My husband and I were so excited to complete the Saints and Sinners half marathon for the 2nd year in a row. We had a wonderful experience last year (we both got PRs and placed 2nd overall!), so we were hopeful that this year's race would be equally successful! Here's a recap of our weekend:

EXPO:
The expo for the race is in a convention center in Henderson. Though the expo is quite small (one ballroom in the convention center), it's easy to find and has all of the essentials. The volunteers and race staff are incredibly friendly, too. In fact, the Race Director recognized us at the expo. She was so excited to see us back, that she took our picture, and posted it to Facebook saying, “This cool couple both finished in the top three for men and women and they’re back…watch out for these guys!” Talk about pressure to perform! This definitely made us feel valued and appreciated, since we had traveled across the country to attend.

PRE-RACE:
The race begins at a park, so we chose to use my in-laws' national park pass to get closer parking spots. The parking was plentiful and there were great pre-race amenities (i.e. porta-potties galore!) I like to warm up and do my own thing before races, so I didn't get a chance to enjoy the pre-race entertainment, but it looked very lively.

RACE:
CONS: The course is mostly downhill, but there are some tricky uphill spots to be aware of. At the start line I heard a woman declare that her goal for that day was 1:19. Since that’s my long-term goal (i.e. several years away!), I was instantly intrigued. I had so much adrenaline at the beginning, and with the downhill, I found myself keeping up with her. I decided I wanted to hold on as long as I could, so I could feel and experience my eventual 1:19 goal pace. This snap decision to ditch my plan was not the most well thought out decision. I went out way too quickly, with my first three miles clocking in at: 5:52, 6:02, 6:09. After the first several miles of steep downhill, at mile 4 there is a rather large incline. I'm convinced that this would normally not be a challenging hill, but after going down for a few miles, I had trouble surmounting this one. It is a bit of a confidence buster too, since the majority of the race still lies ahead. Then again at mile 8.5, there is a steady 1.5 miles of uphill. Again, because of the downhill portions, I found that going uphill at this point in the race was particularly challenging.
PROS: The scenery on course is incredible. The course winds along Lake Mead, taking runners through old railway tunnels used to create the Hoover Dam. It is exceptionally beautiful, and provides a wonderful distraction when you're feeling fatigued during the race.

OTHER:
Because you go through so many tunnels, GPS does not always work properly. Therefore, your watch may not reflect the correct distance covered or pace obtained. I found this out when I was chugging along, thinking I had over a mile left, and then saw a sign indicating that "You have ½ mile to go!"

FINISH:
I pushed myself to finish strong, with the goal of a course PR still in sight. I crossed the finish line in 1:28:08, a 3-minute PR from last year, 4th overall woman, and 1st in my age group. Matt got an overall PR and 2nd overall. Although I was a bit disappointed that we weren’t both up on the podium this year, it was still an incredible race, and an incredible experience. Also fun to note: at the finish line, you get to choose between the "Saints" or "Sinners" finisher chute. Both years that I've run, I have opted for the "Saints" chute. I thought that this was a creative way of infusing the theme throughout all aspects of the race. There were also "saints" (fruit, pretzels, etc) and "sinners" (cookies, donuts, candy, etc) snacks at the finish line. Again, I opted for the saintly snacks!

OVERALL: If you're looking for a winter half marathon in warmer weather, this is a great option. It's a fast and incredibly scenic half, with great race management. My only caution: don't underestimate the hills - they can be the devil!

This was my second Revel race. After a wonderful experience at the Revel Big Cottonwood half marathon in September 2017, my husband and I were eager to take on another half marathon. We signed up for the Revel Mt.Lemmon half marathon, and it did not disappoint. Here's some more about our experience:

EXPO and SWAG:
Though the expo was a little off the beaten path (held in an ice skating rink), it had all of the essentials and then some. We knew that this was the inaugural Mt.Lemmon half, so given that, we were especially impressed with the expo, particularly that they had Rapid Reboot compression boots to use (without a line!) pre-race. The swag for Revel races is wonderful. I received a long sleeve tech finisher shirt for an additional $5. I thought that this was well-worth the few extra dollars because I have SO many short sleeve finisher shirts. The shirts are high quality and came in Women's size XS!). This is a huge deal for me, because so often finisher shirts languish in my closet, because they are unisex or don't come in size XS. I also LOVE that they provided socks and throw-away gloves! The start of the race was a bit chilly, so the gloves really came in handy ;)

PRE-RACE:
The race starts at the top of Mt.Lemmon and has runners descend down 13.1 miles to the finish. Because of that, the race offered a shuttle to the top of Mt.Lemmon. We didn't have to wait long for the shuttle (which was a charter bus!) to take us to the top. There were TONS of porta-potties for use pre-race (which is always a concern for me).

RACE:
There were scarcely any spectators on the course besides the hydration and medical tent volunteers. However, what the course lacked in crowd support, it made up for in scenery. Even though I had visited Tucson several times before, I had only seen Mt. Lemmon from a distance. So this was my first time up close and personal, and the mountain did not disappoint. I was completely captivated as the course spiraled, twisted, and curved down Mt. Lemmon’s saguaro cactus-spotted cliff faces. The course is almost entirely downhill (except for the last mile!), so as long as you run smart, you can do incredibly well. In my case, I knew that I needed to maintain a consistent pace for the first 12 miles, because I knew that the final mile would be difficult (especially after previewing the course the day before), but I didn’t realize just HOW challenging it would be. At that point, my quads were on fire, not adjusting at all to the altered elevation. I was trying to maintain my 6:30 min/mile pace, but I couldn’t do so. My pace dropped to 7:00 min/mile, and I had a sinking feeling I would not maintain my lead. As I came into the final stretch of the race I saw Matt and his parents, who cheered me on saying, “You got it – you’re going to win this!” I crossed the finish line with a 3 min PR of 1:25:22. I broke the “winner tape” and almost cried in excitement and elation. Matt and I embraced, and I discovered that he’d placed 2nd overall with an almost 2 minute PR. We couldn’t have asked for better collective races.

POST-RACE:
After the race we were excited to discover that the Rapid Reboot compression boots were also available for use! We used them and I seriously felt that they expedited our recovery. Other post-race perks included: Papa John's pizza, free race photos, and free entries into next year's race (our top finisher prizes!).

My goal for Spring 2017 was to obtain a Boston Qualifying marathon time. I registered for the Run for the Red marathon, my fourth stand-alone marathon, because the race met all of my criteria: race location (only a 45 minute drive – no hotel or air travel required!), course profile (net downhill), and time of year (late spring – cooler race day temperatures).

EXPO & SWAG:
The expo took place in Stroudsburg High School. It was easy to find parking at the school, and the expo had all of the essentials. It wasn't too snazzy, but had everything we needed. I was initially upset that my race finisher shirt was too big, but I was able to easily to switch to the correct size post-race. This is something I generally struggle with (shirts always seem to be way too large!), so I was thrilled that they helped me get the right size! The shirts for females also featured a cap-sleeve, which I thought was unique and an appreciated change from the normal short-sleeve finisher shirts.

PRE-RACE:
The pre-race accommodations for this race were great. Runners have full access to a high school, so we were warm and bathrooms were plentiful! Before the race, since I knew my only goal was only to BQ, I found the 3:35 pacer, and I immediately identified another group of girls who were also aiming to BQ. The pacers were nice, friendly, and welcoming and so were the other participants. In fact, I ended up running almost the entire marathon with a girl that I met at the starting line (which has NEVER happened to me before). I think that this is a testament to the friendly nature of the race and the participants.

RACE:
PRO: The course, although a net downhill, does feature some rolling hills towards the end. Initially I was concerned about these hills, but I found that they were so helpful for my quads! After the first downhill half, going slightly uphill for several portions ensured that I didn't burn out.
CON:My one caution with this course is that there were parts of the marathon that were a bit unnerving. The course was mostly on a 2-way mountain road, and only half of the road was closed off to traffic. That meant that there was only a line of traffic cones separating runners from oncoming traffic. Although I never felt like my life was in danger, there were a few crushed cones, which made me feel nervous at times.

POST-RACE:
The finish line was uniquely positioned on the Stroudsburg High School track, effectively transporting me back to where my love for running long distance began. As I entered the last 400 meters of the race, I found myself sprinting to the end, crossing the finish line in 3:30.10, with a PR and a BQ! I've never ended a road race on a track, and I thought that this was a really unique addition. And because the race ended on the track, runners congregated there post-race (even though official celebration tents were elsewhere). I also think it was nice for spectators to have access to bleachers to wait for their runners to cross the finish line.

OVERALL:
If you're looking for a fast marathon in late Spring, this is a great option. The race was well-organized, friendly, scenic, and best of all, afforded me with my much sought-after BQ!