ROC Race Charlotte

It was nice. I went with a friend, and we did have fun, but I think I set my expectations a little high.
We were the 8am wave, so we got there early. The staff at the packet pick up and bag check were courteous and friendly, and really had it all under control. That I definitely appreciated.
Before the race? Meh. Typical merchandise booth, which was a little pricey in my opinion but not completely over the top. And again, the staff was great. Other than that, there was a foam area where you could take pictures. And… that was it.
Before the race there was an emcee who was very upbeat and enthusiastic.
The obstacles were… fun. Think of it as a bunch of oversized kid bouncy houses with a bit more complexity to them. Some you actually had to climb up, which as it’s an inflatable and you have to keep your balance to make it up can be challenging. The first one, after the ‘monkey bars’, was pretty much just a bouncy house. The climbs, slides, foam, and wrecking ball were the best obstacles. The tire mile? Really? Queue eye roll.
But overall I’d say it was all pretty much what I expected it to be.
After the race was a major disappointment. Usually when you run a 5k, and keep in mind that while this 5k is broken up with obstacles most people are still exerting quite a bit of energy, you’ll find some fruit and water at the end. Possibly some power bars. There was none of this. And supposedly there were supposed to be concessions, and we didn’t even see those. We stepped over to the foam pit that we saw before we raced, got some fun pictures taken, and left.
The ROC Race was OK. Fun, but for the $$ amount (on top of travel + hotel) I won’t be doing it again unless it’s in the same city I live in. I will say, though, that if they tweek a few things, this would probably be pretty great ;)
note: I am NOT a marathon runner, and fun obstacle 5k races like this are right up my alley.

Would have really liked if they had people taking pictures like they do at the other races.

I must say I had very high hopes for this event and for the most part, they pulled it off pretty well. I struggled a little bit on whether to give them three or four stars (3.5 would have been perfect score but Unilocal doesn’t do halves) but since everyone involved seemed to really enjoy themselves I couldn’t help to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was very well organized and despite not being able to pick up my packet early (I live in Rock Hill, too far to drive to Concord twice) picking it up the day of the race was simple\easy ($ 5 charge was a little too capitalistic for my taste but still cheaper than the gas I would have spent driving to packet pick up) The cost to run this 5k is a little pricey considering all you get is a cotton tshirt and a race bib but I didn’t feel like it was a rip-​off because I did feel like I was on a real life game show and that’s not an easy thing to produce. The start music was great and the obstacles are designed to be fun yet some where slightly challenging. The gorilla bars, the get up and over and even getting up most of the slides requires some upper body and leg strength. The moon bounce, foam slide and tarzan swing were more pure entertainment. The wrecking ball, jumpy balls (darn near impossible to do) and sweeper were the only obstacles that had any real element of danger\failure to them. Cool running’s was by far the fan favorite as people kept going back to repeat it (going down a slide on a inner tube) The tire mile was really pointless afterthought that could be taken out for something the better. The big slide at the end was fun too but by then I was almost tired of the slides. I think they could have taken out the drop and tire mile for the tight rope transverse and the aqua drag (other obstacles they have done in other cities but didn’t do in Charlotte as they only pick 12) and that would have added enough variety to keep it from feeling redundant. The end felt sort of anticlimactic as there was no celebration afterwards outside of the foam photo place which was cold and crowded at times. Not much in the way in food or prizes. And for once at the drink stations at the mile markers, can we get some actual COLD water\sport drinks? Seriously that nasty water out the hose almost made me gag. I’m surprised a drink vendor sponsor wouldn’t want to market their product for a bunch of thirsty participants. At the end of the day, people were having a good time. I was running with a group of about 8 – 9 people and that is the way to go. The more the merrier, get dressed up, act silly, laugh at each other, keeping everybody motivated when you get tired. Don’t go out there trying to take yourself serious or be a loner or you will be sorely disappointed. Certainly a race I can recommend for casual runners like me and with just a few more tweaks, it could be the best race hands down every year.

Great theme, great workers and volunteers, great setup. It’s a must do next year. Don’t miss out. You can run a 5k every Saturday. ROC is a fun, non competitive way to spend some time with family and friends. Get wet, have fun, laugh, take photos and just do it.

As a spectator this race I wanted to get me family on video attempting these obstacles. With the amount of real estate soooo close to stands, the obstacles could have been laid out better too allow family to enjoy the race too. Very disappointed.

It was good. I’m not going to go overboard and say it was great and blew away my expectations, but it was still fun.
Packet pickup: Easy. They had a bunch of teenagers and some adults doing pickup and they had it down pat. Way to go. ⁵⁄₅
Bag check: Easy and well run. ⁵⁄₅
Pre-​starting line activities: There was a foam machine you could play around with and take pictures. Other than that, not much else. 3.5÷5
Start line: They had music and a DJ/​emcee who was pretty good. We were the last group to go out at the 11:00 wave, so there weren’t a lot of us. It was still fun, though. ⁴⁄₅
Obstacles (I can’t remember the order, so these are out of order somewhat)
Gorilla Bars: Basically just monkey bars on an inflatable. They’re not too hard if you have good upper body strength. ³⁄₅
Sweeper: Someone got stuck on the inflatable part so there was a long delay. Otherwise very easy. Just walk across. ³⁄₅
Wrecking Balls: We were in the middle. Time it right and you’re across pretty easily. Time it wrong… you’re in the drink. They had a good emcee for this one. ⁴⁄₅
Jump Balls: Basically really small Wipeout balls that don’t have water. Still funny to watch your friends faceplant on, though. 3.5÷5
Cool Runnings: Lots of fun. It’s a water slide with an inner tube. You get very wet on this one. My dad lost his glasses at the end and the volunteers were great with helping to find them. They also let us do it multiple times (we did it three times). ⁵⁄₅
Moon Bounce: Pretty standard moon bounce. Big, but standard. 3.5÷5
Tarzan Swing: I wish this ended in water or foam. Just hold on for a second or two and you’re across. ³⁄₅
Foam of Fury: A huge slip-​n-​slide with foam. Lots of fun and you end up soaked in foam. 4.5÷5
The Drop: A big non-​water slide. Fun but not the best. ⁴⁄₅
Get it Up (And Over): Climb over a wall and end up on a platform. They have different sized walls depending on the challenge you want. I picked the middle size and it was really easy. ³⁄₅
Tire Mile: Really? They basically just took tires and put them down. No creativity. Boring. ²⁄₅
Worlds Largest Waterslide: Fun and wet! I’m not complaining about a huge slide! ⁵⁄₅
The volunteers were excellent and the race was well done. It could have used some more music on the course though. I’m looking at the Foam 5K for a bit more of a challenge next year, but ROC was fun and I’d do it again.

Lots of fun! ROC race crew did a great job putting on a fun event. The price is a little steep for what it is, (I mean c’mon you couldn’t even put the date or city on the shirt for $ 70?) But proceeds go to good causes so feels good to think I’m helping out the less fortunate by running through a bunch of obstacles, drinking beer, and having a blast with friends…‘Merica! Anyways they also do a good job running everyone in waves so there are no waiting lines at the obstacles. Word to the wise not for «über competitive runner guy.» no timing system or medals for top finishers, just prizes for the funniest costumes and funniest people… go to enjoy the good times, take in the sights and laughs and enjoy good company. Would recommend going in a big group like I was fortunate enough to be apart of. I think it would be much less enjoyable to run alone, like I said this is NOT a spartan race or serious obstacle run.
PS be warned beer garden is actually just a beer/​soda tent selling $ 5 InBEV products.

I had a BLAST and cannot wait for the race to come back to Charlotte next year. For those who don’t know, this is a 5K but think Wipeout or Double Dare — all the obstacles are more fun rather than challenging.
I love a 5K that lets you pick up your registration packet early — big help here to avoid massive lines on site. The weather was perfect for today and the course was easily mapped out so you always knew your way. There were 12 obstacles which really broke up the running. I had several favorites although really, all the obstacles were fun! The wrecking ball is hilarious just to sit back and watch. For this you had to run across a tube and make it to the platform as two giant swinging dodgeball looking balls were hovering around you. Out of the 8 of us… 1 made it across haha. But it felt good falling into the water below.
And the emcees/​DJs were hilarious! Very active, keeping the energy up and throwing out funny commentary — the guy at the wrecking ball event was only in shades and a ‘tuxspeedo’ — love it!
Other events included «gorilla bars» over the foam pit, tightrope, two separate slip n slide obstacles, a giant moon bounce and more. Best part is finishing by climbing up a 40 feet high slide (it looked 40 feet… I may be off by a bit) and launching yourself down. Great race to run with friends and I am IN for next year! Great job, ROC Race!