2012 Inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon

My running partners, Alison and Janice, had the privilege of racing through our nation’s Capital not once, but twice in 2012!  Our first non-runDisney race of 2012 was the Inaugural Rock ’n’ Roll USA Half Marathon, March 17, 2012.   

Washington, DC is similar to Walt Disney World in that the more you visit the more new things you will see and the more times you’ll want to come back!  

The Rock ‘n’ Roll USA offers both a full marathon and half marathon.  We choose to run the half marathon.  This was my first race after runDisney’s Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.  I decided to take February to recover and ski.  I scheduled this March race to ramp up my running.  

 

The Inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon course was entirely run in Washington DC and is a  different course from Marine Corps Marathon.  You will run by the US Capitol, the Washington Monument and The White House as well as National Mall and Smithsonian.  

Being a northern, I was unprepared for the heat.  It was hot and humid for March and by mile 7 I was out of water I had carried with me.  Also, although they did have volunteers manning the water stations, they were unable to keep up with the demand.  Water tables were empty when we arrived and we had to wait for volunteers to pour water.

 

There is one major hill at mile 7.  It’s not particularly difficult and once you are done with the hill it is all downhill from there.  The only thing I would recommend is parking at the event the day of the race.  There was a major line for the Metro and limited shuttles.  We were staying at a hotel within a 2 mile walk from the finish and choose to walk rather than wait for transportation.  I would not recommend this!  

All in all – I would recommend the Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon being that it was an inaugural race, I’m sure they have made improvements with their volunteers and water stations.  The race tee was good, nice medal, organized, plenty of potties, good expo.  Thumbs up!