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Rock N Roll Denver Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock N Roll Denver Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.2 
Organization 3.4 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 48 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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A. F. from Colorado
(10/10/2011)
 "OK - not great" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my 10th marathon. It definitely had a corporate feel, no charities that I know of benefited from the race, and you get the feeling you're just a number. The Good: - Weather was nearly perfect for a marathon (~40 deg. at the start, very little wind, clear skies), which was welcome given how rainy and cold it was the day before. - Volunteers at the aid stations were friendly and enthusiastic. - Aid stations were well-staffed and well-stocked with water and Cytomax. - A couple of the bands were good. The Bad: - At least two of the bands in the opening miles were just tuning up and doing sound checks. A couple other stages had recorded music with no band in sight. And I think there were maybe 3(?) bands after mile 20. - The course is much more rolling than the elevation profile on the web site. For a better view, map it out at usatf.org/routes (incidentally, when I did this, I got 26.6 miles, not 26.2). Running through downtown and the parks is nice; you get a majority of the good scenery with the half-marathon. - Civic Center Park is just not made to accommodate 12,000+ runners and their families/friends. Trucks were parked on the sidewalks, forcing people to walk in the (muddy) grass. The gear check was right next to the $150 Brooks VIP porta-potties, with barricades placed so that it became incredibly congested before race time. - The start was pretty organized, but when you're pushing 1000+ people through roughly 2 1/2 lanes (because of barricades), it's really crowded. - WAY too many turns on the course, especially the 180s. It's one thing to see the runners ahead of you once or twice, but after five or six times, especially by mile 17, it gets depressing. - A minor gripe: some of the police and traffic monitors were smoking. I ran by at least four of those folks. I appreciate their work. But could they refrain from smoking so we don't have to breathe it as we run by? | |
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Ray Rutherford from Columbia, Mo MIZZOU
(8/21/2011)
 "Ghost Runner" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 This was my 21st marathon and would rate this course among the worst. How is that possible in Colorado? Also, I was there, I ran and I finished in under six hours. When I do a search of the the official results, there is no record of my accomplishment. When I contacted the organizers, I was told that it would take a while to get all the results posted. Well, you would think that 10 months would be enough time. Nope. I am the Denver Rock and Roll 'Ghost Runner' . | |
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R. H. from Orange, Virginia
(12/16/2010)
 "Better organization needed." (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 This was my tenth Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. Overall, it wasn't bad for an inaugural event, but a few things need to be addressed. It shouldn't be necessary to hire a bloodhound to find the tent with bagels and water in the start village. Even the staffers at the info booth couldn't tell me where it was. When I finally stumbled across it by accident, it was unlighted, unmarked and unmanned. That's ridiculous. The decision to sell finisher shirts at the end of the race should be changed to the previous practice of selling them at the expo. Runners have enough on their minds on race day without having to worry about carrying money or plastic while they run. Otherwise, I found the course decent, if unspectacular. Obviously, the mistake in marking the distance should not have happened at a major event like this. The volunteers were super, as always; the bands were good (I disagree with those who found them uninteresting); and the expo had plentiful and interesting vendors. A minor, but significant complaint: The increasingly bland, cookie-cutter designs for the shirts are a great disappointment after the inventive and colorful styles put out in the first years of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathons. | |
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C. M. from Denver
(11/18/2010)
 "Rock and Roll needs to step it up" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I was very excited to run a hometown marathon. This is my third inaugural Rock and Roll event (San Diego in 1998 and the Dallas half last year). Competitor knows how to put on a first-time race. This time, they disappointed. The organization of the expo (despite the high parking fees) was decent but the race morning organization was bad. The bag check was a disaster and they could have used more toilets. The course itself was pretty, but could use some MAJOR improvements. First, there is no reason, in a city as beautiful as Denver, that we need to run through Wash Park for 5 miles. There were WAY too many out-and-back turnarounds (17th Ave., 7th Ave., Wash Park, etc.) and the bridge at mile 23-24 was just plain brutal. I was expecting a "new and improved" course, as promised, but this disappointed. The "rock and roll" part of this race was a joke. I finished the race in under 4 hours, and after mile 5-ish, I passed two (2) bands playing upbeat music. The rest were playing slow songs or taking a breather. Not exactly what I expected from RNR. The course measured long and Competitor said they adjusted times accordingly. My time was not adjusted. I contacted them and their response was "all times were adjusted." I contacted them again to let them know my time on their website matched my watch time and the time on their website the day of the race and they ignored me. I wish there had been bagels and bananas at the end, though the apples and oranges were delicious! Positives: I loved the Clif Bar pace teams. Those guys rock. The staggered start was great, too. Except for the out-and-backs and Wash Park, the race didn't feel too crowded. | |
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M. H. from Colorado
(11/9/2010)
 "Mixed" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Rock N Roll Denver Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Great fan turnout and good expo. And ice buckets for feet at the end might have been the best detail! Now the bad. Long potty lines right next to the gear check. Spent 20 minutes in line; then finally just did the bag check before waiting in line again. Missed my Wave 1 start, but I'll take part of the blame. And to think I laughed at those waiting for in a short line at the mile 3 potties while walking to the start.... Course: too many turns. Just a lot of 90-degree turns in the opening miles; it doesn't open up till the run down 17th to City Park. Just too dodgy in the opening miles. There should be at most one 180-degree turn in a race, and usually only if it's out-and-back. This course has three?! Which brings us to the 8th Street viaduct and turnaround after mile 23. A real downer. I was really disappointed when I saw this on the announced route. It is already the worst part of another race, the last mile of the Buckhorn Exchange 1/2 Marathon! At least the broken glass that is usually up there seemed to be cleaned up. Just too much concrete at this stage of the race. Maybe they thought it was a good view? I heard a yell of, "Where's the #$%^& turnaround," which pretty much somes it up. So the first 20 miles could get 4-5 stars, but then it just gets killed. Hopefully, the larger turnout will give the race more negotiating power to get a better course. How about going farther east and south and returning back on Speer? Despite my comments, I'd probably run it again. As far as a marathon in CO, this is the only flat course. For out-of-staters, just a note that Denver is not in the mountains. | |
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S. Y. from Utah
(11/1/2010)
"Of 15 marathons run, Denver RnR not among the best" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Of the 15 marathons I've run, the Denver RnR is not among the best. I understand that this was an inaugural RnR marathon for Denver, but this wasn't the RnR company's first rodeo! The inaugural San Antonio RnR Marathon was much better organized. It definitely wasn't awful, but here are my specific concerns: 1. All the memorabilia at the expo said, "Marathon and 1/2." I thoroughly admire the 13.1-milers, but I wanted something recognizing my full marathon accomplishment. 2. The website promised a wave start with each corral released 1 or 2 minutes apart. This system worked wonderfully in San Antonio, and made it easy for everyone to settle into their own pace. However, Denver just let everyone charge ahead with no delay between corrals. 3. The course was fairly nice running through some scenic parts of the city. I wasn't really excited about running around in circles through the 3 main city parks, but I do understand that this reduced the amount of traffic disruption. The out-n-back over the viaduct seemed silly. And when I got to Speer Blvd. near the end of the marathon, I can only say I was glad to be running and not sitting in an idling car for what must have been at least a 1 or 2 hour traffic backup. I have a feeling that the City of Denver is going to make you change that in the future. 4. The post-race party was a bit lame. The headliner band started playing about 3 hours after the marathon start, but us mid-to-back-of-the-pack runners missed most of it. Worse than that, the beer tent ran out of beer! How in the world can a beer company who has done hundreds of similar events and who knows the exact number of runners, not be able to provide a reasonable amount of beer? Denver, you've made a fair start, but you need to make some improvements. | |
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M. S. from Virginia
(11/1/2010)
"Rock-n-Roll Disappoints as Usual..." (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I understand that it was an inaugural race and hiccups are to be expected, but as professional race organizers, the Rock 'n' Roll people did a lot poorly. Based on this experience and other Rock 'n' Roll race experiences, I have learned my lesson and will never do one of their races again. Pros: - Fan support was pretty good, particularly in the middle miles and at the finish - Denver is a great city and I loved Colorado (stayed in Boulder) - Shirt was nice (but sizes were off and they made it extremely difficult to get a correct size) - Expo was good-sized - few bargains to be had, but decent variety Cons: - The price of their races is high, so I expect a bit more, but I've gotten better swag at smaller, cheaper races - all we got were some small samples, a t-shirt and the medal - Charged for runner updates for friends - really? Most other races offer this free - The course was awful - it was nice running in the parks, but I got dizzy with all the twisting around to get miles in the parks - Too many out-and-backs on the course, including that ridiculous viaduct at mile 23 (which was long) - Start area organization was rough; the arranged bag check by last name instead of number - and then they put the signs at knee level where no one could see them - Offered free beer at the finish, but when I went to get mine, they told me the beer truck was closed, and this was while their were a significant amount of runners still on the course - Food at the finish line was disappointing - the apples were nice, but I would have preferred some traditional bananas and/or bagels | |
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S. S. from Boulder
(10/31/2010)
"Nice course but lots of room for improvement" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Rock N Roll Denver Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Overall, I enjoyed the race and the course. The weather was wonderful, and there were decent numbers of spectators. However, having run the Denver Marathon last year, I can say that the race was less enjoyable this year for several reasons. First, there was practically no food at the finish. I don't call granola or processed pineapple bits real food. No bananas, no bagels, and this was true for the fast half marathoners too - it wasn't just that they ran out of food, Competitor just cheaped out, in my opinion. (I've run 2 marathons, 7 halves, 5 10Ks and 2 5Ks in the last 2 years and this race had the least and worst "food.") Had I not packed some food in my gear check I would've been really famished and fuming. This needs to be addressed for next year. Second, gear check was a mess. Alphabetical signs at waist height that couldn't be seen by anyone led to mass confusion and chaos and a big waste of time. Time that could've been used waiting in line for one of the too-few porta-potties. I thought I had ample time before the start to gear check and pee and yet I ran to the start as my corral was taking off. Third, they changed the start and finish from last year and I guess needed to make up about a mile. An out-and-back at mile 23 over an aquaduct (with poor scenery) slowed people down. Overall, the course measured 26.63 on my Garmin. Although I nailed my goal for an actual 26.2 distance, I was 3 minutes over for this longer distance. I realize no one runs the tangents, but this was even longer than it was last year. Aside from this bad stretch from 23-24 miles, the course was beautiful; it's too bad the organizers couldn't come up with a better way to add a little distance. I think Competitor can (and should) do better than this. | |
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C. G. from Denver, Colorado
(10/29/2010)
"Probably will give it another shot." (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I live in Colorado, and love running races here. I think for the most part the course was OK but i wonder if they could have made a few changes. Part of it looked like it went straight through some pretty rough areas. The beginning part of it was not super planned; apparently somebody thought putting the porta-potties right next to the baggage check was a good idea. Well it took me about 20 minutes to navigate through the crowd without getting stepped all over. I think that if they made a few small changes, this could be a fantastic race. There was a lot to do after the race: beer tent, village, etc. The expo rocked. Great bands along the course. | |
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A. B. from Rochester, MN
(10/26/2010)
 "Well Organized Marathon" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock N Roll Denver Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The marathon course highlighted all the nice areas of Denver. Plenty of bands along the course and finish. A relatively flat course that went through some scenic neighborhoods and beautiful city parks. Lots of water stops, gels and bathrooms along the route. The start and finish areas were well organized. Plenty of post-race food and drinks. I appreciated the free, low-cal beer at the finish area party. Very caring medical team on hand at the finish. The one medical gal followed me around for a bit to make sure I was medically ok. The Denver weather was perfect for race morning. Clear skies and 45 degrees. Plenty of hotels near the starting line. Plenty of nightlife for the 16th Street experience. Good food at Marlow's Restaurant. The Crowne Plaza Hotel was awesome. They gave us a late check out of 2 p.m., which allowed us to come back and shower up before flying out. In all, the people of Denver were very friendly and came out to cheer us on. |
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