Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon - RunMarathon

Run started nicely. They sent off everyone in waves and that was a big plus. The run started with a slight downslope so it was easy to get up to speed in a hurry (and the great splits early). Problem was that I settled into a pace that was a bit quick. I started making the proper adjustments around mile 9 or so and started to get comfortable. Not long after I was caught by the 3:00 pace group. I jumped in with them b/c I felt that I could hit the 3 hr mark pretty reasonably. After a some miles with them I felt like I was struggling a bit more than I should. This was confirmed when the pace guy announced that" that last mile was 6:41" and "we should be on pace to go about 2:52". Now, I am a big boy and take full responsiblity for my poor choice in pacing, but with my footpod not working, I was leaning on this group to hit the right pace. So somewhere around 16 I let them go and tried to get back to where I needed to be, but I knew it was a little too late. The downward spiral was about to begin. I ran a 7:30ish pace for a while until the legs began to tighten to the point that I would have to stop and stretch to keep from cramping. This is when the pace drifted into the 8 min range (b/c of the stops). The Wall was in full effect by mile 21 and just struggled home. I did see a few of the other guys from the 3 hr pack who blew up as well. I felt bad for them and wished them well, but misery loves company so I guess I was glad to see I wasn't the only one. Crossed the line under my "worst case scenario" time of 3:15 and was glad to be done.

Not make so many rookie mistakes like going out too fast and hanging with a pack that had a faster pace than I could manage.

Got medal, waited in line for water, waited in line for gear bag, waited in line for shuttle to car. That took about 3 hours.


The race itself and the course were great. The pre and post race organization were weak. The lines were terrible. I don't think everyone made it to the start in time b/c they required we park off site and shuttle to the start line. Because of this, the lines to get to parking and then to the shuttles were crazy. I got to the start about an hour later than planned. Same goes for the finish..it took me about 3 hours of waiting in lines to get to my car after the race. Ouch.

I would definitely do this race again if they work out some of the pre/post race logistics, Or I would just get a cab.