My 1st Half was a Rock 'n Roll Half. I've done the Philly 3 years in a row now... with ever improving results I can add! It's a fun, well organized race which I can recommend for steady runners or those just looking to check off a bucket list item. Speaking for Philly, the run is centrally located and easy to get to. The staff and volunteers ensure every runner is taken care of. Outside the bathroom lines, you probably won't have much to wait on. The course changes slightly every year, as does the completion medal. You'll be greeted at the finish line with a cheap beer and a cool band playing all their hits. The bands usually joke about this being their earliest concert (I mean, they usually start playing by 1030 AM) but they give it their all. Don't worry, they usually are willing to replay a few of their hits since people finish at different times. Race photos aren't free, but they take plenty of them. Bag check and a cool expo is included with the price of the run. They also offer various packages (with bundle medals included) for those looking to run (and run and run)! Get training and I'll see you in Philly next year! read more

I can always handle being passed by a superhero but by a hotdog?! And a hamburger?! On the other side of the pack and not far behind those two...a foamy beer! I know the Philly run this year was pushed back to Halloween due to the Pope's visit (usually, it's Sept), and I was happy about it because otherwise my schedule would have been double-booked. While participating, I was REALLY happy about it. RnRs are always fun, but so many runners in costume made it even more memorable. Add to it, the little ones in costume, even better! So cute was a little Minnie Mouse girl cheering on the course and her dad held a polka dotted sign "run like you just saw a mouse." One of my fave costumes was The Joker! He came up behind me around mile 8, on Falls Bridge. There were a few people who ran in full face paint - Papa Smurf was blue from ear to ear. This event was well-organized: 38 years running! - they've got it down. A bunch of folks have done it all 38 years. Congrats to them! Beautiful, flat course too. Afterward, there was a huge line to take photos with "Rocky" and if you have energy left at the end of the run, run the stairs and do some push-ups. It also didn't hurt that the Gin Blossoms were the headliner at the after party. Hey Jealousy! They sounded great. The Beast event ever! read more

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Having not quite made the commitment to try a half marathon, I was thrilled that the Rock 'n' Roll series had a 5k option so I could still participate in some form. Of course the main focus was still the half marathon, but they did a nice job keeping the 5k runners involved. We received a medal and a tech shirt with registration, along with a swag bag and access to the expo. There were definitely more vendors (vendors in general) at the half marathon on race day, versus the 5k. The expo is at Convention Center which is a super pain in the butt if you don't work in the city, but it seems like all races in Philly like to have their expos their anyways. The course was the standard out and back on West River with the finish line being parallel with the Art Museum (ouch to that last hill around mile marker 3). The cool factor for this race was the band playing around the turnaround point and a DJ halfway between the start and turnaround. I could only imagine how much fun the half would be with even more live music stationed throughout the course. From a spectator's standpoint, the half is a win win. This year's header liner was Guster. Free concert in my neighborhood? Don't mind if I do. Last year I was able to catch the Gin Blossoms play for free. It was also cool being able to cheer on the runners and see the magnitude of people signed up for this race. If that's not motivation to give a half marathon a try, I'm not sure what else is. As I mentioned earlier, they had much more in terms of vendors around the finish line, including a Whole Foods tent with grocery item giveaways. This is totally a great race to keep on your running radar for future years. read more

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Half Marathon #3 For me personally, the logistics of the race were fine & I knew from past RnR races how things were done. Others may be a bit more peeved at what seems like they changed a rule or something and were not told till a few days prior to the race. I don't blame them for being mad. I would be as well if I learned something new only a few days beforehand versus knowing when I signed up. Every RnR race I've done - I saw the runner HAS to pick up their own bib. No exceptions. Apparently, Philly was different (about letting others pick up bibs) ... till this year. What was weird is that when I saw the FB event for the Philly RnR - RNR was kind of sketch on answers being given online when it came to bib pick ups. They would require racers to DM/email them. Why not just make 1 simple post about it? I could tell other racers were getting annoyed. Expo - Pennsylvania Convention Center. HUGE PLACE. No signage anywhere outside. Got lost. RnR should have had a sign saying "come here for the RnR Expo". Keystone Comic Con was also in the same area, so.... a lot of lost people were walking around the area. Security guard finally helped us. Anyway... Philly's course is NICE. Flat and running along Downtown and the River. Gorgeous view. Weather for 2018 was amazing. I really can't complain. The crowd support was OK. Compared to the Nashville RnR, Philly's crowd support was average/not a huge amount. The Mile Markers on the course were TINY. I had to look for them while running. I accidentally didn't see the Mile 1/4(?)/7(?)/etc Markers and thought I was on a long mile, haha. I'd recommend RnR to get bigger markers. Finally - Why the hell were there bikers on the road with runners!?!??! They should hire more security in the areas where bikers come often. I literally glared at a few of them (they weren't wearing bibs) during my run. Other RnR races security were pretty on point. Finishing near the Rock Steps is awesome & really encouraging. I'd recommend this race to those who enjoy a flat course. read more

I love Philly! I ran this race in 2015, 2016, and 2017. PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION CENTER The expo was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. What I enjoyed most from this years expo was the dairy-free pizza sample from Daiya. Granted, I have no dairy issues, but it was still pretty good. I was surprised not to find any protein bar/gel booths. I am not big on those things anyway, but I still enjoy the samples. Plus, they should have samples of what they will offer on the course. I would rather my stomach hurt before the race, instead of during. lol. The past 2 years, Dunkin' Donuts also gave free coffee samples. Coffee makes me poop, so basically this yesr, no Philly stomachache, and no Philly poop. How disappointing. lol. jk. I did enjoy the baby wipes (for my face, not my butt. lol), sunglasses and temporary tattoo from Penn State though. **Don't forget to visit The Reading Terminal! It is one of America's largest and oldest public markets, and it is just across the street from the convention center. RACE IN OCTOBER This race is typically held in September. When I first ran this race in 2015, they moved it to October because the Pope was in town. The race landed on Halloween, and it was one giant party. It was so much fun and October is actually a great time to visit Philly as opposed to September. Weather was perfect, it wasn't as crowded with other tourists, you see the changes in the color of the leaves (we don't experience that in San Diego), and for some reason I came across a lot of squirrels, so I did a bit of squirrel watching too. Either their coats change color during the autumn, or they just have different color fur in Philly. lol. Gin Blossoms performed this year as well, so everything was great. BACK TO SEPTEMBER In 2016, they moved it back to September, and it was terrible. It was around 80s-90s degrees, humid, and I felt like there were a lot of tourist -- the difference of what one month can do. The RnR folks should have kept the race in October. The 2017 race was also in September, and I am pretty sure the 2018 race will be there again... unless the Pope or another famous figure decides to visit. REMIX CHALLENGE This year (2017) was the 2nd year of the 5K, and I am glad they changed the route from an abandoned area behind the freeway. This year, it started off close to The Oval, then you go along Schuylkill River Trail on Martin Luther King Jr Drive, and looped back to The Oval. In 2017, there was an option to either do a 5K or 10K on Saturday. I did the 5K in 2016, and 10K in 2017. If you run Saturday and Sunday's race, you will be entitled to The Remix Medal. To tell you the truth, I think the 5K/10K medals, and shirts were better than the half marathon ones. THE HALF The half marathon course wasn't that bad either. It was mostly flat. There were 2 big hills; one early on, and one at the end. Most people PR'd, or did fairly well. Again, you start by The Oval, but you run towards Market St, make a u-turn around City Hall to head back by The Oval, loop around Fairmount Ave, run a good parameter of Schuylkill River which eventually leads you back to The Oval. I would have preferred to run by some historical sites or more in the city. The photo opportunities were unfortunately minimal. If we were at a small city I wouldn't have mind, but it's Philly - the birthplace of American democracy! There are so many historic sites. At the least, there was The Philadelphia Museum of Art by the Oval, home of the Rocky stairs. You can run up the stairs like Rocky, or throw your fists in the air and take a take a photo with the Rocky Statue. VACA Philly is such a fun city! Regardless if you run or not, it should be a travel destination. Plenty of things to see and do, and everything is so accessible via walking, public transportation or even uber. Before and after the race, I did soo many touristy things. Since the Philadelphia Museum of Art was just up the stairs, I visited the museum right after the race. With a lot of out of town races, people tend to fly in, run and then fly out. Philly should be one of those places where you actually make time for and enjoy. PHILLY & BROOKLYN People who ran the half in Philly and the half in Brooklyn received additional swag. In 2015, Brooklyn was before Philly so at Philly we were given a zip-up long sleeved shirt/pseudo sweater. Afterwards it was Philly then Brooklyn, so you earned your zip-up sweater (2016) or (cheap. jk) long sleeved shirt (2017) at Brooklyn. BEAST OF THE EAST In 2015 if you ran 3 out of the 4 races: DC, Virginia Beach, Philly and Brooklyn, you would be entitled to the Beast of the East medal. For 2016, and 2017 they did not offer any other challenge medals for some reason. People like me enjoy these things, so hopefully they bring back something similar especially since they got rid of Brooklyn! read more

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09.15.13 - One of my fave Rock'n'Roll series events to date. More deets to come! . 09.19.13 - Of all the Rock'n'Roll Series runs I've participated in, this is unequivocally my favorite. We found staying in a hotel in Rittenhouse Square provided us within walking distance to & from the Health & Fitness EXPO (registration pick-up) at Philly Convention Center on Saturday & to the START line on Sunday. Participants make their way in front of Philadelphia Museum of Arts (think Rocky at the top of the steps after his run). Elite runners promptly start at the 8 a.m. mark while the rest of us find way to our corrals for the "wave start". Ready, Set, Go! We head South around Logan Square towards The Gallery @ Market which makes a Northward turn then the route takes you West on Arch Street past the Convention Center towards JFK Park (LOVE park) for a 4 mile loop meeting again at Logan Square. The Route continues North past the Museum of Art on Kelly Drive & continues along the Eastside of the Schuylkill River for miles 5 thru 8. Runners cross the Falls Bridge and head Southbound on Dr. MLK Drive nearing mile marker 9 & continues to the end of the nearly flat 13.1 mile run back in front of the Museum. TIP: Quickly find someone who runs at your pace & stick to them during your run. I was switching from the cute pony-tailed Asian girl in the white visor, grey tank & black shorts running a 9:30/50 pace (a tad too fast for me) to a couple of guys keeping a slow steady 12 min/mi to the "Black Girls DO Run" team who were running a 10:35 clip. I finally found my running mate. The stunning blonde in braided pig-tails, neon green headband, wearing a pink tank, black shorts with crazy multi-colored zig-zag stripes, neon green compression calf sleeves keeping a nice steady pace at an even 11 minute miles. I found her at just past the 4 mile marker & continued to match stride for stride with her till she made a "pit-stop" at the 8 mile mark. That's where I lost her forever. I was either too fast or too slow for anyone else around me...so it was downhill from there. I had to keep cadence repeating the same 5 numbers in my head no matter what the beat of music was pumping thru my earbuds. Finally, at the 10 mile mark I saw the sign "COLD BEER is WAITING" & the sweet backside of strawberry blonde that I followed to the finish. By the way ladies, this works for you too: I saw a sign along the way that said, "LADIES: run like there's a hot guy in front of you or like a creepy guy is behind you!" (I think I might've been that creepy guy...) Not my best time for a 1/2 marathon, but to my credit, I stopped to take a few pix along the way, followed a couple guys for 3 miles running 12 m/m & I walked about half a mile cuz of a side ache. While I'm on the subject of walking - PARTICIPANTS: please remember, if you plan to partially walk the route...move your ass to far right. It's like the slow lane on the highway. There is nothing worse than having to maneuver around walkers in the middle of the thoroughfare while in full stride. Thank you in advance. We were so impressed with the organization (both the expo and the day of race), the volunteers, the live bands along the route, the running course, the awesome participants the overall spirit of the event & of course, the beautiful city views of Philadelphia. RnR Philly just announced their 2014 date: 09.21.14. We're in, are you? http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/philadelphia read more

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I ran this race this past weekend, and though I had a good time, it was not the best race I have ever run. It ran smoothly, the elite runners went off right at 8:00a.m. and the corrals were spaced out well after that. With the spreading out of the corrals the race opens up pretty fast and I found I had a lot of breathing room. If you have ever run the Broad Street Run, you know how annoying it can be when races aren't spread out and your crammed right up to the person next to you. I really enjoyed the first 4-5 miles of the race through the city, but after you swing back around and come through the art museum again the race comes up Kelly drive, and continues along the Eastside of the river then crosses over the Falls Bridge. Mile 9 starts just across the bridge and you continue down MLK Drive until the end of the race. This part of the race proved very tough for me, the conditions aren't great (the road is very slanted at some points) and there are not many spectators until the last .2 miles, the music dies off on this stretch as well. With all of those factors it was definitely a struggle to keep motivated through miles 9-11 which are always the toughest parts of a 1/2 marathon for me. I have run Broad Street and the Philadelphia Half Marathon before and this was my least favorite among the three. If you are looking to do a half marathon in Philly I would say wait until the Philly Half (better route, better weather conditions etc.). It was pretty hot for the race, however that isn't something that can really be controlled. Lastly the end of the race though more organized than Broad Street, is somewhat of a clusterf*** as well. Though they are handing out plenty of post-race treats such as bananas, water, chocolate milk etc. they do not give you a bag and one person (who just ran 13.1 miles) can only carry so much. All in all a good race day, and generally well organized with lots of water/Gatorade stops along the way. I just wish the route was a little bit different and difficult miles were in an area with more cheering/more to look at. read more

This is a decent and well-timed race if you're training for a marathon. The medal and T-shirts are also great. But the atmosphere is lacking. Much of this race is on the Schuylkill River Trail. For personal training, it's a great route. For a half-marathon, not so much. The trail is too isolated for big crowds to gather. Often, in miles five through 13, you just hear the foot-steps of those around you. They should change the course to include more of the city. My favorite part of the race was running down Fairmount Ave., because there were so many businesses and people out. You could feel the energy. Move the course to streets like that, and it will make a big difference. read more

Second time running this race!! Make sure to get it on Groupon because it is so much better. The first time I ran it, I did the half marathon. This year, I signed up for the half but it turned out I couldn't. Tey don't allow refunds or transfer. So I'm glad they allow you to downgrade the distance. I was able to run the 10k. Great race! read more

What a great race! I participated 9/15/13 and plan to again. The weather conditions were perfect, there was a crowd of spectators supporting everyone along the run, and great goodies at the end of the race, even a beer tent...how could you go wrong!!?? The race course itself was fantastic...scenic through the streets of Philadelphia then along the river where it was mostly shaded and cool. The people were courteous and fun. Time went by quickly and before I knew it I was in the home stretch being greeted and cheered on by masses of people...what a crowd!! read more

I ran the Rock n Roll half marathon a week ago and it was a fun race! The first three miles are though the city and there are alot of supporters along the track. The remaining 10 miles are behind the art museum area. I thought this was a good track to run a half marathon. The race was very organized but the only request was right after the race you they should give you a bag to put your stuff in, i wanted water and a gatorade, a bannana and chips and it was hard to carry everything especially if you have to use the porter poddy. Also, the expo was alot of fun with alot of different vendors/ good samples for runners! read more

I've had one experience spectating at a Rock'n'Roll Half previously. That was the debacle of the Las Vegas Half. I was disappointed in the race. For an entry fee of $100+ entry fee I expect to have a reasonable chance to use the bathroom before the race. i was there 40 minutes early and the bathroom lines were longer than any I've ever seen. I didn't think I could wait in line and make the start of the race. I've been to several hundred races in my life and this is the worst I've seen. I don't mind paying a premium when I feel like I'm getting a good value, but everything about this race left me thinking that they only care about making money. To have someone pick up my packet they charged $20. It's a $30 fee if you want to pay to pick up your packet the day of the race. That's how badly they want you to come to their expo, so they can get high paying sponsors. The music along the course average. Similar to what I've seen at non Rock'n'Roll races. I like this distance and in the future I will avoid Rock'n'Roll races. You'll like this race if: You don't care about having bathrooms before a race. If it's convenient for you to get to packet pickup the day before the race. You want a scenic view of Philly. It's a nice course. You like running in large fields. read more

I ran my first Rock n Roll race in 2008 or 2009 back when they had the PF Changs race in Arizona. I have since competed in 6 of their races and have purchased 2 of their annual TourPasses. The Tour Pass allows you to pre-purchase a set amount of races at the beginning of the year and you select which ones you will participate in. At the beginning of 2018 I purchased a 3 race Tour Pass and participated in The Rock N Roll DC 1/2 marathon. My second race was supposed to be Rock N Roll San Diego. I experienced an emergency and was unable to be in San Diego for the race on June 3. When I communicated this to Competitor Group, the race's parent company, and requested to have my tour pass entry credited for another race, I was denied my request. This has left a very bad taste in my mouth and I don't feel like all of the races and events and word of mouth advertising I have provided for them via friends and family and social media is appreciated. I have 1 race remaining on my Tour Pass this year, and I am not interested in purchasing one after that. As for friends and family members and ppl who follow my running pursuits I will be sure to to share this experience with them and not recommend that they participate in their events. read more

I will not be signing up for any more Rock 'n' Roll Marathons or Triathlons managed by the same organization. I participated in the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon in Philadelphia PA in 2018 and planned to participate in 2020. Due to cancellations that resulted from COVID-19, the 2020 race will no longer take place. Also they announced that the 2021 Rock 'n' Roll series will not happen in Philadelphia PA. The race director has refused to provide a refund and provided options to defer to a different location or run a virtual race. I have deferred to VA Beach for next fall, however many of the options for deferring include races in 2020 and early 2021 that will likely be cancelled due to COVID or if they do take place will present a risk to athletes, volunteers, etc. I will provide my race registration to organizations that support charitable causes, or races that are historically managed better like Steamtown Marathon or Marine Corps Marathon, or Philadelphia marathon. It is clear that the Rock 'n' Roll series have just one agenda and that is to make a profit. read more