Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon - RunMarathon

The half and full course were the same for the first 11 miles of the race. I decided to run with Shelley and Dawn for that distance. I did not train specifically for this race so I had no real goal.

Although, it was chilly while waiting for the start, I quickly warmed up. I took off my gloves at mile 1 and my outer layer at 3. My long sleeve outer layer came off at 11.

I really liked this course layout. I have been to SA several times and know the city well. On Saturday, we drove the course and visited Lackland AFB to show Shelley where our Basic Training took place.

The first 3 miles was a downhill run into the city. We ran right in front of the Alamo which was cool. I was feeling pretty good. I usually ran just in front of Shelley and Dawn. I figured I could be good pace booty for them as they had 26.2 to complete. We would walk through the aid stations just long enough to get a drink. I did not walk any other time unless it was to adjust my clothing. I did not pay to much attention to my overall time. At about mile 8 or so, Dawn said I was on a 2:20 pace and should just go ahead. So I did. I picked up the pace a little bit but suffered a litle bonk in mile 10. I started to eat some sport beans to get some more energy and they caught up to me. I stayed with them unitl the split.We ran through downtown 2x and through to very nice older neighborhoods before I finished at the Alamodome.

After the split, I took off my long sleeve outer layer. I was tired but decided to see how well I could do. Right about then the full marathon leaders passed my towards the finish. The half was on one side of the street and the full on the other. I ran just to the right of the center line. I was wearing my finisher t-shirt from my 70.3 which turned out to be motivation. I knew everyone could read the back so I did not want to be caught walking with it on. So,I kept running, passing several hundred during the last 2 miles. I love the feeling of picking people off. It seemed that everyone was walking the last 3 miles. In my defense, I started in a much later corral than I should have. Right before the last turn of the finish there was an undepass which was tough. I kept running.

Nothing.

I feel really proud that I can now run an entire half mary without walking. It has taken me a while to get there. In previous years, I would start to struggle the last few miles. This was my second fastest half mary after last year's PF Chang's.

I slowly walked through the food line and got my picture taken. I then got my free beer and a burger. I then walked the mile or so back to the hotel. I was pleased that I was not too sore. I took a shower and waited for Shelley and Dawn to finish. They finished in 5:25.xx which was a PR for them.


This was the inaugural race and there were a few hiccups. The shuttle at the start was a mess and the finish line was too crowded. Other than that, it was a typical Rock n Roll race. I really liked this course and would run it again.