I signed up for this race (my 31st marathon) to redeem myself from Revel Mt. Charleston a month ago. That race didn’t go so well mainly due to the heat, so I decided to run RR and see what I could do.

My first worry about this race was the altitude. I had only run races that started at about 7500 feet, not 10,000 feet.
My second worry was a glute/hamstring injury that I was nursing after Mt. Charleston.
My last worry was the lack of shade and hills on the back half of this course. I don’t do well in the heat. Add on hills and altitude to that heat for a true challenge!

Here is my breakdown of my experience at Revel Rockies:

Lodging
We stayed at the La Quinta in Golden. It turned out to be the perfect location. We were about 10 minutes from the expo and 12 minutes from where the bus pickup was on race day. Our choices were limited because our dog was traveling with us.

Expo/Packet Pickup

First, there was a shakeout run in Golden right before the expo. That was a fun little meet up and the course was lovely down by the stream that ran through town.
Revel expos are small with about 15 vendors. The t-shirts are very nice looking, but sizes ran very small for the women’s shirts. I had no problem exchanging for a different size. Revel always puts a little surprise gift in the swag bag. One year it was hats, one year it was socks, this year it was a pair of Goodr sunglasses! Love them!!!
Also, there is a much-needed mylar blanket and a pair of throwaway gloves. Be sure to listen to Coach Paul’s explanation of the course at the expo. He also does videos with training tips every Wednesday and has course breakdowns on the blog site. They are terrific resources.

Race Day Buses/Parking

My husband dropped me off at Bandimeer Speedway (bus pickup) at 3:45 am on race day. There were plenty of people directing traffic and helping with parking. The school buses were clean and the ride took about an hour to the top. The starting area of Echo Mountain was just a pull off place without any buildings. There was water and powerade available and about 20 porta-johns. There should have been about 15 more. The first time I got in line, it was quick. By the time I got in line again after all the buses had dropped off, the line was huge and I hardly had time to put my drop bag on the truck. I had packed a jacket and long pants to shed. The mylar blanket and gloves also came in handy. It was quite chilly up there!

The Course
The race started promptly at 6:00 am. There were flags with projected times where you could line up. It wasn’t too crowded at the start. I only had to do a little weaving to find an opening.
Miles 1-6 are a fast downhill. The sun was just rising and the course was beautiful. At mile 6, the course flattens out a bit, then downhill again at 7-9. Around mile 9, you are out of the mountain and the course flattens a lot. There is no shade. I was glad I banked quite a bit of time at the beginning so that I could have some time to get through this next part of the course. I hit the halfway mark at a PR of 1:46:46 and then the toughest part began. Miles 14-16 are the largest hills on the course. If we weren’t at 7,000 ft. these hills wouldn’t have felt so bad, but the altitude and lack of shade really played a part in slowing down my pace. Miles 17-22 are also a bit tough with flat parts and more rolling hills and no shade. But, the otter pops at mile 22 were a wonderful relief! Miles 23-26 were back downhill (more otter pops at mile 25!) so I was able to pick up the pace. Be forewarned, there is a hill in the last .10 of the race and at that point, it feels like a mountain!
I was able to cross at 3:50:50. A BQ with a 4:10 cushion. Not a huge cushion, but a BQ nevertheless.

Finish Area and Medal

Medals were distributed right at the finish and they are beautiful with a spinner. There was chocolate milk, some protein bars and fruit at the finish. On your bib are tickets for Pizza, Pie and Beer. I bypassed the others and headed straight to the beer! It tasted wonderful!
Results are printed on a small card immediately after your finish. If you BQ’d you got a special luggage tag.
There are plenty of places to take pictures as well.
My husband and dog were able to meet up with me right away.
There is a shuttle going back and forth to the parking area and we were able to catch that without waiting more than a few minutes.

So, my 3 worries were all ok. The altitude didn’t seem to bother me because we were headed downhill. It was a slight challenge when the course flattened out or had small inclines, but I was fortunate not to have altitude sickness.
My injury didn’t affect my performance. Probably due to the fact that the impact was mostly on the quads and not the hamstrings.
The lack of shade was uncomfortable but bearable because I had banked a lot of time at the beginning. Had it been later, it might have affected me even more.
Revel puts on outstanding races. Every detail is taken care of and everything runs quite smoothly. Don’t be fooled by this being a downhill course. There is a lot of uphill as well. It is a gorgeous and challenging race and I recommend it wholeheartedly. Just be sure to train for the downhill!