This is my second year running the Phoenix Marathon. I had an amazing experience in 2015 and since it's super close to my home, I had to run again. This year saw a few changes to the event. First off, the Expo was held at The Sheraton Hotel in Mesa Riverview - this was a much better location for an expo than last year in the parking lot of Sports Authority. There were more vendors this year and it was still very well organized and quick & easy to pick up my race packet and shirt. They had tank tops again this year for women, but I'll admit I much preferred the 2015 design. This year was just a solid blue. It does have a nice zippered pocket - perfect for holding a gel or a small ipod.

Parking and traffic on race morning was crazy. Granted, I left a little later than I normally would, but traffic was a nightmare leading up to the exit and once you got off the freeway things moved horribly slow. Better signage and traffic control would help. This year the starting area was set up a little different. The bus dropped us off at one end of the starting area - we (my friends & I) came upon the rows of porta-potties where we stood in line waiting our turns. The starting gun fired before we were done :( But since it's chip timed we weren't worried about starting a little late. We then jogged past the heaters and bon fires they had set up and dropped off our gear bags.

It was kind of nice to start after the huge crowd and be able to begin at our preferred pace without being affected by the crush of runners. The first 4 1/2 miles went by smoothly and I was able to enjoy running at my pace and take advantage of the downhills. Then we hit the hill and my friends and I separated. The hill tends to do that. However, I came upon another friend around mile 5 and we stayed together till about mile 15 when his knee started giving him problems.

This year was much like last year for me - the first half was amazing, the second half not so much. I don't know if it's because the second half is so very flat in comparison to the mostly downhill first half, or if it's because I push myself so hard at this race, but the last 6 - 8 miles of this course are slow and painful.

Phoenix does have a great finisher's area. The medal this year is the first in a series of 5 that will connect to make a 5 point star, each point representing one of Arizona's 5 Cs (copper, cattle,citrus, cotton, climate). They had cold, wet cloths for runners along with water right after crossing the finish line - which was huge this year at the temperature hit a high of 80.

Like last year, they had a huge tent where complimentary massages were available or there was room to stretch on your own. Famous Dave's and Kneaders had tents where they had yummy food offerings for the finishers as well. There were other vendors also who had a variety of food stuffs available.

Overall this is a great marathon - it's well run and it's a fast course. If they can improve the traffic and parking situation that would be a huge plus, but next year I'll just plan to leave super early.

So 2016 is the second year I ran Del Sol. I had a blast in 2015 when I joined a group of strangers with 2 of my friends. This year I captained a team, so every team mate was a friend or a friend of a friend. That makes for a good time! The thing I don't like a bout the Ragnar Road Relays is that your team is really 2 teams. You don't spend much time with "the other van" and so it can be hard to feel connected to each other. However, your van mates are your running mates & cheer squad and we had a blast making our way through 200-ish miles of Arizona.

This was the 10th anniversary of Ragnar Del Sol and they had promised great swag & such for the occasion. The t-shirts were pretty cool, but the captain's gift was a big disappointment. It was a pair of orange sunglasses that probably cost all of 99 cents. That left me a bit unhappy. But, we were there to run, so run we did.

I took on "the longest leg ever" - a 13.5, all uphill portion of the relay in the heat of the day. I run a lot - a whole lot. I can pretty much run a half marathon without training. This leg was hard. Most half marathons aren't all uphill and they definitely don't start at 4:00 in the afternoon when it's 83 degrees out. But, I earned an extra medal for my efforts, so that was cool.

The major exchanges where both vans meet up were all well done. They had plenty of vendors and the high schools offered sleeping areas, showers, and hot meals for a few dollars. This was a nice benefit so we didn't have to fork out big bucks for a hotel room we would have only used for a few hours and we didn't have to subject a restaurant to "eau de runner."

The final legs of the race were hard for our team (and probably many teams) because it was hot. Ragnar can't control the weather, so that's nothing against them, just part of how it rolls when running a race like this in AZ - even in February.

The finish line was a nice celebration. Great medals were given to each team member and each team received 2 pizzas, breadsticks, and drinks to enjoy. They also had cake for the 10th anniversary. There was music and other entertainment, and a variety of vendor booths. There was even a couple who actually got married at the finish line - so that was pretty cool too.

I can't guarantee a wedding in future years, but the finish line at Ragnar events is usually a lot of fun. Will I do it again? I don't know. 2 times might be enough for me, but then I might get talked into it by one of my running friends again, so who knows?

The Dopey Challenge is a bucket list race - at $550 this year it's not a race everyone can afford. It also sold out in a matter of hours too. So, if you have your eye on the Dopey Challenge - be prepared to spend big bucks and make sure you register the moment it opens.

So, the Dopey Challenge includes running the 5K, 10K, Half, and Full marathons during the WDW Marathon Weekend. One race each day, four days in a row - you earn 6 medals for accomplishing this feat. Since the first race is on Thursday, you have to arrive on Wednesday to pick up your packet. Run Disney puts on some of the best race expos in my opinion. They always have a large number of vendors and they have lots of Run Disney merchandise available as well. Everything is very well organized so you can easily get to where you need to go. When you pick up your packet you get your photo taken as well - this is so they can confirm that you actually run all four races. After the marathon they check your original picture before handing you your extra medals.

Each race takes you through WDW parks - and that's part of the fun of a RunDisney race. The 5K and 10K both run through Epcot, the half marathon takes you through Magic Kingdom and Epcot, the full marathon takes you through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kindgom, ESPN Wide World of Sports, Disney Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. All of the races have characters stationed along the route for snapping pictures. The half and full marathons have choirs, bands, and other entertainment along the routes as well. I loved running around the stadium & being on the jumbotron at ESPN Wide World of Sports - so much fun.

Disney has beautiful medals and at the end of each race you get a snack box and a foil blanket. They didn't originally hand out the foil blankets after the half - they had cool towels. This was great, except that once you had stopped running and were hangning out in the finish area you got cold pretty quick. I guess enough people started asking for the blankets that they ended up bringing them out after a while. They had the cool towels at the marathon finish as well, and they had the blankets available right away unlike at the half.

RunDisney always puts on a great race - I've participated in 4 RunDisney weekends (2 in CA and 2 in FL). They have something for everyone with the variety of themes, but they are pricey.

For the Dopey Challenge I was pleasantly surprised that the marathon wasn't my slowest marathon time to date. I took it easy on the first 3 races so I wouldn't be worn out, and even with stopping for a few charater pictures and some biofreeze at a couple first aid tents, I still managed my 2nd fastest marathon time. I guess I need to run more full marathons!

Startline Racing puts on a great little race. This was the inagural year for the Phoenix Women's Half and they pulled this race off well. The big draw for me was the jacket that was offered - super cute, and super comfy. I would have preferred the logo were embroidered as opposed to screen printed, but that's just my preference.

I love that they offered packet pickup the morning of the race. Sometimes I hesitate to do that because I like to get to the race early and not stress about lines and such, but packet pick up took all of about 5 mins. They were really well organized. We were able to park right near the start/finish line and they had a few vender booths in the area as well.

The course itself was a modified out and back around the Rose Mofford Sports Complex. There were 2 things I didn't care for about this course: 1 - it was a concrete walking path. I hate running on concret, it just tears up my shoes and my joints are miserable. There were areas where you could run on the packed dirt next to the path, but not for the whole distance. 2 - there were a lot of underpasses where you ran down under a road and then back up. This made it hard to get into a good pace and maintain it.

At the finish they had snacks, the vendor booths, and some raffles. The medals were very nice (but the ribbons had the wrong date - oops!) Overall I think they did a good job, I'd just prefer a half marathon course that wasn't concrete.

This was my second Ragnar Trail event and my 4th Ragnar event. Since they were doing a double medal for running Del Sol & McDowell, I felt I *had* to run McDowell. I'm so glad I did. Since I've moved to AZ I've fallen in love with trail running.

I was fortunate to be affiliated with a running group when we went to McDowell, so we had reserved camping space. If you aren't with a group that has reserved space (and there aren't a lot of groups that get that priviledge) you HAVE TO go up Thursday night to secure a camping spot, or you'll be far away from the exchange tent & all the happenings - that would not make for a fun event.

So, as long as you come & set up the night before, camping is good - if not, you'll be hard pressed to find a free spot to set up your tent. There just isn't adequate space for the number of teams they have running at this event.

The 3 loops you run at McDowell are all great - I enjoyed all of them and didn't feel any of them were overly difficult. I didn't like the long hill on the Red loop - it seemed it would never end, it was very rocky, and I was running it as the last leg of the race, so it was warm. I ended up walking part of that uphill, which frustrated me, but I still had a decent time on the loop and had a great race overall.

They had a decent pasta dinner that was included and they had Freak Brothers Pizza available to purchase - which was super yummy. They had a good variety of vendors for a trail event along with their Ragnar store.

I personally prefer the trail events over the road relays because you get to be with your whole team & it's a more relaxed environment. The double medal was definitely worth it, and McDowell Trail is one I will be running again.