Yesterday was the Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon, one stop in an ongoing series put on by 
the successful for-profit organization, The Competitor Group. This was Seattle’s second Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Half Marathon event and was attended by over 26,000 runners and thousands of volunteers. It was my first Rock ‘n’ Roll and my 3rd marathon.
Following are a few thoughts on the event, including lessons learned that might be useful to others contemplating participating in the future.
Traffic & Logistics - Getting 26,000 runners to the same place at the same time is no small feat but, if the Rock ‘n’ Roll organization is in the business of putting on mega-runs, they need to figure it out. Although I continue to read accolades for the race organization and logistics, my experience, and what I heard from others, does not support this. I was fortunate to have a good friend agree to drive me to the runner drop-off zone in the wee hours of the morning. We left Starbucks in Kirkland at 5:30 AM and followed the directions provided by the race organization and arrived at the freeway exit at 6:00, about 3 miles from the start. We then spent a frustrating hour and a quarter, crawling our way to the runner drop zone, finally reaching it at 7:15, with a huge lineup of cars still behind us. The first wave of the race started at 7:00! What they neglected to communicate was that there was a mile-plus walk/jog/run to the start — turning it in to a 28 mile marathon. After a too-quick porta stop, I finally got off around 7:30, well after my wave 18 had left. This meant jockeying around slower runners and, of course, feeling pretty frazzled and upset after thinking I had allowed plenty of time.
What I heard from shuttle riders, things were no better. Getting to the designated parking garage was a nightmare and some runners reportedly got on 5:30 shuttles and still missed the start. So, I don’t know what the best solution is but I would NOT follow the race organization’s directions. Instead, look at a map and figure out your own way there, utilizing lesser-known side streets. It pays to be cunning, not a mindless lemming, which I was being. Or, leave home at 4 AM and plan to stand around an hour or more. Sleep? Who needs sleep before a marathon?
Race Course – The first half of the course is pleasant and interesting. With half and full marathon runners together, it was where the support and action were obviously focused. After the half marathoners peeled off for the finish line in downtown Seattle, we turned and ran up the ramp to the viaduct and away from the finish. It was a long slog on cambered roads that started to do me in around mile 18. Then, after running across the Aurora Bridge, turning around, and heading back in towards the beckoning call of the stadium roofs, I realized that we were going to run past the finish again. There simply were more miles left to run than what I could see was the distance to the finish. So, we ran past it again, turned around, ran past it, down the ramp, and in. Please Rock ‘n’ Roll people, think about a different route next year! It was just very disheartening to most everyone I spoke with along the way.
The same goes for the multiple out-and-back sections where you have to face runners going the opposite direction. It is hard to explain but there’s something about looking in to the faces of pain that makes the whole thing harder than it already is. And just as hard to see people breezing along in the opposite direction while my quads were begging for mercy. I tried smiling big as I passed people in the opposite direction and that helped, but, there is no doubt that the feeling of everyone marching forward in the same direction, towards an end goal, is so much more motivating.
Training – If you’re going to run 26 miles on concrete, don’t do your long runs on trails. I guess that should have been obvious. And, as much as I eschew “junk miles”, there should be some long runs longer than 12 miles in the mix. My legs were simply not prepared for 26.2 miles of concrete — or possibly 26.2 mile of anything. Sure, there were a few miles of asphalt mixed in, which felt wonderfully soft in comparison, but by and large, it was a run on concrete. Somewhere around mile 18, I started cramping and experienced an early “bonk”, pretty much making the rest of the run an exercise in pain tolerance with a big dose of humility mixed in. With the Gortex Transalpine Race only 2 months away, I was feeling pretty discouraged when my legs had cramped to the point where all I could do was grit my teeth and alternately jog, walk, and limp from mile 23 on. How was I going to get through a daily dose of this over the course of a week? My TAR partner, Brian, kindly reminded me that we would not be subjected to the repetitive motion of running on a relatively flat, mostly concrete, course. Thanks, Brian, I felt a lot better, but still know I have my work cut out for me.
Good Stuff – Of course there are many good things about the race that are worth mentioning. One was the moving and inspiring tribute to fallen soldiers near mile 7.5, where 42 American flags and photos with bios were displayed. The flags were held by family members as part of wear blue: run to remember, a Fort Lewis-based group that had more than 100 runners participate in the event and also sponsored a water station. It reminded me that I was lucky to live in a free country where I could choose to spend a Saturday morning safely in the company of my fellow runners – running for no other reason than because we could. Fortunately I was able to pause at the next water station to choke back tears and recover, along with many other runners in the same condition.
The medical support was unprecedented in my limited experience. Although I didn’t see too many people availing themselves of the the medical tents or medics on bikes along the route, it was good to know that it was there. The same goes with a well-organized and equipped finisher’s area at the end.
Finally, as a fellow female runner pointed out around mile 22, the service men handing out water and Cytomax were welcome “eye candy” for the ladies needing a diversion at that point. Hey, she said it, I just thought it!
Bottom Line – Would I run the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll FULL Marathon again? Probably not. It’s just not worth the wear and tear on the body given the downsides of the course and logistics. On the other hand, the half marathon course looked great and I would definitely run that if I can figure out how to do an end-around on the start-line logistics. For a local full marathon, I would run the Seattle Marathon again. They have a great course, far fewer participants, and better logistics — even though the weather is often horrible in November. I would also like to try some of the runs in the outlying areas like the Whidbey Island Marathon.
For those interested in such things, my friend Steve built this chart of my split times. My overall time was 4:44, nearly a half hour longer than my last marathon, several years ago. Oh well, it was still a great experience and a worthwhile step on the road to the TAR.
