Arizona was Kelly’s 32nd state for marathon running and my 28th, but the biggest story is that this race almost didn’t happen at all.
That’s right. We came thisclose to missing the race start. After running hundreds of races between the two of us, in many (many!) states, it’s surprising this is the first time a near-race start failure happened to us.
We stayed in a super-cute Airbnb. One of our favorites ever, actually.
Perfect location. Perfect size. Perfectly comfortable. Perfect in every way.
Except for one big surprise: The race course completely surrounded it. Not realizing this was totally our fault. We knew where we were staying and we had access to a race course map. We even had information about when road closures would start.
We simply didn’t pay attention to any of this information. Long work days and lots of family estate stress meant we were lucky to get the right things packed (and that was a bit of a failure since I brought 2 right foot running socks instead of a matched pair and earned a huge blister for my troubles) and to the airport in time.
I knew the race start was about 5 miles away from our Airbnb and (under normal conditions) was about a 12 minute car ride. That’s how we found ourselves relaxed and waiting outside for our Uber at 6:45 a.m., more than an hour before Kelly’s corral opened.
Sadly, it was also 15 minutes after road closures started.
At 6:55 a.m., I called our Uber driver after we watched her car making several u-turns on the live map. Bad news: No way for her to reach us.
And let me just say: Was Kelly ever unhappy about this turn of events.
We started walking. An hour to walk 5 miles? We knew it wasn’t possible to make it before the race started. But we were desperate and just hoping to make the race before the start line closed altogether.
After about a mile, I thought we were outside of road blocks and tried another Uber.
John responded to the call. I told him we were walking and we stayed in touch until our walk route intersected with his drive (that way we didn’t lose even more time standing and waiting).
It was now 7:20 a.m. Kelly’s corral opened at 7:50. His race started at 8 a.m. Mine would start around 8:15.
We told our tale of woe to him and desperation to simply arrive by 8:15.
John looked at us, said: Don’t worry, you will get there in plenty of time for your race.
Then he made it happen. Several u-turns, questionable (but justifiable and safe-ish) speeds and a deep knowledge of back streets and he had us at the race start at 7:40 a.m.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kelly had time to visit bag drop and hit the porta-potties.
As for John, he got the biggest tip I’ve ever given anyone. He was amazing!
Now, for the race.
The course started at the University of Arizona and wound not only through Phoenix but also several of the nearby suburbs. It was primarily flat, with a few hilly areas. The scenery was spectacular.
Of course, another unfortunate realization around the nine-mile mark (in addition to discovering that left vs right running socks really do matter) was that I hadn’t done a run longer than 10 miles since the middle of November.
But nevertheless, we are fairly well trained at all times and the mental game is strong.
Arizona Run and Done!!
Of course, we love exploring local places when we travel. In addition to running in new places, our favorite thing to do on trips is try out local food and beverage joints.
Top food experience in the Phoenix area: Maria’s Frybread. Excellent Mex-Mex food and the frybread was incredible.
Top beverage experience in the Phoenix area: Forty Eight State Brewery. Creative brews and creative space in downtown Phoenix.
