Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

When we got to our starting corral we met up with some friends who were running the half and the full. The original goal was to do a run/walk interval with my Fiance since her knees were hurting and she was not properly trained. After the first mile, we decided we would run with our friends for as long as we could. That lasted 6.5miles and then we started the run/walk. Run/walk strategy worked great and we both crossed the finish line feeling pretty good and injury free. I really felt that this was a course and conditions that were perfect for a PR but that will have to wait for another time. This race was about getting the season started and having fun. I know I could have set a nice PR on this course but I didn't want to let my fiance run alone even though she said I could have. I enjoyed running slower with her then I would have running for a PR by myself. I liked the course, it reminded me alot of the Baltimore Half Marathon with going through all the different neighborhoods.

Nothing. This race was just for fun and to finish and I am happy with that.

Walked through the finishers area and got my medal, space blanket and some water. Food selection was minimal with bananas, chips and plain bagels. I got some chocolate milk but they were all frozen so I could not enjoy them. Went to the bag pick up and spent 30minutes in line waiting which sucked because I was a little tired and didnt want to be on my feet. After picking up our bags we went to the beer garden for a beer, watched a friend finish the full marathon and then went home. Oh and found a non muddy section of grass to stretch.


This was not a race I did for a PR but rather spend some quality time with my Fiance and have a good time. I finished feeling great so I dont think I would do anything differnt.


So where do I begin???

First I would like to say that I am no expert and I am not a race snob at all. I don't really analyze races too much but I expect to get what I pay for or atleast close to it. A ton of people complained about this race from beginning to end and here are some things I saw at my first (and probably last) RnR event:

1.) GEAR CHECK- Gear check was pretty far from the starting corrals. Some people complained but the way I looked at it, this is DC so logistically there is only so much space.

2.) WATER STOPS- This one kind of threw me through a loop. We get to the first water station and see these HUGE blue water tubs that have like 8 spouts on them. they were sitting on a table with some paper cups but NO VOLUNTEERS! we had to serve ourselves water. This wasnt only at the first stop but ALL of the water stations. I didnt really mind since I wasnt running for a PR or anything but if I was, I would be pissed. I really think alot of this had to do with the weather. They were calling for 70% chance of showers all day with a high of 45. I wouldnt want to volunteer out in the rain all day and I am sure volunteers who signed up felt the same way and never showed up.

3.) LACK OF VOLUNTEERS- As I just stated above, a serious lack of volunteers on the course

4.) NO SIGNS- they had mile markers but no signs or way of knowing when water/gatorade was being served. If you didnt look you might have missed an aid station.

5.) GATORADE ISSUES- Self serve gatorade at some aid stations which meant that sweaty, dirty hands of runners were grabbing cups and dunking them in pitchers of gatorade. Kind of gross. When they were manned with volunteers, they were short staffed so volunteers were doing the same thing instead of pouring the gatorade into cups. It was nasty but I still drank it.

6.) THE BANDS- not very "Rock n Roll" if you ask me. I understand they get local bads and such to come out but I didnt find any of the bands to be motivating or up lifting. The choir and the french horn band were not what I was expecting on the course. It would have been better if the had speakers at every mile playing music from an I-pod or something like at the start/finish of the race.

7.) COURSE WAS LONG- According to my GPS, I had the course at 13.64miles. Many others had the course at 13.5. Now I know that weaving around people, taking corners, etc all have an effect on not 100% reliable GPS watch readings but almost a 1/2mile long is pretty crazy so I would assume the course was atleast a little longer then 13.1.

8.) FINISH LINE FESTIVAL??- Crossed the finish line and had to find a place to pick up my medal (lack of volunteers). Then you were tunneled down a path of food (kind of) banana's, apples, chips and bagels, water, gatorage and chocolate milk. I felt like I was at the end of a big 5K. Other post race food at Half Marathons that I have been too have had much better post race food. I am not one to complain so I ate the crap out of the stuff even though I didnt really want too. My chocolate milk was frozen so I couldnt enjoy that and the water was room temperature and not cold and refreshing like I had hoped. After getting food and your hands were full you were given a shopping bag from Safeway. I do not know why this was not given to you first so you could use it but who knows.

9.) GEAR PICK UP- This was an interesting one for me. I have never used a gear check/drop bag before. When you dropped your bag off, instead of them being organized by your Race Bib you had to go to a bus the correlated to the first 3 letters of your last name. this made it kind of confusing since to pick up your gear bag, you did not need to provide ID but rather your bib number which was attached to your gear bag. I think it would have made more sense to organize them by Bib# then by last name. That is what I thought and apparently alot of others agreed.

10.) LACK OF PORTA POTS- There really werent that many. Enough for maybe 3k runners but not 33k. Lots of long lines and poor placement IMO.

11.) LACK OF CROWD SUPPORT- This is not the Race organizers fault and maybe its because I started in a later corral or because it was supposed to rain all day but I did not see a ton of people out on the course. Mainly just other runners. Some parts had decent neighborhood turnout and parts were pretty isolated. My favorite part was when a Police Officer who was closing down the street for traffic control, got on her car radio and was cheering on the racers. I liked that!

12.) LACK OF UMPH!- This race just didnt live up to the hype that I was expecting for my first Rock n Roll race. A ton of people I met complained that this was the worst organized race they have done and worst Rock n Roll Race experience they have had. I have never done a Rock n Roll Race before so I have no basis for comparison but out of the 4 Half Marathons I have done, I would rate this at the bottom. You just really don't get alot for your money like you would expect and the experience was more of attending a High School band concert then being part of "Rock n Roll". I was pretty dissapointed with the experience, crowd support, organization, atmosphere, etc. I am not sure if I would do another one of their races again with so many other great races close by. I really hope this was a one time thing and not the standard of Rock n Roll Races.