Rock and Roll Nashville Half Marathon Weekend Review

We just got back from finishing the Rock and Roll Nashville Half Marathon. It was Drew’s first half marathon and I made a personal record finishing in 1:42!! It was a great weekend and I am so proud of both Drew and my accomplishments, even if he says he “has zero desire to ever run a marathon!” ha!

We left Atlanta around 12:30 and arrived in Nashville about 5 hours later on Friday afternoon. A big weather system was moving in, so we quickly went to the Expo to pick up our packets for the race. Rock and Roll race expos are HUGE and filled with running attire, accessories and random vendors. I remember growing up going to expos with my dad and I loved getting all the free samples–admittedly, now I am more of a ‘get me out of the crowd’ type person, but in any event they do a good job at filing people through all the vendors.

Following the expo, we met our friends, Grant and Catherine, and checked into our Airbnb nearby. It was a cute condo style hotel, with many short term rentals. It was very centrally located and convenient as well as clean! I highly recommend it, even if parking was a tad tricky. Following check in, we headed to Saint Anejo, an amazing Mexican restaurant in the Glutch, seriously a must go if you are in Nashville! I usually don’t drink before races, but had to order a strawberry margarita as they make the BEST ones. By the time we finished dinner, it was pouring outside so we caught an Uber back to the condo before settling in for the night.

The next morning, we all woke up super early eager to start the race (and also on east coast time). After a protein bar and a couple cups of coffee, we headed down to the race a couple blocks away. It was so fun to see all the energy first thing in the morning and seeing Nashville at dawn is pretty magical too. Drew, Grant and I started the race together and ran the first couple of miles together before separating. I caught back up with Drew around mile 5.5 and we ran together for the majority of the race. It was fun pushing each other and encouraging each other along the route! While we both ran our own races, it was amazing to be together for part of it 🙂

At the finish line, he gave me an unforgetable huge, wet hug. We were both so proud of each other and ourselves that it was the perfect ending to a hilly, tough race! We hung out for a bit and cooled off before walking back to the condo to shower and get ready for the rest of the day. We headed to The Southern for brunch on the patio around noon and that meal was one for the books–mimosas and bacon after a race, yes please! Following brunch, we checked out Broadway for a drink before heading to the outskirts of town to visit some local breweries (and a much more chill vibe!).

One of my favorite meals of the trip was dinner at HattieBs. It is a local chain that serves Nashville Hot Chicken and while it is fast food-ish, it is AMAZING. I highly recommend checking it out whenever you are in Tennessee. It tastes so yummy and was the perfect amount of heat and juiciness. Following dinner, we headed back to the condo to eat cookies and watch part of a movie before heading to bed–we were exhausted!

The next morning, after chatting and packing up, we stumbled upon an old time-y, WW2 inspired diner where we had amazing service and great food. Their homemade jam is available to order, as it is that good. Following brunch, we said our goodbyes and Drew and I headed back to see the boys. It was a wonderful weekend getaway and such a fun race to run.

I highly recommend the Rock and Roll half marathon as the town really comes out to party during the race, they have funny signs and so many people cheering along the way–maybe that I why this is my most run race! Happy running, friends 🙂