Waited one hour to get off the freeway. Got to the street and saw there was a signal that was not being directed by police. It was 6:00 in the morning and there was no other traffic. Once we got to the AT&T Center, we waited ANOTHER HOUR to get on the shuttle to start. Started 86 minutes late due to delays. Most of the route was way too narrow for the number of runners. Afterward you could not even move in the glut of runners. To top off the whole mess, there was not even a finisher's shirt - just a cotton tee in the goody bag from the expo. Ripoff.

You have to realize this was their first attempt. As such, it was a decent effort. There is much to commend San Antonio for. Great spirit and good volunteers. They need to do a better job with the logistics at the end. The course is fairly easy but lacks shade for most of the later part of the marathon. You also have an uphill climb to the finish line that begins at mile 26! I think they will work out the bugs they had this year and next year will be better.

I have run this race starting in 1982. I've seen it grow from 2,000 runners to over 25,000, and it's still handled in a highly professional manner. This is a must-run race for me. The water stations, medical tents, and bands all made this a great event. It can only get better for 2009.

I am from SA and have run the old SA Marathon a few times. I had never run an RnR Marathon before. I signed up despite my fear of warm weather - which can happen here - to see what this first RnR SA would be like.

Wow!

I worried that the course would be too crowded and too narrow, and that it would be tough to get enough volunteers out to support such a large first time event. From where I was in corral 8, no problems. Plenty of space to run, and no troubles with volunteers.

The expo was huge, with lots of stuff to buy. People especially loved the RnR-branded merchandise. It did get crowded, and you did have to pay for parking, which I didn't like.

I came early and got dropped off at the start line, so I can't speak to the shuttle situation. The local paper said there were problems - I'm guessing because people waited until the last minute to come. If you come, allow plenty of time to get to the start line. Just common sense, but here in SA people seem to like to wait for the last minute.

Corrals were clearly marked and there was no problem getting on pace quickly.

The course is pretty good. The interesting sights are right at the beginning, the first five miles, with some pretty houses in the first half, too. The second half has the missions, but also some not-so-pretty scenery, and fewer spectators. Hills? Not really. It isn't flat, but the only real rises are on the east/west street after downtown, a few short ones in the park area after 18, and that last mean 0.2 at the end into the Alamodome.

One funny touch: there was ice in the Cytomax! I can't say I have ever had ice in my sports drink at a race before.

Bands were fine. Not as dense with music as I would have hoped. The concert after was quite good. No charge for parking then!

San Antonio is a great place to visit, with lots of restaurants and things to see and do close to downtown. This is a strong destination marathon for that reason.

I thought it was a strong showing for a large (30,000) inaugural marathon. I am sure the bugs with the shuttles will get worked out. Just beware the weather! We were lucky this year with cool temps, but that isn't always the case.

Thank you to San Antonio for allowing me to achieve my goal of completing my first marathon. Packet pick up was an easy and very well organized process. There were volunteers always to assist you and direct you in the right direction. Souvenirs were pricey, but everything is expensive nowadays. Weather was perfect. I prepared "AHEAD OF TIME" with warmers to throw away. In my opinion, corrals were a good idea... I've been in events without corrals and you could barely breathe, with people stepping all over you. The BEST thing that made this event happen were the wonderful, generous, smiling VOLUNTEERS!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. We couldn't have done this without them. It was amazing. THANK YOU to the BANDS that kept us going. THANK YOU to the beautiful CROWD that supported us for 26.2 miles. If there was a quiet area, oh well; it is understandable that there were many road closures that happy and anxious supporters could overcome. I trained without BANDS playing along the way, so it wasn't any different. It is GREATLY appreciated that the BANDS hung out there playing for many hours for us to keep it going.

Ok, this UPHILL near the finish line some runners complaining about, c'mon... if you are running a marathon or half marathon, we must prepare for any terrain and check elevation before registering.
We had goodies at the finish line, enough for recovery. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE SPONSORS. Traffic is always expected for any race event; I decided to cab it and planned ahead of time to arrive earlier and beat the crowds. There was a band playing at the finish line. I sat down to stretch, wait for the crowd to clear up and enjoy my complimentary BEER and took a cab back to my Bed and Breakfast. Overall, I am satisfied and still have a smile. I'm thankful for all of the people who made this happen. THANK YOU, SAN ANTONIO!!!!! Yes, I would do this again.

This was a flat race. We lucked out and had good weather, a first for me at San Antonio. There were more rest stops and porta-potties that I have seen on a course. Good numbers of spectators too!

I missed running by as many missions as last year. They had some super glitch in the buses after the race, but once that was fixed I just walked up to a bus. The buses worked great in the morning, but if you come to any large race "late," you will be so stuck in traffic and lines that you will make you hate the race. Come early like they suggest and the system works perfectly! Not sure what happened in the afternoon, but I was waiting for a slow runner and there nothing but tons of food left and no lines for anything! Great job to support the slow runners so well!

San Antonio is still a great place for a short vacation. A very walkable tourist area right next to the expo and dining.

We got a very nice medal, and, for Elite, a nice shirt. Elite has marginal race shirts, but the rest of their operation is top-notch. Why they can't make a good shirt is beyond me. It is a full-priced race; give us a shirt worthy of that price. But still, it was better than most Elite shirts, though it was still just okay at best.

Oh yes, there were tons of bands... never worry about that in a Rock 'n' Roll event. Lots of well stocked rest stops, lots of bands, and plenty to eat and drink afterward. Elite puts on a first-class race. This was no exception.

I enjoyed my short stay in San Antonio. The expo was great! The course was not "fast and flat" as advertised because there were several challenging hills and many turns. The only thing that I really didn't care for was the lack of organization they showed in transporting runners to the start line - their own buses were delayed and we almost missed the start.

Let's start at the expo. I thought it one of the better ones of late. The locals were Texas friendly - no surprise - and it was a smooth experience getting bib and goody bag. Lots of booths and freebies for all. Well done...

I was at the first RNR Arizona, so I expected the bus ride to the start to be a challenge, and it was. We were at our shuttle area plenty early, thinking we would avoid it, but that was not the case. The good news is that I hear the busing problems were solved after the first year in AZ and I suspect they will be in San Antonio as well.

As bad as the transportation was, the porta-pot situation was equally frustrating at the starting area. Not a square to spare - in fact, there was not a square of toilet paper to be found anywhere. Let me just say that an awful lot of the free gloves from Verizon Wireless never made it to the starting line. The ladies were especially displeased, to say the least. The porta-pots at the finish area also suffered the same resupply failures. Hopefully this too will be reviewed and staffing assigned to resupply these treasured palaces of plastic. God bless Verizon Wireless; they gave us what turned out to be actually a great goody bag item for late and early season races, and for unexpected emergencies.

As is most often the case, the volunteers and the crowd support make the event and San Antonio did itself proud. Like some, I tend to zone out and go to my happy place, but I sure saw a lot of great support. At least we are moving and getting warm, but the bands, volunteers and crowd support get a big thanks for doing their thing in the early cold. I heard a few complain about cups being too full at several water stops, but I can deal with that. The devil is always in the details, and this too will be refined I'm sure. I guess I never had the speed to be upset about a cup being too full, but I get it. A few road surfaces were suspect and I saw one small missing utility cover, but everyone was warning each other.

The crowds outside the Alamodome were impressive. The finish area was the best supplied one I have seen in a long time. H-E-B and all the folks handing out all the food and drink get a special thanks - very well done.

The question I have is: was it only me or did others have no time for the event with the new style chip? I found it easy to use but I didn't receive a time for the day. I think this could be avoided by having us pass by a sensor at the expo like we do with the older style plastic chip to make sure it's working.

Bottom line for me is that I think this race is going to explode. With a year in the books and time to refine a few things, the upside for this event is huge. With all of the first-rate attractions, restaurants and hotels downtown, hold on, San Antonio; you are creating a potential monster of an event.

- SW

This is my third marathon in San Antonio and what a difference Elite Racing has made. In addition to drawing 25,000 runners, they improved the course, expo, and course support.

The only logistics concern was the shuttles to the starting line and return from the race finish to the parking area. This needs to be addressed before next year.

Except for a small hill at mile five, the course was relatively flat. The first ten miles wove through downtown San Antonio and were very scenic. The next five miles went by missions in San Antonio, which were interesting. From 16 - 22 it got a little boring but the race ended at the Alamodome where there was lots of fan support.

The course support was exceptional, especially for the size of this race. There was plenty of water and volunteers at every race station. New Balance supported the race by providing cold, red sponges at mile 19. Although the day was cool, it helped me get ready for the final seven miles.

There are some areas that need improvement but I still give the entire event five stars so runners can plan for next year.

While the course, crowd enthusiasm and post-race organization were great, the pre-race traffic jam and lack of organization getting people to the start of the race were frustrating. We left at 5:45 a.m., expecting to get to the AT&T Center by 6:15 a.m. We then figured the shuttle would get us to the start by 6:30 - 6:45. The race started at 7:30 a.m., but unfortunately, we did not get to the starting line until 8:10 a.m. I was to start in Corral #6, but had to start with the Corral #20 runners. It was difficult weaving through all of the slower runners for 11 miles. After the half-marathoners split from us at mile 11, I thought the race was top-notch.