Katarina Pena's Staging Area

As any other VR, this is a great race with awesome views. The only downside is the crazy amount of mosquitoes that were eating us alive, especially once we were done running. Apply ton of bug spray before you run and maybe consider long sleeves/pants as they were brutal. Everything else was awesome as always, the swag and treat box included!

This was a nice easy 5K with views of ranches and horses once we passed the road section. It was cold, especially with the wind blowing quite a bit while we were waiting for the start but pretty 5K with great organization, swag and treat box 🙂

I ran this race in 2022 in person and wow! It was tough as heck but so beautiful and the views were to die for (or die getting to them)! Absolutely stunning, though my knees would not agree 😀
I signed up for 2023 right away because I knew I wanted to do it, even though I hate planning races too much in advance. 2023 came and I knew I wasn’t able to make it, I reached out to the team saying I won’t be able to make it and I was offered several options on what to do with my registration. I was going to defer to the next year, which they were helping me with but I couldn;t get over NOT having this years awesome medal… I mean 2! Do yeah… totally last minute, I decided to defer to a virtual event and they still let me do it. Thank you for always being so accommodating, I can’t wait to be back in 2024!

I was very under trained but super excited to do this innaugural race! At 10,000 feet elevation, this is tough as heck if you’re not ready for that kind of elevation. Definitely would suggest you arrive a few days in advance and acclimate as much as you can but also train a lot of uphill and downhill running and have a great light, because we walked a lot and sometimes it was just due to not having the best night light and avoiding sprained ankles or falls. Beautiful race but really tough.

I drove 100 miles there and back just to make it to this event! This was my very first 1/2 marathon and it was beautiful. Loved the course, wanted to go back and do it again but it was conflicting with other races I was already signed up for, so maybe in 2024. The only disappointment was the race T-shirt (big bulky cotton shirt with a huge print that just made it uncomfortable to even sleep in) and I didn’t care too much for the medal but it was OK (cork screw type). But everything else was great and I was excited to find a 1/2 marathon last minute within somewhat of a normal distance here in AZ in June, without having to do it at night.