This time it was located at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fountain Hills. The driving directions were easy enough with Google maps. Everything seems to be an hour away but it was worth it. Parking was the standard 6.00 or free if you have a parking pass. Same as before.

The packet pick up was the same as before. Thursday at iRun in Scottsdale, Friday at Aravaipa headquarters or same day packet pick up. Which is good if you work evenings like I do. You had the choice of a tshirt or tank top. With the help of Haley she helped me choose a size.

Layout was the same, with the iconic start/finish line, fantastic aid station, first aid tent, a swag gear tent for purchases and then the wood pizza oven. I can never leave a race without purchasing something. This time it was an extra trank top, tshirt and sticker. I need to get the name of the dj, he was rocking the tunes and keeping everyone upbeat.

There could have been a few more porta potties. No building facilities at this location but at least we didn't run out of tp.

My start time for the 10k was 8pm again. Sun was just setting. Being overly prepared I wear a head lamp around my chest and one on my head. Works like a charm. And we were off right at 8pm.

Apparently this is one of the trails used at Ragnar McDowell (?). I will find out in Nov. About half a mile into the course we hit the mother load of hills. Oh dear did my lungs feel it. Once at the top (and I think the hill was about 1.5 miles up) the course did even out a bit. We had some rolling hills but nothing as severe. On my adventures I saw a few scorpions and one rattler. Scared the he ha out of me. There was a water station about 4 miles into 6. The course was rockier than the last one.

The finish line was fabulous as always. And true to trail running it was another pint glass. I was a little disappointed to see it was exactly same as the last race (style wise) just a different logo.

There was tons of hydration after. Tons of snacks. I sat down in the beer section after chatting it up with a couple of strangers. But I guess no one is a stranger after running through the desert at night.

Even though my time was not as I had hoped. A slower pace than I anticipated the experience was well worth it. The friendliness of everyone, the view of the open sky with stars, and running down hills without a care in the world.

I'd pay the entry fee a million times over for this. I may not be an experienced fast runner, but I enjoy it all the same.

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