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May 10, 2024

Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.8

Organization 4.2

Spectators 4.4

Number of comments: 481 [displaying comments 71 to 81]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 6 7 8 9 10 .. 48 > ]

H. D. from Washington, DC (4/27/2010) "Average course, terrible organization" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I waited several days after the race to cool down before writing this review, but I don't think that has happened. I was diverted to the half marathon due to the weather... I've played golf (i.e. metal clubs) in worse storms than that. While I totally disagree with the decision to cut the race short, the most disturbing thing is that the organizers have not made a comment regarding what happened. Not a statement to all participants, not an indication on the website except when you try to find your results, and certainly not to my direct phone and e-mail contact with them. An explanation and apology would be appreciated. Beyond my anger at the race being unecessarily cut short, the race was really poorly run (my usual complaint with the Rock 'N' Roll series). The parking lots were a mess both before and after the race because there was no traffic direction. The race started 15 minutes early with no warning, which was fine for me since I arrived early enough, but it left quite a few runners trying to catch up. The start corrals are a mess. I ran New York with 35,000 runners and I crossed the start line in less than 3 minutes. With this race, it took close to a half-hour. Many aid stations were running out of supplies for those of us in the back of the pack. The finish line was just a cluster of people. And there certainly wasn't any effort to help people move through quickly and get out of the "dangerous" weather. This is my 4th Rock 'N' Roll race, and each time I say I'm not going to run another one. This time I mean it.
A. M. from Bristol, Tennessee (4/27/2010) "My First Marathon" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 A lot complain about the hills, but I thought that they were a good challenge and they were all countered by a downhill. So not too bad. I did get to finish the marathon, my first, but the half marathoners were overbearing. When you joined back in with them at mile 19 they almost all were walking and I was still going at a good pace. I think since you sign a waiver, everyone who wanted should have been able to finish at their own risk. It takes months to train and it's a shame they lost their money with no apologies from CMM.
K. E. from Tennessee (4/27/2010) "First time and I loved it" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Ok, so the diversion sucked. I'd have done the exact same thing in their place, considering they didn't know how bad it would get or how fast. That's Tennessee weather for you. A lot of the problems people are having with the recording are being fixed; it's just not been done right away. There were 35,000 people. I thought the course was plenty open, since there were several times where I was running completely alone and I had plenty of opportunities to move through the people in front of me. The crowd, though, was the best part. I will be back. In fact, I'm going to run another one in September because I enjoyed it so much.
A. E. from Missouri (4/27/2010) "Horribly Handled Route Changes" (about: 2010) First Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 As many others have mentioned, this year's race was cut short due to weather. Had the weather truly merited cutting the course short by nearly six miles, however, I would have understood a decision to put safety first. The drizzle on race day certainly was not a threat to safety. I have two significant complaints about the manner in which they handled the situation: First, had race organizers been truly concerned about safety, they wouldn't have allowed runners to continue. Instead, I was rerouted to the half marathon finish line and watched for more than an hour as other runners trickled across the finish line. Had they kept the original course, I would have had no trouble at all completing the final 5.8 miles in that same time. Secondly, at no time were runners informed of the changes to the course. It wasn't until I overheard a volunteer mention to someone that we might be diverted that I realized we weren't running the right direction. I cannot imagine that for an event this size organizers had no way to notify officers, volunteers, medics, etc. if there were to be an emergency. Even after the race, it was a full 48 hours before the marathon's website even acknowledged (in one brief paragraph on the results page) that any changes were made. If they were going to be rerouting me, I would have liked to have known, so that I would not have wasted my energy running toward an arbitrary finish. I will not be running a Rock 'n' Roll Marathon again.
M. S. from Connecticut (4/27/2010) "Weather shortened the race" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I returned home disappointed from the Country Music Marathon again. Last year it was too hot; this year it was thunderstorms. Although I respect the race director's decision to cut the race short, if you didn't have email access, you would not have known of the course changes. I've been told CMM is the best of the music marathons. I don't believe it, and I won't be coming back.
L. G. from Maryland (4/26/2010) "I want a refund" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I ran this marathon (22.2 miles of it) as one of my 50 states and deserve a refund for the time and money I wasted to run this race. For the first 11.5 miles of the race the course was very congested despite the wave start. Roads were very narrow at times, and after separating at mile 11.5, the marathon course merged with the half marathon course at mile 19, making things very crowded and confusing. The tech shirt is nice but I am sure most of the women who asked for a small were disppointed since the shirt is huge! As for the handling of the weather, I was initially disappointed to be cut off from finishing a marathon with just 4 miles left to have completed it. An email was sent out the day before the race that marathoners taking longer than 4:30 would be diverted to the half marathon course due to inclement weather. There was no warning that the race would be cut short at any other point, and to be cut off so close to the end, when I would have finished well before 4:30, was unacceptable. The weather was stormy, but I have run plenty of other races in similar weather that were not shortened. I went from disappointed to very angry when I pulled up the marathon results and saw finishing times of 5 hours!! How did these runners get to stay on the course when I would have finished well before them?? There were a few positives, but not enough to make me want to do this race again. The aid stations were well stocked, volunteers were awesome, and the shuttle system to get runners to the start from LP Field was well organized. Thankfully there are plenty of other marathons in Tennessee, even in Nashville. At least Nashville was a great place to visit.
k. m. from us (4/26/2010) "Women are not small men" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Why do so many races provide race shirts in only men's sizes? Women pay the same money for the race but end up with a shirt they can wear only if they want to look like they borrowed it from their husband. Note to race directors: give women-sized shirts to women entrants or give us an appropriate discount on our registration fee.
K. H. from Murfreesboro, TN (4/26/2010) "More respect for runners needed" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 This was my fourth time running this event - 2 half-marathons and 2 marathons. This year there was no consideration of the weather. Thunderstorms had been predicted for a week and the race organizers basically ignored it until Friday. We were pulled from the course at mile 20. My wife and I sat in our car for 2 hours with only rain coming down. They should have let the runners finish. I understand the need for safety but the race was poorly organized. They started it 15 minutes early, which most people did not know about. My wife and I were diverted to the half-marathon finish at mile 20 and they have posted our time as if we ran only the half-marathon. They need to give the runners credit for the mileage they ran. I hope the money they received this year is worth all of the hard feelings created by their very poor race organization.
B. A. from Florida (4/26/2010) "I will never run Nashville again" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This would have been my 10th marathon but I, too, was cut short at 20.4 miles. Needless to say, this was the MOST expensive 20-miler I HAVE EVER RUN. Other things that were annoying: 1) The marathoners and 1/2 marathoners started together. Bad idea - too crowded. 2) Streets were extremely narrow for all of the runners. It was congested all the way to mile 11 when we split off, especially at the water stops. 3) Corrals started too closely together again - bad idea, way too congested. 4) The bands were good, but few and far after 11 or so miles. I am sure the weather played a part. 5) The course was hilly but I did not mind. I know the weather could not be avoided. It was what it was, but the organizers could have made some better decisions for this race. I do want to thank the volunteers for hanging out with us during the storm. They were the real troopers! Like I said at the beginning, I will never run Nashville again.
G. T. from USA (4/26/2010) "Great Race, Bad Judgment, Terrible Mayor" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have learned that we can complain about anything but the weather. They did the best they could with the info they had; however, we all signed liability waivers, and we should have been allowed to proceed at our own discretion and risk. I will loudly complain about the police and the non-existent traffic control in leaving the stadium. SHAME ON THE MAYOR! I sent him an email about this pre- race. We spend lots of money in Nashville each year. We deserve better.

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