Whiskey Row Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

This race was a low priority for me. It was my wife's birthday. The goal was to have fun with her and not get injured.

Normally, I drive the course to see the layout prior to the race. There was no time for this for this race. This turned out to be a good thing as I may have decided not to run.

The run was basically two races.

The first half- We were at the start and it was a bit chilly. Naturally, I overdressed. I was cold the night before and thought that I would be cold as the elevation changed. We started and everything was going well. We turned the corner and headed out of town. We ran right by "A sober way" which is a treatment center featured on Intervention. We started some hills and I quickly heated up. We stopped at an overlook for a picture and started to shed clothing. The hills were already starting to take a toll and we were only 3 miles in. We stopped at an aid station and hoped to leave out jackets and LS shirts there. We were told no and had to carry them to the next aid station. Doh! Right about this time, I remember telling someone next to me that this was the hardest 3.5 miles I have ever run. Little did I know that we had much more climbing to do. This area had some nice $$$$ custom homes. I would have never known they were there if not for the run. The course started to head into the forest. We went through a construction zone with some uneven pavement and then onto some dirt roads towards the turnaround. The combo of dirt, asthma, elevation and hills had me working hard. My motivation to climb the hills was low. I walked quite a bit of them as they were steep. I new the turnaround was near and kept looking at my Garmin for guidance. I heard some cheers and new it was near. Oh yeah, I saw Rachel on the run on her Wonder Woman outfit. She looked very strong at that point. She was on her way back and I still had about a mile to the turnaround.

Second Half- Those nasty long climbs on the way out were about to pay off with some serious downhills. It was a challenge to apply the brakes on the descent but it was fun. We motored down the hills and had a really good time. I stopped to use the porta pottie and ws quickly back in business. We passed several people coming down the hill and I heard a *thud* at about the 10 mile mark. Initially, I thought that Shelley had stepped on something. I turned around and she had fallen. There was a huge construction gap in the road from some construction. Anyway, she popped right up and was not hurt. Her cellphone took the brunt of the fall.

The last three miles, I was sooo ready to be done with this madness. I decided to start pushing it a bit. I was able to conserve some energy on the downhills and was ready to go. I dropped Shelley and Dawn but kept running. For the most part, I had Shelley in my sights when I turned around to see where they were at. Finally, the last turn was in sight. There was a small crowd cheering people on. Once I turned, the announcer said my name and I knew I was finished.

Emily and my in laws were at the finish. I gave Emmy a kiss and proceeded down the chute to get my medal and water.

Note: The out portion of the race was 1:30 and the back was 1:10.

Try not to overdress. I carried my jacket for about 3 miles. Ugh!

I stayed at the finish line to waith for Shelley and dawn. They were a few minutes behind me. I then chatted with Rachel for a few minutes. I looked for another friend who did the 10k.

I got a stretch/massage which was really nice. The only exception is this. I mentioned that my neck and shoulders were tight. She massaged my neck without lotion which HURT big time. I have some chafing from my wetsuit from Thursday swim. Ouch!.

Got food and pictures and then left.


Well, I'm old for one. I suppose running in hilly forrests would help. Our little hills at Saguaro have nothing on these hills.

This was not really a race for me. So it's all good


This was a tough but fun race overall. It is small town which is a nice change from the large city races. There was only 427 finishers. I was able to park across the street from the start and finish line.

The post race had pizza, salad, chips and salsa, muffins, fruit and water and gatorade.

The t-shirts are LS cotton with a very nice picture. The artist signed the shirts for free. The medals could use an upgrade.

Overall, not bad for a $50.00 race fee. If you asked me on Saturday, I would say that I would not race it again. If you asked today, I would say yes.