After almost 2 years of virtual racing, I finally got to cross a finish line in person! The Nashville Rock’n’Roll races were last weekend! =) Runners made their way through downtown Nashville in four race distances; 5k, 6.15 miler, half-marathon, and full marathon. I chose the 6.15-mile race since it was my first postpartum race after having my little guy 6 months ago. In July when I signed up I had high hope that I would be able to complete the 6.15-mile distance, though I had to do some training to get there (stay tuned to the blog for my 10k Garmin Coach review)! Note the 6.15-mile distance (not a full 10k). They said at the race that this was because Nashville’s area code is 615! It was something a little different and quirky which I was 100% there for! Keep reading for my Nashville Rock’N’Roll 6.15 Mile Race Re-cap!
Expo
I made my way to the expo on Thursday before the race. The expo ran from Thursday to Friday. It was at Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville, so it was easy to get to and park. The signage around the stadium was well thought out and I found packet pickup, merch, and the rest of the expo easy to navigate. One thing to note was even though I arrived shortly (within 3 hours) of when the expo started, they were running low on some race-specific Rock’N’Roll merch. My suggestion is to get there as early as you can if you want something special!
The only bummer about the expo for me was there weren’t a lot (or any) race-specific items for the 6.15-mile race. I would have liked to get a top, but I only found 5k, half marathon, and marathon ones. It may have saved me some money, but it would have been nice if all the races were represented!
It wasn’t a huge expo, but the vendors that were there were friendly. I was literally handed items as I walked through (lip balm, a Publix buff) that I wouldn’t have stopped for otherwise. If I hadn’t been so cold (it was a crisp November day!) and I hadn’t been rushing home to avoid traffic I would have enjoyed it a bit more!
Getting There
The race was in downtown Nashville which I tend to avoid driving through at all costs. I saw online that they suggested taking the Old Town Trolly Tours which would be picking runners up at two different locations and dropping them off after the race. This was a great stress relief for me!
When it came to race day we all loaded on the trolly and drove downtown. Unfortunately, our driver wasn’t clear on where to drop us off. So we drove around looking for a place to drop off near the start line while the clock ticked closer to the 5k/6.15 mile start time. I was pretty much an anxious mess until he dropped us off and I found where I was supposed to be. It was definitely not as smooth sailing as I had hoped!
Coming back after the race went much better. Though I did have another moment of panic when the driver informed me that he wasn’t leaving until 10 am (which was 2 hrs away). Luckily he made a few calls and decided there were enough people who wanted to go back that he could take a group in 15 minutes. Thank goodness, I was very happy he was able to take us back! I would say the trolly did help my stress level going into the race about getting downtown, though I am not 100% sure I’d recommend it unless they get some better training and communication about the event to their drivers.
Time to Race!
Pre-Race
The 5k and 6.15 miler started at 630 am. The half and full marathon started around 730 am around the corner at their own start line. It was very interesting seeing how they handled four races on the same day. There were lots of signs on the course, so you definitely needed to be paying attention! The start was cold in the morning, around 30 degrees F. Everyone was excited to run and warm-up! Many people were hanging out in the café market next to the start line. I toughed it out in the cold and caught a glimpse of the sunrise.
Bring on the Miles!
The race had us running around downtown Nashville cheered on by spectators and (like all Rock’n’Roll Races) musicians! Having live music on the course really adds life and excitement to a race. Even though I had headphones on, I still would pause it and listen to the musical acts!
One of my favorite memories from the course was at the beginning when we ran over a bridge as the sun was still rising in the sky. It was so beautiful and it just reminded me why I love racing, these special memories that are always unique. There were plenty of water and electrolyte stations, though I quickly realized after trying some Gatorade at the first stop that I had not trained with it and it would not sit well in my stomach. As they say, try nothing new on race day! Luckily I drank some of the water I had brought and felt ok.
Something I knew going in was that this race is hilly! Luckily most of the uphills also had a decent downhill, so I didn’t get that feeling of running endlessly uphill. As I started getting tired running up one of the many hills I remembered my training with Garmin Coach! The 10k program had me doing a lot of cadence training (which is your turnover rate), and I remembered how fast my pace was when I picked up my turnover. So as I ran uphill I shortened my stride and really just focused on my turnover. I think this helped me A LOT as I ran up the hills! In the end, the hilly miles were my slowest, but they were not as slow as they could have been. I love seeing my training coming into my races and really helping me out!
Final Mile
The last mile(ish) was mostly downhill, which felt amazing! After all the hilly miles in the middle of the race that nice cruise to the finish line was certainly a welcome change. When you enter the Nissan Stadium parking lot the finish was split into two so the 5k’ers and the 6.15 milers had their own chute. This was nice since the paces were very different between the groups at that time. I crossed the finish line, got my medal and snack, and reveled in my accomplishment. =)
Post-Race
I have to be honest, I didn’t hang around for the post-race concert or even go into the “festival” type area. Runners over 21 could redeem a free beer, but it was a Heineken which I am not a fan of. Plus, I was itching to get back home and tell my family all about the race. It was the longest I had been apart from my baby and husband since… forever? (At least since the baby had been born.) So Momma was missing her peeps! But I am sure it was a good time. The festivities didn’t really kick off until the half and full marathoners were done, so it would have been a long haul to wait for everything to start anyways.
The food that was handed out in the finish chute were gummies, bananas, granola bars, and pretzels. After eating a bit and rehydrating I easily found the trolly hopped aboard, glowing with those finish line feels. =D
Swag
Runners received a race shirt (which I think is a really fun design!), and some ointment and blister relief pads. I’d say the swag wasn’t amazing, it was fairly standard stuff. Though I do love the shirt and the medal is very pretty, though a bit smaller than I had anticipated. I guess you have to run the longer runs to get the bigger medals!
Overall Conclusion
The Rock’n’Roll race series is something that I’ve been wanting to run for years. I am so glad I finally got to run a race, even if it wasn’t my half marathon that I had been planning on running in 2020. This 6.15-mile race was a baby step towards racing as I used to (pre, well, baby… =p ). I am a sucker for a unique distance, so the 6.15-mile race was something fun and different. Running through Nashville was great, even with all the hills! If you are planning on running one of these races I would highly recommend some hill training, your legs will thank you!
While I loved my race and the whole experience, I did get the impression that you got a better experience running the half or full marathon. It seemed like there was more emphasis on the longer races and perhaps they felt a little more planned out. Though I do have to say, I was very impressed that they were able to have all four races run on the same day. The way they split everything up, from the start line to the course using signs, even to the finish line. It was very interesting how it all worked together, and it felt pretty seamless. Because of everything going on you do need to pay attention to the signage since the races take different turns depending on your distance.
Would I Run it Again?
If I were to run this race again I would stick to the half or full distance. It is certainly a challenging course, so I would probably need a lot more hill training to feel like I can tackle it! As my first Rock’n’Roll series experience, I really enjoyed myself and felt like everything was well organized. I definitely recommend the Nashville Rock’n’Roll races, just be ready to work on those hills! I can definitely see myself signing up for one of the longer distance races, plus I would LOVE to run another Rock’n’Roll race in the future!
For a full list of my past races and re-caps check out THIS page!
To read more about my post-childbirth running experience read my blog post HERE!
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