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Apr 29, 2024

Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.6

Organization 4.5

Spectators 2.6

Number of comments: 80 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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E. P. from Victoria, TX (8/15/2011) "The Real Deal" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Many runners may choose this race because of the novelty of running a race at midnight, in the desert, next to Area 51, with a full moon, and the chance of alien abduction. However, this race is so much more. This a well-organized event with a great course that invites negatives splits. The hill is gradual enough to be manageable, and the downhill side is gradual enough to not destroy quads. I was looking for a race with cool temps to run a fast ultra and this race hit the mark. Thanks to Calico Racing for putting on such a great event. Blew away my 50K PR in the 51K by 38 minutes. Spectators are limited, but those that drive 2 hours to the middle of nowhere are very vocal. Thanks to those who followed the course and cheered on all the runners.
P. S. from Santa Clara, California (8/15/2011) "A unique experience!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 A marathon at midnight in the desert under a full moon is a unique experience. You should try this race at least once in your life! Come prepared though since the course is challenging the first 13mi are uphill at an altitude of 5000ft. There wasn't much fan support in the middle of the desert, but the volunteers are outstanding! It takes tremendous commitment to run an aid station at 2am in the middle of the desertall of the volunteers should be commended. Joyce, the race director, does a great job pulling off a logistically challenging race in the middle of the night.
J. B. from Nevada (10/14/2010) "Unique, must-run race." (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run several Calico races and they are all on challenging courses, well organized and beautiful. ET is a smaller race, so expect it to be run differently from the larger races. Have you ever gotten a hug from the race director at an R'n'R race at the finish line? It's the middle of the desert at midnight, so there are no cheerleaders, but the volunteers that do come out are wonderful and supportive. The course temps were perfect, the moonlight was beautiful and the desert was serene. That is exactly why I run. The bus ride is a long one, but it's better than driving home at 3 am. And the buses were comfortable enough to sleep on. Bonus! I'd tell my friends to run this race. In fact, I have told them. I'll be there next year too.
J. V. from not London, England, only Dallas, USA (9/1/2010) "Needs to work on transportation...but a must do" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 You have to run this race at least once. Once is probably more than enough though. How can you not love a race where you get to spend time in Lost Wages... err, I mean Las Vegas!!!! What a great place. A bit warm in the summer... well hotter than heck, actually! Running at midnight in the middle of the desert; what could be better? Well, a weekend in Las Vegas is better, but still, a close second! I have run all of the ET's. The event has remained about the same - maybe the organization has gone from stretched to weak in some areas, but the race is growing like wild fire! The expo is growing, but still offers few night products... strange that vendors do not come offering that. The medal and shirt are top notch. There are now tons of porta-potties and they have cups at the rest stops. I miss the green aspect of the race with no cups at the rest stops. My largest beef about the race pertains to the cars. People are allowed to leave the finish line when they are done. That totally ruins the experience for all but the fastest runners. You are not running down a dark highway at midnight; you are running down a highway with hundreds of headlights blinding you so that you don't see the shooting stars or anything unless you run the full or ultra and get past the finish line. Don't allow the cars to leave until 6 a.m. If you want to leave at 3, 4, or 5 a.m., take a bus! Cars should be held until the slowest runners are off of the course so that they get to see the stars while they run. I am also amazed that there is no count on runners; if someone were abducted by an alien, we'd never know. I would also like to see the race go back a bit greener, as in no cups. Maybe that's just me....
B. T. from Lake Tahoe (8/31/2010) "I will run this race every year!!!" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The race was AWESOME!!! I will be back every year for it!!! I drove from Tahoe and stayed in Tonopah, which worked out great! I have a TON of great things to say about this run, but instead of listing everything... just RUN it!!! See you next year, Calico!!!
P. B. from Clayton, CA (8/31/2010) "Great race... horrible host hotel." (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a fantastic race! Joyce and her team put on a wonderful event - very well organized and a lot of fun. The desert is beautiful at night, and despite the tough first half (all uphill), the second half makes it all the more enjoyable. The bus rides went as well as could be expected for 18 buses full of sweaty marathoners going out to the middle of nowhere at midnight, and as others have said, the medal and shirts are cool. The Hard Rock Hotel, however, is not a good hotel for pre-race preparation or post-race relaxation. My room looked out over the pool and the two-day frat party event going on down there meant that I wasn't able to sleep before the race and got only an hour on the Sunday morning before the music started pumping again. I've never seen so many pea-brained morons in my life as I saw in that hotel. Next time I'll stay elsewhere and pay for a cab ride to/from the Hard Rock for the expo and the bus pick up. It's worth the extra money.
L. B. from Midwest (8/29/2010) "Just one thing..." (about: 2010) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I enjoyed my experience at the ET run. It was my first 10K. The course was good, the expo was okay and registration was absolutely fast and simple! LOVE MY MEDAL AND SHIRT! Being a 10K runner, I was the last drop off. I got on the bus around 8:45, and it made 3 stops before my drop off. (At least it felt like 3 stops; it was past my bedtime.) At the stop for the 51K and marathon runners, my friend who was spectating and I were rushed off our bus and told to hurry to the 1st bus in line, so we hurried! We sat there for about 15 minutes before the bus left. Anyway, we stopped again to let the half marathon runners off and sat and waited there for about 10 or 15 minutes before leaving. Once at the 10K start, we got off the bus, and found a picnic table so that I could set my things down and pin my number on while someone was making all kinds of announcements that I couldn't even hear, partly due to the horrific wind! All of a sudden I heard her say 30 seconds!! I hadn't had a chance to pee, refill my water jug, get my flashlight out or get my iPod ready! I just got off a 4.5-hour bus ride for Pete's sake!!! It would have been nice to have had time to take care of a few personal matters before the race started. Why did the 10K runners have to ride around on buses for 4.5 hours anyway? I enjoyed the ET run, but I'm not too sure that I will participate in it again or recommend it either.
K. W. from Las Vegas NV (8/27/2010) "great race" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my second favorite marathon (behind the Las Vegas Marathon). I just wanted to thank the volunteers and Joyce for a great race. I do have a couple negative comments about this race. First, HEED energy drink is disgusting. Even some of the volunteers felt bad handing it out to us. I wish Joyce would use Gatorade or Cytomax, like the Rock 'n' Roll races use. HEED tastes like the sweaty sock water.
M. W. from Florida (8/27/2010) "Hard race but wonderful experience!" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I did the 51K, as did many others who have left their comments here. Night races are difficult for me because I am a morning person and cannot see well in the dark. Still, this race was such fun! I thought, as a flatlander from FL, I would have trouble with the altitude, but that wasn't a problem. I did have plenty of intriguing hallucinations - and the distances in the desert are indeed misleading. I found the races to be well-organized and seamless. Kudos to the race director and her great and dedicated volunteers! A note about hotels: because I abhor loud music and I don't smoke and I don't gamble, we decided to stay at the Hyatt Place, directly across the street from the Hard Rock. It was wonderful - quiet, and cheaper than the host hotel, and it had a very accommodating staff. I would recommend it.
D. P. from Mitchell, IL (8/26/2010) "Great Experience!" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I actually ran the 51K, but it covers the entire marathon course. It was a great experience! Lots of shooting stars, but no UFO's. I ran the Country Music Marathon this year and was extremely disappointed with the lack of organization and crowded conditions there. I was very much looking forward to running this much smaller race. Organization was really good. Only complaint would be the water needing to be monitored at the end of the race. The coolers were empty when I got there, but they filled them back up shortly thereafter. I highly suggest, as Joyce told everyone via her e-mails, to purchase a bus ticket if you run the next one. It is a long ride from Vegas to the start line. I would have hated to have been driving back after the race. Thanks to everyone for a great time!

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