This was my fifth marathon and I was hesitant to sign up for a race with 30,000 participants - especially one involving shuttles to and from the race. Sounded like a logistics nightmare. The organization was amazing, though. Went to the expo on Saturday afternoon, and everything was very easy to find. I was second in line for my packet, third in line for my t-shirt. Although there were thousands of folks at the shuttle site, there were more buses than I could count and we boarded quickly and left quickly. We also were returned quickly back to our car after the race. Another plus was that we always knew where we were supposed to go and where things were located, no frustration. During the run there were banks of porto-lets at the start and finish as well as five or six at every mile with rarely a wait. The water stops were long, well manned and on both sides of the road and included plenty of water, Cytomax, and food items. And because it turned out hot that day, there were cold sponges during the race and cold water soaked towels at the finish. Nothing was overlooked. Spectator support was much better than most races and the bands were good and placed frequently along the course. The tech shirt was nice and the medal was cool. They did an amazing job of handling 30,000 folks so smoothly. Can't say enough good things.

I was really worried having read all the horror stories of the inaugural RNR, but 2009 was flawless for me (except the wicked humidity!). Great shuttling, great crowds, a fair course, and the expo was everything it needed to be. The support crews and volunteers were unbelievable (there must have been 3,500 of them). The course route downtown was cool - there are a few boring/unattractive miles in the last third of the race.

When the weather cooperates, this will make for a great day.

At 5:15, I left hotel for a five-block walk to the shuttle line. Two hours later, I was dropped at the opposite end of the event from the gear drop-off. Then it was a quarter-mile to the corral! Exhausted and hot, I waited to start! It was too crowded for the first 12 miles - tripping over each other, jockeying for running space. My most unpleasant run ever! Cool city, nice people....

I was hoping that, since this was the second year for the R'n'R SA Marathon that any kinks from the first year would have been worked out. But clearly they have not been. The shuttle from the downtown hotels to the starting line was a mess. I arrived at 5 a.m. and the lines were snaking in front of the convention center. There were at least three different long lines (with no end in sight), and no one could tell me which line to stand in. After standing in line for one hour, I finally got on a bus and was sent to the starting line. There were still a lot of people in line, and it's hard to believe that some of them were able to make it to the starting line in time.

When we were dropped off, we had to walk about a mile to get to the starting line itself. The porta-potties were few and far between. Certainly not enough for 30,000 runners. The course was flat with a few hills here and there. Since the temps got up to the high 70s and it was humid, people were dropping like flies. I cramped up at mile 20 and didn't stop until mile 24. By then, my legs were shot. So I slowly plodded my way into the finish line. I was just happy I finished. My worst time and experience ever. The pacers were basically non-existent, and some had succumbed to the heat as well. The volunteers were excellent and there was plenty of Cytomax (I particularly don't like the taste of the stuff) and water. They even started handing out sponges at mile 24 or so.

The finish line/family reunion area was chaos. After grabbing some food, I waited under the letter "L" to wait for my family. After standing there for 10 minutes, I realized something was wrong and started finding my way out. Little did I know that there were TWO family reunion areas and my family was waiting at the other one!! From there I had to push my way down the stairs and up another flight of stairs to find my family at the other family reunion area. After running 26.2 miles, the last thing I needed was to have to search for my family, fight the crowds and climb a bunch of stairs. I'm certainly not an elite runner, and I don't ask for much from these races, but this is my seventh marathon, and it's by far the worst organized. Oh, and no finisher's T-shirt either.

Rock and Roll races are all alike: Large events, with all of the traffic that large events cause. The courses and the food were all standard R'n'R fare... and another great medal and even a good shirt.

San Antonio, R'n'R or not, is always a tough run. It is warm; it is humid; and the minor rollers just keep getting tougher. But the R'n'R uphill finish is just a whoppin'! When R'n'R took over, their marketing machine brought so many runners that the race had to be moved outdoors, and they had to lose their hot food and finisher's shirt, which forced the climb to the stadium level. Minor problem, unless you are hot and tired and just want to get this over with!

The fans were the best that I have seen them; that is nice. The course is still nice, going past the missions and a lot of varied neighborhoods to see the entire city. Typical R'n'R; they do a big race, and if you come early, it's a great race. If you are trying to get there an hour early, you won't! I can't believe that people have not figured out to head to large races early yet - no amount of organization can over come stupidity, ignorance, and, well, ignorance. I mean it is warm, so get there a few hours early when the system is working; don't spend an hour on a freeway imitating a parking lot.

This will never be one of my favorite events. I like it less as a Rock 'n' Roll, as you can't just park at your hotel and walk everywhere. San Antonio is a great city. Everything is in walking distance, except for the race now. I'd like to see somebody start a new San Antonio race and start and finish it downtown like the old race... with hot food, a finisher's shirt and ice cream! I want a real Texas marathon, not a marketing machine event. Maybe San Marcos will step up and crate a marathon if San Antonio can't support two races.

My biggest concern is that the race is almost too big. They did make improvements from last year to the expo and the buses. The course is nice for the first half but the back half around the missions is boring and crowd support is sparse. The weather was horrible yesterday, with temps well into the 70's by the finish for average runners. They did a great job with having water on the course, and I really noticed the medical teams out on the course on alert for those who might need help. If I do it again, I might just go for the half.

I am not a fan of point-to-point races and taking shuttles. Thanks so much to all of the volunteers who helped yesterday!

Found this to be a really easy course - they do throw in a small hill right at the end, and the time had some guy cooking something right next to the finish line which was making people gag.

They state that they have pace setters (never saw them after the corral). Kind of a pain in the ass to work around people, but it was a fun place to run. Would be a great race for a first-timer or a group of people. You can even pick up your number on race day if you register online... though they say you have to come a day early.

Also, once the race splits off for the half marathon, the back half for the full is dead for fans. The bands suck; wear your iPod.

I ran the 2009 for the first time as I moved back to Texas in April. This was an OK race, but not one that I think I would do again. I just like to run different races, and there was nothing about this one that gave me an "I'd come back" feeling, like I got at Richmond, Green Bay and Memphis.

The course was OK - nothing spectacular. All of the locals talked about running through the Missions. It was OK but not scenic. They did a great job in traffic control, and most roads were shutdown so there was no dodging of impatient drivers.

The one thing that stood out about this race was the course support. Lots of water stops with water and Cytomax, gels, and medical tents. Additionally there were a lot of fans that actually had different types of foods available pretzels, trail mix, etc. Of the other six marathons I have run, this was clearly the best in this regard.

I don't get into crowd support too much, but this had good crowd support (but not like Marine Corps).

The post-race feed was remarkably average. Nothing to write home about. No race can come close to Memphis for post-race feeds. None.

I don't know about the logistics, as I bought the gold pass (and parked at the finish area, and was bussed to the start), so that went really well for me. It ought to, for 45 bucks! On my way down, there was a lot of cars backed up to get to some of satellite areas to be bussed to the start. I can imagine that there were a lot of late-comers to the start.

The expo was OK - nothing really different from other expos.

All in all, living in San Antonio, I will look for other possibilities. But if you are not from San Antonio, this would be pretty good. There's a lot to do in San Antonio and the Riverwalk is pretty nice.

I would agree with those who posted before me. The organization was a mess. Our group almost missed the start, which was a difficult start to the day, due to the busing issues.

We had to wait in line for awhile to even enter the expo. It was not well planned, which is not what I expect from a Rn'R Marathon. I hope these issues get ironed out for this year.

I loved the course. It was beautiful and the weather was great. Course support and aid stations were very good.

BE CAREFUL OF THE REFLECTORS in the median of the roads. They sometimes shift out of the mid-line of the road, and it caused me to fall.

I had run the last San Antonio Marathon in 2007 and was excited about the new Rock and Roll Marathon in 2008. While at the expo, I signed up to run again this year. I won't sign up again.

Unlike most other major races, this one does not allow third parties to pick up race packets. You must pick up your own packet and then exit past the vendors. I like going to the expo. I resent being forced to go.

I stayed downtown before the race about two miles from the start. If I had known I would wait for 90 minutes for the bus, which would then drop me off one mile from the start, I would have walked. This year I will walk.

The last 100 or so meters are up a short, steep hill. The finish is chaotic. I abandoned my gear bag rather than wait for UPS to check each bag one by one for each of the 50 people in line ahead of me.

An earlier post referred to any excitement associated with this race as being staged. Yes, it has a commercial feel to it that is somewhat off-putting. I'll opt for something different next year.