Great race. Course is a bit tight in some areas but all in all it was well laid out.

Excellent spirit from the locals all along the course!  Probably the best organized race I've participated in!

Overall a fairly well run event, typical of most Elite racing events we have particpated in.  There were however some serious issues here.  I was on the very first bus load to be dropped off at 6:30am, and the bus dropped us off at the streetcorner and we had no idea where to go.  No one was there, and we could see the event staging area.  So we just started all moving in the general direction, and found one official setting someting up, who had no clue where we were supposed to go.  Finall, after walking about a quarter of  mile, we found the small field we were supposed to be waiting in the freezing 39 degree cold.  The heaters were all turned off, and there was no place to sit at all.  Finally, most of us made it over to huddling up to the exhaust pipes of the light generators to barely stay warm. 

Once the sun started comming up, it warmed a bit and things went much better.  While they offered bagles and bannanas, no one had any hot coffee or tea.  Just ice cold drinks.  Brrrrr.   In San Diego they at least had the heart to offer the cold runners something warm.  When the race started it took us like 15 minutes to get over the start line.  This was a huge event!  The course went generally down hill for the first 2/3 of the marathon, then was all uphill for the rest.  At mile 20 the steep uphills totally trashed over half the runners, and most were walking or crawling by  mile 22.  The temperature was perfect for running at least, and we passed from a dense downtown area at the beginning of the race to more wide open rural areas.  That was my favorite part. Over a few bridges, flowing rivers, and through parks and yes - right down the middle of a huge graveyard!  (I could have done without that part).  The finish was greuling.  The last half mile you had to run up a very steep concrete ramp up to the side of the Alamodome, and then a short quarter mile under a few bridge over passes to the finish line.  Man, I EARNED that finishers medal! 

I think it was a well organized race. there were some hiccups, which seems unavoidable as its brand new to the city. but it was great. i will probably do it  next year.

I had honestly never seen a race with so much water available and great volunteers. very encouraging and helpful.

Since I am local I was fortunate to not have to use the shuttle, however, passing by the at&t center, I witnessed the long line of cars waiting in line to get there for the shuttles. Maybe next year there can be more than one location for shuttles, some on different parts of town to spread out the traffic and the wait time, just an idea.

other than that the last complaint was that there wasnt any bio freeze or icy hot offered anywhere. i ran rnr san diego last year and noticed there wasnt any there either, so maybe its a rock and roll thing. when i ran disneyworld, both times, there was plenty which helps so much.

I ran the 1/2 marathon on Sunday and I have to say I was very happy with my experience.  However, I did not use the shuttles from the AT&T Center.  I thought the course, water stations and volunteers were fabulous.  Though, I could have done without the hill at the very end!!!!  The finish area was crowded but I have noticed the same thing in the Phoenix RnR marathon.  Luckily, I was aware of this and my family and I had definite plans for meeting up again.  I thought the expo was too crowded but enjoyed all the booths and running celebrities.  I did not drink the Cytomax but I heard several complaints at the water stations.  Overall, I had a great time and will probably go back.

I enjoyed myself and have registered for next year.  However, the race was poorly organized, planed and carried out.  It would appear it was more important to crowd 30,000 people onto a course that could hold maybe 10,000, than it was to do a great job with a smaller cap.  And I applaud getting as many people there as possible.  But it a 2 edged sword.  You have to be prepared for them.  The race was not well supported.  Imagine a finish area in the hot sun, sitting on asphalt with no shade, extreme crowding, a 45 minute line to get out and to the shuttles.  The 70 bands were not.  Maybe 55, and 40 were only on the full course.  And the ones on the half had finished their sets and quit before a lot of people even got there.  It took an hour and five minutes for me to get to the start line.  The half was won before I started.  Even the bands had finished before I even started.  And it was 35 degrees out, and I had arrived 45 min early because of the extreme shuttle delay issues.  I believe it will be much improved next year and I look forward to seeing it as a well organized race.

This was my first 1/2 marathon, so not much to compare.  It seemed to be organized to me, but like everything, it was not perfect.  We took a shuttle from one of the downtown hotels, and did not have a problem; we did have an issue with not sure where to go once we got there; there definately were not enough warming stands for everyone; was not about to stand near a generator & inhale all the fumes....apparently those that were standing arond had never headed the warning dangers.  There should have been something warm to drink for those of us early birds.  The wait to start was hard, but with that many people, what else?  The volunteers & the crowds were very encouraging.  Good amount of water stations, but not enough pottys to accomadate that many runners.  HATED THE HILL AT THE END - HOW COULD YOU BE SO MEAN!!! and there was major traffic issue getting back to the hotels.  As painful as it was, it was easier to walk than to have to sit in a car!!  We did not have an issue with the hotel staying a little later, but I know of some that did. I think that is a disgrace.  The hotel should be able to make some compensations to those runners who are not staying Sunday night.  Parking at the expo was horrible and there was not direction whatsover!! How do they accomadate major sporting events there???  Overall , not a bad experience.  Oh, and to those of you were walking the whole way, would it be possible not to congregate in the middle of the road? Its easy to get by one or two of you, but when there are six spread across the road, give me a break! Read your marathon manners next time.

Pros: 

1.  San Antonio - a beautiful and friendly city

2.  Weather - it was a little cold in the morning, but by the time I got across the start line it had already warmed up and the day was beautiful

3.  Water stations - lots of stations and lots of volunteers

4.  Finishers medal - a really nice medal

Cons:

1.  Transportation to and from course - I stayed in a downtown hotel with a shuttle stop right downstairs.  We got in line about 6am and were on a bus within 15 minutes, but by the time we had gotten on the bus the line had grown to several blocks long.  Friends that were at the hotel said that by 7 am there were still runners in line and many people started jogging to the start line, which would have easily been a couple of miles.  We were scared of something like that happening so we left early, but that meant we spent more than 1-1/2 hours standing around before our corral got to start.  We had friends who parked at AT&T and they had horror stories about getting to the race and about getting back.  I would not have been happy to have to stand in line for a shuttle for an hour after running the race.  Some people had to give up and call taxis so that they would make their flights home in time. 

2.  Lack of Bands/Spectators - I was expecting LOTS more course entertainment.  There are more bands at the AT&T Austin race and a LOT more spectators at both Austin and Houston.  Except for downtown, there were not many spectators, except for right around the few bands and cheer squads and I think that is because it was the fans/parents of those groups.

3.  Gear bag drop off/pick-up - That was ridiculous.  The first time I went to pick up my stuff, it was such a mad house that I just wrote it off and said there is nothing in that bag that is worth fighting through that.  Fortunately, our group was there most of the day waiting on different members to come in and by 3pm the line died down enough to get my stuff.

4.  Cytomax - Yuck.  I tried to train with it, but it is blech.

5.  Finishers Shirt - first of all, you have to pay for a finishers shirt, and then all they had was long sleeved in mens sizes.

6.  That hill - who is the sadist that put that hill on the route??

It seems like a lot of problems could have been alleviated if they had opted for a loop or out and back course instead of point to point.  If the race had started and finished near the convention center, everyone downtown could have just walked to and from the start/finish.  It seemed like there was a lot of parking downtown.  They wouldn't have needed all those shuttles or to transport gear.  That convention center looks pretty large.  Surely everyone could have ended up in there instead of outside in the sun on the hard concrete.

This was my first RnR race, and maybe my expectations were too high, but I was really expecting the experience to be better organized and more runner friendly. I was disappointed in a lot of things.

Overall I did have a good weekend, but it was because of the friends we were with, the hotel we were at, and because San Antonio is so nice.  It wasn't because the race organizers made the race so great.  I will be back because we live in Houston and it makes for a nice long weekend for my husband and I.  But if you are not from the area and are looking for fun races in Texas, I would recommend the Austin Marathon/Half in February and the Houston Marathon/Half in January over this race.  Hopefully the Elite people will get it together a little better next year.