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Valley of the Sun Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Valley of the Sun Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.7 
Organization 2.5 
Spectators 2.7
Number of comments: 68 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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S. C. from Arizona
(3/15/2005)
"Poorly organized... the worst I have ever attended" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Valley of the Sun Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 It was so poorly organized that no one from the organization was at the starting line until 6:30... even though the race was supposed to start at 6:15am. The police and bus drivers didn't even know where we were supposed to go. | |
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J. W. from Midwest
(3/15/2005)
"Pathetic" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Valley of the Sun Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I've run this event before (in 2003), but the organization of this year's race was pathetic. 1) Shuttles are required to get runners to the start line, which is fine. But the first 8-10 bus drivers drove about 2 miles beyond the start line, had to make a u-turn in the middle of the road, and then drove into the park (another mistake). They had no idea where they were supposed to drop off the runners. 2) In 2003, there were lights set up at the start...this year nothing until 10 minutes prior to the start when a fire dept. vehicle pulled up. Total darkness. 3) No start line was set up until moments before the start. Runners had no idea where the start line was until the last moment. No balloons, no markings, no champion chip pad. I heard a race official say there was a line 'somewhere near the portalets.' 4) It was advertised to be a 6:15 a.m. start, but was about 25 minutes late. 5) The first water station had only one person, who was totally overwhelmed. It was 'self-service' for most, i.e., get your own cup and fill it yourself. 6) Several water stations (mile 16 for sure) had no one... and I mean no one manning the station. Self-service 100%. We had to break open bags to get to the cups. At the final water station, a police officer was holding a jug above people's heads because they ran out of cups. 7) Never saw any gel on the course. 8) At the finish line, no water! They ran out. 9) The police were great throughout the course. I just don't know how they took a good event and ruined it. I'll never be back. | |
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G. S. from New Mexico
(3/15/2005)
"Never doing this race again" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I've done many races (marathons, ultra-marathons, 5Ks, 10Ks) and this is probably the worst organized race I've been to. It was a bad experience right from the start. The buses had no idea where to go, no one was at the start to let the runners know where the start was and where to put their drop bags and the race started very late, which is critical in Phoenix where the weather gets hot early. The race director tried to apologize to everyone and wanted to talk and talk, instead of getting the race started; and she shouldn't have been apologizing, she should have done a better job of preparing. The volunteers at the water stops were way behind and we had to wait for water or pour our own. There was no sports drink until mile 8 and no gel on the course at all. Obviously the weather can't be controlled (hot, hot, hot), so it's imperative that the race director control what can be controlled, and she did a terrible job. I would not recommend this race to anyone and will never do it again. | |
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T. A. from Tucson, Arizona
(3/15/2005)
"I thought this was a joke!" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Valley of the Sun Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 From the get-go, this race was horrible. We get bussed up to the starting area at 5:00am, but nobody even knew where the official starting line was because it wasn't set up until 30 minutes AFTER the 6:15 scheduled start. Unreal. Then, many water stations were abandoned by the volunteers, so I had to get my own water...other stops didn't even have cups and there were NO gels even though the website posted that there would be at 3 different stops. Then, (this tops everything) I get to the finish line and there was no water! No water at the end of a finish line of a marathon in Arizona? There were oranges and Oreo cookies but no water? The organization was absolutely horrendous. It's a shame too because the course was one of the best; but even so, I will never do this race again. | |
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t. g. from Portland, or
(3/14/2005)
"save your effort for a profesionally run event." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Valley of the Sun Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Not a very well organized event. First of all, the shuttle buses could not get out of the school parking lot because the gate was locked. Then, the bus drivers drove past the start area. The reason they drove past the start area was because there was nothing out there to show them where exactly the start was. They finally turned around and let runners off near the area of last years start. There were no race officials up there to tell runners where the start was. It was still very dark, hundreds of people were walking up the road... hundreds of people were walking down the road. The race was supposed to start at 0615. At 0600 we still did not really know just where that starting line really was. Also, no one knew where the gear drop was. The bus drivers were mad because the narrow road was full of all of these people wandering up and down the road. Some drivers were just plain rude and dangerous as they blasted down the road with their horns blairing. Finally, a (some?) race official showed up and put down the mats. Of course, the porta-pots were on the other side of the mats from the start. Not good. Amazingly, the start was only a half hour late. The early aid stations were not manned. If you wanted water, you had to stop and pour your own. The course was decent. The traffic control was terrific (at least the cops are professional). Most of this stuff you can forgive if it is a first year event... but this was the fifth time they have done this! Save your effort for the RNR in January. If you need a March marathon, go to LA. Oh, and the food at the finish line was a cruel joke. I went down the street to Sonic. | |
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R. S. from Arizona
(3/14/2005)
"Will never do this race again" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Valley of the Sun Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 This was the 2nd time I've done this race and I had even a worse experience than the first. The course is pretty good, though I would not consider it a PR one or even a fast one though there is a sizable elevation drop. The organization for this race in '05 was horrendous. First of all, it was late getting started, about a 1/2 hour. No big deal if it wasn't so hot. But it was really hot with temps up in the 80's. The timing people didn't start setting up until the race was supposed to officially start. Then I believe the mile markers were off starting with the first one. There were not enough volunteers, as many of the aid stations were just tables with cups of water sitting on them or just nonexistent. There were supposed to be gels at 10K, half point, and mile 20. None were there though. Several key turns were a bit ambiguous. The post-race refreshments were skimpy and then there was a really long line to even get the pretzels and oranges. For the cost of this marathon I don't recommend it. | |
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K. P. from Missouri
(3/14/2005)
"Organizers should be ASHAMED!!!" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Valley of the Sun Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I ran Valley of the Sun Marathon yesterday. I have run 32 marathons, including 3 Bostons, Chicago, the Olympic Trials, and some small-town ones with 100-200 runners. This one hands down had the worst organization of any I have witnessed. We were bussed out to the starting 'area' in the dark, and it was total chaos because no race officials were in sight, with no sign of a starting line, etc. Picture 2000 panicked runners trying to find out about bag drop, start, etc. They (the race officials) finally got there about 15 min. before the start, but had to set up chip mat (which should have been done hours before). Consequently, the race started 25 minutes late, so we were out there 25 min. longer in the hot Arizona sun. I missed water at the 2 mile mark because the aid volunteers were pouring out water 1 cup at a time!! I could go on and on... But in its defense, it was one of the most spectacular races from a scenic standpoint, and potentially fast with the downhill stretches, if they ever get the early start going. Who else survived this total catastrophe?????????? | |
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L. B. from United States
(3/14/2005)
"THE WORST ORGANIZED RACE" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Valley of the Sun Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I am not even sure where to begin. This was truly the worst organized race I have ever done. Although kind, none of the volunteers at the expo had any idea what was going on. I had to hunt down the race director and she was so stressed, she was unbelievably rude. Race morning was a nightmare. The buses picked us up at 4:30am. The poor bus drivers had no idea where to drop us off and there was NO ONE who knew anything at the start area to tell them. We drove around for 45 minutes. Then stood around with no idea what was happening . Rumor has it, the race director slept in. At any rate, there was no sign of her or any race officials until 6:15, which was when the race was supposed to start. There was NO start line set up until 6:45 and then we started the race almost 45 minutes late. (NO ONE knew where the race even began!) In Arizona, 45 minutes makes a huge difference in temp. Along the course, the athletes literally had to fill their own water cups at many of the stops!! At the finish line, they were so disorganized they didn't even know when the 1st marathoners finished. The runners trained for the race and I imagine would have like to be recognized. I noticed they only received prize money if they broke 3:00 and 2:30. With a race this poorly organized, with them filling their own water, mismarked miles, starting 45 minutes late in the Arizona heat, it would not be easy meeting this standard. Unless something changes before the Valley of the Sun next year, I can't imagine many, if any, return athletes!! | |
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Robert Brannon from Albuquerque, NM
(3/14/2005)
"Great course, great race but really hot!" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Valley of the Sun Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Just got finished running this one yesterday. I had high expectations of running near a BQ time since my last marathon was at 3:40 and I heard that this was a fast track with lots of downhills and low elevation. All of that was really true. The scenery was great, the crowd support was sparse but heartfelt, and the volunteers at the aid stations were great. Special thanks goes out to the med guy who hopped off his bicycle to man a station that had been abandoned. Even though the station had run out of cups he held up jugs of water for us to drink out of! The morning bus ride to the starting line was an adventure as no one knew what was going including the drivers who had to make several u-turns out in the desert. Once we got to the line, there was no one there specifying where the clothing drop-off was. I'm begging, if anyone associated with the race is reading this, please have someone out there among the runners to organize this. It's too much anxiety before a race carrying around bag and finding know one has any idea of where they go. The only other complaint I have was the heat. I knew it would be warm but the temperatures reached the 80's very quickly and despite chugging Gatorade the day before and during the race, I couldn't repel the leg cramps that eventually shattered my chance at a PR. I would recommend this race to others especially those looking for a PR or BQ time. The course lends itself to these aspirations, hopefully others will have better luck than I did. | |
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b. b. from Northern Hemisphere
(3/14/2005)
"Fiasco" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Valley of the Sun Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 What happened? This was my second year at the VOSM. 2004 was hot, but decently organized. 2005 was a fiasco. The buses dropped us off at the start, only to find that there was no music, water, lights, drop bag location, race representatives, or even starting line until after the established race time. The race started late, which is a real problem since heat is a factor on this course. The first aid station scared me. One volunteer with a lot of open jugs of water and cups -- effectively a 'self-serve' aid station. All of the early aid stations appeared to be undermanned. This year's race was a tribute to disorganization. |
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