This was a great marathon for me. I trained for 9 weeks and felt great. It did get hot but I had a wonderful time. Everyone was great and I don't think I could have had a better first race. It was a lot of fun and I will run again next year.

This was a tough marathon to run. Besides the heat, there was the less than scenic route that ran into the heart of the industrial district and the unenthusiastic spectators that were scattered sparingly along the way. Mesa is a beatiful city, why hide it? And, why isn't there a little more publicity...some of the people out on the streets weren't even aware a marathon was going to happen on their street!

After hearing from two other girls on my team, I was disappointed that so many of the volunteers manning the stands left far earlier than when the course closed. THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK ARE IN NEED OF THE MOST ENCOURAGEMENT!! On top of that, they opened up the streets to traffic an hour earlier than when the course 'officially closed.' What's up with that???
The medal was cool, but I don't think I'll do this one again.

I don't know about you, but I am sick of the hype races - bands at each mile and all that superfulous idiocy. I have been a distance runner for 28 years and it's great to run in a race that doesn't exclusively cater to the yuppies. This is a wonderful race with a wonderful course and great organization.
I have never been able to make the connection between Rock and Roll bands and distance running... and I play guitar.

I will return to this race each year as long as the emphasis remains on the no-nonsense pure sport of distance running.

Thank you, Valley of the Sun.

This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed the overall experience. However, I would not recommend this race to tentative beginners. The change in the temperature is only the beginning of the hardships this race presents. The course was fairly level but took us through mostly industrial parts of town. It was difficult to run with no support and I mean NO support towards the end of the race. By the time we ran by some of the aid stations no one was even manning them! The beginning of the race is beautiful and I am glad to have had the experience in spite of the difficulties.

Just got back home from the VOS Marathon held today. We ran the half. Great race! Well organized, street blocking left plenty of room, police were great! We weren't crazy about getting to the start line at 5 a.m. for a 6:15 start, but things worked out fine. The scenery was gorgeous as the sun came up and the neighborhoods we ran through quite fun to 'gawk' at. It got a little warm, but would expect that in the 'valley of the sun'.

The host hotel left much to be desired. The staff seemed to know nothing and were happy to let you know that 'We are only the host hotel and know nothing about the event...' It became a running joke as it was repeated so often. Checking in was nightmarish-we were all told to 'come back at 3' and arrived to find about 50 very unhappy people in line. My only real suggestion would be to hold the expo in the host hotel. Convenient, and people would probably linger. All in all - a great, well organized race that was enjoyed by everyone we saw! Looking forward to next year!

Much faster race than Rock 'N Roll 1/2 Marathon. Downhill for first bunch of miles then a short uphill which can surprise some folks... If you're looking for a PR 1/2 marathon, then do this one vs. Rock 'N Roll--although both are super fast.

I ran the marathon and I definitely agree with others- be prepared for a significant weather change from 6am til the finish. The aid stations were spectacular (best in the 6 marathons that I've done)- I was never in want of a porta pottie for too long. The track finish was fun and the local spectators were great!

It was a beautiful day in Phoenix on March 9th. The course was nice for a half-marathon, however, some definite uphill that wasn't really advertised. Brace yourself for the major temperature change from a 6:30 a.m. start to your finish. Bus logistics need some work. Start line is about 1/4 mile from restroom access and bag drop-off. So-so Expo and post-race event. Great T-shirt and Half-Marathon Medal. Nice people!

I ran the half marathon. We were catching the last bus from the race hotel. The bus was to be there at 5:00. It came at 5:30 because it was making its second trip. The start is about half an hour from the race hotel. When we got to the drop off point, we had to run about two blocks to drop off our warm-up bags. No time to use the porta potties. They announced we had 10 minutes to the start and we had to run one half mile to get to the start. After having to water a cactus, I arrived with 2 minutes to spare. Some friends were on another bus and the driver got lost. They arrived with 5 minutes to spare. This was my only criticism of this race. The running area on the streets was nice and wide so there was always plenty of room to pass people. The police did an outstanding job of directing traffic(Tucson police could learn a lesson for the Tucson marathon). People were very friendly and supportive at the aid stations. About mile 9, the temperature really started up. How the marathoners survived with that heat and no shade, I don't know. The high that day was 85. The medals are very pretty. The award ceremony started on time and they gave great awards to the age group winners. I, being 61, especially appreciated that they started with the oldest runners and worked their way down. Shuttle bus back to race hotel was right there. I thought this was wonderfully organized, except for the organization at the start. I highly recommend this race for half marathoners but don't do the marathon here unless you can tolerate hot weather. We also caught the Chicago Cubs spring training game the day before. Wonderful weekend!!!!

This race was well organized and well supported.
Lots of aid stations, lots of cheering spectators for
a race of this size, plenty of portajohns on the course,
and while the course wasn't totally closed to traffic,
the coned off sections were fine and the police did
a good job at intersections. The logistics are
complicated by the start and finish being separated
from each other and a long ways from any hotels. Thus
even for a 6:30 start, I was up at 4:00 to catch a bus
at 5:00 for a race that started at 6:30.

My only criticisms are: 1. The post race food was
very basic, bagel and fruit. 2. It got dang hot by my 3:30
finish (at least for coming from Salt Lake City), perhaps
an earlier start? This could be accomplished by
lining up a few more buses so that there were enough for
everyone without making two trips. OR a better idea
might be to start the half 30 minutes later, this would
relieve the pressure on the starting line porta potties
(no pun intended), and relieve the pressure on the
busses to leave so early.