Sedona Marathon - RunMarathon

I think I kept on target pretty well. The 10minute miles were because of the hills on the way back, but I'm sure I could do better if I actually ran hills occasionally. Based on the Garmin, the time I spent stopped in the port-a-johns was the 2:30 difference between my time and going sub 4, which is kind of a kick in the butt when I look back at it. I guess that's my fault for not emptying out before the race and drinking that gatorade at 6:30am.

I felt the worst around miles 15,16, & 17, but that's relative. I didn't feel horrible, but there does have to be a point were you don't feel the best during a 4hour race. Everyone talks about mile 20 being the point where the race within the race starts. This is where I started seeing a lot of people starting to walk and really slow down. I was feeling awesome at this point so I started picking up the pace knowing that I was bordering a sub 4 time. Considering my last 3.1 miles was done in 27minutes and consisted of the last mile being pure uphill I know I was feeling great (my most recent 5k PB is 22:00 minutes).

The course was definitely hilly!

Since this was my first marathon I didn't know what to expect. Especially with how everyone hyped up this mile 20 thing. For my first time I think I attacked it the best I could. I waited until mile 14 before taking in anything with caffeine, I could probably move that up to mile 11 or 12 instead so that the caffeine has time to kick in a little earlier. I probably could have used it for those hills that started at mile 13 on the way back.

kept walking, kept moving... tried easy short jogs for 30 feet at a time. Got a massage! which was one of the best I've had in a long time.


Having never done a marathon and not knowing how much reserve to retain for the last 10k.

Having not run hills at all during the past year.


I haven't done another marathon, but I've done half marathons and HIMs. This race was very well organized and had great aid stations. The aid stations were more like buffet lines... at least 1 port-a-john at each aid station, then you had cups with water, then heed, then vitamin water, then organized piles of Hammer gels. Each aid station was set up identical, so you knew exactly what to reach for before you even got to the station.

I spoke with a guy after finishing while in line for a massage that had run 27 marathons in 27 states so far (he's working on the 50 in 50). So I asked him how the difficulty of this race ranks with the other 26 he's done. He said it's definitely one of the hardest... which is exactly what I wanted for my first marathon... it should make all the others seem easier... plus, it shouldn't be hard to beat my time on the next one :)