I came better prepared this year. From the previous review, you could tell I was absolutely livid…read moreabout the parking situation, so this time instead of exiting on Indian Bend, my friends and I exited earlier on Pima Rd and took Hayden up to the parking area. There was still a long line but faster than waiting an hour in the car last year. There was group yoga warm ups at around 6:30 and again at 7:00am, which made it a nice way to start the cold, brisk morning with a stretch. Everyone was suffering because it was so cold this time, but moving around made it better. Now that I'm a more seasoned runner, I did the 15K instead of the 5K, which is about 9.3 miles. This was my first experience being in the first corral of runners too, which was kind of intimidating for some reason even though it was a fun run. One of the girls was in a specialized wheel chair so she even had a 1 minute head start, but she flew like the wind leading the way. I was expecting actual hot chocolate along the run this time, because of rumors, but instead there was tons of Gatorade stations. If you didn't want Gatorade, there was also water available and port-a-pottys at each station. The one chocolate stop I was looking forward too was not hot chocolate. Instead it was just Godiva candy. Even though I was slightly disappointed I survived. I layered on so much clothing because it was so cold that I felt overwhelmed during the run after the first mile. I now will never run with a hoodie, over a long sleeved shirt over an undershirt, so that's one thing I might change next year. The course itself was nice. Nothing extraordinary. Running through Scottsdale is always nice since there are plenty of trees lining the way. You even ran past the Butterfly World building during the run. There are a couple of hair pin turns on the run, so that was my only complaint. It wouldn't been alot easier if they rounded those couple of turns a bit better.

The Hot Chocolate 15/5K run or as I like to call it, "walk at a slightly faster pace" is one of the…read moreonly events like this that I have participated in, here in the valley, on my almost free will. (Seriously, how much free will or will power can there be when chocolate is involved?) I don't even think I own a real pair of sneakers but the promise of hot chocolate can convince me to do a lot of things. With that in mind, as someone who know absolutely nothing about running other than from my elementary school days, I thought the event was very well organized and the course was pleasant even for a novice. The well deserved hot chocolate you earn is delicious. Thick and full of flavor. Smart choice on that one organizers. Could the hot chocolate at the end of the race be bigger? Ah, yeah! But probably nothing short of getting to drench yourself in a bath of chocolate at the end would be enough. It could always be bigger. Maybe you could get two cups? No? Can't hurt a girl for trying. I have a feeling though many other runners were not solely motivated by the promise of delicious treats at the finish line. The proceeds from the run go to Ronald McDonald House Charities in each city the race is ran. The cost to run also includes a hoodie which you pick up prior to the event and can wear during the run. It is a nice way to make everyone feel like they belong whilst the faster runners push you out of the way for being too slow. Also, there are many photo opts during the run and afterwards you receive an email to claim the photos if you so choose. This seems pretty typical but is a nice way to remind you of how you friends tricked you into waking up early that day for good parking. Maybe I can just volunteer next time. They get chocolate too, right?

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.

Waiting on a refund but no answer. Changed policy and requiring vaccination last minute for this…read morerace. Unethical company and will keep chasing for a refund because of the principle.

Review of the 2017 Spartan Super…read more Registration: Pretty solidly organized. Check in is a breeze as long as you have all your waivers and tickets printed and signed. If not they have extras on hand. Facilities: Plenty of Porta-potties on hand which I really appreciate because when your have a thousand nervous bladders downing Gatorade there's bound to be a line to urinate but Spartan had plenty. Appreciated the changing room after the race. Lots of booths handing free goodies was nice too. Course: First; the obstacles are so-so. Many of them (especially in the middle of the Super course) are rather simple and uninspired, wooden walls etc. They need more "herculean hoist" type obstacles scattered throughout the course instead of crammed into the last mile. Course seemed to more suited to the sprint as opposed to the Super. Second; the course terrain is not really conducive to running. I totally understand it's suppose to be challenging but running mile after mile in narrow ravines with fist sized rocks is just frustrating. Give me steep trails to break up the monotony. Price: Charging for spectators to watch is silly and makes no business sense. I like many people didn't bring family/friends to watch. Overall: A good race to do as a sprint.

I created this Yelp page so I could tell everyone how much I enjoyed this company…read more What this company is: This is a Dirt Race Truck rental company. You can rent the truck or the whole team. Or purchase one of their Race - ready Trophy Trucks for 2 different classes. My Experience: 10 months or so before the 2015 Baja 1000 (In November) I started preparing a list of questions of things I wanted to know on how to prepare to possibly race the 2016 Baja 1000. The list was extensive by September, so I figured I better email Pete thinking maybe he would answer some of the questions within a month or 2. He answered all of them within a couple days AND said he had a truck ready for this year. Well, I wasn't ready for that but he also had co-driver spot available so I could sit in the truck during the Baja 1000 and help. Jumped on that. Got my stuff together and headed down to Baja 2 days before race day. Needles to say Pete was extremely overloaded with getting his truck & team ready as well as his daughters race team & truck ready. I tried to just hang out and be available for when he had time to let me know what I would be doing and how to do it. Race Day: If you haven't raced any kind of off road race before and you think you're going to go do the 1000 right off the bat....Think again. I only sat in the truck for my section which was 144 miles (3 Hours'ish). You think that's nothing but in that 144 miles we passed a bunch of other vehicles, changed 2 flat tires on the live race course, hit a berm passing a buggy with only our 2 left wheels, went completely airborn and stuck the landing at a 45 degree angle on the right 2 wheels, made our pitstop Driver/Co-Driver team change and about a thousand other moments which almost included me pissing my pants. It was Fuckin Awesome. Sum up: I lived a lifetime in 3 hours and highly recommend contacting Pete to either drive, co-drive or be involved somehow and whatever you pay for what you do the experience will be one of the best in your lifetime.

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.

I tip my hat to the runners who showed up for the 2008 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon…read more Not only are they good runners, but evidently they are good drivers as well. When 30,000 people converge on a four block radius and all you get is a 4 car pileup near the freeway exit... then I call that a success! I know they say to get there early, but I think my plan of getting there late really worked. I got to ride the shuttle with only 2 other passengers, and I walked right into the porta potty, since all of the corrals had already pushed toward the starting line. Of course, there is a downside to arriving late. The only bananas that were left were quite green, and the peel was resisting my efforts, and winning. It was a little chilly, but I had the foresight to bring an oversized garbage bag (unused) to wear. From what I could tell, I was the only member of 'Team Hefty'. 13.1 miles of rubber hitting asphalt goodness. To the douchebag who hawked more than one huge loogie on the course... dude, while I'm impressed at your expectorant's effectiveness, next time, move a few feet to the edge and spew off the course. The best part about this marathon was the amount of support. I counted about 13 high school cheer or spirit teams whooping it up for us. Is it just me, or are high school girls more alluring than they were, say 20 or so years ago? Makes me wish I was back in high school. No, not as the creepy janitor guy who just happens to show up in the ladies room with a mop & bucket after you close the stall door, but as the questionably straight cheer mascot. Around mile 8, a fetching young lady approached me to say that she had been using me to keep pace with. That was quite a motivator, and I pushed myself even harder, until I remembered the scene in True Grit where John Wayne pushes his horse too hard, and it crashes to the ground in a glorious cloud of dust. I finished and passed a food table as I made my way to the exit. I grabbed two Dole Fruit & Yogurt cups. It wasnt until I opened it, that I realized that its gelatinous form would be hard to eat without a spoon... so I went for the toothpaste method. I'm sure it was all over my face. I got a cool colored medal. Cant wait to wear it to work tomorrow, shouting out: "Jeffey say - Go For Gold!" For those who don't know, this is the event that Yelp-mate Ivonne B was training me for. Some might call me a hero, for finishing 13.1, but I'm no hero. No, that title is reserved for my friend Phil and his wife Lissa... or Yelp's own Jenn X, who ran the full 26.2. They are the true heros of the marathon world. I'm just a squirrel trying to bust a nut. In the days preceeding the event, a handful of people said that this was going to be the greatest memorable occassion ever. Maybe I just dont get it, or maybe I'm just bitter. But as Homer would say... [sickly sweet] Oh, look at me! I feel so special being a part of this transcendental event! I'm the Magical Man from Happy-Land, in a gumdrop house on Lollipop Lane! [leaves the room, slamming the door] [pokes his head back in] Oh, by the way, I was being sarcastic. [closes the door]

I returned for my second year to RNR AZ. This year, I opted to do the remix challenge with the 5K…read moreon Saturday and the half on Sunday. The expo was large again, and in the Phoenix convention center, right off the light rail. I opted to stay in Tempe because the 5K and Half Marathon start and finish lines were all there and my only trip to Phoenix would be for the expo. The 5K starts adjacent to Tempe Beach park and ends in Tempe Beach park. We walked there, but there was ample parking for those who drove. The course is quick and scenic and has the same finish as the half marathon, giving us a preview of the next day. Even with the short distance, participants get a tech tee, medal, one water stop and one band on course and refreshments and a finish concert. The half course was fairly similar to last year (a few tweaks due to construction, I think?) The half and 10K start together on the ASU campus (while the full marathon starts in Phoenix). Plenty of parking for those who drive, but beware of road closures. We caught an uber over and it was difficult to get there. PF Changs is no longer a sponsor as of 2016, so no horses at the start, or dragon running on the course :( The course wanders through Tempe into Scottsdale, and ending at Tempe Beach park. I had a bit of a rough race (recovering from an injury), but still had a positive experience. Bands on a pretty regular basis, well staffed hydration stops. The one frustrating thing is that on some sections of the course, we had the inner lanes of the road with traffic on the outermost lane on both sides. I understand this averts full road closures, but the problem is if you need to pull over and stretch, you need to watch for traffic. Huge finish area at Tempe Beach Park. The medals from 2015-2018 will connect to make a super medal, so I guess I'm in for the whole shebang now!