I did a personal record on the course with a finish time of 4:03:00 (53 minutes and 58 seconds better than my last one, Feb. 2008 in Austin, TX).

I traveled down a day early to visit and photograph the historic Alamo site. I studied Texas history, viewed the gardens and jogged the San Antonio River Walk. The historic sections, flora and fauna and weather were all phenomenal.

I enjoyed the town's people and other runners as well the race course volunteers who staffed the many water and aid stations. Many thanks to the citizens of San Antonio!

Constructively: Elite's management planning and organization skills for the finish village safety, crowd control, package pick-up and exit strategy could benefit measurably from improvement.

This was an inaugural marathon, so the city and the organizers have more than a couple of bugs to work out:

The Start:

NO COFFEE! First, I think that this is pretty close to being a violation of the Geneva Convention - having people stand around at the crack of dawn without providing anything warm and caffeinated. Made even worse by the fact that the race brochure SPECIFICALLY STATED that there would be COFFEE AND BAGELS at the beginning. I'm kicking myself for passing a half-dozen Starbucks, Krispy Kremes, and Taco Cabanas without getting coffee.

NO SHELTER! The start was at the Lions Field just south of Brackenridge Park, rather than in the park itself. So, there was nowhere to stand in the dry if it had been raining, and no way to stand under something to stay warm-ish in the 30-degree morning. If it had been a typical San Antonio November morning, we probably would have been OK. Saturn had some patio heaters - with 30,000 runners tried to huddle under them.

PLENTY OF POTTIES.

GREAT ACTUAL RACE START. The Rock and/or Roll series uses corrals for the start, where groups of about 1,000 runners are set off, spaced about 60-90 seconds apart. The beauty of this is that there's not the usual pre-race shuffle for the first mile. The drawback is that if you're back in corral 30, you don't start until at least 60 minutes after the leaders.

Parking: plenty of parking at the AT&T Center, and since we were there 2 hours before the race start, we had no problems getting a shuttle.

I think that 90 minutes standing and shivering before the start may have had something to do with the crash at mile 21. We'd brought throw-away sweats for the start, but should have brought some space blankets, too.


The Finish:

THE ALAMODOME STINKS. After 26.2 relatively flat miles, there's a dip to go under the freeway, then a hill for an on-ramp, then a downhill and a 90-degree turn for the bus loading/unloading ramp, and then a hill and a 90-degree corner to the finish line. Blows.

THE ALAMODOME STINKS PART II. After you get through the finish line support (great, by the way - plenty of food, plenty of volunteers), you're out in the middle of a big parking lot. No grass, no benches, no trees.

THE ALAMODOME STINKS PART III. NO SHADE. So, you've just run 26.2 miles on a pretty sunny course, and it's afternoon in south Texas. Of course you don't want shade. NOT. Seriously, the only shade was in the Saturn Tent, and in the potties. No tent under which to watch the entertainment. It hits 85 some afternoons in November; this could have been a disaster.

THE ALAMODOME STINKS PART IV. NO PARKING. So, by using the Alamodome for the finish, the organizers eliminated almost all the excess parking in downtown San Antonio. They'd tried to mitigate it by having parking at the AT&T Center just east of downtown and running shuttles, but the buses didn't work - we stood in line (did I mention that there's no shade?) for about an hour before we got on the bus.

How I'd Fix It:

MOVE THE START TO BRACKENRIDGE PARK instead of Lions Fields. Starting in the park would solve the problem of shelter at the beginning, as it's pretty well wooded, which feels much warmer, or would block some of the rain. There's also stuff on which to sit at the start. You could bring the shuttles off of Hildebrand into the park, and have them get back on 281 to make another run by taking them out on Mulberry.

MOVE THE FINISH TO HEMISFAIR PLAZA. Starting another half-mile up Broadway at Brackenridge would let you finish at Hemisfair without having to change much of the course. There are a bunch of advantages here:
1. YOU COULD HAVE PARKING AT THE ALAMODOME.
2. THERE'S SHADE IN HEMISFAIR PARK.
3. NO HILLS ON THE RUN INTO THE FINISH.
4. THERE'S STUFF UPON WHICH TO SIT WHILE RECOVERING.
5. YOU CAN RIDE THE SPACE NEEDLE THERE.
6. IT PROVIDES EASIER ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN HOTELS.

This was my 42nd marathon and it was an OK event. Some of these comments/complaints are valid . Some of these problems can be easily avoided... at any race. Any time there is a race with over 20,000 runners, make sure you go to the expo/number pick up on Friday. If you go Saturday, it will be a frustrating madhouse. I went Friday and it was not crowded at all. I know, sometimes you just cannot do Friday. Any time there is a shuttle to the start, get on the shuttle within the first half-hour or else you will get stuck in a traffic jam. We drove right to the start and got off the bus. There was a huge traffic jam later at the start. When you get off the shuttle at the start, do not go to the first porta-potties you see. There will be huge lines. If people walked 50 yards after getting off the bus, they would have seen 60 or more porta-potties with no lines at all.

I have never ran a marathon with 26 miles of beautiful, breathtaking scenery; just follow the guy in front of you... enjoy the nice parts and daydream through the ugly parts. Garmins are fun, but if you have 10 people in a group of finishers with Garmins, no two of them will have the same distance. The course has been measured and certified.

I will agree that the shuttle line at the finish was a cruel joke. Make sure your hotel is within walking distance of the Alamodome.

The number of people overwhelmed everything, except maybe the 26.2 miles of running.... The expo was packed, though they ran it as efficiently as they could, given the space. You would think arriving 90 minutes before race start to the "preferred parking" would get you there in time, but you would be wrong. The combination of the wave start and the fact that lots of runners were still back at the "preferred parking" made running a bit easier, though we still started 15 waves late and I had to waste a lot of energy working my way back up. Finish line was packed. You would think you could get the shuttle back to your car in a line shorter than Disney, but you would be wrong. Grab a cab - it's faster.
That said, the volunteers, bands, and crowds were enthusiastic.

The race should have been run in reverse. Start at the Alamodome and finish in the park. When you ran into the Alamodome so that you could see yourself on the big screen. It made sense to finish in the Alamodome. Why finishing in the parking lot? It was too small for the crowd, and there was no place to sit except on the asphalt. Why finish there? The last 0.2 miles were up a really steep traffic ramp to the parking lot - OUCH! It was a nasty surprise. Then the start line would have been close to the hotels and shuttles would not have been and issue. Having said that, the rest of the race was up to Elite Racing's usual standards. Great food, lots of water stations filled with great volunteers, and great on-course entertainment. Yes, the expo was too crowded and should have been in the convention center where there is more room.

San Antonio is a great city filled with marvelous people. It makes it a great destination spot and the city should get a big hand for hosting this event. I bought a race jacket, and everywhere I went people commented on it and welcomed me to their city.

I'm one of those "destination marathon" people, having run in over 20 states. And out of all of the races I've run, this one was the worst as for logistics (agree with a below commentator), as well as course scenery.

There were over 30,000 runners here. Very few cities (NYC, Chicago, Honolulu) endeavor to think that their infrastructures (access, centrally located hotels) can withstand such a mass movement of people in one fell swoop. Clearly, San Antonio cannot. I think that the race should have been capped at maybe 7,000.

Why the organizers chose a disparate start and finish is beyond me. The starting point, down a drab, KFC/Blockbuster Video/Pep Boys drag, was actually at a senior center in Lion's Park; the finish was at the Alamodome. Looking back, the start and finish should have been at the Alamodome, a facility that can handle many cars. But for reasons unknown, and unlike other marathons, there was no "drive to the finish and bus to the start" dynamic. Sure, if one paid $60, they could have done that. But instead, the "preferred" option was to drive to where the NBA Spurs play (the AT&T Center (about 6.5 miles from the start and the finish) and bus it to and from. Getting to this site was unbelievably difficult. I was staying in the semi-suburban Medical Center area about 9 miles away, and it took me 90 minutes to finally get to the AT&T Center - and I only managed that by driving in reverse on the shoulder of the highway and casting my fate to back roads. Once there, I, like thousands of others, waited in an endless line in the freezing cold to board a bus, most of which were probably hopelessly stuck in traffic. There were maybe a few "porta-potties" there, but that would mean jeopardizing one's place in line. Once we finally arrived at the start (actually, a good 3/4 of a mile from the start), we were finally able to run. My gun/net time disparity was only about 20 minutes, but I talked to several people who started 1-1.5 hour after the official start.

As for the course, it was flat and incredibly dull. But other than Riverwalk, which is down off of street level, there's nothing to see in the area anyway. However, the course was set up well - good management there - and runners wanted for nothing. But once one finished, the same misery of shuttle bus hell took place once again.

In short, I ran the 26.2 in 3:48; the race start was at 730 a.m., I left my nearby at hotel at 530 a.m., and I didn't get back until 330 p.m. That, to me, speaks to everything wrong with this race.

And I don't know if it's Elite Racing or the City of San Antonio or the people that own and run the Alamodome, but there was incredible price gouging going on to park at the Alamodome, the site of the finish, the expo and the ludicrous post-race concert of 80s never-wases The Cult. For the expo, the parking was $10-20; to park there for the marathon was $60 (and I don't know what it was for the concert). And this is for a facility that's not Madison Square Garden... something that's in the middle of a major population center. Clearly, people were looking to make a lot of money. Speaking of which, the sad, destitute area around the Alamodome, half of which seem to be abandoned, had "no parking/tow zone" signs for the race and the city had no problems enforcing that rule, since I saw many people's vehicles being towed, which just exacerbated the mess leaving the area after the finish.

Never again! Worst marathon I've done! As I stated, I've run many of these things and I've never experienced anything like this. The only good thing I can say is that the weather was nice, the course was flat and there was plenty of water and stuff out there on the course.

This was my first Rock & Roll Marathon and I was totally disappointed. The first part of the course had to many turns and the second half had no fan support. As far as the bands, I didn't see any more than what I have seen at any other marathons. They needed to have better organization throughout the course and post-race party. Unless they make a lot of improvements, I would not waste my time with this one again. I am doing another Rock and Roll in Phoenix this January and I sure hope it is better than San Antonio.

This was a crowded race and I saw the shuttle and 281 problems. Roads which weren't supposed to be closed until 0630 were closed early, which made planning parking difficult. It also made it difficult for spectators to get to parts along the route, especially near the missions. Otherwise, it was well organized, with plenty of water, etc. at the aid stations. The crowds, which we haven't had in the past, were enthusiastic and encouraging. The cons: They nickel and dime you ($50 for finisher shirt, $15 for a shuttle to return to parking that you paid for, $60 if you wanted to park at the Dome, $10 to park for the expo, etc.); and they allowed folks to select their starting corral (I passed people walking at mile 2 because they had selected one of the early corrals to start, even with a 15:00+ minute pace). Overall, well organized and a lot of fun!

I am usually a little skeptical of inaugural events, as glitches sometimes make for a bad day. Staying downtown is a must, so if you want to run the RNRSA, reserve a room EARLY. I did see some of the traffic issues reported by previous participants, but they did not affect the shuttle route I was on.

The wave start takes tons of volunteers to run it like they did, and it worked great. I started in Corral 14 and did not feel pinched during the early part of the run. The aid stations were stocked well, with mostly excited volunteers. I loved the bands and pulled in lots of energy from most - except for the acoustical country song around mile 17.

The course is almost flat, with rolling hills in sections of the run. The best hill was coming out of the railroad underpass up to the finish! I know I gained a hundred places due to that little hill.

I too thought that the expo was a little too crowded and basically came in for the packet and left. I hated to be in such a hurry, as I wanted to maximize the cost effectiveness of the $10 parking fee. The pasta feed was ok. I am thinking that these events are going to be dropped from events as participation seemed low.

The spectators were great where they were located. Obviously they will not be everywhere on this course, as it goes through areas where access is limited.

If I were to change things it would be.

- Work on the shuttle program - OK this year, but not so good if it continues.
- Correct the finish line - Again, OK for a 4,000-person race but the deck was way too crowded. It may take the finish line away from the Alamodome.
- Add a couple of aid stations on the back half of the race because that would really help if the day ends up a little hotter.
- Provide better maps - It was tough to figure out shuttle stops and how to get around the dome. Likewise, spectators were lost and confused as they waited for their runners.

All in all, it's a great event and I may be back if my schedule allows.

I have run many marathons/half marathons, but this was my first ever Rock and Roll event. I was very pleased. The ability to manage this number of people through the expo, course, and transportation was amazing. Sure, there were hiccups - lines for buses, etc. - but I did not have any real trouble. I arrived at the start about an hour and a half early, which I have learned over the years to do. The only bad thing was having to be cold, but they had heat lamps, which were awesome. I got in my corral right at 7 a.m. and had no trouble starting... except for warming up (my toes were numb for a few miles). However, the bands were great, the course was great, and I ran the race of my life. I don't run races for the flavor of the GU or the design of the shirt. And hills? There were no "real" hills. It was a fast course. Thank you, Elite Racing and San Antonio! I will be back!!!