Grand Canyon International Marathon

The course was a little hilly, mostly flat except for a steep hill towards the end... about mile 22 if I remember. It was in the 70's, low humidity which was a pleasure compared to running in SC. Drink plenty of water because you do not realize how much you are sweating because it evaporates so fast. When I finished I was covered in salt crystals... never have that in the Southeast!! This was the first marathon I had run so I cannot compare to others. My objective was to finish without the EMT's taking me from the course, which I did in a rather slow fashion. We stayed in Las Vegas and it was a long drive there and back on a bus but was pleasant. We had some good company to chat with coming and going. I enjoyed the beautiful views of the canyon. I would recommend this marathon as a once in a lifetime event. I was surprised there were not more people in it though. JCB

There is something wrong with a race when approximately 400 people start it, and only 107 (plus 81 half marathoners) finish it. With some important logistical changes and more honest promotion, this could be an 'event of a lifetime' marathon. Instead, it was a bit of a nightmare, and that's a shame – and a potentially DANGEROUS shame, at that. First: the course is NOT relatively flat, and had I known that, I would have trained differently. This is more of an adventure race than a regular marathon -- promote it as such. Second: provide more information on chartering a plane or helicopter from Vegas. It would have been worth the extra cost, and surely some decent group rates could be had if enough racers opted for this method of transportation. Third: set up more water stops, and add some with fruit slices, gels, etc. Fourth: offer whole bottles of water at the end of the race, not just small paper cups, and have sports drink available at the end of the race! It wasn't just the food that was lacking at the end of this race, it was the ability to rehydrate AT ALL. I was fine when I finished the race – but ended up needing an IV an hour and a half AFTER the race because there was no way for me to rehydrate. The fact that we had enough people to form an IV club at the end of the race isn’t because of inexperienced marathon runners who didn’t understand the need to drink fluids – it’s because of the inadequate water stops during the race and inadequate hydration options after the race. Fifth: provide more tents/shelter at the end of the race – having to wait for everyone to finish wouldn’t have been as much of an issue if there had been somewhere out of the sun (and with lots of water and sports drink available – even if I had to pay for it!). Sixth: have more medical personnel and supplies on hand – particularly if you ignore the first five pointers. You are very lucky that none of the runners died that day, and I am not exaggerating. As for some of the other runners’ complaints about cost – that didn’t bother me. I expected to pay more for a race in such a special location. I didn’t mind that there was minimal crowd support – what do you expect of a race that’s out in the middle of nowhere? This is not New York or Chicago. The volunteers who were there were fantastic. I wouldn’t change the direction of the course, just be honest about what the course is like: rolling, undulating for the ENTIRE way with two steep rises toward the end, providing a major challenge for the experienced marathoner or adventure racer looking for an extraordinary experience. If there’s a way to make it so you can opt for the half marathon at mile 13, rather than having to make the decision just a few miles into the race (when everyone still has no idea how tough the day is going to be), I would highly recommend you do so. It took me an hour longer to finish this race than my usual marathon times, but under the circumstances, I was just glad I finished... and lived to tell about it!

This race needs improvement in the areas of 'honest promotion', 'runner support' and 'medical services'. A few promotional discepancies: The course was NOT geneally flat. Water/aid stations were NOT located every mile. Weather/altitude extremes were NOT adequately disclosed. October is NOT the perfect month to hold this race. This race was NOT comfortable for runners of every caliber and the course was NOT conducive to finishing in a 'competitive time'. See 2002 and 2003 results. Medical services were NOT adequate. The race was held at a remote location (with no doctor?). Please make improvements in promotion and support before you 'lose' a runner. This was my 9th marathon, glad it wasn't my 1st or there may not have been a 2nd.