The first half of the course is beautiful, but as soon as you hit the highway, it's awful. I'm not very speedy, so by the time I reached the highway it was clogged with cars that were backed up in traffic. The noise and exhaust was a little too much to take, especially for the last 90 minutes of a really long run. Organization and shuttles and finish line were all great. I enjoyed everything else about the event.

This was my replacement run due to the cancellation of the NYCM and it was a perfect one to run. The course is not 'easy' with some hills midway through, and a couple kicker hills at the end, but it is a good course. I was very happy with the early start and the responsiveness of the organization to move the start to an earlier time due to hot weather predictions. The start area and bus drop off was a little chaotic (and though there were lots of warnings that cars would not be permitted at the start and runners HAD to take the buses - that was clearly not enforced as the starting area (a narrow dirt road) - was clogged with cars, so the buses couldn't get runners all the way to the start area. My biggest complaint is that they do not order t-shirts according to registration forms - so since I was coming in later on Sat the only t-shirts left were large. I wish I could wear my T-shirt :(

Good race and the course was fast at the first couple miles. Somewhere from mile 8-12 got few uphills. So save some juice for that part. Then from mile 13-20 was gentle downhill. Then flat from 20-25. Last mile and 0.2 mile was slight uphill. So again, save some juice for that last session.

Great after race food and I think the bus rides were well organized.
If you want a super fast and all downhill course, go to Ojai. That one is twice as fast as Tucson!

I ran this marathon and found the extremely early start to be bussed out to a cold and dark place in the hills a bit trying. Also the lack of any spectators along vast stretches of the highway - although Arizona seemed to be full of vast expanses and not much else - except cactus plants everywhere. The finish and the shuttles meant a walk down a big flight of stairs - who put those there? All in all I have to agree that if I should have done the Phoenix run earlier in the year rather than this one.

Despite being an avid marathoner and living in Tucson, I had never run the marathon until this year. From the bus ride to the finish line it was a great experience. There are a few hills throughout the course so be prepared for all inclines with this race. Being able to stay on the bus in the morning was a delight and the finish line was plenty stocked with food and drinks. There were quite a few aide stations and they were equally stocked with water and Powerade as well as gels. The only thing about this race I did not like was the run along Oracle Rd with the traffic next to me. The cars were fine and nice spectators in their cars but the exhaust did bother me a few times. I love small town marathons, Ogden, Missoula, and Tucson has that special charm I am attracted to in a race. Quiet, beautiful, and very well organized. I will happily run this marathon for years to come.

I have run 67 different marathons in 47 different states. I love the southwest and visit when I can (otherwise I may have given the course a '2').

This was an average race with 1 (or 2?) huge negatives. First the huge negative(s).

Right up to race day the web site talked about shuttles to and from certain 'host' hotels with the last shuttle leaving the hotel for the start at 5:30 AM. I stayed at one of these hotels and arrived out front at 5:15 AM only to find the last shuttle was already gone. And I was not the only runner left stranded - there were several of us! Seriously! The last bus left at least 15 minutes early!

This was bad enough, but what really bothers me is the race has changed their web site to cover up this mess! Before it clearly stated 'last shuttle to leave at 5:30', now it reads 'shuttles will leave when full'. Honestly, they have changed the web site - I have hard copies of the web site to prove it!

So the shuttles left a bunch of runners stranded and the RD covers up their mess. What about the race?
Yes - I did run thanks to a hotel employee who drove stranded runners to the start (20 miles away) in her own car.

Pro's:
> a beautiful sunrise over hills / mountains with the moon still in sky - awesome!
> nice short sleeve tech shirt
> nice medal (just a bit small) with great ribbon
> great scenery for the first few miles
> great volunteers at aid stations
> plenty of energy gel on course
> PB & J wraps, cookies, fruit, & variety of drinks at finish

Con's:
> shuttle busses - left me stranded - see above
> race director - left me stranded - see above
> race expo / finish / hotels are ~15 miles from Tucson (start is 35 miles from Tucson) - makes it hard to see the city.
> course included a very long (miles!) straight section next to a highway with lot's of traffic / exhaust and never changing (dull) scenery
> portto potties too close to start line - it became a real mess right before the start when the portto potty lines and people heading for start were all smashed together
> no fans on course
> not enough aid stations (except in last few miles)
> dull post race finish area
> no pizza / no free beer

If you're traveling to AZ for a race I would not recommend this one. Run the Phoenix R&R (which I ran 6 years ago), Sedona (which I'll run next Feb), or one of the many other good AZ races.

A completely different experience from an urban marathon. Nice course....the start time was advanced by 30 min due to forecasted heat...which made the start time logistics a bit trickier. Overall a nice race. The downhill doesn't help as much as you might think due to the altitude. Fun race.

This year it was cool, not cold. Bus was great, both ways. Expo a little small. My only complaint is that I didn't know where the awards were presented and I had to check out of hotel. I didn't get mine. Great time.

This race was mostly what I expected. It's fast because of the downhills, but not easy by any stretch. The first half is steeper than the second half. Much of the course is run along the side of a major road with mountains in the distance. I've seen better and worse. The running surface is asphalt, generally in good shape. The course is well marked and the few turns were well staffed. The aid stations varied - there are fewer than I'd like in the first half of the race (though it was very cool then) and some of them had too few volunteers bunched too close together to ensure that everyone got what they needed. Also, what's with styrofoam cups at aid stations?!? There were no clocks on the course and the food spread at the end was pretty lame. If you want spectators, you'd better bring your own. But the locale is great and the race well designed and smooth running. Having the option to wait on the coach buses at the start, rather than in the cold, is a nice touch. So, all in all, few complaints. I enjoyed the race and PR'ed it too. If you want to run fast and you don't care about walking stairs for a while, go for it!

This is the best organized race I have ever run and has been consistenly for 7 years. There aren't many spectators if fans are important to you, but the course isn't over crowded. There is an appropriate distance from half marathoners and the finish line is great!

I wish the course would return to it's 2005 route and eliminate the biosphere rd 4 mile stretch. I heard complaints about the the last two miles as well (which I personally don't find as unpleasant as Biosphere Rd).