I actually managed to injure myself (stress fracture) during this race, and although I made it through, I had to limp the last 12 or so miles, so I finished with a pretty slow time.

Pros:
1. I really liked the expo. Good guest speakers; I had a chat with John Bingham, had Bart Yasso sign my book, and almost ran over Shawn Johnson. The one booth handing out beer samples was a bonus. Packet pickup a doddle. Decent bag of stuff.
2. Well marked course. Good volunteers. Sympathetic and observant medical staff.
3. Well organized. Everything was well set up. Equipment drop-off was convenient and quick.
4. Liked the medal. T-shirt was so-so.
5. Very good weather. Nice to be there in January.

Cons:
1. Course was flat, but surprisingly dull except for the Scottsdale Arts District at around mile 20 (and I couldn't even enjoy that because of my leg. BAH.)
2. Support was OK, but noticeably thinned out as I went from being a medium-pace runner to a slow-pace limper.
3. End seemed to have been partially abandoned by the time I got there, even though there were plenty of runners still coming in and it was still quite a way before the time limit given on the website.
4. Pretty expensive.
5. The bands were OK, but there didn't seem to be anywhere near as many of them as were advertised. Wonder if some didn't show up.

Overall, a good marathon if you want a flat, if rather unexciting course, a big, well-organized race and decent weather in January.

I've run this race a couple of times as Phoenix is a great place to visit in January and while out there - hey why not run a Marathon! That said the course is very very boring and to make things worse, the fan support is virtually non-existent. Phoenix and the valley of the sun should be extremely embarrased about this turnout given that it is now the 4th largest city in the US. However the course is flat and you should be able to get a decent time. It is also quite well organized - one of the best.

This was my first marathon and it was an amazing experience. It was so exciting. I'm from Wyoming and was not sure how it was going to be in this big city, but the weather was perfect, and the course was pretty flat. Stations were set out clearly and there were plenty of volunteers. And talk about some amazing support from the community; you feel like the whole city of Phoenix (and Scottsdale) came out to cheer you on. I felt like I had conquered the world.

I was very impressed. I felt like my donation was returned with medals, t-shirts, a discount at P.F. Chang's, the certificate, and the most impressive post-race food and enthusiasm. I will run in 2010. I want my family to volunteer. It was very organized. I felt recognized in spite of the number of people who ran it.

Elite Racing is doing business good business. For instance, the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll is a big success! Not the Phoenix one. The course is very boring. It was convenient for the organizers - just a straight line. But hey, Elite people, we came here to see and run the city of Phoenix. So please design a nice and scenic route. Not many bands, and the ones that there did not show any enthusiasm. Medals and shirts: Nothing special. Actually, if you do many Rock 'n' Roll Marathons, you will realize that the Elite group has one single concept: No matter were you run, they give you a white, short-sleeve shirt that has the marathon name; and the medal is a heavy piece of metal with some bright colors. Boring....

PROS: Well organized, good corrals, good stations, great medal, and good post-run runners' area. Great, cool, dry weather!

CONS: Boring, straight-line run through standard suburban-appearing America.

If you are looking for a flat and fast marathon with decent organization and don't care about fan support, then this is the race for you. However, a few caveats. First, I found the fan support to be woeful. Other races of similar size that I have run had many, many more fans out on the course. Even tiny Fargo, ND has similar fan support compared to this race. Second, don't count on the bands and cheerleaders to fill in for the fans. Certainly, the 1% of the course that they cover is less desolate because of them, but it's not enough. The start line is well designed, but very spread out. I loved the corral system! It keeps everyone honest with where they should start. The finish was a mess with all the half marathoners mixing with the marathoners. The UPS trucks were too far from the finish line, and there didn't seem to be any organization outside of the secured areas. The best tip I can give for those of you coming from out of town is to stay at a hotel that offers a shuttle to the start and one back from the finish. It was so nice to not have to take the marathon-provided shuttle service.

The course is truly flat and fast. Two of my four best times were run on this course. However, it is a visually boring course that is helped only a bit by the music and crowds. The expo is very nice, registration was easy (with no lines), and the pre-race setting did not feel overcrowded. Corrals worked well. Very nice medal. T-shirt should be a technical fabric instead of cotton. My biggest complaint is the energy drink. Very few people have access to or train with Cytomax. If you want universal appeal in an energy drink, serve Gatorade. Everyone drinks it and all of the truly great marathons (Boston and NY) use it.

I can tell from reading a lot of the comments there is some blending of reactions to the half course and the full marathon course. To the unaware, these are two separate, non-overlapping courses. While I live in the Phoenix area, this race conflicts with another race that I also enjoy. This year, however, I elected to stay home and see how things have changed since the first R'n'R AZ.

I can tell you that the expo was first-rate, and the race-day transportation was excellent. I elected to do the full, and yes, it's a nice, flat run. Maybe I'm being a homer, but I didn't find it boring, as some have stated in the past. The views of Camelback Mountain never bore me. If you went thirsty in this event, it was your fault, as I honestly don't know how you could have more adequate water stations. For me to speak to the bands would not be fair, as I'm one of those who really zone out. They were there and playing along with a lot of cheer groups. On behalf of us "zone outs," thank you to the bands and cheer groups, and thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who make this happen for us runners. Very nice finisher's medal, but like others have stated, it's time to lose the cotton t-shirt and provide a tech shirt.

My final thought is about this race and most of the larger events in general available to us as runners to participate in. It seems to this desert boy that we expect the clouds to part, the sun to shine, the temperature to be just perfect, no lines at porta-pots, a full buffet at the finish, and, of course, somebody to always hold our hand and point us in the right direction. What I'm trying to say is I would love to have a pretty brunette pull me on skates for 26.2 miles while George Straight and/or Bon Jovi follow right behind playing all my favorites. Some of us need to suck it up and see the marathon for what it really is instead of what we want it to be. It's you and me against 26.2 miles, however they come. I agree we pay good money to attend and therefore we have the right to complain. A lot of us - myself included - are spoiled by what is out there these days. A lot of these races are truly awesome events, but I think we are rapidly missing the big picture. To me, it's the marathon first, and the rest is gravy and Bio-Freeze. And like many of you, I too love the gravy and Bio-Freeze. Remember, unlike Pheidippides, most of us happily sign up to do these events and live to do more than one. What's wrong with us???

My 3rd Rock 'N' Roll Event. They're always really well organized. The course is rather boring, and leaving the ASU grounds was impossible with all of the road closures. The bands seemed a little sparse, and some were taking breaks when I ran by. The Country Music and San Jose events I thought were better.

Still, Elite Racing has organizing these events down to a science, and I plan to do more of theirs, such as Seattle in June.