Pros:
Expo - the flow and organization of the expo was excellent. Lots of vendors and space. Usually I like to get in, grab my number and shirt, and leave ASAP but I actually stuck around and had fun at this one.

Spectators - lots of cheering, music, and fun along the way. It was amazing.

Water stations - more than adequate. Never got to the point where I was dying for the next water stop, which is exactly how it should be.

Cons:
Course - I like a few hills in my races, but the ones in this race were flat out dangerous. After Rainier Ave, it's just a wall of hill and it's just as steep coming back down. Everyone had to tip toe down so as not to slip. Then when we had to run on I-90 I felt like I was choking on the exhaust fumes in the tunnel. There were also a few freeway overpasses we had to run on that did not have nearly enough railing to ease my acrophobia.

Port-o-potties - they were organized so people had to wait for individual stalls. So if you're unlucky like me and got in a line where everyone was taking their time, you didn't get to use the bathroom at all (I waited 45 minutes and hardly moved). They should have had at least a couple volunteers organizing lines for groups of stalls. Or a couple really long lines for all the stalls.

Bag Check - the bag check was no where near the start or finish line. After not being able to use the bathroom, I literally had to sprint to get to this place to make my corral. It was ridiculous. And then when the race was over, you had to walk up a hill to the opposite end of the Seattle Center to get your stuff (and considering this is after 13.1 or 26.2 miles, really not an easy thing to do).

I have ran this 1/2 marathon every year & was so excited when they changed to an out & back course & did away with the shuttles to the start. Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed by the course selection however. Even though the original course had some dead areas I'll call them, I much preferred that to the new course. The beginning was nice & no issues there, but once you leave downtown you're on Rainier Ave for awhile, which isn't exactly the nicest part of town.

That wasn't the worst of it though. There was a long treacherous hill (Dakota, I think) that was just downright dangerous. It wasn't the uphill that was the scary part, but the downhill. The hill was so steep that everyone around me was shuffling baby steps down the whole thing just to keep from taking a header. Fortunately, I was in the middle, so I was there before it started to rain, because if the pavement were wet lord knows how many people would have bit it. They need to find some other way to cut over to LWB, becausse this was just stupid. The other thing I disliked was the miles on LWB were shortened from years past. Everyone I've spoken with who has ran this said the same thing, that the LWB miles were the most scenic & enjoyable part. I won't complain about the I-90 tunnel as you really don't have many other options there, but coming back to the Center we went through yet another tunnel (Battery Tunnel), which was musty, dark & dreary. This was another poor choice in my opinion.

Last item I'll bark about is the crappy finish. Uphill on Mercer Street, come on! At least give us a fast finish. I have ran the Seattle Marathon 7-8 times & am pretty tired of this same stretch of finish. I hope they re-think the finish & eliminate Battery Tunnel & Mercer to give us a more scenic & fast finish. I'm all for a challenging course, but these negatives took the enjoyment out of this race, and unless the course is altered I likely won't run this again. I think a start/finish Queste Field would be awesome & give this something a bit different than the Seattle Marathon in November.

This was my first marathon that I ran. There were many hills and a hill at mile marker 26. I cramped up at the end because I had water and cytomax at each fill station.

I've run all four Seattle RNR Half Marathons and was excited to see how the new course would play out. I liked the logistics a lot compared to the point to point start and finish from the previous three races. Everything from good access to porta potties to the UPS gear check (yah!). IN addition, the coral system they use at the start is really cool. You basically go out every two minutes based on your predicted time submitted when you sign up. The Seattle Center/Space Needle is a great start and stop location as well.

The course itself seemed harder to me although on paper I was not expecting it to be. I'm far from elite but had been in the 1:38 range on the prior three races and this time was 1:42. Still can't tell if it was NOT my day or others felt the new course was more challenging as well? (any feedback here from others would be appreciated).

The hills on the 2nd part of the course were larger and longer than I anticipated. Lots of water and energy drink stations which helped that part.

I was on pace for a 1:38 the first 6 miles but then it kind of fell apart but was still happy to be part of this race. Great fan support and it didn't rain (I'm a Seattle native so this is a good thing). I'm not a morning person so the 7am start was/is an early one for me. Also too early to take a bus downtown so driving was required. Cheers!

I am a novice runner, but I enjoy traveling to different cities and indulge in the marathon experience. This is my 5th marathon, others being Denver, Disney, Nashville, Hartford.

I thought this was a beautiful course up until the 15th mile which then turned into an out and back along an expressway! For about 6/7 miles there was little to no crowd support and the only entertainment was a couple of DJs in the tunnels.

The course had a few challenging hills, but considering the location, it could have been worse.

The start staggering also eliminated most of the congestion I have experienced at other marathons. (even those with staggered starts)

My largest complaint (and this also occurred in the Denver Marathon 2010), but mile 15, according to my GPS ran 1.23 miles long. I understand the length of a marathon will be longer than 26.2 miles since I cannot follow the tangent due to congestion, but I certainly expect the route to be marked appropriately. I usually expect about an extra 1/4 but this marathon was near a 1/2 mile long. The tunnels of course caused my watch to lose signal but after the signal was established the GPS calculated the straight line distance between entering and existing the tunnels. All miles according to my GPS were in line with what I expected with the exception of Mile 15. It is frustrating to pay the fees associated with the race and they cannot seem to get the race course marked appropriately.

I will be shying away from R/R marathons for the next few to see I if there are better experiences.

My first marathon EVER, 2nd race ever (1st was a 1/2 marathon) and it was SO fun! Hard course, but fun! (of course, it was 26.2 miles..nothing easy about that...) The cheering crowd was AMAZING and very encouraging! Outside of the tunnel where we had to run on a sideways incline, it was wonderful. I LOVED the lake and views of the city!! The water breaks & PP's were perfectly placed, (my first race, I was worried about this!) the last hills were very hard and I wanted to walk, but didn't, knowing the same great people would be there to help me afterward. And I was right! I had to visit the medic tent for a bad blister and they were so kind and caring. Thank you to all who make these races possible...couldn't have had a better 'first race' experience!! I'll be back! (and I qualified for Boston, so that made me even happier!)

I ran the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Seattle in 2009 and had a great race experience. I came back this year when they announced a new course. The new route is loop course with more hills. Even though it's harder, it is an improvement over the old course.
The Seattle Center is a great race venue and was very accommodating to runners. They opened the Center House prior to the race so runners were able to stay warm and dry. They even had an open Starbucks stand inside where I was able to buy my morning cup of coffee. The Seattle Center is close to downtown hotels and is easily accessible.
The new course runs through downtown. It has some scenic sections although Lake Washington is the nicest part of the course. Marathoners and half marathoners were separated from each other along the route - nice touch.
Course support was very good. The volunteers at the water stations were great. There were plenty of bands and cheer squads to keep us entertained.
The finish area was organized and efficient. It was a bit crowded when the bulk of the half marathoners finished, but it cleared out by the time marathoners arrived.
No one can control the weather, and this year it rained leading up to the race. It stopped raining by race time, but the humidity was noticeable.
Overall I enjoyed this race. Definitely recommended.

It was my first time to run this race and I found it challenging but good. They debuted a new course in 2012 and miles 6-13 featured the beautiful Lake Washington and Seward Park. There were more hills than I expected and a couple of them in the last 3 miles were killers! But the race organization was top notch, the volunteers at the aid stations were excellent and the weather at this time of the year is typically excellent. On top of that, the Expo is fantastic with a real 'big race' feel to it. Starting and ending in Seattle Center is very convenient.

One bit of advice, waves are released at the the start in approximately 1-min intervals. So if you belong to a wave in the back (there were over 30 waves), then take your time getting to the race which starts at 7am. I was in wave 29, got there before 6am, and felt that a 90-min wait before gun start was tiring on the legs. You're better off relaxing and lining up for the porta potties as the first few waves go off and then just join your wave as they near the start line.

Overall, this is a very good race to join... good race in a great city. So the trip is more than worthwhile. Really good restaurants in downtown Seattle too so lots of excellent choices for a post marathon dinner!

The Rock 'n Roll Series has gotten their race process down to a science. The expo was extensive and well-organized, with an easy flow through packet pick-up and a wide variety of options.

The course was well-supported with great spectator support when it could be there. There were many sections of out-and-back and highway miles which could not allow for crowds, but I wouldn't trade the view on the bridge for anything. Pretty nasty hill in the last couple miles, but it seems like every course has one of those.

My one big complaint was the post-race. They ran out of blankets quickly (I finished in 3:12 and went without), and the beer garden line took half an hour. Other than that, great weather, great course, great race.

I have run several Rock and Roll events over the past 3 years and it's more and more obvious they are cutting runner amenities to put more money in their pockets. I've seen their race entry costs go up while shirts remain unisex and uncreative. They add more premium options like private port a potties and VIP shuttles for added costs. Now they've cut back on the Cytomax handed out on the course to every other or every third waterstop.

I will go out of my way to AVOID Rock and Roll events unless they do a couple little things to show me they care about runners as much as their bottom line.