Ringing in the New Year

For those who are not runners and may want to start running or biking or swimming or any activity for that matter:

The most common question we get asked is, "How do you find the time?" This is often followed with that person saying they don't have the time. The answer isn't an easy one but it can be much simpler than we make it.

You see.... we all have 24 hours in the day. How we choose to spend those hours is up to us. For us this may mean going to bed earlier to get up before the sun rises, or running after work, or in the middle of the day, or basically making it fit with our schedule in whatever way we need to.

So, do we have an extra 1 1/2-2 hours every day? No way! We have jobs, kids, husbands, homes, dogs, etc. BUT we do have 24 hours just like everyone else so we make it part of our schedule.

So if you are thinking toward the new year, resolutions and what not... think about the 24 hours you have and find a way to fit it in. The best part of running is that you can do it anywhere and all you need is a pair of running shoes. In fact, one of our favorite things to do is go on a run in a new city when on a work trip. So, go out there and run...or bike....or swim. But have fun and have a happy healthy new year!

Monday Madness

It's official.... the sisters just registered for the Augusta, Georgia half-ironman (70.3) on September 30, 2012!!!

Happy Birthday Stacey!!!!

Happy Birthday Stacey!!!!

26 Point Tuesday

26.2 Stocking Stuffers for Runners:

1. GUs/Cliff Shot blocks
2. Nuun Electrolite tablets
3. Socks
4. Visor
5. Gloves
6. Nite beams running lights
7. Aquafor or Bodyglide
8. Arm sleeves
9. Poweraid powerbursts
10. Subscription to Runners World
11. Honey Stinger pink lemonade chews
12. Luna/Cliff bars
13. A runner magnet
14. Runners log
15. Sunscreen
16. Chapstick
17. Jelly Belly Sports Beans
18. Flip Flops for Race recovery
19. Road ID tag for shoe or wrist
20. iTunes gift card
21. Travel size toiletries for races
22. CEP compression socks
23. Nathan Water bottle
25. Beanie hat for cold weather running
26. Biofreeze
.2 The best of all..... a race registration for the coming year

Happy Shopping!
Sisters

Simply Sunday

A Letter to Santa

This is one of the best times of the year... and the busiest. The fun though is in the magic of the season, visiting Santa, baking cookies, running in the snow (well for one of us- Tracy), enjoying time off with family, and planning races for the next year.

Every year we ask our daughters to write a letter to Santa but we don't write one ourselves. This year, we thought we would give it a try only with a twist. If we could have Santa pay for our trip and registration to some of the 2012 races we would like to run, what would they be......? We will keep this at only 5 since he has a lot of letters to get through.

Dear Santa,

First of all thank you for everything you do. We are very excited for you to come with your reindeer and visit our home. All of our daughters are delighted that it is your time this year. We know that we (adults) don't usually write letters, but we thought we would give it a try. First, we think that ending world hunger, crime, and bringing our soldiers home safely is very important. We know that you are working on this, so thanks. We also thought we might ask for a few race registrations and all expense paid trips (hey, two sisters can dream right?). Please see the list below:

1. The Solar Eclipse Marathon in Queensland, Australia- November 12, 2012. The start of the race is the actual eclipse. An intergalactic start gun! Plus it is in Queensland, Australia by the Great Barrier Reef.

2. Since we just went there (above request = BIG), this one is a bit more reasonable in terms of distance to travel and pricing. The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon on May 6, 2012- a week after Big Sur so we'll be ready to run!!! This race is known as a very run race. There are hills but it is very organized with great energy. We already have a full pink tank/running skirt outfit ready to go.

3. Make it By Midnight Marathon in Macon, Georgia in July, 2012 (date yet to be determined). This one is very original. It is a night race and you predict your finish time so you start according to the finish time you predicted. You have to "Make it by Midnight," and then you get a tiara. If you don't make it, you get a pumpkin. Cute, right? Maybe one of the elves would like to join us.

4. Half ironman in Augusta, Georgia on September 30, 2012. Yep, we want to Try a Tri- a half ironman and rumor has it that this is a good one to do.

5. Marine Corps Marathon on October 28, 2012. This is 26.2 run through the nation's capital with rave reviews. This is known as one of the big races that ever runner must do. 

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We will be sure to leave you a lot of yummy cookies!

Happy Holidays!

Sisters

NOTE TO BLOG READERS: Now, it's your turn. Write your own wish list to Santa. It is always fun to dream, right?

26.2 Reasons Why We Like to Run...

This is the very first of the blog entries so we feel like it should have some profound information in it, but it doesn't. In fact, we have no idea who will be reading this other than that this blog site was created as a place for us to share our runs with whomever chooses to read it, instead of flooding our face book or even daily conversations with people about our runs, training, and quest to run a marathon or half marathon in all 50 states.

So today's blog is going to be a simple one.....

26.2 Reasons Why We Like to Run...

1. Because we can
2. Running is a serious work-out for the entire body
3. For "me" time
4. It encourages healthy eating- after all, you aren't going to go for a super sized fried meal after an 8 mile tempo run
5. Training for a marathon is a fun way to work for a goal
6. The best way to tour a city is on your feet
7. The bling- medals for marathons are fun to collect!
8. Marathon expos- the freebies and shopping
9. A great way to model healthy active living for our kids
10. Cute running outfits (running skirts are our new fave)
11. It's the closest thing to the fountain of youth
12. A good excuse to get massages
13. Also a good excuse to get pedicures
14. The natural "blush" it gives our skin
15. Racing gives us time to get together and have fun
16. A renewed appreciation for all seasons (running in the Colorado snow is a bonus for Tracy)
17. Time to enjoy music during long runs
18. The friendly hello's from fellow runners and bikers
19. For the occasional cupcake or ice cream that won't go directly to the hips
20. It's cheap and easy to do anywhere and anytime
21. To meet other runners and follow elites
22. The spectators at marathons cheering us as we pass by- after all when else do you get the opportunity to be encouraged and cheered at by thousands of people yelling, "You can do it!"?
23. A great excuse to take a nap
24. The sheer fun of it
25. Always trying to beat your best time
26. The feeling of accomplishment after running 20 miles alone
.2 It feels good!!!!

Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon 12/4/11

Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon

December 4, 2011

Finish Time: 5:10: 55

Splits

Pace	10 Km	10 Mi	Half	19.5 Mi	23.1 Mi	ChipTime	ClockTime
11:52	55:57	1:33:48	2:05:14	3:24:44		05:10:55	05:13:03

                             Great weekend!!! Sisters on the Run did Vegas? What could be better?

                                                                       course map
The Weekend

We started the weekend with a  friday night dinner at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM. Great steaks, sides, and of course dessert. The martinis were also well received! Next we shopped, shopped, and shopped some more. 

After sleeping in, we were off to.... 

The Expo

The expo was great, as most RnR expo's are. They are big so they bring out all the vendors. We picked up our shirts and got a RnR shirt. They don't always have a big selection of shirts to get. Plus they use Brooks and Nike is just better. Nike has good slogans, etc. We still got a shirt and then took our time going through the vendors and getting things. Our fave is a headband that says, "I'm Kind of a Big Deal." We also got some pink sparkly arm sleeves for the race and American stars for Marine Corps next fall. You know us, we have to run in style too! They had some vegas show girls there too so we snapped a picture.

After the expo, we shopped some more because, well that's what we love to do, and then headed to the Bellagio Buffet (YUM). Great food and outrageous desserts. We definitely used the excuse to carb up.... and it was one of the better carboload sessions we have ever had before a race!

After dinner, we headed to the O! show which was in the Bellagio. It was fantastic! We shopped a little more after that and then went to bed.

Sunday, race day, was funny because it was a night race so we weren't used to that. We had a brunch at 11 and ate but not too much. After we ate, we opted for some rest time in the room where we watched Friends with Benefits on the in Demand in the room and got ready for the race. We headed out to the start line (corrals) at 3:15 and heard just a little of the headliner concert because they started (Cheap Trick) at 3:30 and the marathon race started at 4 pm.

The Race

The first half was actually great, we started at 4 pm and ran through warehouse areas, not the most exciting but it was dark and we were able to run fast without a lot of crowding which was good. You could see the strip is certain spots which was cool. It went super fast with the anticipation of getting to the strip at the half way mark. The sun set while we were running so we turned on our flashing light arm bands and flashing pony tail holders and had fun! We didn't stop for water much or if we did, we just ran through it. Our mile splits were around 8:35-9:00 so we were going pretty fast for the first part of the marathon. Now we knew this isn't how you get any kind of negative splits but we were concerned about the 4:30 marathon cut off time because we had just run our double two weeks before so we weren't exactly running on fresh legs. Our goal was to make the cut offs and then we could relax and slow it down if we needed to. The front half of the course was almost all flat with some hills, but what went up, surely went down and it went down fast. In fact the whole first half we were running with the 3:45 pacers so that felt good. The jackets & gloves came off. tanks, capris, and arm sleeves were fine. It felt good.

and then…. It got ugly!! 

We got to the half way mark at 2:05 and we were ready for a 4 hour time easily until we  merged with the half marathoners who started at 5:30 pm, so we got there at 6 pm and they had the last corrals going through who were mostly walkers.... and this was very SLOW walkers at that. We all shared one side of a 3 lane road so there was only a small space for the marathoners (8,000 of us and 38,000 half marathoners with a 4 hour limit). So this meant that you had 4:30 marathoners sharing a small road space with 4 hr half marathoners. All we kept saying was, "Seriously? Really?" What were they thinking? 

There were not clear separated areas for the marathoners at all, only these tiny Pylar cones with signs that people either knocked down of ignored. Then there were people on road bikes trying to maintain the separation but they only made it worse because they were biking right by us. So now we're dodging the runners and the bikers. At one point there was even a lady with her dog in the route. What?????

We were forced to slow to a 11-12 min/pace. And to top it off, the water and Cytomax stations were ransacked, so we had no real water or if they had it then we had to wait in line for water for miles 15-26. GU without water is not cool at all. The marathoners were really angry. At one point there was a trash can filled with water that they were just dumping cups into and then handing to us. Did we drink it? Of course! We had run 17 miles and needed to hydrate.

We continued to run and dodge and slow and trample through the trashed water stations. Funny thing though was that they kept handing out GU (at 3 mile spots), but yet no water....

At one point one of us really needed to pee, but the Porta john lines were awful. So then after running into Mc Donalds with a line of 30 other runners, we went forth and like every good, experienced runner, found a nice spot behind a tree to go with a spotter. Honestly, men have it so easy. It is so difficult to have to pee in a race and search for the perfect spot when all along a back wall there you see men lined with their backs to you. Someone needs to create some running apparel for women with easy access. Just Sayin'

Some good things did happen during the second half. First running along the strip at night was awesome. seeing all of the lights, spectators, and shops was very cool. Also, they had a run to the chapel part of the race, so around mile 17 we saw runners getting married at the chapel. very cool to see. Also, we got to ran with quite a few Elvis Presley's which is always a hoot!

We ended up fast walking the last 6 miles because the dodging was enough and our legs were pretty torn up at that point. It got cold during this part because the night was here by now, and we weren't working as hard as when we were running. It actually started raining as we neared the finish. Nevertheless, we finished in 5:10. Not bad after running 3 marathons less than two months before.

The moral of the story, don't run any big races that combine half and full marathoners like that- very poorly thought out, or have a reasonable time limit for the half marathoners, like 2:15 since we had a 4:30 limit. Almost all of the marathoners lost about 45 minutes of time and were really angry. You should see the facebook page for RnR Vegas, scathing reviews! Too big for such a small area and fast marathoners with slow half marathoners = not a good idea at all.

                                             But the bling was worth it! It glows in the dark.

Post Race

Often people forget about post race but it is perhaps one of the most important aspects of race planning because you have a lot of tired runners who need bling (of course), warmth (especially if it is a night race), fuel, and rest. Beer is also nice.

So... we finished in the cold rain, got out bling, warmers (foil sheets), and grabbed fuel (snickers trail bars, pretzels, water, and we skipped the green bananas). We followed the crowd through the Mandalay Bay (race headquarters and our hotel), into the massive crowd. What a mess! It took us an hour to go 300 feet and runners were dropping like flies all over the ground. There was no crowd control and medics couldn't even get through. The most hilarious part of it all though was this was the opening weekend of the Michael Jackson Immortal tour, SO, there were all of these nicely dressed patrons trying to get to the show, mixed with the Jackson impersonator conference, and yes us sweaty runners. One could only laugh, except the runners on the ground of course.  Rumor has it that there was bad water (shocker) and people were vomiting from it, etc. and had to be hospitalized.

Glad we made it through... go to our rooms, and just slept because we had to be up at 4:00 to get to the airport, but we did it and we made it. Couldn't have had a better time. Sisters on the run did it again!

Cheers!
Sisters

Valley of Fire Marathon 11/20/11

Valley of Fire Marathon
November 20, 2011
Finish Time: 6:05:35
We are officially Marathon Maniacs!
#4631 (Tracy) and #4632 (Stacey)

                                                         Seriously just look at those hills!!!

Day 2 of the Double Marathon Weekend:

The only word that truly describes the double marathon weekend is "EPIC." The word epic is one that is overly used and misused on a daily basis. Why? Because the actual definition of epic means unusually large or powerful. It's funny because this word is used every day so you wonder, is it really epic? Well... we carefully selected this word and will only refer to these two races... this weekend in November 2011 as EPIC. 

After watching the movie in Mesquite, we drove our little rental red car to Overton Nevada (about 40 minutes), where we stayed at the only hotel in the town- the North Shore Inn. Upon arrival we met the man who as won the race two years in a row, and ended up winning this one too. He was a very nice guy from Germany, Marcus Lehr. We talked about the race a bit and he talked about his goal of hopefully winning this year. A very humble man because this race is not easy by any stretch, at all!

We got into our room and then headed to the only restaurant in town, "Sugars." A cute little restaurant with locals eating out for the night. The menu had just about every fried food you can imagine. We asked what the southwestern chicken was and found out it just meant grilled, so we opted for that with a baked potato, salad, and peas. It was good, plenty actually. We also had a nice huge slice of Pecan Pie. After all we had just run a marathon and were about to run another.

                                                        Oh yeah and it was goooood!!

After dinner it was time to set out our race clothes for the next day and go to bed because we were going to start all over again. We were both pretty excited and nervous because of the hills we heard about, but we were ready.

The Race:

We got up at 5:00 and headed to the race at 5:30. The race started at 7 and there was a little drive to the start so we dressed, grabbed our gear, checked out of the hotel and left.

This race is referred to as "the toughest course you'll ever love" this is so true. The Valley of Fire is a small race that takes place in The Valley of Fire National park in Overton, NV. There is a 10k, half and full marathon - with only about 60 or so people doing the full.

The course elevation scares people from this one. There is one part dubbed "the hill of hell, " which earned it's name in our book. Is it a course for a PR? Absolutely not, but it is breathtakingly beautiful, extremely well run, and promises a memorable experience! Running the Tri-States Mesquite marathon the day before was an even added bonus. 

When we got to the start, we saw several of the Marathon Maniacs there again. We were motivated by their shirts because this weekend would earn us entry into MM's and a four star level at that. We hung around the start with some of our friends from the Mesquite Marathon (Salt Lake City running club- see picture below). The winner Marcus also took our picture:

                                                                          At the start

There were about 30 people doing the double so we all got to know each other pretty well. These were definitely the smallest races we had ever run, and we really liked the small nature of it. The race directors, volunteers, snacks, start, finish, medals, everything was perfectly done.

The Course:

                                                                The hill we start on

The Valley of Fire starts on a hill and continues to weave throughout the park's beauty with scenic picture spots all along the way. We took our time with this one, stopped for pictures, talked and ran with other runners, and had a blast! The first half has a series of rolling hills. When we hit big hills we walked them.

Throughout the run we met up with different people and talked with them as we ran or walked the hills. Joe, from the Salt Lake City Running club, who was in his 60's told us about the ultras and Ironman races he has done. Impressive!!!

                                                                 One of the many views

When we got to the half way 13.1 mark we literally had to run right by the finish line. This is when we saw all of the half marathoners finishing up. Wow was that a tease! We had to run by it, but fortunately they had GUs which made it a little better. 

We even ran by our car.... and kept on going toward the hills- argh!!!

The route wasn't marked so we thought we had it right and made a right turn but there was literally no one we could see in front and no one we could see behind us. At this point the 60 marathoners had really broken up. We knew there were some ahead and some behind so we just kept moving.  

Miles 13-20 are gradual hills ending with the Hill of Hell at mile 20,  but what goes up, must come down so the last 10k is downhill. As we climbed the hills we kept thinking that this meant we would be running down it in the end. We went up and around a rock area and then straight down for the final 6.

Sometime around mile 15 we stopped to put on some Biofreeze and pose for some pictures (we said we weren't about to PR with time by any means- our PR was 2 in a row) so we had fun!!!

Tracy

Stacey

Shortly after these pictures were taken, we saw our buddy Larry from the SLC running club. He was our photographer for some of the Mesquite run. 

At this point, it was all hills and just straight up, even gravel in some spots.... so.... we walked fast with Larry to the end. The funny part about this weekend is that we thought we would need music to distract us more than anything. But that didn't happen at all. We talked to each other and other runners so much that we didn't even think about music. This is the nice part about small races, you can do that. You can talk and hear each other. We had some of the best conversations out there!

And we kept on moving... even up through that Hill of Hell and what a hill it was!! It was hard to get any pictures of just the hill because it was always winding around the rocks. But the view really did distract us from the aches in our quads.

                                                             

                                                              Mile 18 almost to the top

There were great snacks along the way too! GU, gummy bears, pretzels, Peanut M&Ms, and bananas. Also something you never see in big races.

We also met up with another double marathoner from Colorado around mile 19. As we climbed the last 1/4 mile, we saw those who were ahead of us cheering for us as they went down. Our friends who ran the double (a couple from North Carolina) gave us a high 5 and said the hill was "an investment in gravity." So true! And we just kept moving.... 

Once we reached the top of the Hell Hill we felt like we should scream at the top. In fact I think we all sort of did. We went to the bathroom, refueled, and then we were ready to head down for the last 6 miles.

Usually around mile 18 or so your legs start to build lactic acid and you really start to feel the race. Add a marathon before that AND hills like no other, well we were so ready to run down but didn't even know if we had it in us. We did though, and we ran, and kept moving. We refueled when we needed and talked as we ran.

Apparently, they did miss mark mile 20 so the course was .6 longer which isn't fun when you've just conquered those hills and realize you see the finish line and it's definitely not as close as it should be. We found this out as we were nearing the finish line and our watches were saying we were close but that finish line looked really far away. Also, one of the runners yelled at us as he drove off saying that the course was .6 longer. At that point what does it matter though...?

                                                   Our buddies from the SLC Running Club

When we got close to the finish line, we ran up the last hill. Larry didn't want to run so we waiting for him at the finish. It was great running through and hearing them announce our names. The other runners we knew were cheering for us too and it really felt like we all bonded over the weekend. This is what marathoning is all about. Having a good run with family, friends, telling stories, and enjoying the sites along the way.   

You finish at the start where there was a DJ. Our bags were right where we left them at gear pick-up ( spot on the ground) and we had a short walk to the car right across from the start. The logistics of this course could not have been any easier, including the convenient packet pick-up which was at the Mesquite finish line.

                                                 Double Marathon Weekend Accomplished!!!!

We met some wonderful people, had really good volunteers, and excellent snacks along the way. This race is definitely a favorite and should be on any marathoners bucket list. Don't let the elevation scare you. Just go there expecting to run in the beauty with no worries about time.  Our favorite saying with this race was on the shirt.... Beauty, it's a beast!!!!

After the race, we said our goodbyes, promised to run the St. George marathon with our SLC buddies next year, and headed to Vegas to the Hard Rock hotel. Once there we ate at Pinks tacos and has some yummy celebratory champagne margaritas. Then we went to the spa for much needed massages and went to sleep. Up at 4 am for the planes to head for home. The Epic weekend over. But what a fun one it was. And the theme for the weekend.... Just Keep Moving.

Mesquite Tri-States Marathon 11/19/11

Mesquite Tri-States Marathon

6 miles in Utah, 17 in Arizona, and 3.2 in Nevada- we counted this for the state of Arizona

November 19, 2011

Finish Time: 5:21:13
Day 1 of the Double Marathon Weekend

Sometime over the summer Stacey sent an email to Tracy with a link to the double marathon weekend in Nevada with the Mesquite Marathon on Day 1 and Valley of Fire Marathon for Day 2. The title of the email was, "If we were crazy, we could...." Intriguing, yes. Scary, yes. Fun, yes. Marathon Maniac Status, most definitely. 

And so we contemplated for months, especially since we knew the races would not sell out. There is no cap because they are so small and relatively unknown, and the Valley of Fire elevation chart is enough to scare anyone out of it altogether. But, the reviews for the Mesquite and Valley of Fire on marathon guide are great.  The idea of running through 3 states sounded so fun and the mesquite elevation looks fairly tame (however the elevation profile is a bit skewed because the hills at the second half are much bigger than you would expect- more on that later though). Meanwhile the Valley of Fire looked tough but breathtakingly beautiful. Every one who ran and reviewed it said the beauty was a big distraction. This was very true.

We decided to wait on registration until after the Chicago marathon (10/9/11) to see how we were feeling, especially since we had already registered for the Vegas RnR race on 12/4/11, just two weeks after the double. Four marathons in two months was a lofty goal...but attainable.

Chicago went well and the idea of the double kept calling us, especially since they said it was the only time they would ever be offered back to back. Note: The feedback and energy from all of the back/back runners were so high that they are considering keeping this double weekend next year. 

The races were also fairly inexpensive for registration so we jumped in two feet first!!!!

The Expo

Races this small never really have much of an expo. We both flew into the Vegas airport on Friday night, rented a tiny cheap red car and headed to mesquite Nevada.

                                                  Stacey and our little car

We arrived to the Casa Blanca (race headquarters hotel) at exactly 10 minutes until 8:00 p.m. after the hour and fifteen minute drive. We wanted to get our packets the night before so we sprinted to the tent and grabbed our race bags with the bibs and shirts. The shirts are red with the mesquite logo on them (see the top of this post), cute and nice. When we got our packets we were super excited and decided to only think about each race at a time. First, we had Mesquite on Saturday. We wouldn't even think about the Valley of Fire with the infamous "Hill of Hell" until Saturday night, after the mesquite was finished.

Well.... that line of thinking was stopped when the lady giving us our bag asked if we were doing both and then told us that the Mesquite was beautiful with some hills, but the Valley of Fire was spectacular with hills that only very serious runners would tackle. Hmmmm.... are we in that category?.... don't think so..... which meant nightmares all night about the hills.

We awoke at 5:00 ready to get to the bus that we had to be on by 5:30 am. We checked out of the hotel, gave our bags to the hotel staff, and made our way to the buses. 

The Bus Ride

"Who traveled the farthest?" yelled out a red headed tall and very skinny lady who was sitting with her husband next to us. This was the first set of friends we made. A couple from North Carolina who run races all over the country- they are trying to reach 50 state status too and they bring their two kids. They are also training for their first ultra (100 mile run in North Carolina). They were the farthest and also running the double, along with a few others on our bus.

The fun part of racing is the time you get to talk to other runners about races they've done, funny stories, etc. We chatted it up until we got there. We were driven up to the start in Utah.

The Start Line

You know you are at a small race when.... the race starting line is chalk drawn on the ground. This was the start of the Mesquite. There was only about 4 Porta Johns out there too which wasn't enough with about 100 racers who all had to go at the start.

                                                  Waiting at the start

There was a DJ there and some very yummy whole grain bars with water. We ate, talked, and got ready to start the race.

The Race

At 7:00 am off we went. The race starts in Utah and runs for 6 miles in the state. It was beautiful because you are running mostly downhill amongst all of these Joshua and Yukka trees. It reminded us a bit of Dr. Seuss Lorax trees.

We knew we had two days of races so we agreed that we would take both days easy, run at a moderate 10 minute mile pace, stop for pictures, talk, have fun, and walk any big hills. 

After 6 miles we saw the Arizona sign and then went along a long straight road through Arizona for 17 miles. We saw runners here and there, some we passed, or some passed us. Everyone seemed to be having fun talking and enjoying the scenery.

                                                   Somewhere in Utah

                                                           Arizona!

We met some guys from the Salt Lake Running Club who were in their 60's and also doing the doubles. Very inspiring! Three of them were running, and the fourth was walking. One of them, Larry, stopped and took pictures for us along the way which was very nice.

The first 13 miles are basically either downhill or very flat so we ran through it all and at some times ran faster than we planned but it was such an easy course to do that with. Right around mile 13 we hit a pretty big hill and felt bad for the half marathoners because that is where they started. They didn't have the downhill start we had.

There are no major landmarks in this race. It is really straight road, no turns until the end when you are in Mesquite, NV near the finish. It was almost ominous in some ways, like we were on a training run together. People were miles apart from each other and for the majority of the middle of the race everyone had their pace and were in their spot. So, we talked a lot, laughed, and just had a great time. At one point it was eery because one of us (Stacey) felt the need to scare the other one (Me- Tracy) about the horror movie The Hills Have Eyes. At any moment some crazy zombie could run at us and attack. Imagines can run wild when you have 26.2 miles of time.

We were just out there in the middle of nowhere following mile marker signs and coming up on aid stations every 2 miles. It was unique for sure. Nothing like the big races we had run in the past. Up until this point, Colorado was the smallest race we had done with 2,000 marathoners.

No spectators obviously, but the aid stations and volunteers were great! They had GU, water, Heed, gummy bears, pretzels, and bananas. At one station they had no cups though....so we were told to just give a pull form the jug. Hmmmmm.. runners are funny aren't they?

Arizona had some beautiful views, like the pictures above. This was in some canyons we ran through. We continued to run and stop for pictures, walk the big hills (which did exist). In fact, several people said the course elevation profile looked a bit skewed. There were pretty large hills at the second half. But then nothing like what we had coming the next day.

We entered Nevada at mile 23 so we were almost there. This was probably the only part of the course that was just okay. We entered Mesquite and had to run along the city streets, even through a parking lot at one point. They had good mile markers and police stationed, but it was still odd.

                                        Entering Nevada, Arizona sign is behind

We weaved through the streets of Mesquite for the last 3.2 miles and then as we got closer to the finish we ran up a curb and into the convention center/tent where we picked up our packets the night before.

It was the most unique finish we ever ran because as you ran from the sun into the dark tent, all you saw was the marathon clock and the finish line of balloons. There were people cheering with cow bells and beer at the end. And we were done.

There were free massages at the finish tent so we got quick massages, picked up our packets for the Valley of Fire there (same race directors so that was very convenient.

Next we decided we wanted to watch the new Twilight movie- New Dawn. Yes the idea of eating big bags of popcorn, watching a movie, and sitting in comfy clothes sounded great.

We changed in the cars into some swishy pants, sweatshirts, slider shoes and off we went to the movie theatre that was .2 miles away.

What a day it was! Great run, a lot of fun, and at this point very excited for Day 2 of the double weekend. Bring it!