming.
M. G. from AZ (1/20/2011) "Machine-like but reliable" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 With all the R'n'R races, it's pretty much a corporate machine now - and that's not necessarily bad as a result. If they could just meld some hometown feel into each edition, it would be the ultimate experience. Expo was big and Brooks has the lion's share. Packet pick-up was a breeze (but no longer allows others to pick up packets). Giveaway shirt was a nice tech shirt. Race started on time, and corrals worked fine. Pre-race village offered bananas, water, etc. but no coffee this year. Weather was perfect (48-58 with thin cloud cover; no wind). Bands were playing throughout. More fans on sidelines this year. Course remains flat but also remains boring. Never alone on the course; half does not interfere with full. Water stops were huge, friendly, and consistent - Cytomax first, water second (and thanks for using ice chips and water from your tanks and not the city or a garden hose). Finisher's medal was excellent. Finisher's food was lacking compared to previous years. Just felt like a machine though. Efficiency and organization greatly appreciated, but it can be robotic and lifeless. Marathons are about people and camaraderie. The race delivered nicely, but almost zero charm and no local flavor thrown in. You could have run this course in any town and you wouldn't have known the difference. Too bad because Phoenix is friendly, clean, and has loads of beautiful places to see, so you don't get that feeling running this race.
p. w. from atlanta GA (1/20/2011) "boring but fast course" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 PROS Very well organized, nice shirts, great finish festival with lots of food/drink, very fast course - not a hill to be found, efficient expo, shuttles were excellent, and the pre-race area was great (food and drink provided). CONS Very corporate feel, crowded expo, very boring and uninteresting course, and a crowded family meeting area (especially exiting). I don't know what could be done to better the course. I drove around the city while there, and it was not too scenic. It is a very fast course, however - a great one to do if you are running for a BQ.
G. R. from Atlanta, GA (1/19/2011) "Great Event..." (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very positive experience... my second Rock 'n' Roll event and a much better experience than the first one I ran (Seattle). Nice tech-tee, awesome finisher's medal, plenty of food, bands as advertised (if not more frequent), great cheering squads, awesome volunteers, excellent traffic control, etc. To boot, the weather was perfect, coupled with a very fast course - ideal for setting a PR. Porta-potties were abundant... it seemed that there was one particular area where people were stacking up right after getting dropped off from the shuttle buses. I spotted several islands of porta-potties throughout as I walked in a little further and on my way to the start area. There where hardly any people around where I got in line; I walked up to a porta-potty where I was 3rd in place and was in the porta-potty within minutes!
B. V. from NY (1/18/2011) "Good Boston Qualifier" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I preface my comments on R 'n' R Arizona by saying that I only have the NYC Marathon (43,000+ finishers in 2010) for comparison: Pros -Very flat, uncomplicated course, so easy to PR -Well organized (ample porta-potties compared to NYC scene) -Perfect weather (in 2011 - cloud cover) -7:40 a.m. start time (and it took less than a minute to cross the start line) -Completely separate from the half marathon, so there was plenty of room to run with only 6,000 participants (I heard the half was a different story) -Attractive medal, t-shirt and freebies at expo, as well as good food/drink options at finishing line -Decent spectator turnout relative to the size of the marathon (cheerleader girls were adorable) -Views of Camelback Mountain Con -Course was a bit dull (a 26.2-mile loop through strip malls and residential areas - I am generally not in favor of people wearing iPods during races but one would have come in handy in this instance). I stayed at the Arizona Biltmore, which offered an excellent rate for race participants and was a stunning hotel and resort - while it required a taxi ride of $25 to and from the expo, it was way better than staying at one of the hotels in downtown Phoenix next to the convention center where the expo was held, which is in a dodgy commercial area with nothing to do or see. The Biltmore arranged a shuttle bus to and from the marathon.
J. B. from Indiana (1/18/2011) "Nice, flat and fast course" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course is not overly scenic. But the flat course and perfect weather more than make up for it. Plenty of volunteers throughout the course. Lots of positives, to name a few: -More than enough restroom facilities. -Separate courses for the half and full. -Well run expo. -Very nice medal. Only a couple negatives: -The finish line organization was subpar. The medal distribution seemed like an afterthought. You had to almost seek them out. -For those of us who are not local, some signs directing us to the correct parking lot, at the finish, would be helpful.
R. M. from Indianapolis, Indiana (1/17/2011) "Well organized. Great expo. Lots of support." (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this marathon on January 16, 2011. The expo was extensive and well organized. Lots of freebies. The race was well organized and the weather cooperated with cool temps and overcast skies. Lots of water stops, which were easy to navigate. Energy gel (GU) only available at mile 19 - they could have provided more. Bands were frequent - some were excellent, but some were just noise. Finish had lots of fans. Post-race party was excellent - good band, lots of food and nice people. Bag check and transportation were flawless. Buses to the start were numerous and easy to get to.
J. A. from Madison, WI (1/17/2011) "Great for first-timers!" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first full marathon and I was very impressed with the organization and support for the event. The weather was absolutely perfect - 48 at the start with a little cloud cover, and 64 and sunny around noon. The aid stations were fully stocked with plenty of water and Cytomax, and the volunteers were friendly and encouraging. I was definitely impressed by the amount of support I saw on the course from the police and fire department - thank you for all of your support! Although the course was a bit boring at times, with lots of shopping malls and such, but it was very flat and fast! I definitely agree that more porta-potties are needed. I had to hold it too for the first 8 or so miles until I saw an opportunity to stop in a relatively short line. Otherwise, thank you R'n'R - you put on a great event!
S. L. from Phoenix, Arizona (1/17/2011) "Need More Porta-Potties" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I was in line at 7:10 to go to the restroom before the marathon began. In 15 minutes, the line barely moved. There were at least 20-25 people in line to use the restrooms. Around 7:35, I had to get out of line to go run the race. I was miserable for the first 8 miles. There NEED to be more porta-potties or there NEED to be porta-potties set specifically aside for just the runners. There may be enough porta-potties to accommodate the 6,000 runners, but not to accommodate the runners plus the many spectators.
r. l. from phx az (1/17/2011) "course change" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I would love to see the course go north on 44st to Lincoln, then east to Scottsdale Road, then south down Scottsdale Road. I think this would enhance the course view. Also, we need porta-johns inside the corrals just for runners.

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