Sarah Hemphill's Staging Area

This is a small race put on by Calico Racing. Given there’s only a couple hundred participants in the three distances don’t expect too much crowding. The half does one loop and the full does two. The 10k starts at the same point, but ends on the parking garage where the other two loop back.
It is on a variety of surfaces, starting on the paved River Mountain Loop trail, then the unpaved Railroad Tunnels Trail which is fairly flat until you get off the former railroad track and then to a not very technical desert trail. The turn around point is on top of the parking garage for the Hoover Dam and does require some steep switchbacks. There is a fair amount of climb at the start and the turnaround.
Parking is in a dirt lot near the start line. There are two restroom buildings and several port-a-potties at the start. There are picnic tables to hangout near while waiting. Normally there are several running groups meeting up at the start. 50 States is at a lot of the races too.
The start is one group, but most people sort themselves adequately. The race director reviews the course at the start as well as any additional instructions. She normally announces any birthday runners and gives them party hats too. They tend to start pretty close to on time.
Not a lot of crowd support and limited volunteers given the size of the event and the remoteness. The water stops are spaced out, but did have snacks, gels, and some first aid stuff. I carried my own water to supplement since the stops are a bit far for me. There were port-a-potties or put toilets on the course. Some people took the elevator at the turnaround to use the indoor plumbing at the dam.
I’m a local, so this was a ten minute drive from my house. It is scenic in a desert fashion. At points you are overlooking Lake Mead or the Dam. The five tunnels are dark, but they put glow sticks to light the edges. Sometimes you can see Big Horn Sheep on the nearby hills. It is late enough in the year that snakes and such are not a concern. Everyone was very friendly, including the people just hiking the trail.
The medal and short sleeve shirt were very nice quality. Since the race is small they often don’t put dates on things so they can be reused as extras for future years or for their recycled race that gives out any leftovers from previous races.
The finish line was nice and they had a bunch of food left even for slow runners like me. The chili smelled good and the volunteers were friendly and helpful. I left my stuff in the gear drop there and it was simple to grab it and get warmed up.