Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments on my Country Music Marathon recap. I loved seeing all the support come through after I pushed publish. You are all so unbelievably supportive!
Now that you all heard how the race went, I figured I would share with everyone a few key takeaways from Saturday’s Race. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the 2012 Country Music Marathon.
The Good
Crowd Support
The city did a great job of supporting the runners. On just about every bit of the course, you could bank on having a scream, a clap, or a hose directed at you. All of the locals could see how hot it was, and pulled hoses from their yards to help cool us down, along with sliced oranges and bananas. A big thanks to all of Nashville for that! It made a big difference for all of us!
Expo Organization
Everything at the expo was extremely seamless. I never waited for more than a minute in an lines, and the vendors were all amazing. The area for packet pick up was huge, so it never felt crowded at all. I did get in Friday before lunch, so that may be a reason I didn’t have to fight the crowds. Even so, great job on that one RNR 
Bag Check
This was an absolute breeze. I quickly dropped off my bag a few minutes before the start, and had no problem picking it up after the race was over. The lines were very minimal, and everything was incredibly quick. There is nothing worse than having to wait a solid 10 minutes after running a marathon for a bag, and luckily, this was not the case at the Country Music Marathon. The UPS trucks were easy to spot, and the volunteers did an awesome job being super speedy!
The Bad
Port O Potties
There were just not enough of them. I heard people say they stood in line to up to 25 minutes! That is an incredibly long time to wait to go to the bathroom, especially right before a race. There was plenty of space to put more toilets in Centennial Park for everyone, without a doubt. I ended up taking matters into my own hands, and popped a squat right before the race behind a building. Thanks for the honk, creepy on looking car 
The Hills
From my previous recap, this is probably a given. I thought I was prepared for the hills in Nashville. I trained on some big hills, and some little hills, but there was one thing that I was lacking – rolling hills. If you are looking to run Nashville, I have one piece of advice: run it for fun, and don’t plan to PR – unless of course you train on hills regularly. I thought the elevation chart on the site was very misleading, and then googled for the map again and found this one – much more to scale.
The Ugly
Post Race Fuel
When I finished close to 4 hours, there was plenty of food from all of the sponsors and race support – frozen strawberries, Gogurt, chocolate milk, bagels, granola bars – the works. That was not the problem. However, I waited another 2 hours until my friends crossed the finish line. Their post race fuel was next to nothing. There was literally only water, Gatorade and bananas left. Everything else was packed up. The area where all of the vendors were was completely barren. I was extremely disappointed in RNR for this. Every single runner, from the very first to the very last, should have the exact same experience. We all should be properly refueled.
The Finish
With all of the space at LP Field, I think the finish line could have been placed in a wider area. The half and full marathon finishers finished in the same spot, just on different sides. Once everyone crossed the line, all the runners were bottle necked, and shoved together. This was pretty rough when I finished, as there were still a lot of half marathoners finishing up that walked the course. It would have been really nice to have a little more space to walk around, and not feel quite so claustrophobic .
All in all, I thought Rock N Roll did a good job with the race. I can’t say I would be back for the full, but I would give the half marathon a shot if I ever live close to the course
What are your thoughts on the course for anyone that ran? Has anyone else ran an RNR event with similar issues or benefits?
Great post! While I enjoyed my first marathon experience overall, I definitely agree that the CMM was full of the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Waiting in line to go to the bathroom before a race has to be one of my biggest annoyances. At the CMM, I waited so long that I was nervous I wouldn’t make it into my corral on time. The heightened nerves made my pre-race butterflies even worse!
The limited post-race fuel didn’t bother me too much. I was able to get my hands on a wheat bagel, fruit, and Gatorade. What I found disappointing, however, was the fact that the tents were packed up and the area had cleared out. It sent the message that the slower runners/walkers weren’t worth waiting for at the finish. Many of the slower participants were first time marathoners facing challenging conditions with the heat and hills and could have used additional support at the end of the race.
On the positive side, I agree that the crowd throughout Nashville was amazing! Thanks to everyone who turned on the hoses!
CMM is fun, but like you said, don’t expect to PR! Be proud to finish such a tough course.
Great post! The CMM was my first half marathon {and thus first experience with a Rock N Roll race}, and I loved it! But I also had to real goal in mind {other than to finish, and I did just that!} Bathrooms ALWAYS seem to be an issue, but especially at RNR events. At RNR Arizona, ALL of the outhouses ran out of TP before the race, and the lines for the potty’s on the course in Denver were so long I ran into a gas sation…unacceptable. I loved Nashville for the city, culture, etc and would do the race again strictly for that reason
Mary, thank you so much for posting about the post-race fuel and celebration being non-existent for the slower runners. I am one of those slower runners and I have been to many races where things are “packed up” by the time I finish. It sucks. We paid the same race entry fee as the elites (or more, since they are often sponsored and comped). I think it is valid for a race to pack up once it is past the minimum finishing time, but they should not even start before then. Also, they should make sure they have plenty of everything for all the runners. Thank you for always standing up for us slow-pokes.
Everyone who completes the race walks away with the same title: Finisher. Thats it! So everyone should get the same post race support!
Mary, I totally agree with your assessment of the good, bad and ugly – spot on! I thought it was ridiculous that there weren’t more bathrooms at the start, since Centennial Park is more than big enough to accommodate them. I also thought the finish line was much too small and so crowded!
But I agree, the crowds were awesome. I loved that several of the restaurants along the route had special tents set up so people could spectate! I didn’t check a bag, but I’m glad to hear that that went smoothly also.
As for those hills – even as someone who has trained on them for months, they still weren’t any easier!! Haha, my next race is definitely going to be somewhere much more flat.
Yes! I definitely do not plan to do anymore hilly marathons while I am still training in Florida!
I’m a slow triathlete, and I’ve ran races where there’s been hardly anything left for post-race fuel. The volunteers had packed everything up and made me feel like a bad person for even wanting anything. Excuse me? I paid my registration fee same as the speed demons!
I definitely think everyone should be treated the exact same, bc you are right… everyone paid the same entry!
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