Jason Sterczynski's Staging Area

From a logistics standpoint, this race is great. You start and finish behind a Marriott hotel, so you get cover from the elements in case that is an issue.
Unpopular opinion, but I think the medal is too big. I would be in favor of downsizing a bit if it meant a few dollars off of registration.
There was crowd support in areas, but there were also areas where there wasn’t.
For someone coming from an area with no hills, the climbs in this race cooked me a bit. I should have trained better for the hills.
Signage for the expo was almost non-existent which is my one gripe with the race.

Beware of the bridges. If you don’t train on elevation, beware of the bridges. Also, more importantly, they don’t cover the metal grates of the bridges like some of the other races I have run. That said, not the greatest surface to run on and when it’s been raining, it can be slippery. Not a lot of on course support which was disappointing. The loop around the lake was not nearly as scenic as I expected. During the board walk portion, I was more concerned with how slippery the boards were rather than being able to check out the view.

Race production was just ok. They had signs, but a lot were hand written. There wasn’t a ton of pre-race communication. The expo and the race start are about a 30 minute drive apart. Seems like something could be done to make that a bit easier logistically. The sound system at the start made it difficult to hear pre-race announcements. The start corral was disorganized as a result. The course actually went on a highway shoulder at one point with little separating us from the cars.

The medal and shirt are very nice. The medal is very large and the shirt was a cotton long sleeve.

Not a lot of pre race communication from the race organizers. Enough that you knew the race was still going on, but not much more.
Small expo for packet pick up and essentials.
Plenty of race morning parking for those that needed it. I was able to walk from my hotel.
Flat course with small ups and downs along the way.
Plenty of aid stations and portable toilets.
The finish is inside the Marshall University football stadium. They hand you a football to carry across the finish line. I’m hoping the picture came out because that should be something different.

As a race that starts and finishes at the Garmin headquarters I was expecting more from Garmin. I know we were at their building, but that was really the only signage that said Garmin. Garmin definitely missed the mark on embedding themselves in the endurance community here.
The packet pickup had a few exhibitors, but again nothing from Garmin devices. I didn’t find anything useful at the pickup. I was in and out in a few minutes.
The pre race bus from the suggested hotel area did not leave enough time for gear check and bathroom break before getting to the start. We arrived only 15 minutes before the start of the race and had to walk from bus drop off to race area.
Little to no crowd support on course.
The course utilizes a bike path in some spots which included running on gravel for a short distance. The biggest issue here was just how narrow the course was in those spots. The course is also never flat. You are constantly either going up or down which prevents locking in to a pace. The last few miles are a gradual uphill.
The finish line festivities were in the Garmin parking garage which provided protection from the elements, but didn’t really offer much.
Post race buses were not very well marked and the bus drivers didn’t exactly know where they were going. Considering this was a Garmin sponsored event, they should have had a Garmin GPS to guide them.
Overall this race was just ok. If I had it to do over again, I would pick a different Kansas race.

Packet pickup / expo was extremely small. I chose the packet mailing option which turned out to just be your bib. You still had to go pick up your swag. The expo only had race merch. No other items or vendors. Race shirt was nice.
No issues with race shuttles. That process went really well.
I felt like they could have had more toilets at the start because there were long lines.
Course is extremely flat with the gulf on your right side until mile 12 when you have to go up an overpass. That overpass feels a bit heavy on the legs at that point. Finish is in a minor league baseball stadium. Food is at the top of the stadium and you finish at the bottom. A bit rough on the legs.
All in all a good race that I would recommend for Mississippi.

The expo was small, but bigger than some races.
I did the back half which had the advantage of waiting for the start in UAH, which was nice.
Not much crowd support.
Mile markers were almost non-existent.
The course did go through space camp which was awesome for someone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s when that was really a thing. Was not expecting the course to turn in to a trail race for a bit around space camp.
The course was very rarely flat. It was either up or down hills most of the way.
After this race got cancelled last minute last year, I really wanted to do this race. After completing the race, I’m just so so on recommending it to others especially with half marathon race choices in Alabama dwindling.

Pre race communication was adequate.
Expo was a decent size and easy to navigate.
For a race of this size, I thought the pre-race port-o-toilet availability was really inadequate. The lines were really long for the few that they had.
Crowd support was AWESOME!
The St. Jude section was amazing to see.
The course was a constant downhill or uphill with a lot of turns and no real flat sections. There were multiple places where runners stacked up.
Don’t run this race looking for a PR.
Overall, I would recommend the race.

The course is perfect for a PR (fast and relatively flat) if the conditions cooperate. This year the conditions did not cooperate – heavy rain, wind and wind chills below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The race communication and production from Rock n’ Roll has not been good over the last few years. The expo parking was unorganized and lacked signage. The expo preached social distancing, but had you stand in a line to get your vaccination card checked. Race day parking had no signage and had I not seen the trolleys that were to transport us to the start, I would not have known, I was in the correct spot. On race day because it was raining heavily, there was little signage or communication. Unfortunately, for full marathon runners, their race was cancelled while most of us were heading to the start because course conditions were just that bad. Despite the bad weather, on course support was EXCELLENT. Much better than races I’ve done in perfect weather conditions. The finish area (not the same as the start) lacked signage clearly directing you to busses or gear pick up. I still think RnR has a long way to get back to where they used to be from a production standpoint. The medal was okay. Not really that unique. The race shirts were definitely lackluster and will probably become yet another race shirt I wear under other shirts. I really wish the weather would have cooperated because this would have been a great race to PR at especially after not being able to race in person for so long.

I went in to this race with high expectations based on reviews of previous years’ races. The packet pickup was very basic. They needed more signage directing you where to go. The race start was typical. There wasn’t much for on course entertainment. On a personal note, I wasn’t ready for the hill that comes between mile 6 and 7. Everyone needs to be ready for that. There weren’t too many people out on course cheering which I could have used after that hill. The post race party wasn’t really going when I finished so I left and headed back to my hotel. I left the race wondering if a lot of the positive reviews are fueled by bourbon. I just want a well run race with great communication (it was okay), a great course (it was okay) and large community involvement (it was just okay).

Adequate communication
Decent pre-race expo.
Rolling little hills, but nothing horrible.
Fun to finish in the football stadium and see yourself on the big screen.
The post-race bus situation seemed to be a source of confusion for bus drivers and runners.

A well organized race like most Rock N Roll Races.
They have since moved the race date in to December because it was 90 degrees Fahrenheit by 9am in November.
The first 6 miles were relatively easy, but as runners made the turn at the San Antonio Zoo to run up the hill by the University of Incarnate Word the course got much tougher and the heat really set in. The remainder was just an exercise it pushing through.
Without the heat, the course is actually really nice, but in San Antonio, heat is a normal thing.
The post race concert was very nice, again like most Rock N Roll Races, but with the heat, I just wanted to head home.