Race Review-2022 Mesa Marathon

2022 Mesa Marathon-My 130th Marathon/Ultra

2/12/2022

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This was the first time I ran it and I will be back next year!

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This is why:

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✅We start at 630 AM so we need to be bussed up to the corrals by 430 AM. So once you get there it’s cold out.…BOOM, there are oodles of heaters lined up for all of us runners. Not to mention our bag with our race bib had a Mylar blanket and throw away gloves in it #bonus

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✅The start area also had a ton of porta potties for the 2,000 plus runners. I have been marathoning for 28 years and it was way more than you would normally have for this field size.

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✅Speaking of the start, can you say fireworks💥?How cool was that?! And, now I have a new song for my race play list; Thunderstruck by AC/DC 🎶

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✅I really liked the race course, although it didn’t seem as net downhill as my friend Jim advertised. It was an added bonus to get to see the sunrise during the race. I also really liked running past the Boeing office as you could watch planes flying by literally over your head.

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✅There were plenty of aid stations and to my grateful surprise there were POPSICLES at mile 22 and then again later in the course. I was “racing” the marathon and not “running” it so I didn’t take any pictures but at the coveted popsicle aid station.

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✅The popsicles and a section of the course where we ran by a retirement home were my favorite. When we ran by the retirement home there were a couple of fold out tables lined up in the street and a bunch of retirees cheering us on with signs and they also had snacks for us. It was precious ❤️

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✅Once we hit the finish, the runner experience got richer. This was the 10th Anniversary of the race, so the 🏅was pretty sweet. Post race, they even had ice cold towels for us, 🍕ice cream creamies, massages, printed out race results, live music, beer garden, luggage tags that read PHX to BOS for those runners that got their BQ 🦄 We also got free race photos!

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Thank YOU to all of the volunteers and the race management team for a top notch event ✋🤚. Those are some high fives for ya!

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I didn’t get the time I was shooting for but I got my negative split and got to see lots of my reeps after the race!

@marathonwhisperer

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