Rock and Roll Seattle

I got a good deal on the Inaugural Rock and Roll Marathon Seattle, roughly 8 months ago, and the weekend finally came around. I was a little hesitant to do this one with HR two week away, but I think most HR people are putting in 25ers in the mountains, and so an easy paced marathon should be about right. Plus, I talked a friend into running this months ago, and so I couldn't rightly bail. I'm glad I didn't--I really really had a great time, checking out Seattle and the bands, on a crystal clear day. It doesn't get much better than the Northwest in the summer when the weather is right.
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I did the inaugural Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego in 1998, the very first of this series, and so this was a bit of a throwback. The '98 run was a rough day for me, and it was a rough day for the organizers too, as they frequently ran out of water. The organization has come a long way since, expanding all over the place, and finally getting to Seattle. The R&R people really should've just started here in the first place--Seattle sucks at sports, but we do rock. Duh.
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The course was exceptionally well organized---there were drink stations and portly potties everywhere. I've never had so much Cytomax in my life. The volunteers were phenomenal, everywhere, with smiles all the time. Nice technical shirt--a black concert sort of shirt with pics of the Needle, guitars, Rainier and such. Nice "heavy" medal. The finish line was stacked with food and other good things. I thought the full price was expensive, but early registration augments that, and really, with a concert ticket and all the help on the course, the price is fine. It's ok to charge a pretty penny if you truly deliver. This marathon delivered more than most.
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I didn't see this as a run to race, unless you start way up front. Too many people, and not particularly flat. It was more fun to just trot along and check out the bands, take pictures, hang out. My favorite band was around Mile 18, with a gal lead singer going on about a big shot of whiskey and a bucket of tears, or something. Carrie Clark at Mile 4 was cool too, as were the Exodus, movement of the Jah people band at Mile 20. There were also high school cheer squads every mile--a lot of moral support out there. I was cracking up over some of the strained voices, screaming, "You CAN DOOOOO it, Everyone!"
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The expo was solid--I dropped a bunch of cash on "necessities". Lots of purchasing opportunities to enhance my running experience. (That is a line a car salesman recently used on me, for real.) They really should have an Expo that runs later than 7 on Friday night--this was TERRIBLE scheduling for people coming after work from outside Seattle. I am bitter and I will not let it go. In fact, the whole timing of the race was a logistical pain--I had to leave work Friday at 4 to go to the Expo, and then get up at 3:45 AM just to make it down to Seattle to catch the bus that was forty minutes late to the starting line, because of crazy Tukwila traffic. It was all worth it after the fact, but questionable at the time.
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These concerns aside, this was a great marathon event such as Seattle has never seen, with 25,000 participants--if you build it, people will come. It's a real destination marathon--I read 40% of the participants were from out of state. The course layout is drop dead gorgeous. We went along Lake Washington, on the viaduct, through tunnels, and by all the major Seattle landmarks, like the Needle, Safeco and Qwest, the ferries and waterline, and even over the Aurora Bridge. The weather was 70 and clear--I got sunburned, and Mount Rainier was prominent in the skyline all day.
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Off to Silverton this Friday!
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