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May 4, 2024

The Sedona Marathon Runner Comments

Back to The Sedona Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.4

Organization 3.7

Spectators 2.7

Number of comments: 45 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 > ]

B. K. from Ontario, Canada (2/22/2010) "Tough and beautiful course" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 After three visits to the Sedona area for hiking, I finally decided to run the marathon. I knew the profile of the run and did not expect a better-than-average finish time. In fact, I finished above 4 hours, about 30 minutes worse than my average. All of the suffering on the steep hills was rewarded by the beauty of the course. This is definitely one of the most challenging, and at the same time most beautiful races in the southwest USA. The worst part of the run was the longest uphill mile before the finish line. Overall, the race was organized very well with sufficient supply of drinks and food before, during and after the run. The after-race massage brought me back to life. I was slightly disappointed by the cheap plastic medal for my 3rd place in my age group. Thank you, Sedona, for the excellent, long-distance event.
c. r. from seattle (2/16/2010) "Not Rock 'n' Roll" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 The Sedona Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 No glitz here. It's just you and the gorgeous scenery of one of the most beautiful areas in the country! Great volunteers and a very difficult course. You will feel very proud at finishing this one. Arrive at least on thursday to acclimate to the elevation. The dirt road is challenging; I can't imagine wearing flats. I think that pure road racers will be unhappy with this course due to the uphill finish. The scenery is gorgeous - try to look up every now and again.
K. N. from Havertown, Pa. (2/11/2010) "Unbelievable scenery" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Most of the previous comments below are fair. There was no food at the finish and I came in 55th, but I got a terrific massage. I can't add to the previous comments other than to say that I had a great time (albeit a slow one). Hills - be prepared! The scenery was unbelievable!
D. D. from Cincinnati, home of the Flying Pig Marathon (2/9/2010) "Great Little Marathon" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Sedona has a gem in this marathon. The course is very challenging and amazing in its beauty. Granted the car traffic on the dirt road was a bit annoying, but the fact of the matter is that marathons are never comfortable. You take what you get and go with it. As for water at the rest stops, I was one of the last folks to finish and I was able to keep filling my bottle to my heart's content all the way to the finish. As for there not being an acceptable energy drink on the course, phooey! Any experienced marathoner knows that you had better take or place along the course any special or unusual food or drink you may need. No marathon, no matter how big, can meet the needs of every picky runner. Water and some kind of sports drink are all that can be expected of an aid station. Well done, Sedona.
D. L. from US (2/7/2010) "Very tough course worth the effort to do it" (about: 2010) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Fantastically tough course. Beautiful and well organized, and I truly commend the organizers and volunteers. Great job! My only complaint is that there were way too many cars on the dirt course of the marathon. Some traffic may have been due to local residents, but I'm sure some were from nosy on-lookers. Some were for the marathon. Either way, the trail part of the course was tough enough due to concentrating on foot placement to avoid the worst of the rocks. But then, to have to move out of the way of those cars constantly was a major distraction. I could never get into the "zone" as I was constantly avoiding cars.
P. W. from Austin, Texas (2/15/2009) "Beautiful course; all else needs improvement!" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I would like to preface my comments by saying that I am a veteran marathon runner, and have run over 61 marathons worldwide. Sedona, AZ was my 24th state in my quest for all 50 states. I feel my experience allows me to suggest to you changes that need to be made to improve the event. And improvement is sorely needed, as I would find it exceedingly difficult to recommend this event to any of my fellow runners in light of my experience. First, the expo: While it is different for vendors to be available on race day, it is totally impractical as there is no time to shop. The expo needs to be staged in another venue the couple of days prior to the event. This allows ample time and gives those vendors a much better opportunity to make money. And your collection of sales tax revenue would increase. In addition, marathon officials were shockingly uninformed when asked about race details and so on (none could answer any of our questions). The expo should provide an opportunity to interact and network with fellow marathoners, vendors, and marathon officials. Sadly, this one did not. The day of the event saw a wind storm rip the vendor tents apart prior to the conclusion of the event. Second, the course: The scenery is, of course, breathtaking. I really like the timing chip utilized. However, it is dangerous to share the majority of the course with vehicular traffic, not to mention to breath exhaust fumes and dust from their movement. Many motorists were honking for us to get out of their way; this is a major distraction for runners. The cattle guards were a major safety concern. No one could address this to us prior to the race. I was glad to see they were covered when I was running. The hydration stations were plentiful enough, but sorely lacking in water. Much too much of this "hydrodrink!" Many runners, myself included, will not ingest an untried product on race day. Third, the finish line: This is a tough course to finish on an upward incline. It is also rewarding to have completed it. I am not the fastest runner, nor am I the slowest. Yet, I finished in the top 25% of the marathoners that day, first place my age group. So there were still 75% of marathoners yet to finish. There was nothing left for marathon finishers: little to no water, post race food, not enough help from officials at the finish (try bending over to remove your chip after running 26.2 miles through this course; all other marathon events happily provide volunteers to handle that task). And here we go again with vehicular traffic in the pedestrian areas post-race (a Mercedes convertible, a Nissan pickup and a Chevy pickup all with 15 minutes of my finish; totally unacceptable!). On a more positive note, the provided massages were great. While I understand that the wind storm affected the finish area, it was as if the race was over as most were packing up and leaving, vendors, officials, despite the remaining 75% marathoners who had not yet crossed the finish line. Is this the kind of impression you wish to give marathoners crossing the finish? Fourth, overall: Despite its being touted as a world-class event (as the announcers proclaimed), this falls short in many categories. It is certainly not representative of the entry fee. No poster, as all other races have. The area affords many, many opportunities for a unique prize and package for marathon finishers (see the St. George Marathon). It seems as though it should be called, instead, the "Sedona half-marathon and 5K... and you can also do the marathon." The half-marathon and 5K finishers enjoyed the spoils at the finish at the expense of the marathoners. Sedona is a beautiful area and has much to offer. We enjoyed visiting it and the surrounding areas. However, the marathon experience negatively impacted our impression and experience in Sedona. It is our hope that this communication would prove to assist in dramatically improving this marathon event. Working on the logistics pre- and post-race, tightening up the organization and management of the event, and improving the marathon experience would go a very long way in achieving your goals to make this a more premier event. Word-of-mouth promotion can be powerful.
M. C. from Illinois (2/13/2009) "Beauty and the Beast" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Looking through the comments from 2008, some of the concerns were addressed, which was nice to see. The course is drop-dead beautiful and very challenging. When God gives you something like this to run around, there's not much more to improve upon. The improvements I would recommend: 1. No vehicle traffic on the dirt road. The guy from the Enchantment Resort was kicking up enough dirt to choke the heartiest of lungs. I said something to him and his reply, "What can I do?" Some of the cars I thought were chasing runners, but never saw them again, so they were going somewhere... pick another way to get there! 2. Fluid stops need bigger cups - and make them paper. Those cups provided less than 1 ounce of fluid. We should be taking in 7-10 ounces every 20 minutes or so. 3. Fluid stops, again: have the cups handed to the runners. Don't make us step off a 4-6 inch drop to get something to drink. 4. Over the final mile or so, I would suggest clearing at least a little portion of the road for the runners. Sidewalks stink to run on! I would consider running this again for the course. It was fantastic in its beauty.
Bob Kroeger from Home of the Flying Pig (2/27/2008) "How can Sedona improve?" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my 23rd marathon in the last three years and so I feel that I have a good perception on modern marathons. Sedona offers beautiful scenery as did Bar Harbor. If Sedona had the ocean, it would be second to none in terms of scenery. Also, the restaurant (with views of the red hills) providing the pasta dinner was fabulous! I even won my age bracket; so I guess I shouldn't complain, but I would run this one again only if there were several changes made. I also noted that the number of finishers had dropped about 20 percent from the previous year. Obviously this says something as well. So how can Sedona improve? 1. Lower the entry fee to correspond with the cotton t-shirt or offer a technical shirt to match the high entry fee. Remember: cotton is rotten. 2. Provide water every mile, on the mile, after mile six. In this very dry climate and high altitude, drinking fluids often prevents dehydration, which is what happened to me. Note to runners: drink lots of water the day before. Lots. 3. Make the mile markers stand out. They were camouflaged with the speed limit signs. 4. Prohibit all traffic on the dirt road. Having to run the hills was tough enough and runners should not have to breathe the dust created by the drivers showing off their ATVs and SUVs. If you can't stop traffic, switch the route to a paved surface. 5. Provide at least a clock at the finish - and at the halfway point would also be nice. 6. The uphill finish was tough, but that's to be expected. If you change the route, consider a flat finish. 7. Consult with a running club. These are the folks who know what runners want. Caution to all runners: wear trail shoes (the many rocks on the trail section will hurt your feet if you wear ordinary shoes); be very careful in this section to avoid twisting an ankle; and drink plenty of water before and during the race. And bring your camera. The scenery is drop-dead gorgeous. Also,the LaQuinta offered a generously late check out and was in between two huge red rocks.
E. P. from Apple Valley, MN (2/23/2008) "SIMPLY AWESOME" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first full marathon. I enjoyed every last moment that I was on the course. The runners were great, with their friendliness and their support (as well as their tips to get through). The race organizers were on top of their game, it was easy to get to race packet pick up, and easy to find the start and finish. The fan support was great, but limited. Having a lot of people driving along the course with support (and in town) was great. The dirt roads, the hills... everything was awesome and I couldn't have asked for a better way to start a marathon career.
Joshua Talley from Santa Monica, California (2/14/2008) "A well-organized race in a beautiful place!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Sedona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 If you like small but well-organized events in beautiful settings, this is the race for you. It's a fairly even mix of running on very well maintained roads and dirt roads through the red rocks. The event was well-supported by friendly volunteers. It was cold in the early morning, but once the Arizona sun rose, the temperature grew perfect, even a bit warm. Don't expect a PR on this hilly course unless this is your first marathon. Bottom line, the Sedona Marathon is a great excuse to escape to beautiful red rock country for a weekend. And it's only a couple of hours from Phoenix, the hub of Southwest Airlines, so flights are plentiful and inexpensive. The course is very scenic, although it seems a shame to run an out-and-back route in such a beautiful locale. It would be an improvement to make it a loop so that it showed off more of the region. Also, whoever planned the course must have a somewhat sadistic side, as most of the last mile was uphill. But I'm a proponent of runners adapting to courses rather than adapting courses to runners, so the hills didn't really bother me. Overall, a great, small, well-organized event in a beautiful place.

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