Phoenix Marathon 2014 Race Review

The Phoenix Marathon was a great race!  Spoiler Alert: I PRed! But we'll get to that in a minute.

First off, the expo was small but still a great one.  The Race Shirt *AND* arm warmers are on my top five for best race swag!


Now, keep in mind this isn't as large of a race as those in the Rock N Roll Marathon Series, so the free samples of power bars, Gatorade, etc were minimal... but that's not why I go to expos anyway. 

The atmosphere was still awesome, the weather amazing, and the swag we got gets a two thumbs up!  Plus, I donated to the Phoenix Marathon Foundation  (it goes towards local scholarships, a great cause!) and ended up getting a pair of black arm warmers with the awesome logo on it as well.
Pretty sweet!

 After the expo I went home, carb-loaded on some ravioli, and gathered up all my things for the morning. Unfortunately, the forecast was calling for some major rain all throughout the morning. So that meant preparing to get wet!  But let me set the record straight... we desert rats hadn't seen rain in MONTHS so we welcomed it!

My extra rain gear included a cheap poncho, plastic hair nets for my shoes, a breathable hat, and a plastic bag for my phone (it's 26.2 miles... I wasn't going without my tunes! lol).  The rest was normal gear that I use during marathons: fuel belt, GU, phone arm band, compression sleeves, Vaseline (for the chafing) and old sweater/pants that I could donate/ditch at the start.


I will warn you, this is one EARLY race! Runners must be bussed to the start, and the last bus leaves promptly at 5AM.  I know... I'm a night owl and this was probably the only downside about this race.  I had some overnight oats and a banana, grabbed my stuff and a few friends and I were off to the bus!
The race start is not until 6:30AM, but that gives you plenty of time to wait at the porta-pottys. 

We ended up lucking out.  The weather was perfect up until the start! There were heaters going for the runners while we waited around... and it didn't start raining until right when we lined up at the Starting line.  I ditched everything except for the poncho at that point.  I decided to stay as dry as I could for as long as I could. 

The rain eventually stopped at around mile 3 and I tossed the poncho shortly after that. I was wet from the rain, but it kept me cool.  And the overcast weather made for perfect marathon temps!  I had used extra Vaseline everywhere to keep from chafing since I knew I'd be super soaked by the end of the race.  The only problem I had was my fuel belt ended up rubbing the small of my back a little raw.. but nothing too horrible.  

The course is basically downhill/flat... with about a 1000ft net elevation loss. Which is why so many people come to this race to qualify for Boston.  A friend of mine has now qualified *twice* for Boston on this course! I didn't BQ, but I DID set a personal record! I finished my marathon in 3:46!  I owe it all to the fast course, AND to the 3:45 pace leader.  I did thank him afterwards, because If I didn't push myself to stay with him the whole time.. I know I wouldn't have done as well as I did. 


Usually I start bonking hard around mile 20-22 and that's where I lose a lot of time.. but this race I tried to make sure I ate something at every mile.. and I believe that really helped!  I'd taken GU with me but they offered cliff shots and slices of oranges and bananas throughout the race.  I swear those bananas kept me from cramping and helped me to keep my 8:38 pace!

At the finish, I picked up my awesome medal and changed into some dry clothes.  I was soaked to the bone but still feeling great!
I'm so proud of myself for knocking nearly 30 minutes off my last marathon time!  I owe it all to the course and the pace leader.  I want to thank them again publicly here on my blog!  You guys rock!


I highly recommend the Phoenix Marathon to all runners (for the Full AND Half!)
 Despite the small amount of rain, the weather was amazing!  You will love the people, the course, and it will propel you to either set a personal record.. or snag that Boston Qualifying time! 

If you ran the Phoenix Marathon as well, let me know what you thought of it below.  If you have any questions about the race, feel free to comment and I'll make sure you've got everything you need to run this race with me again in 2015! :)