This was my first half marathon. Why I picked on that goes up a mountain, I don't know. Maybe because after that, any half marathon is a PR! This race starts downtown Tucson, which means parking is awful. We tried to arrive early to find parking but didn't have much luck and ended up walking about 1/2 mile to the start line, leaving no time to use the porta johns before the race started. There were a few areas of the race going from downtown towards A-Mountain that had a little too much traffic for my comfort level, but there were lots of police out to manage the traffic at least.

The first water station wasn't until the base of the mountain, which was almost half way into the race. I was glad I carried my own water, and recommend that others do the same. You go up the mountain for about a mile and half, then back down the other side. After you come down the mountain, the course gets a little confusing. There are a few little out and backs where you're passing people going the other direction on a relatively narrow path. I didn't enjoy the second half of the race much.

Overall I recommend giving it try - if for no other reason to say you did a half marathon that went up and down a mountain.