Tucson Marathon

I get anxious before races, I get performance anxiety before anything I am invested in and I train hard for this race so I really wanted to do my best. I trained for Chicago marathon this year but did not run because I got injured. This race was a consolation so I trained for Tucson Half Marathon with a different approach focused on strength with help from my really cool PT Daisuke. I ran less but did more intense workouts and did a lot of strength training. I was basically sick the day before with stomach issues, and exhaustion from anticipatory anxiety. There was not an expo just a well organized packet pick up, at a very picturesque resort, there was a steep hill down from the parking to the pickup location which got me worried because this is a downhill course, everything went smoothly.
We made our own pasta and arugula dinner, and went to bed at our usual time, the dinner settled my stomach and I could barely stay awake. I slept well and we woke up around 4am and I ate my usual pre race magic breakfast and a weak coffee because some of my gels have a lot of caffeine. I have been on decaf for a while which amplifies the effects of caffeine. We drove to the bus pickup, and there was plenty of parking and, even better there were porta potties at the bus pickup, which i used, this is a first for a race and I give the race organizers high marks for doing this. Buses were on time and being loaded and leaving. Bus was comfy and were at the start in less time then they had estimated when we had asked them how long the bus ride would be at the bib pickup.
The start area had a good amount of potties, also there was water, and other supplies, and fun music, and volunteers there keeping things organized and announcing stuff.
We danced to stay warm and warmup between using the potties again. Bag drop was a bit of a crowd at first because there was just one person taking the bags but they were obviously an athlete and the bags were flying.
All that great logistics meant I was at the start and feeling ready, with time to adjust myself, put my warm layers in the donation box and get my watch to connect to GPS. All in all this was one of the best pre race experiences I have had and I have run a ton of races big and small, I give them five stars for seamless pre race organization, transportation and logistics.
I was running the half, and the course was lovely, and not nearly as steep as I had worried. I know they changed it at the last minute to include less road and more bike path, but the first part is on the road, heading gently down was the best, with the mountains and morning sky fanning out around us, the conditions were pristine and there was this quiet awe at how lucky we all were to be there. The pictures really did not capture the desert light and palpable beauty.
It was on the cool side around 40, or so, so I was very glad I had warm layers. But I did not feel cold, and there was basically no wind, which I had noticed is a thing in Tucson while I was there. I lost myself in the ease and vistas of first part of the Half, the big gently downward rolling road with wide open mountains and rosy morning skies just made it like a dream.
I hit my stride and it was great to have no mentally demanding course challenges. There was regular water and electrolyte drink well spaced. I carry my own nutrition so I hit up the water and they handed it out like pros and always with cheers and good vibes.
It seemed like about a third of the way or less the course went off onto a bike path, which had a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns as well as going under roads which meant there were several abrupt hilly bits where i ran under/over a bridge, there were also some tight turns and corners. Thankfully, whenever there were ambiguous corners there were always volunteers cheerfully keeping us on track. I was running alone a lot so it was great to not have to second guess where I was going when I came to a fork. Running on the bike path was much flatter and more challenging of a run than down the undulating road, and for me it was mentally quite tiring, my pace fell off and I had to work to stay focused, not being able to see far ahead and no longer feeling the downhill even though it actually is threw me off my game. At several spots there were groups of spectators cheering, even though there was some space between me and other runners they made a point of cheering enthusiastically for each runner, someone yelled “you are beautiful” to me, and that made my day. I got a cramp in my stomachs and lost myself focus so I misjudged the last few miles and held back thinking I had seen that the finish had several sharp turns on the course map, but after the first turn off the bike path I could see the finish line right up ahead, and I had a LOT left in the tank, which was a bummer, I surged tot he finish wishing I had pushed harder in the last 3 miles.
The finish area was well done. I was immediately handed a water, they get another gold star for that, I can’t tell you how many races have water all throughout the course and leave you thirsty at the end. They also had a long line of chairs after where they give you your finisher medal. So I sat there and loosened my shoe laces. They had bagels, oranges, bananas, cookies and lots of other snacks. I came in 35th overall and I exceeded my goal of 1:24 so I was trying to celebrate that, but given how I felt at the end like I left this untapped well of speed and so much left over in the end I knew that I could have run the whole race much harder, but I tried to be okay with my effort. They had age group awards but nothing for the nonbinary division. I went to the awards table and asked about nonbinary awards, they acted surprised and were very charming and said they would look into it, but it hardly seems like an oversight to have a table full of awards for every age group and not even have a coaster for the entire category of nonbinary athletes.
All in all the Tucson Half Marathon is one of the most enjoyable and well put together race experiences I have ever had. I highly recommend it. If the race organizers read this please consider that having a nonbinary division does not mean that then you can just treat us like we are invisible. We train and compete just like everyone else and we deserve equal treatment.