May 15, 2024
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☰
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.5 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 417 [displaying comments 351 to 361]
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A Runner from Atlantic Beach, Florida
(6/3/2002)
 "Huge Disappointment!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I believed the marketing hype, as I would imagine many others did, only to find few spectators, sparsely placed bands, understaffed water stations, poorly placed mile markers, and a course which is anything but runner friendly. The course features lots of cement and a stretch between miles 6.5 and 9+ that I would imagine accounted for countless injuries because of the pitch of the road. I would implore race organizers to reroute this section of the course. This whole stretch is a knee injury waiting to happen. On another note, the most frequently asked question among runners on the course was: 'Where are all the bands?' | |
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A Runner from Marina Del Rey, CA
(6/3/2002)
 "Big improvement" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The finish area was made wider, which was nice. The cambered roads should be a concern for those who have hip/groin issues, and possibly knee issues also. There are miles of tilted roads. This is a very crowded race, so if you are looking for a PR, you need to watch where you line up. Many of the streets are narrow and you can get packed in. I went in just to do a training run, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. | |
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A Runner from LA
(6/3/2002)
"poor planning for so many runners" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 With 21,000 running (or walking) this race it would seem to me that they might want to place a few more port-o-potties around the course- especially in the urban areas. If you need to use the potty, give up on setting a PR because you'll probably be waiting in line for about 10 minutes. The previous posters are are right on, the banked curves on 163 are murder on the ankles and arches. Needless to say, I would not do this race again or recommend it to others. | |
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A Runner from Runner from Santa Barbara, CA
(6/3/2002)
 "Well Organized, Great Race, Not THAT Flat" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great organization for a large city marathon. Lots of food/drinks, transportation, medical aid, information, etc. Great crowd support. MUCH better than LA. This is not a 'flat' course, though. Nothing too difficult, but don't expect to hit a PR simply because it's advertised as flat/fast. Not a criticism, though. Great course, great city, and I'll certainly be back next year. | |
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A Runner from Los Angeles, CA
(6/3/2002)
"Wonderful event; Lousy Leaving" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Loved the course, the crowds, the bands. Could use some more bands. There were some long stretches without music. Some hills but nothing outrageous. The race started on time. Plenty of fluids. Friendly volunteers. Many medical tents. Could use more than one gel station. Overall, a great day with the exception of the horrendous method of leaving the finish area. When I left, the line to the shuttle buses was a 1/2 mile long. The walk to the parking area was 30+ minutes. It took me more than 1 hour to get out of the parking lot. Very poorly organized parking. Cars were all over the place, not in spaces. They need more people directing traffic in and traffic out. My friends tell me there was a 2.5 mile backup on the freeway of spectators trying to get into the finish area. The finish area crowd is a sellout football size crowd. Why don't the organizers recognize this? They need to figure out how to get much better crowd flow. Oh yeah, the Chargers never sell out games. That must be why they totally underestimated it again ! It was a great day with a painful ending. Hey Elite Racing, please fix this for next year! | |
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A Runner from Sabinas, Coah. MEXICO
(6/3/2002)
"Great marathon." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is my 3rd marathon and I found it to be very well organized. There were plenty of water/Gatorade stations, first aid stations, spectators are very supportive. The first few miles (3) are a little bit crowed and difficult to get into your pace (difficult to pass) but this is normal on big races like this. Shuttles from the hotels to the starting line is an area for improvement. I will definitely participate again. Sabinas, Coah. Mexico. | |
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A Runner from Phoenix, Ariona
(6/3/2002)
"Fun, well-organized marathon" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my fourth marathon, my mom's first, and I'm glad none of the negative comments about the race from 2001 deterred me from registering. As someone previously posted, maybe they were more efficient than last year. I thought this was one of the friendliest, best-organized marathons I've done. Yes, there is traffic; that just means you need to plan ahead, as you would with any marathon. I came in with the 3:30 finishers; had no problems dealing with the crowds. My mom came in at seven and a half hours, and said the course support, gel, water, etc. were still going strong. The only thing that threw me for a loop was the course; after all the comments I expected the first 13 miles to be the most strenuous, the second 13 easier. Unfortunately, I found the hilliness of the second half to be a bit of a challenge, after running a strong 19 miles. I didn't meet my time goal, but I still had a good time. | |
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A Runner from Monterey, California
(6/3/2002)
 "Fun race if you avoid usual crowd issues" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Comments from prior years about logistics at start and finish are true, but they can be avoided. Stay at a hotel near the finish (Oldtown) and you can walk back to your room. My hotel had a shuttle to the start. Course weaves through many parts of town and is sort of interesting, if not that scenic. Crowd and support in 2002 was fantastic throughout the course. This is not a race for the hardcore crowd. Lots of fun though. | |
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A Runner from Pasadena (Los Angeles), California
(6/3/2002)
"Very nice urban marathon with ocean views!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my second marathon, and after running the L.A. Marathon, I am surprised that I allowed myself to run another urban marathon. To say the least, I did not enjoy the L.A. Marathon scenery, and I was disappointed to see how unattractive portions of my city really are. But...San Diego isn't your average urban center, and I enjoyed the course immensely. There were stretches with ocean views, a portion through the nice Gaslamp district of downtown and even stretches on the Freeway! Weather was great, ranging from about 60 degrees and overcast to high 60's and sunny towards the end of the race. I will definitely repeat. | |
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A Runner from Beautiful el lay
(6/3/2002)
"Pleasantly Surprised" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first time here. I almost decided not to run this race due to the negative comments I had read on this site about the organization. They must have made a lot of improvements, because I found the organization excellent. In particular, had no problem with the shuttles. Drinks along the course were plentiful. Same with the food/drinks at the finish. The course was not nearly as flat as some made it sound, but really not bad either. There were, however, several extended stretches of crowned/cambered roads (not just on 163) which was a bit unsettling. As for the bands and crowd, I don't really care much either way, but no major complaints. I had read things about the TiTs (or TnTs...), but found them to be no different than other runners. I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with them. Weather was good until 10:00, when it started being a bit warm. (But that made for a very pleasant post-race environment.) |
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