S Boettcher's Staging Area

I write this as a walker! But with a 5 hour deadline, walkers are clearly welcome (we came in under 4). Go into this race with the attitude of simply “I will finish”. It starts with the beautiful red rocks in the background and for almost the entire race, they are in your viewpoint. It’s an in and out course so only the beginning and ending are in town. Roads are in great shape. The water stops volunteers were some of the best I’ve experienced. They each stayed till those of us walkers at the back of the pack came through. Lots of water. Lots of GU gels and bananas. But the HILLS!!! Oh my!! You won’t get a PR here. I used this as a training run for a flat course I’m doing later this month so just wanted to get 13.1 miles of endurance in. As we crossed the finish line, there was still lots of enthusiasm from the volunteers and plenty of snacks. They were just as enthusiastic about us crossing as if we’d crossed 2 hours earlier.
Stayed at Arroyo Pinion Hotel which was close enough to walk to the start/finish line. It’s a destination race- Sedona has lots of great eating/drinking places and the beauty is awesome.
They do have a 5K and 10K option too – but why not go for the BIG ONE – Half marathon!
Yes, it’s a hard 13.1 miles but I’d still recommend it-at least once!!!

I needed “state of Alabama” race and this one was recommended by Jeff Galloway who was there for a short shake-down run on Saturday and his running school.

This is really a “Runcation” race. Staying at The Lodge overlooking the beautiful white beaches and gorgeous sunsets of the Gulf was like staying at a resort. (Pay the extra $ for an ocean-view room.) It was an ideal location – across the highway (with a pedestrian overhead crossing) from the start of the 7K on Saturday, a shuttle was provided to the start of the Half/Full Marathon, Expo was on site.
Race Course: Both races were in beautiful Gulf State Park. FLAT on the wide asphalt trail and across the very unique wooden elevated walkways. Generous finish time made it very walker friendly. Plenty of water stops and restrooms. Bring your own nourishment, i.e. gels – there were none on the half marathon route. Quiet route since we were in the park but there was little chance of getting lost on the route. Course ends the last 2 miles along the road parallel to the beach.

Race Swag: Tech long-sleeve shirt for half, soft t-shirts for 7K and Dolphin Challenge (if you did both 7K and half), Great medals. Half had a moveable runner and the Dolphin hangs from the bottom of the Half medal. 7K was patterned after a giraffe, the Alabama zoo charity supported by the race.

Expo: Expo was large for a “small” race. Loved the steel drum band and the animals brought from the Alabama zoo.

Pre- and Post-race: Wonderful experience pre-race at The Hangout where we could sit inside and keep warm before the race. Post-race, again great to have a place to sit inside (it was overcast and became rainy); food: yummy box lunch and 2 beers and many snacks.

Negative: The only negative about this race was how disrespectful the runners were towards this fragile wetlands environment. The empty gel packets and cups scattered all over were so disheartening, especially when they blew off the path into the wetlands. There were enough trash locations that could have been utilized. Come on Racers!!!

Overall: This race had almost all 50 states represented so really enjoyed talking to runners from all over. Definitely recommend this race and although it requires an airplane ticket, I’d fly there again to experience it.

One word – WOW!!! Everything about this race was top notch, just like I had been told by many racers I had met around the country. I can only imagine the organizational skills to direct this. Pre-communication was just right and arriving at the airport we were met by a “pig” and given a goodie bag that included a DARK chocolate candy bar and other goodies. Friday night’s one mile and party afterwards was so much fun and a great way to kick off the weekend. Saturday I did the 5K and again very well organized. The Expo was gigantic and had so many give-aways I thought I’d have to buy another suitcase to get it all home. 🙂 Loved the portable cooler that we got with our packet pick up. And by the way packet pick up was fast and easy.

Half marathon on Sunday – I have never experienced so many ENTHUSIASTIC spectators (loved the nursing home cheerleaders), water stations, and treats, all of which helped me through those terrible hills of miles 5-8, but the view of the Ohio from the top of Eden Park was worth it.

Unbelievable amount of food in the recovery zone and the party afterwards was so exciting, I hated to have to leave to shower at the hotel and get to the airport. I loved that they had “grunts” holding “INFO” signs around the party area to help us with “afterwards” questions. Nice touch!!!

Also loved the app so I could track my other family member running in this race and quickly get my final results. Although I did run/walk, it appeared to be very “walker” friendly.

The only “negative” is that it is in Ohio and since I live across the country, I probably will never get to participate again. I would love the opportunity to do the 3-way challenge the next time – but alas…..

This race gave me my 27th state to have completed a race and it is my new #1!!!! Thank you Cincinnati/Covington and all the leaders and “grunts” of the Flying Pig!!!! You were AWESOME!!!

I prefer small “hometown” races as opposed to those big “for profit” ones. The Alton Illinois Half Marathon met this criteria.
They answered email questions quickly, they had a warmth at the packet pickup (and later at the finish line) that only happens with smaller races. The medal had a representation of the bridge which made it very special and I even got a second medal for coming in first in my age group. The long-sleeve tech shirt was fantastic with a bridge design on it and had a great fit. It was the type of shirt you usually only get at big races.
Parking was a breeze-adjacent to the start line. Plenty of portapotties at start and enough along the route. Each water stop had awesome encouraging volunteers. Along with enthusiastic volunteers cheering us across the line (even those of us at the “end of the pack”) were plenty of snacks – water, bananas, bagels, etc. Big shout out to those bicyclists (especially the one with the “Angry Birds” helmet) who were passing out Twizzlers and encouragement along the way.
The race route was absolutely awesome. It runs alongside the Mississippi River on both the Illinois and Missouri side. We ran through a beautiful Mississippi National Wetlands area on the Missouri side. It was thrilling to cross the beautiful Clark Bridge twice. There was minimal “road-share” with cars but where it was, there was plenty of safe space coned off.
The weather was overcast and in the 40s so ideal running weather. Course was open for 4 hours so very friendly for those of us “slower” run/walkers.
Alton itself is a very friendly small town with an interesting history (Lincoln/Douglas debates, home of tallest man and Miles Davis, etc.) Their downtown has great restaurants including Morrisons Irish Pub which we loved. It’s just across the river from St Louis, so you can easily get in a trip to the Arch and the Budweiser Brewery when visiting the area.
I highly recommend this race and would definitely do it again if I was in the area.