Bottom Line: This race is centered on honoring those who survived the Bataan Death March, so you may not feel as pampered as at other races, but you ought to do this one while you can still shake a hand of one of the survivors and hear their story. The course is not a PR course, but the support is solid and you know why you are participating.

Sign-up, website and Pre-marathon: The sign up was easy but this race, like many marathons is getting bigger every year, so I would do it as early as possible. It took a while for the website to post the course schedule but there was a lot of helpful information and it is pretty clearly laid out. If you want to stay on base, book with MWR early.

Expo: DO NOT MISS THE CHANCE TO TALK TO A BATAAN SURVIVOR. Saturday afternoon before the race you can listen to a Bataan survivor tell their story. There are not many left and after leaving the room you will feel amazed at what they did, grateful for the sacrifice of those who fought and motivated. Picking up the packet after the talk took a long time though because everyone went after listening to the talk. There is not the usual expo hall filled with exhibitors, it is mostly service-related organizations (USAA, VFW and ROTC).

Start: Head the advice to arrive by 4:30. We did and got decent parking. The ceremony at the start is good and worth the standing. The actual corralling of runners though was confusing and rather disorganized. As a light-civilian I thought I was suppose to wait for the marchers with rucks, but I realized everyone was just kind of milling towards the start. Spent the first two miles weaving around walkers.

Course & support (to include Water & and port-a-johns): There was what felt like a sustained 15-20 mph wind out of the west. This made the first 7 miles easy. But then you turned into the wind and started up a 5-mile long hill. I never quite recovered my hopes of a decent time after that. The water stops are staffed by various veterans groups, border patrol and ROTC and they do a great job. There are plenty of water and porta potties. There is a lot of deep sand in the last few miles as a final insult to your hopes of speed. No finishers medal at the end. But this race is about remembering those who survived the Bataan death march and I still felt great.

Post race: One free beer, burber or braut, chips and potato salad. I did not stay around for other ceremonies.

Hotel & transportation: I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Las Cruzes (~40 min away). It was reasonably priced, clean and quite. Pretty much all of those around you are marching the next day and so everyone is pretty quiet.

To do: If you have a chance go see White Sands National Monument. The missile park and museum on base are pretty neat as well.

This was my first time participating in the event and I will definitely do it year after year. I was so humbled by all of the marchers and survivors that I ran 6 miles before taking a drink. Of course, I felt it at the finish line.... It was a challenge but well worth it. My pain was of little concern compared to what the survivors endured. Thank you, WSMR, volunteers and marchers....

As one of the military-heavy competitors, a quick correction to R.C. below: everything that applied to civilians applied to military participants too. We stayed in Las Cruces, drove to get our packets, then drove back in on race day, and then back to El Paso to catch a flight.

Okay...where do I start? It's a crazy hard course. My lower back is still killing me. I ran in the civilian light-weight division. I can only imagine the military folks hauling along those heavy backpacks...a tribute to the veterans indeed.

This is not your conventional race or marathon for that matter. If you are a 50 stater this is a good choice.

My only complaint were the massive wait and lines to get the packet. Although organized, it was NOT done very efficiently. You get in line (and a very long one) just to get a bag with your number. Then another line to get your bib, and then another for the tshirt. I've done over 40 marathons and there is a more efficient way to go about this process and consolidate the number of time to get in a line.
Also, logistically not the best location either. I flew in on Sat into El Paso and flew back home after the race. I was literally in the area less than 24hrs and managed to put in 255 miles on my rental car. My point...be prepared to drive a lot...to and from the race.

That being said, a good experience overall. Kudos to all the military folks enduring this event. You guys were awesome to see. And many thanks to the BEST volunteers! Can't say that I will be back, but certainly very glad to have the memory and experience.

The ratings may see a little unfair so let me explain.

I gave the course a 4 instead of a 5 because it is unconventional. I would break it into sections. The first 6.5 are easy, downhill. Then from 6.5 to 13, it's all uphill and pretty steep in some places. Then 14-19 are all downhill and so steep that sometimes you feel like you are going to trip on the rocks. The last 7 are sort of up and down but downhill overall. Of course this section contains The Sand Pit for 3/4 mile, starting around mile 20.7. The best I can explain it would be like running in 3-5 inches of kitty litter. The scenery was beautiful - at least to someone who doesn't get to see mountains very often.

The organization was good other than 1 major thing and 1 minor thing. The major thing is that they ran out of commemorative dog tags. How is that possible? The minor thing is that this race is much more military friendly than civilian. There are no post-race showers for civilians, you walk about 1.5 miles from the parking area, and there is no gear drop off. There is no day of the race check in. I know that this isn't always normal for a marathon, but in this case civilians must fly in, hurry to the base (which is 30 minutes away) just to pick up your packet, then drive all the way back to Las Cruces.

There are very few spectators on this course. The ones who were there didn't seem to understand that people like to hear cheers. Don't confuse this rating with the volunteers. Those folks were great, which I forgot to mention in the organization section.

The personal logistical planning for this marathon was a little difficult for a civilian. I had to fly into El Paso. Then, because it was closer to the race, I got a hotel in Las Cruces. Because of this you must spend the extra money for a rental.

I heard this years weather was different than any other year. Thats good because we had what I would believe was 35-40 mph winds the entire time. The wind hit your face as soon as you started going uphill, then pushed you faster than youd like to go downhill. It was blowing so hard that for a very short stretch it felt like it was pushing me uphill.

All this said, this was one of my favorite marathons. It had meaning - especially to the three Bataan Death March survivors who were present. I am proud to say that I've run this marathon and I will never forget it.

This marathon was very well put together. They could benefit from a larger space to conduct packet pickup, but everything from the parking to the finish line was superb.

The course was very trying, and despite three combat deployments and numerous previous marathons, this was the most difficult physical task of my life. I wish that I had realized that the food drive existed earlier in my training (many of those in the heavy category carried bags of rice and other food in their packs that were donated after the race). Meeting and talking with the survivors was definitely the highlight of the weekend, the trials that they endured dwarf those of the race. The heavy division takes serious dedication to training and beyond the obvious of getting lots of miles in with a ruck you need to prepare for the long ascent from mile 7-13. With the weight of the ruck that long continuous climb made cramping up by the top of the hill the norm if you were trying to go at fast pace. Definitely a test of mental endurance as well as physical toughness. If you want to test your limits, then this marathon (in the heavy category) will do it.

This is not your typical race. You spend most of your time away from civilization (which I liked). The scenery is beautiful. The course is challenging - in part because of the altitude, and in part because there is a nice, little climb (it's gradual) and you're running in the desert for 90% of the race. I also enjoyed meeting the survivors of the Death March. It was great seeing the military take part in marching with full packs.

The down side to this event is running in the sand. I had to stop every 4-5 miles to empty the sand out of my shoes. Before the start, port-a-potties were VERY short in number but high in demand (which is normal). After waiting 30 minutes in line, there was no toilet paper in ANY of the restrooms. Course marking were poor. There were a few spots where it was unclear which way we were suppose to go, which resulted me running about a mile-plus the wrong way. There are no finisher's medal, which was very disappointing, but the shirts were cool.

Despite the negative things, I'm glad I ran it; but I won't run it again unless they change some of the problems I noted above.

The race changes the life of any runner. Thanks to all - VETERANS, VOLUNTEERS, WHITE MISSILE SANDS RANGE, and DIRECTORS. I am proud and honored to have been able to participate in this event.

21st Annual Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon
White Sands Missile Range, NM
Sunday, March 21, 2010
7:05 AM

I stayed in Ramada at Las Cruces (about 32 miles from the Missile Range). The event was very well organized. Each marcher received a short-sleeved, cotton T-shirt, a dog tag, and an individualized multi-colored certificate of participation. The pre-race pasta buffet dinner on Saturday was very good and cost only $10.

The morning of the race was chilly. Temperature ranged from high 30s to mid 60s. It was sunny and there was hardly any wind, which pleasantly surprised us, as the blowing sands were going to make the run really tough (it was quite windy on Friday and Saturday). The start time was at 7:05 a.m. We had been asked to report to the Missile Range by no later than 4:30 a.m. There was a continental breakfast at no charge. The Opening Ceremony started at 6:35 a.m., which included the national anthem, reveille, invocation, remarks, and a moving roll call. Two F-22s flew over at the end of the ceremony. A few survivors were present.

The course, as expected, was quite challenging. There are hills, and the sandy portions of the terrain could be tough. In short, this marathon is not for the timid. The elevation range was from 4,100 to 5,300 feet. It was mainly on trails. Between miles 9 and 10, we began a 3.5-mile climb on a paved road to HTA (Hazard Test Area). At the HTA, we made a left turn and began running on a scenic trail, circling a mountain, before returning to the paved road (about mile 19). As we were running down the road, hundreds of marchers were on their way up. I found myself to be more of a spectator than a runner. It was an amazing sight. I made several stops to take photos. The last 10K was on a trail. The infamous Sand Pit is around mile 21 and I found it to be the hardest part of the course. There were 12 aid stations, offering water, sports drink, and fruits. The volunteers were cheerful. There were mile markers. The course was open until 8:00 p.m. The run was chip-timed. Lunch was served at the finish. I highly recommend the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon.

I've run a lot of courses, but this course ranks near the top for scenery, and is one that requires some preparation. It has long and difficult climbs, at moderate altitude, but fast and fun descents after those climbs. Fan support is pretty sparse, but that is the nature of running in the desert! The vastness of this course is inspiring and humbles one at the same time. I would highly recommend this race but don't make it your entry into marathoning... you might not come back. Runners that stick to urban races are really missing something. New Mexico is a well-kept secret!