I grew up in San Antonio so mixed the race with a family visit. Prior comments might have turned me off from running this race but it seems like nice improvements were made.

Pros
Nice city to visit
Easy walk to expo, start and finish from river walk hotels.
Strong expo.
Nice shirts and medals.
Medical support seemed superb. They were everywhere. There were cooling stations (?AC buses), 2stations with sponges, cold towels at finish. A volunteer was asking if you were ok at mile 20.
Water& fluids with nice full cups frequently.
Good photo op at Alamo.

Cons
Hot and humid made for a slower finishing time. Weather has potential to be lovely though.
Course is flat but definitely some boring stretches.
Finish line food uninspired. Purchased a great burger for $2.
Not a lot of spectators.
Headliner concert is for half marathoners.

My first marathon, after my first 1/2 marathon last year, both in this location. The comments on last year's run were discouraging, but I found plenty of water, Gatorade, GU, and cheer along the way all the way through the last water station (about mile 25). The crowds thinned out after the 1/2, but that's OK, and the final 0.2 miles had lots of cheering spectators as I sprinted(!) the last short stretch. There are also fewer runners so you can concentrate on form. There were several cheerleading groups in the second half that had lots of spirit even for those, like me, who were limping in after 6 hours. There were ample refreshments at the end, staff handing out chocolate milk to the late arrivals (like me), and medical support with a well-staffed facility at the end with attentive personnel along the way in. I plan to do this again next year.

If you run this, run the 1/2 because the full stinks. The course is terrible and the crowds are pretty small once you split. Actually, running the half may be bad too. The starting corrals are way too crowded and don't expect many restrooms towards the front. Also there's a big dip right before the finish that tunnels underneath the Alamodome, so expect a big hill. The 2011 race was really hot and humid. I finished towards the front and they were already short of water. After race food consisted of one bottle of water, cytomax,generic fritos, and pieces of bagels. They may have had more food, but I imagine most of it was consumed by 1/2 runners. I don't plan on ever running this race again. It's probably the worst I've ever run in.

Enjoyed the first half of the race. It was extremely hot the last half and towards the end of the race (26.2) there was only water, it seemed like even that was almost gone. Needed more ice and cold sponges thru out race. The race should start much earlier, not 7:30am.

I was a very disappointed with the lack of attention given to us full marathoners. We pay more for our entry fee, yet we are treated like we don't count. Why would you give us salt packs, really? We need cytomax and gu!

In addition, the full marathon portion of the course stinks! It is so boring and ugly! San Antonio is such a beautiful place, I know because I live there, why wouldn't you showcase other more aesthetically pleasing areas of the city.

The post race food/drink, or lack there of was pathetic. I don't consider heb brand fritos and water is recovery food. Maybe get better sponsors. I remember when the marathon was run by samarathon.org and we had rice and beans! Miss those days!

We know that SA weather is unpredictable, think outside the box Competitor, perhaps start the full marathoners at an earlier time.

Unfortunately, this will probably be my last RNR marathon. It's too commercial!

I finished in the top 50% of marathon runners. The post race food that was left consisted of an apple, a bagel and a bag of off brand Fritos. 20,000 half marathoners had cleaned the place out. Pathetic treatment for a race costing over $100 that bills itself as a marathon. Competitor Group has ruined what used to be a good race. It would be too difficult for them to allocate a fair share for the marathon runners. Enter Competitor's races understanding that you may be considered second class for running twice the distance.

Pros:
-decent crowds (mainly in the first half)
-organized packet pickup
-decent expo (I got to meet Meb)
-cool sponges at one water table
-cool towels at finish
Cons:
-they need a separate start for those running the full. WAY too many walkers blocking narrow roads in the first half.
-poor course support (I came in well under the course time limit and encountered aid stations that had run out of Cytomax, oranges, nothing at the finish besides water and corn chips). You'd think with Cytomax as a sponsor they'd have plenty of it along the course and at the finish
-the expo ended way too early (5pm) and we were herded out like cattle by a rather rude announcer
-horrible parking. I wasn't keen on walking over half a mile to the car after running 26.2
-the tech shirts were nice but ran WAY small and they wouldn't let you exchange
-desolate 2nd half of the course. Graveyards, airport, seedy areas, and a refinery? Not the best way to showcase your city.

*I think it's important to note: the course support was so poor people were coming out of their houses with drinks, pretzels, potatoes, etc.

*I live in TX so I'm used to the heat and even I thought it was rough conditions to race-that being said, the race organizers can't control the weather but they can control how they support the people out on the course. If you allow a course to be open for 7 hours, you need to have the supplies to support those people! The last person to finish should be provided the same support as the one who finishes first.

I gravitate towards smaller marathons, but in my quest to complete the 50-states, the RnR San Antonio 'fit' into my schedule. Unforunately, I chose poorly. As stated previously, this race was designed for the 1/2-marathoners. I am an average marathoner - finishing ~4-hour mark. By the time I finished (~4:16), the headlining band had already finished their concert! Seriously? Not that I run races b/c of the band, but this was pretty crummy. Post-race food was crappy (at best). Nothing you can do about the weather. I don't particularly care about shirts or medals, but these were so-so. All in all, I wish I would have done a smaller TX marathon - they typically do them better when they are smaller. I doubt I will ever do this one again.

I have run this marathon since the early 80's. Arrived at A T & T at about 4:15 AM, then rode downtown on the buses. After the race we rode the buses back to the parking area, great. For a back-of-the packer like me, this was a great experience. Plenty of water, cytomax, pretzels. At 20 miles, there were hot, fresh tortillas, fantastico! The different types of bands all through the course were great. The finish line crew was very good. Cold wet rags, cold water,corn chips, energy bars, beer. Already planning for next time(2012). Yes, it was hot, this is South Texas in November, get over it!
Negative parts: Expo closes too early. Some of the 'bandit' runners were no doubt those that couldn't get in to the Alamodome before 5. Should stay open until 7 PM. Retrieving your bag should should not be an agonizing trip down and up and down and up stairs right after finishing a marathon. I have run marathons in all 50 states and in the Carribean. This is one of the better ones.

As our 24th marathon, this should have been a great weekend. However, due to the temperature one of our runners experienced heat exhaustion and began vomiting at the finish line. There were no medical personnel there, and he was told to 'move along'. He collapsed outside the finish line and lay there semi-conscious, cramping, and dizzy for over an hour with no one checking on his condition. Luckily, we found him as we finished - spent the night at the hospital, something that could probably have been avoided had anyone cared to check on him. If you can't support this many runners, then maybe the field should be limited. In addition, my friend was running her first marathon. The time limit was listed as 7 hours - we did it within that time limit, but experienced many closures of water stops within the last 10 miles. With the heat this really could have meant serious medical issues; luckily, we found the ice bags at the medical tents and were able to cool down - how many people around us were not so lucky? 7 hours means 7 hours chip time, not clock time. Again, runners must be supported or you get what we saw at the emergency room - a sea of runners suffering the consequences of poor race planning.