Choosing our first marathon ever together was no easy task. Location was a big deciding factor…read more Since my friends and I all live here in Arizona, it was super convenient to have the race right here in town. I still find it funny that even though the race is titled, "The Phoenix Marathon," it takes place entirely in Mesa. The downhill first half is a gift. The views are beautiful gliding into the city all the way from Usery Mountain. The run is enjoyable since the gradual downhill descent makes running somewhat easy and you are tempted to bolt down the mountain. The main tip here: "Pace yourself! (And don't get too carried away!)" Enjoy the scenery while you can! The second half - flatter. More running through the city so you kind of miss the desert scenery at the start... Shuttle Drop Off - The full marathon drop off point was basically where the shooting range is at Usery Mountain. All runners whether it's the full or the half must ride a shuttle since the race ends at the Mesa Shopping Area off Dobson and the 202. There is basically no where to drop off runners close to the start of the full marathon since as a runner, you'd have to trek uphill a bit to get there and who wants to do that before running 26.2 miles? So shuttle, it is! They say the last shuttles leave at 5am but some our friends straggled behind and were a little later and still were able to make it on one of the transports but I don't recommend risking waiting until the last minute. The Start - both starts had fireworks to send us off. DJs played music and talked to keep us entertained while waiting for the race to start at 6:30am. Heaters warmed people in line for the porta-potties and there were bonfires that people gathered around. It was a great way to meet people and share running stories! Aid/water stations - adequately placed throughout the race. It was fun to see what each group themed their stations. A contest for cash prizes was given to the most energetic and fun themed station so it kept groups cheering for runners the whole time! Typically Gatorade, water, fruit, and energy GUs by Clif were provided for us. The only mishap is the porta-potties were out of order at the halfway point (the only time we planned to stop briefly - go fig!!) so we had to wait until the next 2-3 miles before finding the next one to use. Finish - full of energy, a variety of food trucks, Photogs ready to take pics. Your typical finish except this time, there was a tent offering massages for finishers. There were chairs and rest areas for people to kick back and lots of tents present just like at the Expo. Next year for both the full and the half, the medal is collectible and can be put together with medals for the next four years to create a star - all you have to do is run the Phoenix Marathon or half marathon 5 years in a row to complete the star made of running medals. That's quite the commitment, don't you think? Still very tempting though, those sly race planners!

This is now the Mesa Sprouts Marathon. I've done the full twice & here is the Breakdown…read more EXPO: you HAVE to pick up your race bib the day before the race at the expo, which is located in the same shopping center parking lot where the finish area will be. Good way to see the lay of land & check out where to park race day. The expo itself is decent & you get some free samples of stuff. BEFORE THE RACE: Parking is in the same vicinity & buses take runners of all distances to their respective start. GET ON THE CORRECT BUS. They are all marked & in separate sections. Twice I've seen people end up at the wrong starting line. My biggest complaint is how early this race is. It's a 0630 start & the buses run from 0400-0515. It's still completely dark the first 30 minutes of the run- & the marathon start is in a desert area. I saw several runners almost trip over cones in dark areas. The port a potty line pre-race was longer than other races i've done, so much so that some were peeing in the bushes. The course was good- a decent amount of decline in the first half (some incline) & flat the second half with a slight decline at the end. The course support was excellent. There were 3 stations with fruit & at least 2 with gels. & i was so happy to see hydration almost every mile the last 6 miles. The finisher area is hard to gauge for marathon runners because some food is gone by the time we get there. My husband does the 10k & he tells me how much more stuff there is for them. Gear check & pickup was easy, & the walk back to our car wwas not excessive. I do wish the vendor area sold a better selection of female cut finisher shirts. I would have bought one.

Very hilly 15k race…read more I think we had just about 600 runners at this race. Pretty small race. Bib pick up: available on Friday and Saturday in Scottsdale, and the race day pick up is available. Race day pick up location was at the finish line area and need to walk to the bus stop. Race day: bus takes to the start line. Plenty of toilets available at the start like. Only 600 runners, line never gets too long. Since some people showed up late, last bus ended up leaving later, ended up pushing the start time by 20 minutes. That 20 minuets made difference in temperature, I was really hot. Race: start from the McDowell Mountain Park, up hills and down hills then up again, little bit of down and more ups and ups. Be sure to train for up hills during training. Since it was a local race for me, we practiced the race route several times and it helped me prepare well. Post race: cash award is available for the first place runner. I think it was $200. They also have age group award and it was $50 gift card at a local running shoes store. I spend so much money for running shoes for me and my family, this gift certificate is definitely helpful for my household budget. One of the sponsors is Huss brewing. They provide lots of craft beer. Everyone gets one can but they also give out to groups of runners. Fast runners, biggest running team, random picks. Amount of beer is based on one person's weight in your team. It's good to have heavy weight person for more beer. I took a case home and am still enjoying them. It is really fun race, small and friendly.

The Soma Triathlon is just one of many events put on by the Red Rock Company. I've done several of…read moretheir triathlons and I've always been impressed. The company is extremely organized and their volunteer staff is incredible... In the 2008 Quarterman, my 2nd Soma event, everything was well-marked and the volunteers were incredible! The volunteers working to help athletes out of the water were amazing, and the wetsuit strippers were like icing on the cake! They stuck to the schedule and although my swim could've been better, the race was a lot of fun for everyone (well, at least for everyone I spoke to about it). Soma is an annual event that takes place each October (for the past 5 years) - it's a great way to wrap up the season, and it's supposedly one of the best triathlons in the country! I believe that close to 1800 athletes participated in Soma this year, including some of the top athletes in the US! The beauty of the course is that it's flat and you'll see first time triathletes participating as well as pros! Sponsors of Soma go above and beyond... included in the fee to participate is a goodie bag with great quality gear such as a visor, shirt, powerbar, gu, and more! Plus, this year's event featured a Monti's La Casa Vieja catered lunch for athletes. I hope to train more seriously for Soma 2009 and beyond. Maybe we can even get a Yelp team together?!

This year, the Red Rock Company eliminated the Quarterman and only offered the Half Ironman…read moredistance. Worked for me! This was my first SOMA event, my 3rd or 4th event put on by the Red Rock Company, and my 5th triathlon this year - woot! woot! Now, I love the SkirtChasers event they do but this one wasn't a 5-star experience. A half ironman distance is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run. It started at 6:30am, and my number 7 wave didn't start the swim until closer to 7am. Therefore, when I finished around 1:00pm it was HOT!! Some people I saw on the course were struggling. And in the past, other event organizers made sure there were cold sponges available or at least someone with a hose offering to spray you down. There was only one sprinkler, and the gatorade was warm. I would think that keeping athletes cool in 89 degree weather would be a priority. Anyway, the volunteers were great and the finish line was great and every thing else was well organized and the negatives would never discourage me from doing another event. Oh, and the swag was great! It just would have been a little easier if I was hosed down!

This national event is so much fun. they hold them all over the country and this weekend, we were…read morelucky enough to participate in the Phoenix circuit. 6 miles of mtn biking and trail running through in perfect weather through the beautiful McDowell Mountains. teams of 2 relay race, one rides the bike, the other runs. about a mile into it, there's an obstacle to perform, and then the biker takes off running while the runner takes off biking. you leap frog like this for the race and at the end, you both dive/swim/slosh through an enormous mud pit and finish together. there's medals to be had but it's mostly about having fun. we wore costumes and actually won for best costume. if you want a really fun event that requires little physical effort, check out the muddy buddy on it's next run through phoenix.

Review #400, folks. For reasons unknown I decided to wake at the crack of dawn to run 6 miles!…read more Sleep in on a Sunday morning? Pshaw! (FYI, I've NEVER run before in life. I guess I'm just hardcore.) Renowned among local runners as one of the premier races in Phoenix, the New Times 10K drew quite the crowd as a rush of humanity (10,000 runners) traipsed the Tempe Town Lake bridge on a crisp 68 degree morning to invade the major streets of Tempe in a race to the finish. Local bands along the way provide for some chill, cool entertainment. The all-Asian rocker boy band was pretty damn good. Some stuff I learned that morning about the New Times 10K. * It's the 13th largest 10K race in the U.S. * It's the oldest running race in Arizona. * The race used to be in Central Phoenix, until two years ago. * The uphill incline on Curry Road seriously sucks ass. * Hayden Square at 4th St. hosts a lively pre-race and post-race festival with vendors and bands. * Beer tastes so much better (and you feel less desperate) in the morning if you've just run 6.2 miles. * Beer tastes even better when it's free. * Hometown Buffet (or any buffet for that matter) also tastes better when you've just run 6.2 miles. * Hometown Buffet doesn't taste better when it's free. * When you're running with 10,000 other runners and want to be found by your friends, wear something bright or noticeable. (See my profile pic.)

I beat my 10K PR!!! 1:04:58…read more For this run, I saddled up and drove over 350 miles of sun-bleached, blistered terrain to "The West's Most Western Town": Scottsdale, Arizona. "The Night Run," Arizona's oldest night race and a 25-year tradition in Old Town, beckoned. And I listened. You see, I had four BIG reasons for making this trek: I had yet to run an evening race; Phoenix just so happens to be my 5th through 7th grade stomping grounds; as challenged by Adam Richman, Chompie's had forever been bookmarked; and I wanted--no, I REALLY wanted--that glow-in-the-dark Night Run medal! But to beat my Personal Record in AZ, it wasn't easy... At 7:20pm--sundown in the wild west--it was still a dry 84F. Over 1200 shoe-laced die-hards, armed and necklaced with glowsticks, sidled up to the starting line. There were mosquitos... And at 7:30pm, we were off! The double-looped course for the most part ran alongside the city's streets--red cones separating runners and traffic--but then it also wandered in and around the park and pond of the Civic Center Mall. It was very dark at times, and although volunteers assisted, waving glowing batons, the cars being so close felt a bit dangerous. Maybe it's just me. Yet I pushed. This route was pretty much flat, and I knew I could maintain. I had to. I needed to. I did. Nevertheless, I had great fun, Scottsdale! And I'm sure that next year "Owl Be Back!" =]

The Night Run is an unusual run in a nice setting. Earlier tonight (by this time of night,…read moretechnically yesterday) I participated in the 5k portion of the Night Run for the first time. I've done a lot of races, but this was the first one that I ever did that was completely in the dark. I found it to be a generally good race, but with some important organizational hiccups. Here's the breakdown of what I thought was noteworthy: PROS: - Unusual, novel event, unlike other races - Very family-friendly, with kid-inclusive side events - Good course in a good part of town - Ample police presence and road closures for runner safety - Plenty of volunteers along race route, most with lighted batons and easy to spot - Everyone gets a glow-in-the-dark medal! CONS: - There was a huge amount of disorganization at the event for bib, goodie bag, and t-shirt pickup. I got there more than an hour early and it made very little difference. Extremely large crowds made it impossible to view most expo booths. (Was there some kind of prize wheel? I would have checked that out.) Bib pickup was the worst. There was no real separation of bib pickup into alphabetical groupings. Getting your race packet meant you had to wait a very long time in a huge confused crowd for your bib, then walk all the way around the expo to avoid the bib crowd to go to a separate table for your bag, then get in ANOTHER separate long line for your t-shirt. Amazing. Also, the event confirmation email said to ask the people giving out bibs for a timing chip if you decided you wanted to buy one -- but that was not true. The person who gave me my bib could not even tell me where to get a chip and did not try to help. Turns out that was yet another separate table and separate line! I've never gotten into so many separate, long lines just to assemble the pieces of my packet. It took forever, and no one seemed to know what was going on. - There were two water stations on the route, but the first was completely unmanned. It was just two orange cooler-dispenser things surrounded by cups and a huge crowd of stationary runners, waiting their turn. This does not make any sense in a chip-timed race. I did not get water at the first water station because I did not want to have to completely stop moving, just to wind up standing in another line, in the middle of the race. - There was very little light at the finish line, making it hard to see well enough to even get a medal. To top it off, race organizers or volunteers were spraying everyone with these squirt gun water-tube things. (I saw that they had prepared tubs of water to fill these things with, before the race, so it wasn't just some random person playing a prank. I didn't find out what the tubs of water were for until the end of the race.) This wasn't a mist; it wasn't coming down from above; they were spraying these things at us, pretty much sideways. I wear glasses, so when the water went right in my face, I couldn't see where I was going. It was not helpful, not refreshing -- more like a huge annoyance and a very real hazard. I appreciate that they were trying to do something nice, but spraying water in my face and all over my glasses, when I already can't see because it's so dark, AND I have runners coming down the chute behind me, is NOT NICE. Do you know how disoriented runners are when they come down the finish chute? Seriously, everyone is sort of mentally gone. You just don't do this. IN CONCLUSION: Would I do it again? Maybe, but only if: 1. I carried my own water, 2. I was able to get to the running store to pick up my packet in advance, and 3. I could get some assurance that no one working for The Night Run would spray the race finishers in the eyes with a big squirt gun, as the runners staggered around in the dark in a state of running-induced mental vacancy. The problems with the race could easily be fixed. I'm assuming that the race organizers are good people who want to plan a safe and fun event, so I'm hoping that this detailed feedback is useful to that end.

I have been running 5k's since 09/2011 and it wasn't long after that I discovered Arizona Road…read moreRacers Running Club. This club is great! I joined for 2 years for $35 and my membership has been more than worth it! Running shoes are quite pricy, but with ARR membership, save 10% at Runner's Den. I've bought 2 pairs since I joined, so there was $20 back in my pocket right there. They have a free I Did A Green Run in the fall for members, and non members are welcome to join as well for a small entry fee. ($7!!) This upcoming Sept. there is a 10k, 5k, and 1 mile fun run course. (it's ok to walk if you need to!) Also, a free annual training book, with an extensive list of races happening in AZ a few surrounding states is included in membership costs. I'm keeping my first book for life! Complete with calendars, training logs, and run club info for all over the valley. I also joined their summer series of 5k's and one 4 miler on July 4th, and it came out to $6/race with my membership discount. Not bad considering I have paid up to $45 for a 5k!!! There was even free hot dogs, burgers and veggie burgers after the race on the 4th. Any ARR event I have been to has been well organized, with plenty of water, powerade, and typically relevant sponsor booths which I cannot say about all other races!! The runners and volunteers are so nice. When I ran my first half marathon earlier this year, I was relieved to see the ARR Pace team! A veteran runner holds up a sign with a time on it and if you want to reach your goal time, just make sure you take off with them and keep that sign in sight! It's no additional cost for this awesome camaraderie. The pace team around me was especially encouraging, which I really needed for that first intimidating 13.1! I will be an ARR member as long as I am an Arizona Road Racer! I never knew there was a love like this before! "Promoting Health and Well-Being through running since 1970!"- ARR "Be Relentlessly Positive!"- Sally Meyerhoff

Dismal production. Get over yourself and race again. Not fun but thanks for attempting. You have…read morelost out to the other more kick ass, fun let's race summer series. Who's running the show with you guys. No official start time.

I have completed this run (obviously not the 27th annual edition) 5 times now. The course is always…read morethe same - a bit hillier than other Papgo courses as it takes a right along the sidewalk behind the zoo, but the organization is always excellent. The t-shirt is another good draw to this event - a long sleeve shirt that changes color in the sun. There is always food at the end, a raffle, and a great crowd. One of the best events on the racing calendar each year and an excellent way to start the new year off right!

this is an annual running event, to get folks to 'resolve' to embrace a healthier lifestyle. only…read more5k, it starts and ends in papago park. a short jaunt through the park, onto the canal, then turn around and head back the way you came. quick, easy, and it starts at 9am so you don't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn, and over by 10:30am so you have the rest of the day to enjoy. they have TONS of free raffle prizes along with tasty goodies from sweet tomatoes restaurant. plenty of parking, free long-sleeve t-shirt (i guess not technically free since you pay for the race), and just a good crowd. every year, early january.