The Courses

We decided a while back to drive the routes. The website advertised the course as "fun, fast and fantastic" or words to that effect. Yesterday we drove the marathon course, today, the Half, to see if they were telling the truth.

One thing we've noticed about Phoenix and the surrounding area is how wide open it is compared to Overland Park and Kansas City. The trees are usually tall, thin palm trees and there's very little shade anywhere, even in some of the built up areas. I'm loving the weather right now, but I have a feeling it would be too oppressive for me to handle in the summer. KC can be almost as hot as Phoenix in the summer, but it's much easier to find shade, and the heat is at least broken up by a few milder moments.

The marathon course is definitely flat, of that there's no doubt. The only bump I remember seeing was a short slope at around mile 23. It's hardly a hill at all but placed where it is on the course, it could be a little irritating. I wouldn't call the course hugely scenic, but it is kind of pretty in an old-west kind of way, with dusty colored roads and mom and pop businesses interspersed with fast food joints and the occasional residential section. Camelback mountain is in view for a lot of the course, and the last few miles are quite interesting, with the pleasant Art district of Scottsdale, a bridge crossing over the Salt River and a finish in the Sun Devil Stadium parking lot. I loved it.

The Half-Marathon course is just as flat as it's big sister, but takes a much more direct route to the stadium, a good percentage of it all on one road (McDowell). It shares part of the first mile or so with the marathon, but other than that is completely separate. There are a couple of little segments that almost seemed desert like in spots, with dunes and cacti dressing the sides of the roads for good stretches. These were my perhaps favorite areas of this course. It also passes by the Phoenix zoo, and affords a decent view into where the animals might potentially be milling about. There's no doubt it's less varied than the full, but that's probably as it should be. The full-marathoners pay more after all. :-)

The next post will be me telling you whether I succeeded, failed, or landed somewhere in between. That's if I can physically type at that point. What another fine mess I've got myself into.