Tuscon Marathon

by Ken Winn

Tucson comes from the Indian word stjukshon (pronounced "stook-shahn") meaning "spring at the foot of a black mountain". While the spring has been long gone, the mountains are alive, well and breathtaking. This city is home to 700,000 year-round residents and the famous giant Saguaro Cactus. This was my first trip to Arizona and the 6th running of the Tucson Marathon.

My brother, Steve, and I arrived at noon on the Thursday prior to get acclimated to the altitude (Tucson is about 2500 feet above sea level) and to get some sight seeing in (more on that later). The marathon actually started in the small town of Oracle (4600 foot altitude) and headed south to an area just north of Tucson. We met up with SCR members Marty Winkel and Bob Panzak and his wife Nali and their young daughter, Vanessa. The Marathon Expo was on Saturday and we were there when the doors opened at 8:00 am. The Expo was a good size one filling a large ballroom of the Sheraton El Conquistador. We picked up our race numbers and T-shirts and started exploring the vendor booths. Several purchases later we were ready to take our customary tour of the course. Since the hotel served as the finish line we had to drive the 26 miles to the start of the course.

We caravanned to the small town of Oracle and found ourselves on a dirt road up in the mountains next to a row of port-a-johns. I have never seen the starting line of any race being in a more remote location. We made the trek back to the hotel making notes of the various mile marker locations and arrived back at the host hotel in time for the Runner's World Pace Team Meeting. Bob was shooting for a 3:10, Marty a 3:30 and I was looking to break 4:00. Each of the pace group leaders took turns talking about their race strategy and all assured us that they would meet their respective times.

4:00 am Sunday morning came quickly as we got ready and headed out from the hotel. We dropped my brother off at the half-marathon drop-off point and the three of us proceeded to the marathon drop-off point. There in the darkness of morning was a line of buses ready to take us to the starting line 26 miles away. We boarded and were soon heading north to the city of Oracle.

An older gentleman sat next to me and told me how he had run in this marathon several times before. He told me that the Tucson Marathon ranked low on the crowd support scale and that my calves and quads would be sore for a few days due to the 2000 foot decent. Our bus finally arrived on the dirt road near the start. I exited the bus and ventured out to mingle with the runners and get ready for the start.

It was very chilly (near 40 degrees) and the sun was just starting to provide us with light. I met up with the 4:00 pace team and the excitement was high. Everyone was talking about helping to get each other through the race. The sun finally broke over the mountains and soon we were lining up in pace order. Music was playing and last minute announcements were being read over the loud speakers. A row of helium-filled balloons created an arch at the starting line. Suddenly a gun sounded and at 7:30 am sharp we were off and running.

The first mile was actually more uphill than down and our group did it in 9:45, which was slower than our anticipated 9:09 pace. Our pace leader got concerned about us meeting our goal time and even though mile two was part up hill and part down hill as our group did it in 8:00. We took a left turn onto another paved road to start mile three and started the down hill decent passing our first water station. Our pace leader had us doing an 8:15 pace from miles two through six as we passed the six mile mark in 52:00. The pace was faster than advertised and I knew that I could not maintain it for the duration so I backed off from the group.

I maintained a 9:00-9:15 pace during miles seven through 14 and took in a gel at miles nine and 13. At mile 16 I had to stop for a bathroom break and lost 90 seconds in the process. The water stations were pretty frequent past mile six (the second water station) and were well staffed with encouraging volunteers handing out water and Zing (sports drink).

They handed out gel at mile 19 and I consumed my third one of the race. I hit the 20-mile marker at 3:02 but found myself fading to a 9:45-10:00 pace. With my pace team now out of sight and my calves and quads hurting with each step, I started to feel my four-hour goal slipping away.

My pace did not change during the next four miles and by mile 24 I knew I needed a miracle to break four hours. My legs were now screaming for me to stop, as the course had been almost a continuous downhill run except for a few gradual up hill climbs. I passed the 25-mile marker at 3:51 and knew my sub-four hour marathon would not happen on this day.

With a half of a mile to go and the last uphill climb of the course in front of me I knew that I could still salvage a PR out of this event. I turned the corner into the hotel's main drive and saw the finish line clock about 200 yards away. I crossed under the canopy of balloons to a 4:03:04 and a new PR (by 22 seconds). With my medal around my neck I rejoined Steve, Marty, Bob and Nali. We all shared our times and experiences for a few moments before departing.

My fourth marathon is now behind me and I can safely say that running the 192 Causeway bridge a couple of times does not prepare you for a 2000 foot decent in a marathon. The crowds on this course were basically the water stations groups but were friendly and encouraging. The scenery of this race was magnificent and could be seen at most every point on the course - the beautiful mountain ranges that surround Tucson.