Experience non-stop energy and excitement as participants hit the streets of Pasadena, California 
during the Rock ‘n’ Roll Pasadena Half Marathon benefiting CureMito! Get excited as live bands and cheer squads motivate you to rock all the way to a finish line centered at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium.
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This is one of my favorite races because it’s always very well organized with lots of aid stations. Packet pickup was at the Pasadena Convention Center. I like their setup. I really liked the tech t-shirt and going by all the vendors. For race day you pay $10 for parking at the rose bowl. It was easy to get to the parking and it starts at the rose bowl which is pretty cool. The course has some hills and I really liked all the volunteers. The Rock N Roll medal is always beautiful. I always have fun at this race and will plan to do it every year.
I’ve done the RnR Pasadena two years (2012 and 2013) in a row. This is one of the best organized races around. I loved the course. We got to go over the Colorado Street bridge on the way back to the Rose Bowl. There was plenty of parking around the Rose Bowl for the start (pay parking). Course was not flat. Like the small town feel to this race (about 7500 participants or so). There was plenty of port-a potties at the start. Also they had some pre-race water and bagels available. It was a wave start but it took only 15 minutes for all the waves to start. The bands on the course made the race fun. Medal is also pretty cool too.
This was my first RnR event, and I thought it was very well put together.
Packet pickup was easy and smooth, came with a nice Brooks tech shirt and a decent quality sport backpack. The expo looked pretty nice, I don’t typically hang around much so I can’t really comment on it.
I received an email the night before the race from RnR road closures. It didn’t affect me but I thought it was nice that they took the time and effort to warn the participants.
I live in the area so I just rode my bike down to the event. It’s great to not have to drive somewhere for the race. It was a little chilly in the morning, but by the time the race started, it had turned into a gorgeous day.
I really enjoyed the course, it’s fun to go through old town, across the colorado bridge and finish at the Rose Bowl. There was a good amount of elevation change to keep it interesting. With about 5k entrants, it wasn’t a huge field, but the aid stations were well setup as you would see in a larger race.
There were a lot of photographers both on course and after. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many pictures.
Finisher medal is heavy, I saw a tent that you can get it engraved. I don’t know if there was a charge for it.
I am really looking forward to doing this race again next year. I signed up on race day, got a nice discount and a t-shirt. You can also sign up at the expo for the discount.
They should have had a GU station around mile 5 or 6. Only one GU station at mile 9.
Volunteers were awesome. The bands were really good. Great assortment of post race food- a special thanks to Jamba Juice!! Thanks for the smoothies! I had gum surgery earlier in the week and that was the only food I could take in aside from the liquids.
The course was fun and I love the out and back fingers- really fun to see the fast runners. Post race concert was really fun!
Another great half put on by Rock & Roll!
The expo was smaller than expected, but no complaints. Lots of great Brooks gear for purchase. And a nice red Brooks tech shirt. Not crowded. Street parking was easy, so no need to pay to park for the expo.
On race morning, we had to show up a littler earlier than I would have liked to avoid closed streets. Sat in the car for nearly 2 hours after parking. The parking lot was close to the race start/finish line, which was really nice. Lots of porta potties, so no real lines to speak of. Corrals were well organized and easy to navigate. Race started on time and without a hitch. Corrals were released quckly, which is a huge plus!
Course was challenging. Hilly. Got to run by some iconic Pasadena landmarks and over the historic bridges. Beautiful run! Good support on the course … lots of water, cheerleaders, bands, spectators, etc. Not too crowded.
The finish line was well organized and effecient. Nice medals handed out by happy volunteers. Got some gatorade and chocolate milk. By the time I got there, they were out of some of the other goodies. 🙁
I would certainy recommend this race!
Another great, super organized, Rock and Roll Series race!
Expo: The expo was held at the Pasadena Convention Center. I got there around 5PM on Friday and there weren’t very many people there. You walk inside the convention center hall and immediately pick up your bib, your tshirt, and your backpack. The goodie bags weren’t empty this time! There were some flyers for upcoming races, some samples, and nice coupons for Jamba Juice and things like that.
Race day parking: Was a lot better than last year. I arrived around 5:45AM and there was a line of cars waiting to get in. However, I think that I got parked within 10 minutes. The parking was very organized and there were numerous parking lot attendants directing traffic. I still did not like having to pay $10 for parking at the Rose Bowl when there are numerous other races that feature free parking at the Rose Bowl.
Start line: The start line was very close to the parking areas, which was very nice. It was pretty cold at the start, so I’m glad that I didn’t have to stand around in my corral for too long. The announcers were very enthusiastic and the girl who sang the national anthem was awesome! The music at the starting line added to the energy.
Course: There were several medium hills along the course. There were numerous bands, DJs, cheerleaders, and spectators along the course. The course was great! The mile markers were placed every mile and were easy to see.
Water/Gatorade/Gu: Water was handed out about every mile and a half. Gatorade was handed out at every other water station. Gu was handed out just before mile 9.
Finish Line: The finish line was great! It was never too crowded. The medals were nice. The post race eats were great! Water bottles, large Gatorade bottles, pretzels, Jamba Juice, granola bars, bananas, and chocolate milk were handed out. I wish grocery sacks would be provided for runners to carry all of the food at the end.
Would I run this race again: Yes! I’ll be back again in 2014!!
I had my reservations about this race as I had a bad experience in 2010 with Rock N Roll San Diego, was not overly impressed with Rock N Roll Las Vegas in 2010 and read about the nightmare that was Rock N Roll Las Vegas 2011.
However, as a lifelong Pasadena resident I signed up for the race long before the course was announced. It was a pleasant surprise when I did finally see the course and I saw that it was an awesome course featuring the very best of Pasadena. In comparison, the Pasadena Marathon (held in mid/late May) does not feature the best of Pasadena.
I signed up for an opening day price of just $55 which is unheard of for a Rock N Roll series race and then I counted the months until the race finally approached.
The race expo was nice enough, well organized and easy to get in and out of which I liked. I really liked the race shirt as well as the medal (which I got a sneak peek of at the expo). Race day parking was $10 and this was understandable as most major events at the Rose Bowl (the start and finish of the race) charge for parking. There is nowhere really within a mile where alternate (free) parking is possible, so I didn’t hesitate to pay the $10.
Parking on race morning was easy enough and with enough parking to accomodate a football game with 100,000 people, I was able to park within about 1/8th of a mile of the start/finish.
The corrals were monitored well and this made for a nice start without walkers / slower runners lined up too far ahead. Plenty of portable toilets meant next to no wait which was awesome and almost unheard of for a race with a few thousand runners.
Also, although I run more marathons than half marathons, I appreciated that this was a dedicated half marathon as it is the Rock N Roll races that are a marathon / half marathon combo that seems to have the problems as the half marathoners merge in and out with the marathoners.
Race day weather was absolutely perfect…high 40’s at the start and warming to the high 50’s by the end with sun shining.
Really, I thought the course was beautiful from beginning to end and I enjoyed starting at the Rose Bowl, running through beautiful residential areas near the Rose Bowl, running through Old Town Pasadena, running near Cal Tech, back through Old Town, over the Colorado Street Bridge and finally back to the Rose Bowl.
Although there were rolling hills and it wasn’t the easiest course, the beauty of the course, as well as the perfect weather, were enough to inspire me to a new half marathon PR. While Miles 11 and 12 were challenging, gaining about 150′, the final mile to the finish was a nice downhill to the finish.
The post-race concert of Sugar Ray was great and it was free to non-runners, as well, meaning that my DW was able to enjoy one of her favorite bands very upclose and personal. By the time of the concert, temperatures were probably in the low 60’s and with sun shining and in the Rose Bowl area setting it was awesome.
Easily, this race is my new favorite half marathon and I wasted no time in signing up for the 2013 edition of the race and plan on making it a yearly tradition hopefully for decades to come. This race was an A+ on every level.
This was my 2nd RnR event, I registered at the expo on Friday morning, volunteers were very easy to talk to & very informative. The expo was not as active as I’m assuming it was on Saturday but it was still nice to walk around & get into the running mind frame. A main reason for me choosing this event is because I know the RnR series runs are very entertaining and full of life, plus how could Pasadena host an event that I wasn’t going to be a part of. I really liked the tech tee this event offered because it had a logo of the famous Pasadena Bridge (“Suicide Bridge”). I have many memories in this location. Race day parking looked horrible, I was dropped off about half a mile from the start line so I was lucky to avoid all that. The course was suitable if you were a runner aiming to PR because the inclines (if any) were slight & great for picking up speed. I wasn’t exactly pleased with the finish line set up. I expected to hit the finish line & then a swarm of spectators at the end, but no. Instead the course finished we could grab our medals, refreshments & take our finisher’s photo then make our way towards the crowd. It was just somewhat confusing. These events, are must do’s because of the route & scenery choices. If you want to get to know a city RnR makes it possible to discover 13.1Miles of wherever it hosts an event.
The weather really helped take this up a notch. A beautiful day and a beautiful course. The Rock-N-Roll franchise certainly put out a well organized event in this case. The music acts along the course were average, but the course made up for that. I loved that it cruised through some of the best parts of Pasadena and ended on the big grassy lawns of the Rosebowl. I’ll be back.
You need a DNF as a choice for the Course. I thought the pre race was great! Expo ran smooth and the amount of runners was perfect. I was an unlucky runner who got hurt in the first mile. The hill we were running up wasn’t bad but I had a calf strain that decided to blow out on me during the start. I can say the medical staff was great and Sugar Ray, did a great job!
So far, I’ve liked the smaller RnR races: San Jose, L.A., Pasadena. This was a great course. Curvy with lots of short hills. No industrial districts or freeways. The last mile to the finish is mainly downhill! Plenty of port-a-potties at the start; no waiting even close to the start of the race. Parking was easy. All in all, a very smooth, well-run race, where all I had to do was think about running. I even enjoyed the out-and-backs because I could say hi to the many runners I knew at this race.
This was my 8th RnR race and it was great! The only part that needs to be fixed is the parking and the organization of directing the traffic in. I arrived 1.5 hours before the race and it took an hour to drive a mile. That aside this was a great and well organized race, from the expo to the start and finish of the race. The race course was a challenging one but what else would you expect form the hills of Pasadena? Running through part of the iconic Rose Parade route was neat and the fans in the city were great. Having the chance to run on the Colorado Blvd bridge was the best part of the race. The finish line area had a ton of room and finding my family was a breeze. Competitor group did an outstanding job with this race. I will definitely do this race next year and recommend it to anyone looking for a challenging race thats well organized.
Pre-Race:
The expo was small for this event, which isn’t always a bad thing. I did appreciate that it wasn’t crowded trying to get my bib and all, but with fewer vendors at the expo it did feel a little lack luster.
Morning-of, there was good traffic direction and the start area was well organized. Although I did hear that some people got to park without having the $10 pass. Volunteers were on top of it at the Solutions tent; many people were able to pick-up their bibs even though they were supposed to get it at the expo. I think this was nice because I believe there were a LOT of first-timers running this event who didn’t realize they had to go to the expo for whatever reason. LOTS of port-a-potty’s and a LOTS of photographers around the start.
Course:
Start went off with a hitch. Starting in the Rose Bowl was scenic and heading toward downtown was fun. Running around down with nearly 6 miles of out-and-back would normally bother me, but I really enjoyed seeing friends several times on the course. I did feel like there weren’t as many bands as other RNR events, but there was plenty of energy on the course. Cheerleaders did a great job too.
There were a lot of ups and downs on this course but they weren’t difficult. Several people (I know of at least 30) got PR’s on this course. It seemed like for every incline that was an equal and faster decline that made up for it.
Post-Race:
Finishing at the Rose Bowl and getting to sit or lay down in the grass was like the perfect end to a race. It felt like having a picnic with your favorite sweaty friends, while Sugar Ray entertained in the background. The band did put on a good show, too. There were some food vendors which I saw a lot of people taking advantage of. And then to get back to your car was a breeze.
Overall:
This was a win for runners, the city of Pasadena, and Competitor Group. I’ve put hundreds of miles of training in and around the Rose Bowl and so have all of my runner friends, so having an event here like this one was a dream for us. I loved that it was a smaller event for RNR (around 6,000 runners) and that the course wasn’t too crowded. The shirts and medal were both well designed and I’ll be proud to wear/display them.
Read about my PR on my blog at www.heavymedal.wordpress.com!
This was my first RnR event. I loved it! A great event, really I have no complain. Not too many runners, I hope it stays that way..about 6000 runners yesterday. The course was great, I would say it is hilly for sure. The expo was good, easy packet pick up, people were super nice.
They had a fun booth with a green screen for fun pictures with props.
Race started on time. plenty of porta potty at the start. perfect location for start and finish line at the Rose Bowl. Nice BROOKS race shirt and I like the medal. I had a great time and I got a PR on top of it. Will be back next year.
