Marathon de Taos

This was one of my favorite race experiences. 4 day weekend getaway with my wife and met some generous and caring people at both the race and in town. Just a tranquil place to explore and reconnect with the natural world. Smaller race with personal touches everywhere. Drive the Enchanted Circle for breweries, wildlife viewing, and Vietnam Memorial. Explore Santa Fe if you fly into Albequerque.

This was the smallest marathon I've run, with 12 running the entire distance and 2 running it as a relay. After the first 1/2 mile or so I never passed anyone and never got passed. The race started about an hour before sunrise (awesome), but the cooler conditions persisted for even longer because of a large hill and well-placed clouds. It wasn't until about the halfway mark that the sun came out. Then it got pretty toasty, but not unmanageable. The course was nice, with a few hills, but fortunately all downhill after mile 20. A significant portion was out and back, but still reasonably scenic. Much of it was on a main highway, but the shoulders are really wide so I never felt nervous about passing vehicles. My only concern about the course (which is labeled as USATF certified) is that both my Garmin and rental car odometer measured it as 25.8 miles (which was also consistent my finishing time relative to other recent events). So after I crossed the finish and had a quick drink of water, I ran an extra 1/2 mile in the adjacent park. Whatever post-race food there was was pretty much gone by the time I finished (there was also a shorter event that finished before the marathon), but there are lots of good places to eat in Taos. The shirt and medal were nice. Some might be put off by a t-shirt (versus a tech shirt), but it was a nice design. The medal was hand decorated by local kids, so they were all different; that was a nice touch. Locals told me this event used to be much larger, but organizer Bruce Gomez wanted it smaller and more personalized. He's definitely achieved that and it was easy to get to know other runners. He also secured work from prominent local artists (Taos is a big artist colony) to give as awards and raffle prizes. The women's winner, who had signed up the day before on a whim and without training, walked away with a piece of donated art that would sell for $500. There's a wide variety of things to do and see in Taos, so if you can, give yourself a few days to drive the Enchanted Circle or visit the earthships.

I've always wanted to run this area of Taos unobstructed and this was the perfect way to see the town at sunrise without worrying about traffic. Everyone was very inviting and the course was beautiful. Difficult up hill from mile 2 to 6, but then nice downhill until about mile 11. Finishes in Kit Carson. (I ran the half).