5 Reasons to run Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio

Disclaimer: As a Rock N Blogger I received free race entries for the 5K and Half Marathon. As always, opinions are my own #keepitreal!

Happy Friday! Well we made it through another week – hooray! Is it just me or are all the days running together? This week has been SO crazy busy, and next week is going to be even crazier, so I wanted to make sure that I provided y’all with my Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Race Recap. This will deviate from my typical race recaps. This time I’m providing you with 5 reasons you should absolutely run this race!

Two weeks ago (wow has it been that long?) I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio 5K and Half Marathon. Not only was this my first visit to the city, but also my first visit to Texas, so I really didn’t know what to expect. Here are my top 5 reasons to run this race.

Expo

Although this was a smaller expo (in terms of other Rock ‘n’ Roll races), I still found it enjoyable and beneficial. The bib and t-shirt pickup was super easy (no long lines). Once that was completed, we decided to check out the Brooks merchandise. They had a lot of items on sale and even some deeply discounted items as well. I didn’t buy anything because I way too much athletic clothes already, but the deals were great! I also spend some time getting a gait analysis by Brooks. I haven’t had a gait analysis in a few years so this was very helpful. I appreciate that Rock ‘n’ Roll has this available at their expos because it is super beneficial to runners of all different levels. As I am looking for a new distance sneaker, this was super helpful and allowed me to add one item to my Christmas Wish list 🙂

Course

You know how much I love a flat course, right? Besides some elevation towards the end of mile 10, this course was pretty flat for the most part. Although the half marathon and marathon runners run together until mile 12, the course never seemed crowded. As with all Rock ‘n’ Roll courses, the Blue Mile was especially beautiful as it took place in Breckenridge Park. It was very quiet and allowed me time to reflect during that mile, and also silently thank all of the men and women that gave their lives for this country. I also really appreciated all the bands that were out on the course. It seems liked there was music every 2 miles or so and all the genres were different – country, classic rock, etc…and there were even a few Mariachi bands! It added to the fun element of the race, that’s for sure. In addition, the course had water/Gatorade available every 2 miles and some stations had SIS gels as we got further along on the course. All in all, it was nice course to run.

MeetUps

It’s always fun to explore new cities and get to meet up with running friends from around the country. This is something I definitely experienced in San Antonio. The good thing about Rock ‘n’ Roll races are that they are typically pretty large so you are bound to have a few runner friends participating in the races as well.

Before the 5K, my mom and I were able to meet up with members of Black Girls Run! from a few different cities – San Antonio, Kansas City and Tulsa. All the ladies were so friendly and gave us restaurant recommendations.

After the 5K, it was off to the Alamo to meet up with the Pro Compression and We Run Social crew. I usually only get to attend one of these meetups a year (#EastCoastProblems), but I always look forward to them. It’s a great time to connect with other runners, find out how their training is going, what future races they will be doing, etc.

The City of San Antonio

I especially enjoyed the River Walk area (if I go there again, I’ll stay at a hotel that is closer to it). Although it can tend to be a little crowded (depending on what time you go) the River Walk was filled with tons of restaurants and shops. When we visited it on Friday night there was even live music. It’s a very lively part of San Antonio. You could even sign up for their boat tours on the river. This is something I didn’t have time to do while there but I imagine it would be super fun.

I also enjoyed walking around the Alamo. I’ve always heard about it, but of course never visited.

And of course because I was in Texas I had to look for a cowboy hat, right? I succeed but didn’t purchase it because there was no way I could fit it in my carry-on suitcase or wear it on the plane.

The Medals

Oh the medals, of course I would list this as a reason 🙂 I absolutely LOVE my race bling and RnR San Antonio did not disappoint! they were very unique to the city, which I think is what makes a medal so special. No one wants a generic, average medal right? I also loved the guitar medal which I received for doing 2 races in 2 days over the weekend.

I also liked the medals they gave out for the 10K and Marathon. I didn’t run these races, but still wanted to include those medals.

Also, unrelated to the medals (but still considered swag), I loved how the Half Marathon/Marathon shirts celebrated the city’s 300th anniversary.

Would I run this race again? Yup! I don’t think I’ll get back there for 2019 just due to logistical reasons and expenses (can an airline sponsor me so I can get free flights?), but if you can do this one, add it to your list!

I’m linking up for Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness.