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@dpchiavetta

Marion, IA Raving since 2017 Active 6 years, 1 month ago

About Me

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My Races

Organize, track & review your races and personal bests here.

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Half Marathon

Marathon

Ultramarathon

(Marathon or Ultra) + Half

Marathon + Ultra

Other

Future Races

Personal Bests (1)

Race Distance Location Date Result
Marathon Des Moines, IA Oct 15, 2017 4:25:52

Future Races (0)

Race Distance Location Date Paid

Past Races (6)

Race Distance Location Date Result My Raves My Performance
50K Solon, IA Apr 14, 2018
Marathon Washington, DC Mar 10, 2018
Marathon Des Moines, IA Oct 15, 2017 4:25:52
Marathon Seattle, WA Jun 21, 2014 4:33:18
Marathon Portland, ME Oct 6, 2013 4:31:53
Marathon Virginia Beach, VA 2007 5:23:33

My Raves

This was a great race. Refreshments were plentiful. Weather was perfect (40-45 degrees).The course was packed with cheering spectators. There is nothing quite like a 15-year-old cross country kid handing … MORE

This was a great race. Refreshments were plentiful. Weather was perfect (40-45 degrees).The course was packed with cheering spectators. There is nothing quite like a 15-year-old cross country kid handing you a water and saying “I believe in you!”. Late in the race, members of the military were supporting us at a water station. One barked at me: “Don’t let him pass you, you pass him!” as he handed me my water. Loved it. Gave me the motivation to run harder.

The pacer with whom I ran acted as tour guide (telling us about the best of Des Moines), cheerleader (you got this!), and advisor (hill coming, do this!). The full and half were together the first 2+ miles and it was ridiculously crowded. But once the break point occurred, it was a lovely, scenic run. Hills in the first half were as-advertised and rewarded with a lovely downhill late in the course. Very cool to run around the track at Drake University where some greats have run. Being on the Jumbotron also gave me an extra lift.

The Expo was well organized and had all of the typical vendors. No waiting in line and easy to find. Before the race, porta potties were adequate and the lines moved well. Gear check was difficult to find due to the throng of people and the lack of signage. The finish line was very welcome (perhaps that was psychological!). Medals were awesome and made me feel like I really accomplished something. Post-race food and drink were abundant. I had nachos followed by a pulled pork sandwich followed by pizza and beer. Atmosphere was very encouraging and festive.

I will absolutely run this race again. Not just because I PR’d by more than six minutes. But because it was a fantastic experience that I can’t wait to repeat.

DIFFICULTY
2
PRODUCTION
5
SCENERY
4
SWAG
3

2 members marked this review helpful. Agree?

This is the first time I ran a Rock n Roll marathon. When you pay top-dollar for a race, you expect everything to be the best - from the goodie … MORE

This is the first time I ran a Rock n Roll marathon. When you pay top-dollar for a race, you expect everything to be the best – from the goodie bag to the course to the post-race treats. Overall, this race was a significant let-down from start to finish.

The expo was well-attended and the typical hard-sell for a bunch of cool stuff. The goodie bag, which didn’t even say the name of the marathon on it, was virtually empty. It included the purchased tech t-shirt, plus a small bottle of fish oil and two water flavoring packets. That’s it. Not even a little packet of icy hot or a mini-Clif bar. I’ve run in much less expensive races that went all out on the swag. Not the end of the world, but just wanting value for money. The medal was cool, though.

The morning of the race, port-a-potties were at a premium. I estimate the average line was 30+ people long. We scrounged around at an indoor food court to get to a shorter line (for men, anyway). I lined up in my corral at 7am for race start. I was aiming for a sub-4:00 time and was in corral 17. It took me 26 minutes to cross the start line. By the time I started, my knees ached a bit from standing and I had to use the restroom (again)! But away I went. The race was shoulder to shoulder for the first six miles. That’s when the half and full marathons split. An earlier split or allowing the marathoners to go first would have been much preferred (there were 6 times as many half marathoners).

We spent four days in Seattle leading up to the marathon and found it to be a beautiful city. More than half of the course led us through downtown, around lakes, and in parks. That was great. But a significant part of the run (many miles) were in tunnels. This was a horrible way to run (and I sure didn’t train for that). They were dark and without spectators. The tunnels were banked so that by the time I emerged, one leg was killing me due to overuse (until I turned around and ran the same tunnel – then both were in equal amounts of pain!). There was a multiple-mile stretch on an exposed highway, which was without spectators, without bands, and without vistas. Between the tunnels and highway, the run was boring. I had always pictured a Rock n Roll marathon to be highly populated with cheering people and bands rocking the whole way through. Seattle did not live up to this expectation.

Im a bit of a data geek and the tunnels totally messed up my watch. By the time I was done, my watch showed 26.8 miles. I checked with a handful of people who finished with me and their watches ranged from 26.5 to 26.85. That made staying true to my plan very difficult throughout the race. I didn’t bring music because I expected frequent bands. There were many the first half and they were very enjoyable. The highway and tunnels were lonely and music-less. There were good crowds around the bands, but sparse or non-existent everywhere else. The way the course was designed made it very difficult for families to find a place to watch and cheer (unless you have a car and could navigate around closed roads). The web site did not list ‘spectator spots’ like most marathons do, because there were none. And signing up for text alerts cost $5 and you had to agree to Facebook updates.

Yes, there was enough water and Gatorade. Yes, there were enough port-a-potties on the course. Yes, I got a finisher’s medal. But these are not the signals of a well-organized race. These are table stakes. The Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon was poorly done on enough of the basics that it makes signing up for the race a big mistake.

DIFFICULTY
3
PRODUCTION
2
SCENERY
2
SWAG
1

2 members marked this review helpful. Agree?