REVEL Canyon City
Azusa, CA
- Marathon, Half Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
*EVENT DISCONTINUED and replaced by REVEL Big Bear for 2018.* This incredibly fast and remarkably beautiful road race takes runners from the forests and canyons of the Angeles National Forest to the foothills of Azusa, California. Featuring a smooth downhill slope and spectacular scenery, this race will be sure to … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Nov 04):
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | |
| H (°F) | 73 | 85 | 68 | 80 | 65 |
| L (°F) | 54 | 57 | 48 | 51 | 54 |
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BEST RACE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
WOW! This race was amazing! I’m sad they’re not doing it again this year, but it left me wanting more. It’s sooooo special. I can’t even describe it. Best race … MORE
WOW! This race was amazing! I’m sad they’re not doing it again this year, but it left me wanting more. It’s sooooo special. I can’t even describe it. Best race in all of California I tell you and so far I have done 17 marathons all in California.
Scenic and Fast Half Marathon
The course is almost entirely downhill, so get ready to PR. For a smaller race, the organization and perks are top-notch. Great shirt, very nice medal, gloves, socks, lots of … MORE
The course is almost entirely downhill, so get ready to PR. For a smaller race, the organization and perks are top-notch. Great shirt, very nice medal, gloves, socks, lots of extras. Give yourself time, as you have to shuttle to the starting line. Revel puts on a great event, and this one is hard to beat.
Well organized, lots of downhill.
13.09 miles, 1300 ft elevation gain, 2200 ft elevation loss. This course has a lot of downhill, but it also has 1300' of gain which is a lot for a … MORE
13.09 miles, 1300 ft elevation gain, 2200 ft elevation loss. This course has a lot of downhill, but it also has 1300′ of gain which is a lot for a half. A lot of rolling hills that feel really tough specially after running a lot of downhill. Course had some awesome views and they provide free race photos and video. Plenty of aid stations with water and electrolytes. Very cool morning, but I heard people saying that it can get super cold up there some years. Overall it was a great race where I got a nice 1 minute PR but when I run it again next year I know I can improve.
Great race to run!
No doubt this is one of the races I had most fun running! It was well organized from the shuttle to the finish line, and friendly and helpful volunteers. The … MORE
No doubt this is one of the races I had most fun running! It was well organized from the shuttle to the finish line, and friendly and helpful volunteers. The course was in a national park, with beautiful downhill views during the race. It is mostly downhill, with some smaller hills in the second half, but fairly easy to run. There’s nothing I could complain about, except for the lack of sleep I had the night before😅
Never Again!
STEEP downhill for most of the race. By the halfway mark, my quads were hamburger. They bus you from Azusa Pacific College up the entire 26.2 miles, which would be … MORE
STEEP downhill for most of the race. By the halfway mark, my quads were hamburger. They bus you from Azusa Pacific College up the entire 26.2 miles, which would be a pretty drive if it weren’t pitch dark on the way up. If you do it, get on the first bus and run into the store/cafe for a warm place to sit and drink something hot while you wait for the race to start. (Bring some money; they don’t want you to hang out without buying stuff.)
My new favorite half marathon!
Without a doubt - the BEST race I've run yet! Everything about this race was enjoyable and every detail was clearly well thought out and taken into consideration. The race … MORE
Without a doubt – the BEST race I’ve run yet! Everything about this race was enjoyable and every detail was clearly well thought out and taken into consideration. The race swag is awesome! Runners were provided with gloves and aluminum blanket to use while waiting before the race started. Beanies were also included. The volunteers for bib pick-up were amazing as well – all were so kind, courteous and pleasant. Bib pick up location was easy to find and parking was easy as well. Race day parking was easy to find (and free of charge!) Lots of buses were ready to go to take runners up the mountain to the starting line. At the start there were TONS of port-a-potties! No long lines for waiting to use the bathroom. There was music, coffee & hot chocolate. Also additional gloves & blankets were available if needed. The views in the mountains were gorgeous! We watched an amazing sunrise just before the race started. The race started on time as promised. The scenic views running down the mountains were amazing! I want to return to spend more time in the mountains. Safety of the runners was evident by the law enforcement bringing drivers up & down the mountain on the other side of the road at safe speeds. There was lots of water, first aid & port-a-potties all the way down the mountain as well. The finish line was well organized as well. Plenty of food & vendors. Great opportunity for photos as well. The end was a short walk back to the parking area. I PR’d my half marathon by 11 minutes! I’ll be looking forward to running this race again!
Make this your SoCal PR race!
Repeated the Revel Canyon City Half and had another great experience! I continue to be really impressed with this race series. Swag bag included not just a shirt but a … MORE
Repeated the Revel Canyon City Half and had another great experience! I continue to be really impressed with this race series. Swag bag included not just a shirt but a beanie, gloves and space blanket (for the chilly wait up the hill at the start). Tons of yummy stuff at the end — beer, pizza, pie, oh my !
This course is not *entirely* downhill … there are 3 uphill spots but they immediately come back down so … the middle section of this course is a bit rolling. Very PR-able race.
I love the Revel series and they seem to do so much right except … the things they do wrong are big things. Last year, our shuttle driver was lost. Literally, we drove around for 20 mins before he found Azusa Cyn (it takes about 40 mins to get to start line, even for the half). And this year, gear check pick up was a nightmare. I normally don’t check a bag but considering that it is cold at the start, I had a hoodie and gloves. I understand the volunteers at the bag pick are mostly high school kids but they were letting participants run amok … moving bags out of assigned rows all over the place, people walking all over other people’s stuff. Just rude. No one was there to monitor it. It took me 20 mins to find my bag. They need to have volunteers PULLING the bags for runners rather than letting runners find their own.
Other than that, this is one of my fav races in all of SoCal !!
Top notch event
The organizers of this race series definitely get runners! I signed up for this a year ago to get the best price. I wasn't really trained to do a marathon, … MORE
The organizers of this race series definitely get runners! I signed up for this a year ago to get the best price. I wasn’t really trained to do a marathon, but there was no way I was going to drop down to the half. Packet pickup/expo was fairly small, I think there were only 10 or so vendors. It was a quick and smooth process to get everything and head back home. The buses to the start ran from 4 to 5, which meant getting up extremely early. It took about an hour to get to the start area since the buses had to go from 600 feet elevation to almost 6000. It wasn’t as cold as I expected it to be, but I still used the gloves and space blanket they provided in the swag bag. The first half of the race was completely downhill and aid stations were almost every 1.5 miles, they water and powerade, 3 of them had GU gels. The second half had a few small uphills, which completely derailed my pace, but that was due to lack of training. The final mile and a half was through the city of Azusa. The finish area is one of the best I’ve experienced. After getting my medal, I got my picture taken and headed to the beer garden for my 2 free beers. It was Coors Light since MillerCoors was a sponsor, understandable since there is a Miller brewery a mile away. They also had free pizza and pie, as well as free finisher certificates. Pictures from the race were also free. The medal is HUGE and the t-shirt was really nice, they even give you the option the get long or short sleeve. This is a race I will definitely do again, possibly at their other location as well.
Your PR is waiting for you!
This was the 2nd annual Revel Canyon City race and ... I have to say, Revel does it right! Lots of attention to detail (ie, gloves and space blankets in … MORE
This was the 2nd annual Revel Canyon City race and … I have to say, Revel does it right! Lots of attention to detail (ie, gloves and space blankets in your race packet for the cold start) and perks like FREE race photos and a video. It’s the little things sometimes and Revel does it right!
Course is fast and beautiful (I ran the half) … already signed up next year!
Only “bobble” is that our shuttle bus driver did not know where he was going! We drove around town for 15 mins before he found another bus to follow up the canyon road. BIG FAIL in that regard and only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars. That’s pretty basic. Drivers should have CLEAR directions.
Oh, and did I mention PIE at the finish line?? Yup!
Great scenery course downhill
Great organize race everything perfect, from getting your bib# to the finish line with a cold towel to wipe out your sweat! Great medals and long sleeves. You get to … MORE
Great organize race everything perfect, from getting your bib# to the finish line with a cold towel to wipe out your sweat! Great medals and long sleeves. You get to enjoy free beer with your friends to celebrate your victory and accomplishment!