I did the 25K but there is also a 50K, 5K, and 10K option.

This is a great race weekend getaway for a group of friends looking to enjoy a weekend in the mountains! We flew in Friday to Denver. Copper Mountain is about 1.5-2 hrs away from DEN pending traffic :)

Once you arrive on-property everything is seamless because it's right there! The start/finish, also where packet pick-up, gear check etc is located, is centrally-located so if you are staying on-property it's an extremely convenient experience all weekend. We ate a few places on property and had great meals.

Now to the race...

Unless you live at elevation, the climb is going to be a challenge so you have to prepare for it! But as with all things mountain-related it's all worth it when you get to the top:

Course - Very well marked! Lots of mile markers (more than most trail runs I've done). The one thing that got to me is I didn't research the course enough so when we had to go back-up a hill around mile 11/12-ish I was a little demoralized. I should've looked at the course in advance to know there was more climbing at the end. I did a good power hike up most of the climbs (did some jog/walking up the less steep inclines) and then I was able to get some good running in on the flats and downhills. I negative split by 37 minutes!

Aid Stations - Great volunteers and well stocked w/ lots of hydration/fuel options (Powerade, Coke, Red Bull, gels, chews, pretzels, and more!)

The best part is post-race the finish festival is right there. There are two restaurants just steps away from the finish area and other food being sold as well. Under Armour has a huge recovery area built out with HyperIce vibrating rollers and other mat/recovery tools. With gorgeous weather and the mountains in the background it made a perfect scene to just hang out all day!

AND, another star is that this race is on a Saturday! So you can fully enjoy the day vs hurrying back home like many other Sunday races.

Such a fun weekend!

This was the inaugural year for this race and I ran the Half Marathon.

PROS:
True to it's reputation this is a fast course! Only 2 very small uphill moments with enough downhill to more than make up for the up! This time of year at time of day the weather was perfect! 50s, crisp, cool. Definitely PR'able. I ran a 2.5 minute PR not in full fitness, and also came in 1st in my AG! I'm definitely thinking I'll be back to race it even harder in the future.

CONS
*There are some specific logistics to be aware of for this race when you are committing. Because it's point to point you need to get on a bus in Sandy OR (30-45 min outside Portland) around 3:30 am, which means waking up in the city at 2am! Then prepare for waiting, a long bus ride, waiting in a staging area. If you are prepared for it (like people are for Boston, NYC, it's fine). But if you are not prepared it will leave you feeling restless. After the race, you also need to be bussed from the finish area to where you parked your car. The line for this was long. Race staff was nice enough to run out water, pizza, and donuts while we waited which was much appreciated! Again, if you are prepared for this it's fine. But if you are expecting to get on a bus quickly to head back it can feel frustrating.

OTHER
COURSE - For the half you are on back roads until mile 11 where you run on Hwy 26 for 2 miles. I didn't mind this portion because it's short, but i heard the Full is on the hwy almost the whole time so I could see it potentially be unnerving having speedy cars pass you constantly on the shoulder. The half was great, very peaceful. Some of the roads were at a pitch, so I did end up weaving a bit to make sure I could run on the flattest part of the road.

AID STATIONS - Most of the aid stations were great, but one there around Mile 11 where there were zero people handing out cups. Running at PR pace I tried to pick a cup up off the table but fumbled so missed water. Also the cups are all the same color so I constantly had to yell for water or Powerade and wait to hear what was where. Again, knowing people are trying to PR it would be great to have diff color cups and make sure people are ready to hand out cups that were clearly marked.

SWAG - T-shirt and hat were nice giveaways. There are also throwaway gloves and a space blanket in the bag which are nice in the morning when you are waiting in the staging area.

POST-RACE - Love the pizza and coke post-race food offering. You also get water, protein shake, and banana post-race. Lots of places to take pics, lay in the grass, or go back to cheer on others. Def a plus of a race this size.

START - When you get off the bus and walk to the staging area it's pitch black. If you have a headlamp it could be nice to bring it to offer some visibility. There were plenty of portapotties so you never had to wait long which was nice. I was able to go twice to ease my nerves :) They also had water at the start.

Overall, it was great to run a Revel race after hearing so much about the series. Hoping they'll tweak some of the issues for year two!

I was very excited to run Tokyo and 1) get my six-star medal but also 2) experience a marathon in a country where running is the national sport! I know running is a serious sport in Japan, so experiencing the marathon and running culture there was something fun to look forward to.

Overall, it felt big and well-organized. On par with the other majors in terms of size, experience, etc. There were a few quirks I'll call out below for those serious marathoners that need all the details! If you can get in - I highly recommend it! I got in via Marathon Tours, some others in my group got in via lottery, and others via the Run as One program (for the crazy speedy runners out there).

THE PROS
Mostly flat course! It has a few out and backs so prepare for that, but mostly it's fun to see other runners out on the course.

Entertainment - the city does an amazing job getting numerous dance/singing troupes on the course performing. It made for a lot of run things to look for. Sometimes the crowds paid more attention to the performances than the runners...but I still enjoyed it!

The start is VERY accessible from Shinjuku hotels. BUT the gate system is complicated because of the up-down road system in that area. They will be strict about having to enter your specific gate.

Aid stations - were some of the most organized i've seen!!! People there do not throw their food/trash on the ground so if you are farther back you don't have to worry about trampling over cups (US majors) or bottles (London!). Past the aid station there are volunteers every few years holding out trash bags for you to throw trash if you missed the bins in the aid station. I really loved that it kept the roads so clean.

EXPO - HUGE and also very spacious! Lots to see so definitely go Friday if you can. You'll want to check out all the fun stuff :) It's part of the experience!

BE AWARE
Aid stations are only every 2-3 miles or so. It was on par with Berlin, but less than the US majors offer. So plan accordingly. Also because the course has out and backs, and Japan cars drive on the LEFT side of the road (somehow I didn't realize that until this trip), you run out on the left side and turn RIGHT to come back. That means all the aid stations were mostly on the LEFT side since they did not set-up aid stations in the median. Cups were spaced out on the tables which made them easier to grab, but be prepared to grab (vs have a volunteer handing it to you) if you are in a less speedy crew.

FOOD stations were more plentiful than other races BUT the selection was varied. Also in my groups (around 4:00 pace) the food was in bins (not being held out by volunteers) so runners were flat out stopping to grab food which made it hard to grab and go. I tried the jelly pouch which was not bad. I liked the texture more than gus! I also grabbed some bananas and oranges. But some of the other packaged foods were hard to open and also one was a dissolvable tablet which I was not expecting :) BUT I highly reco trying a tomato! It was surprisingly refreshing And. Electrolytes!

Port-a-Potties - I found western toilets pre-race, but at mile 21 i stopped to use the port-a-pottie and didn't think about the fact that it would be Japanese style! Squatting to pee at Mile 21 was VERY HARD and there was nothing to hold onto...haha!! So...keep that in mind :) And maybe practice peeing in a japanese toilet before hand so you aren't left trying to figure out how to do it on race day. I have used one before but still had challenges.

Post-race Transport -
If you are with MT you get a coach bus back to Shinjuku and that was amazing. Its one of the only reasons I warmed-up. Others had to train back (a la NYC) and I imagine that was a challenge!! So just be sure to pack lots of warm layers in your bag to prepare.

THE CONS
It was a VERY long finish and it took a while to get your space blanket. So I got cold quickly and didn't warm-up for a while. I swear I thought we signed-up for ponchos post race but couldn't find the details. In the future a sticker to keep the blanket on (a la Chicago marathon) would be nice. You also walk a while before you get your medal vs the US majors that give you your medal right away. The walk though got very challenging. Then when you got you back (at least 1 mile away) you couldn't change right away. I didn't even want to change I wanted to put layers on but they were scooting us away. I'm sure this is culturally-related but having walked in the cold for at least 30 min I was dying to warm-up.

SWAG - shirts were unisex! So the unisex Small doesn't fit quite the way I'd want. There was plenty of other race gear so i got something in my size but sad I won't be able to wear my race shirt.

Overall, it was such a fun city to experience. The weather was great.