Mesquite Marathon Nov 21

[Superfly]

I'm sure most of you guys have heard about Mesquite and the $$$ at the end of the rainbow so I decided to give a course overview for the hopeful winners. I will be running it but not to race. I'm not in race shape so I'll just try to put together a solid training run with it and see how that goes. Anyways I'm sure there will be more than a handful that wish to take the prize so here is what your up against other than the runners whom you'll race.

The course profile give nothing close to what really is down there. So I drove the course forward and back today to see how she really rolls out.

Miles 1-6 do offer some of the best, gradual downhill you've ever seen. Not too steep, no turns and perfect for letting things rip. The only downfall to this part is that most of the time the wind blows against the way you'll be running.
Miles 6-9 is almost flat but uphill (like .5 or 1% grade) out across the Joshua trees.
9 drops down a steep grade into the town of Bever Dam, AZ (this marathon will take you through 3 states... Ut, Az, Nv) then it is flat
10 is flat until it climbs out of the river bed and up to where you go under I-15
11 mile mark is really close to I-15 and it starts a really, really good climb of almost a mile.
12 is basically flat with a few rollers... maybe 1% total gain here.
13 Same as 12 flat and rolling
14 Really steep downhill (like Bryce Canyon) for most of the mile and then flatish at the end
15 solid rolling hills (IMHO very hard to hold it together through here)
16 Another tough climb of almost a mile.
17 More rolling on this mile
18 Finally a flatter mile through here
19 Flat mile until the last .4 then up
20 Steep downhill for about .7 then flat (this is the mile you come right into Mesquite City)
21-26.2 Are all mostly flat with some small grade here and there as it winds through the city to the finish.

This looks like a hard course. I'd say it will be the hardest marathon course I've ever ran. So harder than: STG, Boston, Ogden, and Teton Dam. I expect to see slow times with the winner being lucky to be anywhere near 2:35 with good conditions. Thats if some quality guys show. There could be some coming from Mammoth area as that is where the race director is coming from (possibly friends or family). Then who else? It would be fun to see what everyone does on this course... but if you do win you'll earn every dime. So what is the word on the street who is coming down from northern Utah to take home the loot?

[Gary Culver]

Thanks, this will save me some disappointment when my time is slower than at St. G... ; )

Just to confirm... you are saying that the "Google Map" course profile is incorrect?
> The map appears to indicate a steady descent all the way through 9 miles vs. your assertion of a 0.5 to 1% climb on miles 7-9?
http://www.mammothmarathons.org/m/mmap.html

Too bad they "needed" to add 3 miles of "touring Mesquite" as I would prefer starting 3 miles further up the hill.

Gary in Mesquite

[Paul Petersen]

I can promise you that I won't be there. But I'll be interested in reading the race reports.

Based on Clyde's description of the profile, it sounds like they need some professional mapping help. Ahem.
www.marathongis.com

[Superfly]

Gary plan on much slower than STG. Maybe 10 min's. I too wish it just started up the mountain higher instead of going around town. Also yes it only drops around 6 miles before flattening out or actually climbing a little... and then a big drop into Beaver Dam.
Good luck!

Paul I'll pass your name around about the mapping... they do 3 other marathons a year. Look up Mammoth marathons.

[Josse]

Maybe.......I was looking at this a while ago.  But probably not.

[Michelle Lowry]

I talked to Mike Vick this week and he said he was going to a Nevada marathon where there's big money and the fastest time is about 2:35, so I am guessing he meant this same marathon.

[Gary Culver]

Valley of Fire Marathon, Half, 10K and Mesquite Marathon, Half, 10K are the same day... 50 miles apart... (grumble, grumble) .... will be  interesting to see which has the larger field (and which survives... ; /.
> Mesquite has backing from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority = Substantial Prize Money... 

This is the first year for this version of the Mesquite Marathon.  The web seems to indicate that the last "Tri-State Marathon" was 2005 or 2006?
<< Found results from 2004 & 2005 and Race Info for 2006
<< Course Record??: Michael Booth, 2:28:15 in 2005
http://www.race360.com/marathon/races/detail.asp?eventid=12882
< It appears that the Tri-State course started about 6 miles further up the mountain from Mesquite at approx. 2,500' higher elevation... 6 additional miles of sweeeeet downhill...

This is apparently the second year for Valley of Fire? (Website Shows Results for 2008 only)
<< Showing 81 entered in the full, 78 in the Half, 72 in the 10K (as of 6PM, 23 Oct)
<< Course Record?: Johannes Rudolph, Boulder, CO, 2:44
Valley of fire course seems much tougher... and much more scenic...
Neither Course is listed as USATF Certified as of 23 Oct 09

[Scott Ensign]

hey thanks for the great info on the course. I am in Logan and signed up but have been wrestling with a calf problem so I may or may not come down for it. I am not looking to do much more than run sub 3 hours if possible. I am no elite marathoner by any means, just a 48 year old guy looking to get a BQ and then maybe do Boston in the spring, but I would like to break 3. Look forward to seeing you down there (knock on wood). Superfly, If you want to run that slow I would be grateful for some pacing help. I will look for you at the packet pickup or something on Friday?  Scott

[Burt McCumber]

Hey Gary.  Would you happen to know anyone that's really cool in Mesquite, possibly someone who's lived in AZ before, that might be willing to put another Arizonan up for the night before the race? 

[Superfly]

My training has been junk and I've been sick so I'm not running this one... have fun without me guys.

[Gary Culver]

Hey Burt;

Yep... Look for private message...

Gary

[Jose Jimenez]

Superfly - Your assessment of the toughness of the course was definitely accurate.  The only marathon courses I had any experience with are Ogden and TOU (twice).  This course was WAY harder than both of those.  The second half was brutal.  The "rolling hills" felt like rolling mountains.  Definitely not a PR course although I did PR but not anywhere close to where I thought I would be.  On another note I thought the race organizers did a pretty good job for a first time marathon and I did enjoy the experience.

[Superfly]

Yeah I knew it was going to be a rough course... but I was floored to see someone ran a 2:19 there yesterday. Crazy for that course. I don't even want to guess what that would boil out to on STG with good conditions. Anyways it was a great day. I stopped by the finish on my way to Vegas and conditions couldn't have been better. It must have felt great to the runners from cold parts of the world.
The 1:12 half winner walked away with an easy $1,000. I'm guessing there are 10 guys on this blog who could have won that race... not me in this shape but many others.

[Paul Petersen]

Well, good for the 1:12 guy.

[Burt McCumber]

Here's the report from the local paper:

The buzz around the finish line at Saturday's Mesquite Marathon was that somewhere out there on that course, the Kenyan was tearing it up.

At about one and a half hours into the race, a small gathering of race supporters were gathered around the finish line outside the CasaBlanca Event Center and word was spreading through the crowd that the Kenyan was turning in five minute miles.

He was on pace to set a new personal best and at his current pace could be expected at the finish line at around the 2:20 mark.

As the clock above the finish line ticked ever closer to that mark, the crowd had grown to a fairly good size and all eyes were watching for the man in red.

Instead it was Colorado’s Mario Macias that rounded the last corner and turned on to Pulsipher Lane heading for the finish.

Macias crossed the line with the clock showing 2:19:37, winning the annual Mesquite Marathon presented by Mammoth Marathons.

But what of the Kenyan?


Surely he would round the corner soon and claim second place.

But it was not to be, as St. George's Nick McCombs crossed the line next at 2:26:48, claiming the number two spot.

A minute later, Sammy Nyamongo of Kenya (currently residing in Atlanta) crossed the line for third place and claimed that he had been stopped by traffic near Interstate 15.

“It was a beautiful course,” Nyamongo said, “and I was in first place. And then I had to stop at a major intersection because there was no authority there to control the traffic. That is when they caught me. You know when you are running a marathon and you have to stop it is very hard to get it going again.”

First place finisher Macias tells a slightly different story.

“I never saw anybody stopped because of traffic,” Macias said, “the traffic was not a problem anywhere along the course.”

Second place finisher McCombs echoed Macias’ statement saying he had not seen any problems anywhere along the course.

Other runners concurred, saying they had experienced no stoppage in the race anywhere.

But Nyamongo said he had been out front and was all alone when he was forced to stop.

Macias relates the race as one of a runner perhaps overdoing it at the beginning.

“He (Nyamongo) just flew out of the start.” Macias explained. “The start of the race was all downhill for the first five miles or so, and he just really got out quick.

But I caught him at the 14 mile mark and I could see that he was drained. He didn’t make any effort to try to keep up with me.”

This was just the second Marathon for Macias, having run his first 26 miler just six weeks ago where he placed ninth.

Whether Nyamongo actually had to stop or not remains a mystery, although it seems to be his word against everyone else’s.

Other than that minor glitch, the first annual event went as smoothly as if it had been run here by these folks for years.

Runners were bussed to the various starting points along the course.

There was, along with the marathon, a half marathon that started in Littlefield, a 10k run that started by the Palms Golf Course and a 5k run that began on Hafen Lane by the dog park.

Marathoners were bussed into Utah, nearly to St. George where they followed old Highway 91 down the hill into Beaver Dam, through Littlefield and along the frontage road into town where they wound there way around to the CasaBlanca.

“This course was tough,” Macias said, “after the down hill run, which can really tear you up, it was then a series of hills and valleys that was brutal. It really kicked my butt.”

But the highlight of the morning came early when Utah’s Mike Losee crossed the finish line after finishing the 26 mile marathon course on his hand cycle in 1:48.

Losee is a paraplegic who is without the use of his legs.

One race director who was at the start when Losee fired out of the gate said that a police officer joked that he was going to have to put the radar gun on Losee to see if he was speeding.

Indeed, Losee said “I topped out at 38 miles an hour coming down that hill. It was a blast. Some of those hills were pretty tough. Most bikers, when they get to a hill like those will get off and push their bikes. I can’t do that, so it was tough.”

Afterwards Losee was seen mingling around with the crowd, and while he may be with out the use of his legs, that does not prevent him from getting around pretty well with the help of a pair of canes and some leg braces.

He has a web site where he tries to help other invalids get out of their wheelchairs and become ambulatory.

The web site is nowheels.org.

The winner of the half marathon was Aucencio Martinez, also of Colorado, who finished the 13 mile run in 1:12:20.

Remarkably, after the race, Martinez seemed not to be breathing hard at all.

“It felt like running in Alamosa,” he said, referring to his home at 7,500 feet. “I think training there really helped me.”

For a complete list of all the runners and their times visit mammothmarathons.org.

They have said they should have all the results posted by Tuesday Nov. 24.