As for the actual course, nice lay out. Basically a figure 8 that, with a little prior planning and good use of the metro, allows anyone who is following you to meet up at several different points with relative ease. Some great views of the Capitol Building, White House, Washington Monument, etc. Weather was a little warm for my taste, but what can you do?

As a previous post stated, there was obviously very poor organization in regards to the eventual 'time limit'. I am by no means a fast runner, but in my previous 2 marathons I always finished under the standard 6 hours, and my times have gone down each time. I was on pace to shave about 8 minutes off my previous best. Unfortunately, I did not finish the entire course because a loop that accounted for about a mile of the course was just closed at one point. Everyone behind a certain point was unable to complete the loop, and therefore did not actually finish a marathon. Furthermore, when we reached the point at which the loop was closed, we were not informed of the closure, we were just directed along the remainder of the course. Some of us realized this, and we were told 'no, that's closed now' when we asked if we could complete that portion.

There was no mention at registration of the time limit being any less than 6 hours or for the potential for parts of the course being closed. The first time I saw mention of this fact was in an email on the 12th of March, just 5 days before the Marathon. This would have certainly played into my decision to partake in this event, because I am fully aware that my time is usually behind this pace. On the 14th, a clarifying email was sent out.

This stated that the 5:30 clock started when the last runner crossed the starting line. It also stated that the cutoff point would be mile 12.1. Anyone behind the 5:30 pace at that point would be directed to finish the Half Marathon course. It made no mention of any other potential closure. It seems worth mentioning that I also do not believe I was behind the 5:30 pace of the last starter, because I could still see the 5:30 pace group (which I started behind) until just before this closure took place. Considering how few people actually seemed to be participating in the Full, I am also surprised that the 'after a point runners will be moved to the sidewalks' policy I've seen mentioned in other events was not put into place here. I understand it isn't always that simple, but my frustration makes me wonder.

I understand that when you're not in top condition, as I'm not, you run the risk of not finishing in the allotted time. However, if you are not given ample warning about unusual time limits and potential arbitrary course closures, it prevents you from making an informed decision about whether or not to participate. The manner in which the course being shortened was handled was also deceptive and underhanded. My attempt to contact someone from RnR Series since the event has been ignored thus far
So that's my rant. My first and last RnR Series Event.

I can't justify the money spent on registration, travel, lodging and the like only to be misinformed about what exactly the event entails and deprived the opportunity to actually finish.

I ran this race in 2011 and was extremely satisfied. I was hoping to run this race every year, but after the 2012 addition, I do not think I would run it again, or any other Rock n Roll series event.

They encouraged everyone to take the metro, but there was not enough trams to fit all the spectators and participants. It was HORRENDOUS! I should have reached the start line at 7:20, however, after issues with the metro doors, we were kicked off our tram and I never reached the start line until 8:15; 15 minutes AFTER the race had started. If you are recommending people to take the metro, then there should be enough trams to accommodate all participants and spectators in order for them to reach the start line BEFORE the race actually starts. Also, there should be a limit on how many half marathoners can participate. I ran the full marathon and the first half of the course was atrocious!!

Way too many people! Next time, they should try starting the half at a different time than the full. I felt those runners were not taking the event seriously, and after training for 4 months, I was very disgusted at the lack of room to run on those streets and perform my best. Also, when it is 80 degrees out, you need more water stations than every 2-2.5 miles. I was very dehydrated after the race, even after drinking 2-3 cups of water at each and every station. We were not used to the heat in March and more water should have been supplied.

Finally, when I finished the marathon, all that was left in terms of food was chocolate milk, apples, fruit cups, and bagels. For the $110+ I paid for this race, a better selection of food and drinks should have been made available. It was a more worse event than last year. I would not recommend this event to other runners unless changes are made for 2013.

I ran the 1/2 marathon in 2011 and enjoyed the course so much I decided to run the full this year (my first full). The RnR folks fixed a lot of the logistical problems which had been present the prior year. Expo was good, start went smoothly, volunteers at the water stops were great. Weather in the 2nd half of the course was really tough (70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and no shade) - quite a change from the mid-30s we had in 2011.

Three complaints: 1) not enough porta potties for 25,000 runners on the course. 2) as a middle of the pack marathoner, Switchfoot was over long before I finished. The finish line festival is clearly geared to the 1/2 marathoners. 3) the medals were a big disappointment compared to the beautiful medals received in prior years.

But overall a fun and well done race.

I ran this also in 2009 when it was still the National Marathon. One again, RNR has oversold an event and neglected the basics.
In a nutshell:
1) The metro was open an hour early and that was great for getting to the expo/start
2) The event was oversold. I was in the first few corrals, but it was still too crowded to move. This seems to be a theme with RNR
3) Not nearly enough aid stations. In all other races, there are aid stations every 1-1.5 miles. These ones were at odd intervals and not reliable.
4) The medal is lame. Perhaps it is an eagle? Not clear at all. Previous medals were more relevant. The one in 2009 had the Washington Monument I believe. This was just random, all about RNR and nothing about DC
5) $20 if my plane is late and my friend needs to get my packet for me? There's zero additional work for them, clearly just another opportunity for a money-grab
6) Apparently it's cool to cheat now. If you're unable to make the course limits, RNR will happily drive you closer to the finish AND give you a medal/time!

Just...meh.

I did the full Marathon. This is my second time here. Last time (National Marathon), in 2010, the race started at 7am and this time it started at 8am. Shouldn't be a big deal as I did most of the long training runs around 8am. But, on race day, I felt like it was hot and humid from around 10am or so. So, the second half was not fun.

Pros:
1. Expo
2. Race course
Cons:
1. I think RnR oversold this race as I felt there were too many runners until 12th mile at which Marathoners split.
2. Race start of 8am turned out to be too late as it was a hot day. This race always used to start at 7am and I think RnR should stick with 7am start time
3. Very very bad planning of Metro. Metros started at 6am. Metros should have started around 5am or so and more frequently. All the Metros are jam packed and the Metro I rode was evacuated because of a problem with one of its door not closing.

I am not sure where to begin. The fact that the race ended at 26.5 miles, there were hills in the entire course when portrayed as flat, or that there was no transportation available to get out of the event. I had to walk 2.5 miles after running 26.5 to get back to the hotel. Metro was blocked full, taxi cabs were blocked out, and the bus system was an hour behind. DC simply can not handle an event this size. This is truly a 1/2 marathon event. There is no scenery on the second half and running under urine smelling under passes is not my idea of fun.

This was the first year that the race was managed by Competitor group and was billed as Rock n Roll USA. I ran the full marathon. I have previously run the National Half in '07, '08 and '09.

The Good: Expo is at the armory, so metro accessible. Being a rock n roll race, the expo was much more impressive than in years past, but not as nice as other RnR expos I have visited. I think most of the better vendors were in VA beach for the Shamrock marathon. Great course support throughout the race, even after the half marathon split off. Plenty of water, gatorade, gu, and treats along the way. Nice tech shirt, we had a choice of blue or white. Great medal. I even like the course; much better than MCM, this shows you DC, the neighborhoods were very supportive adn out there giving high fives and encouraging us to keep going. The fantastic weather this year was a plus. Metro opened an hour early and the race started at 8 am, so that cut down on traffic congestion.

Cons: This event was definitely geared more towards the half marathoners. The headliner concert was over well before most of the full runners finished. When I got to the finish area, a few of the booths were already packing up. The time limit for this one is much tougher than most RnR events, 5:30. There is talk that they started diverting runners or picking them up in the sag wagon earlier than they should have, not cool!

I hope that they can work with the city to extend the time limit a bit for the full marathon and don't just eliminate it. DC is a very scenic city and it deserves a full marathon to call its own.

The weather was a little warm for my liking, but everything else was near perfect. This was a well organized race. The course was hilly, but all of the hills were small by West Virginia standards.There was good music and great crowd support during most of the race. The water stops were well stocked and they had plenty of helpful volunteers (Thanks!) I would definitely recommend this race.

I've done this race twice. RNR almost doubled the size of the half, while growing the full about 10%. They should think about getting rid of the half relay.

What they did right: It was a pretty hot day and many of the water stops had ice cups or put ice in the water/ade cups. They did only a minor tweak on what was already a good course and successful marathon. They got the Metro system to open early on Sat morning and this made it easier to use public transport to get to the starting line. RNR seems to have modified its bib pickup policy and you can now pick up for other people, but with strong restrictions. Finally, the expo center continues to remain open before and after the race and this helps when the early morning temperature is cold.

What can be improved: RNR allowed runners to register for this race months before deciding it had a 5.5 hour limit. Not cool, even though they did keep the finish line open until 6:05. Water stops were about 2.2 miles apart. A little too long on a hot day. All water stops should have sports drinks instead of every other one. The baggage drop bag keeps getting smaller with each RNR marathon I do. I traveled as light as I could and could barely fit it into the official bag drop bag. Finally, RNR should stop calling their marathons inaugural in cases such as DC and Denver when they take over successful marathons and do minimum course changes.

Runners should be aware that this course is relatively flat, but challenging. There are 5 moderate hills between miles 23 and 25. Most of the 'scenic' part of the course is in the first 15.4 miles.

This was my first marathon, after running the half here in 2010. The time of year is good, and in 2011 the weather was perfect (IMO), with temps in the low to mid-40s, and slightly cloudy skies. And the 7am start was perfectly synchronized with sunrise. The course is good, especially the first half, which goes through more scenic parts of DC and has more crowd support.

My biggest complaint in 2011 is mile markers. There were hardly any the first half, and a lot of them on the second half had to be in the wrong places. There's no way mile 17 took me 9:45, and I'm even more sure that I didn't do mile 19 in 5:50! The organizers acknowledged afterwards that they screwed up by not getting markers in place in time in the first half, but it's worrying that they seem unaware that mile markers were really a problem on the whole course.

Metro opening only one hour before the start is too short to be useful to anyone. They should negotiate again with Metro, which they no doubt will, especially now that the National Marathon will be in the Rock-and-Roll series. After running into a nightmare traffic jam when I drove in 2010 I wised up this year and took a cab. It could only get me within 4-5 blocks, but that's fine. It is very nice to have the armory available for warming up, stretching, peeing, etc. It sure beats being outdoors in the dark.

All in all a great experience, and one I hope to repeat.