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☰
Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon) Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon) Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 3.5 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 286 [displaying comments 281 to 286]
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E. G. from Crofton, Maryland
(3/25/2006)
 "Overall... a good experience." (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my second marathon... my first was NYC last year. I would rate the overall experience as positive and would recommend this race to anyone wanting to run a challenging course. The Course: The course is flat with only a few gentle hills for about the first 11 miles. The first 10 miles of the race takes you past many great landmarks of DC (the capitol, The Mall and all of its museums, L'Enfant Plaza, and the Navy Yard). At the 11 mile-marker the race divides into two... those running the full marathon and those running the half. By this time you are in suburban parts of DC, so there aren't many scenic things to see other than neighborhoods and little strip malls. At about mile 14, the race takes on a new personality, the hills get longer and steeper and there are what seem like only a few short declines or flat parts. Even then, you can still see the next hill staring right at you. The toughest part of the course came at about mile 19 to 20, where there was a long, steady and steep incline. This is where I started slowing down, because it didn't get much better until the last mile or so. Organization: For being an inaugural event, everything seemed to run smoothly. There were ample water/Gatorade stations, as well as gel packs at at least three of the stations. The volunteers were all responsive and encouraging and you never really felt alone on the course, either with staff or with other runners. Post-race events seemed to be well maintained. They had an adequate assortment of food and drinks available... bananas, bagels, water, and Gatorade. A little more variety would have been nice, but there was no waiting, so I won't complain. (Rumor has it that they had more stuff, but I would imagine the half-marathoners got to it first). They also had many activities for kids and families to do while waiting (ball crawls... things like that). The medals were great and the pre-race pack was o.k. The shirt was one of the Dri-Fit t-shirts, short-sleeved. Kinda busy on the back with all of the sponsers, but nice. Fans: Not many... but my only comparison is NYC. The ones that were out were very supportive. Overall: This was a good race with lots of potential. There were only about 2,200 runners (they anticipated 5,000) and most were in the half-marathon. There was a qualifying time of 4:30:00 for the marathon, so that probably has a lot to do with it. The course is challenging... even more so than NYC, so I would recommend doing hard hill training. I had studied the course elevation charts and they didn't seem to be accurate, but that may have to do with my limited experience. Regardless, the hills are steep and they come at the end of the course... right where most runners hit their "wall," so be prepared. If you want to just get a nice tour of DC, I would suggest only doing the half marathon. | |
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R. G. from Texas
(3/25/2006)
 "Inaugural event that needs more organization." (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Pre-race: Registration was easy enough and cost was in line with other similar marathons. Packet pickup was ok, not much of an expo - but expect it to grow in the future. T-shirt was fair - expect a little more from this part of the U.S. Race day: Not having access to the metro to get to RFK was bad! This should be a priority to change. Directions to parking lot shouldn't have routed people in front of the armory - police didn't seem to know what was going on at first. Definitely a shortage of porta-potties - ended up starting about 2 minutes late and had to work through all runners. Bag check worked fine. Race: First half of the course was ok. The last half was poorly routed - mainly because of traffic jams; felt like people waiting in their cars would be getting hostile/violent towards runners. Not good for future community race support. But police seemed to be handling it as best as they could. Bad accident at one intersection - ugh! Hope no one was hurt. Water stops were good, well stocked and knowledgeable volunteers. Appreciated several locations for gel. Mile markers were very visible. Plenty of course volunteers riding by on bikes checking runners. Didn't need any medical help - but they were very visible. Finish line was easy to find and routing through to post-race food, etc. went fine. Post-race food was ok, but would be nice to get some more variety in the future. Finisher's medal was ok - nothing distinctive. Results were online quickly. | |
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R. B. from Alexandria, VA
(3/25/2006)
"Scenic and challenging course; great volunteers" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Scenic course through downtown DC to some of the monuments and the Ellipse. At mile 11, the half-marathoners veered off to end their route, and the marathoners started climbing steep hills - at least 3 or 4 big ones between miles 11.5 and 17, when we were in Prince George's Co. The rest of the course was rolling, with lots of long gradual hills and descents. Excellent water/Gatorade/Gu support by enthusiastic volunteers. I only wish there were more spectators to cheer us on. Granted, this was the inaugural running of this race, so it doesn't have the tradition or cache of the Marine Corps Marathon - yet. Also, there was lots of snarled traffic in PG and some irate motorists. However, road closures have been announced for weeks in the news and on signs along the road. I highly recommend this race! | |
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Dane Rauschenberg from Arlington, VA
(3/25/2006)
"Good in spite of the gloom and doom" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Was the second half of this marathon one of the more challenging of the 24 marathons I have ever run? Sure was! Do I hope they change the course some next year? Sure do! Do I think they will need to to even have one next year? Without a doubt. But here are my thoughts. 1. Every race can't be a personal best. People still run Leadville knowing they will be lucky to run under 4 hours. 2. I have no problem with the time limit that was set, as it is nice to run a race with a fair number of people who are solid runners and are there to have fun, but also to put up some impressive times. 3. No, the race course did not go through some of the most scenic parts of DC (the Anacostia section of DC is well-known for not being upper class at all) but the specators came out in very good numbers on an early Saturday morning to cheer on the specators. I wish they all read this recap so I could say thank you to them. 4. I would not want to try and coordinate a 26.2-mile race in the greater D.C. area... no way, no how. 5. To those stuck in traffic that was blocked for the final six miles: I am sorry but I am sure you were given ample warning and swearing at runners as they go by will not help. But those were in the minority, and thank you for those who were stuck and still cheered on strangers as they passed by. To sum up: This race needs a great deal of work, but the spirit seems to be there and hopefully it will return better next year. | |
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f. d. from dc
(3/25/2006)
 "fair" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Marketing, marketing, marketing.... The city needs to get our local politicians behind this marathon. This needs to be promoted as a "city-wide" event. Also, with a few little tweaks (i.e., start and end the race inside RFK, sponsor neighborhood cheering sections, and organize a real expo). | |
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T. B. from Washington, DC
(3/25/2006)
"Not bad for a first try, but a lot of kinks" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon (formerly the National Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Let me start by saying that I respect the difficulties of running a race in the nation's capital. Security, more churches than people, and a highly fussy town with little patience for the usual traffic woes caused by a marathon. That said, this run has a long way to go to make it into the run it deserves to be. The course went for 10 bloody miles (at least) in PG county (Maryland, not DC). Further, I have lived in DC for 7 years and I have never seen so many blighted neighborhoods. I understand that there is something to seeing "the real DC," but I felt like I was running through war-torn Seriavo. Additionally, there was a total dearth of porta-potties. That said, the volunteers were plentiful and very pleasant. The spectators were supportive, if a bit colorful. I will do this run again, because I know they are going to get it right, and when they do, WOW! There is no other American city as picturesque as DC, and a solid course will show that. |
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