Rock N Roll Providence Half Marathon

So I was quite excited for this race signing up. And it was a pricey registration fee of $ 100 but I heard you get a cool swag bag but it was basically only a t-​shirt. After I finished my first half marathon I was quite disappointed. Specators note to self: your sign saying worse parade ever or shouting look at the liter (at all the water cups) is not motivating at all. Bands were just ok but there were bands every mile which is pretty cool. Expo was filled will free samples of only caffeine loaded supplies. So leaving there I did not feel so good. No free pasta meal offered the night before. And only one beer per participant in the beer tent only when finished. I am saying this as an Upstate NYer where we have a 15k just like this but registration is much cheaper. You do get a free pasta meal the night before, expo has free samples of a variety of things, a beer glass instead of a t-​shirt, spectators and band the whole route and all the free beer you can drink at the end with a up beat band you can dance too!

I came out here to essentially get RI off my half marathon bucket list. Providence itself is a nice city and I wish the course would have shown more of it. I was semi ok/​prepared for the hills, although it wasn’t my favorite part of the race. There were parts that was all parks and it reminded me of the last 8 miles of Rock n Roll Philadelphia where you don’t get a lot of the city. It was a good run but it doesn’t stick out to me.
The expo was ok. There was one vendor there with a set up for a water/​sweat absorbent towel and it looked as if he were giving out samples. When I asked if there were free (he had no prices up), he got a little snarky and free I decided it wasn’t worth money, I could here him make comments as I walked away. Not the best of sellers that for sure.

My running coach suggested that when I get ready to run my first half marathon, to go away. I took him at his word for the first time last year (2011) and ran this one. Whereas others lament the rain, I loved it and was hoping for the same this time (2012). Instead we were greeted with low to mid 70’s — equally good weather — and the benefit of hearing the headliner band among others. Add to this that the city of Providence, made the weekend a festive one with Water Fire and evening entertainment — something I missed by one week last year — great move, there.
I love the course — it’s a good mix of easy and challenging and offers different views of the city for one who is not a local (I come fr CA). There is nothing like finishing a race all «Rocky» status while running the last point one mile up to the State House. Even though it was my 2^nd time running this, I still welled up a bit… just don’t ask me about my finishing time :\ …maybe that was the real source of my tears. lol.

This year Providence appeared to work the kinks out of it’s Rock n Roll half marathon. First of all, they offered a refund/​credit if it rained again. Which was a great idea. Thankfully, we had the most picture perfect race weather!
Once again we parked in the Providence Place Mall and only paid $ 2 this time. Same start/​finish location which is nice and close to this parking locale.
The race t-​shirt and medal didn’t disappoint and I’ll say it again… thank you Rock n Roll series for making women’s fit tees!!!
The bands had a great energy and more spectators came out this year to enjoy the weather.
The water/​gatorade tables were filled quickly, which sometimes I find is lacking at other runs. I can’t blame volunteers but it’s just something to notice in regards to organization.
I didn’t check a bag this year, but from what I understand they did correct the problem from last year and had trucks to store runners gear rather than laying everything out on the lawn-​an unfriendly strategy for rainy days.
Thanks for a great run!!!

great event for their first ever ½ marathon in providence. i have never NOT sweated so much in my life! it rained… i mean poured… the entire event. which this is new england, so we knew what we were gambling on.
i loved running through the beautiful neighborhoods and small streets of providence. a nice change from the 4 lane running roads and glaring sun of arizona. surprisingly, a number of supporters were out and cheering, even in the torrential downpour.
the course was some up, some down, but always a nice scenery. there were plenty of bathroom stops and great thanks to all the volunteers who stuck it out to pass out water, man the medical tents, etc. even a few bands stuck around to rock us on. i don’t blame the others for packing it in… that’s expensive equipment.
sugar ray actually played his set, but we were soaked so we downed our «free» beer and took off. parking was a breeze at providence place. too bad more stores weren’t open for such a large crowd. i’m sure they could’ve made a killing on ponchos and umbrellas and dry clothes!
my only big gripe was with bag check. it was just out there, in the rain, no coverage at all. nothing like finishing a half marathon in soaking wet clothes only to get your gear bag that is also soaking wet. bummer.
i was happy with my experience and would do it again. it was kind of fun to run in the rain. i hope they expand for next year!

Despite the weather channel predicting thunderstorms for most of the time I’d be out running, I braved a 4 am wakeup to drive into Providence for the RnR half.
Like I’ve mentioned in a few other race reviews, I’ve run tons of distance events between 5k and ultra, big and small, and this is now my second RnR experience. I’m not flexing my race muscles or anything since I am a turtle that you’ve probably passed along the way, but I’ve run enough to know what I like, which usually differs from a faster/​more serious or first time distance runner.
The good:
Nice course with plenty to look at. And it was flat.
Enthusiastic fans who actually stood outside in the rain, cheering.
Easy to maneuver expo– that might have been because no one was there when I finally made it down, but whatever.
Knowing Providence, it was an easy maneuver for parking– street parking was easy to find at 6:15, much better than waiting in line for the people trying to park in Providence Place. And, may I mention… free?
The finisher medal is possibly my favorite one from all the events I’ve done this year.
The people along the course were GREAT, but that might just have been RI hospitality. I loved standing in the corral and comparing other races with those around me, running into people I’ve seen at other RnR events (running them is like a cult, I swear), talking about events in the future, and all of that general runner awesomeness that is the reason I love running distance events.
The indifferent:
The 7 am start was for some reason pushed back to a 7:35 gun. This was only (at least initially) annoying because it was pouring, people were standing in the corrals with umbrellas which would drip right down on you, and there really wasn’t much of a system letting us know what was going on.
It seems there was no way for people to get into the proper corral once 6:45 am hit. Back in corral 14 (where I was placed with a 2:45 pace) we had a mix of 3000 and 15 000 bibs. Between playing red rover with the walkers and feeling like you were being trampled by the faster runners, it wasn’t a fun start or first few miles. The corrals exist for a reason, but they weren’t enforced like they have been at previous races.
When the gun finally went off, the wave start only seemed to apply to corrals 1 – 4. Those of us in 5 – 15 were all left to our own devices. OK, so 5 – 15 may be a bit of an exaggeration, but this was NOT a wave start for those of us at the back. They just dropped the ropes and let the mob through.
The bad (or, why I hated this race):
I don’t know if it was the late start and need to re-​open roads or what, but I was SERIOUSLY miffed when at mile 3, people were being forced to board the lag bus. Really?!? Mile 3!!! Usually you don’t even see the lag bus until mile 7. I KNOW that I’m not a fast runner, but after being forced to walk 95% of San Diego due to nasty blisters and still finishing around 3:30, I knew that a finish time under 4 hours was more than attainable when I was running. But no. I’m not sure if they were basing the 4 hour limit on a 7am start time, but usually it starts after the last runner crosses the start line (which would have also been fair had the wave start been kept). Not the actual first gun. Don’t penalize the runners because you guys can’t get your shit together to start on time.
My unofficial finish time was 3:20. I got my medal, but don’t feel like I earned it. I’m pissed at the forced lag bus boarding and really think I could have done it faster had the bus not been involved. I get that it’s raining. I get that the roads need to be opened again. But why am I being punished for keeping with my 2:45 pace (plus a stop at the porta potty that sucked up about 20 minutes)?
I had such high hopes for this race, but was ridiculously disappointed. I get that it’s the inaugural race so there’s kinks to iron out, but this isn’t the city of Providence’s first trip to the distance event rodeo and RnR as an organization should know what they’re doing so the biffs make me feel like it was a wasted entry fee.

Well, now I know that when the Rock N Roll crew says «rain or shine,» they mean it. The race took place in a downpour, and kudos to the volunteers and organizers for making sure water stops, medical tents, and finish line were all fully staffed despite the horrible weather.
As Stephanie mentioned in her review, a good number of the bands who were supposed to play along the course didn’t show up. I do blame them. The bands had tent coverage, and the ones who were there seemed well protected from the weather. Part of the allure of this race was the live entertainment and it was basically missing for the middle third of the course. Boo to the bands who can’t handle bad weather. Don’t sign up to play at this sort of event if you won’t show up in rain.
On the flip side, an extra YAY for the bands who did play. It was cool to be serenaded with live music throughout the course. And it was great to see so many Providence residents out on their porches cheering – and local cheerleading squads organized at several points on the route!
The course itself was definitely a good one, although hillier in the second half than I’d expected. A steep uphill to the finish felt a bit cruel. Still, I appreciated long straightaways along gorgeous tree-​lined streets. Mile markers were clearly placed with digital clocks recording the race time, and time was captured at the 5k, 10k, 10m, and 12m marks. The wave start was also extremely well-​planned and resulted in a fairly non-​crowded course, although we were delayed in starting about 20 minutes due to some sort of street congestion.
Unfortunately one consequence of the torrential rain was huge puddles along the course, sometimes unavoidable. Even my wicking socks couldn’t prevent some nasty blisters from soaked footwear.
Finally, the all important issue of THE RACE T-​SHIRT: Short-​sleeved, navy blue, technical tee with an understated almost nautical logo. Unfortunately they are cut for men and run a bit large, so mine is pretty long on me, but I think this will be a nice addition to my running collection. I’d suggest getting some ladies’ shirts next time – the race costs enough.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad little race. I’d do it again next year, but definitely pray for sun.