Promoted as the “Toughest Marathon in the World,” the Mt. Lemmon Marathon drew people from around Tucson and around the country on October 17. Runners began in near darkness at the base of Mt. Lemmon. “The start was beautiful,” explains Susie Degan, of Tucson Tri-Girls. “You come around the curve and the sunlight was bathing the mountains in a misty morning light. Which was good because already my calves were starting to tighten up.” She wasn’t the only one in pain on this never-ending climb.
About 700 racers competed in the marathon or half-marathon. The half-marathon began at chilly Windy Point, and also included the brutal Ski Run Road, with a finish in Summerhaven.
The marathon course started at about 3000 feet elevation and finished at over 8000 feet in Summerhaven. But as runners approached the mountain retreat, they were pointed uphill and to the right. Uphill on Ski Run Road, with a wicked 1.5 mile climb on an 8% grade to Mt. Lemmon’s ski valley. Bob Shoup, who came to Tucson from Seattle to do the marathon with his nephew says, “That road to Ski Valley was just mean.” Another Tucson Tri-Girl, Kristin Schmidt, remembers: “The road is fairly curvy and it was impossible to tell where the turnaround was before approaching it. Thank goodness, because I may have given up if I could have seen how much I still had to run!”
After the turn-around, the course continued to punish runners with a pounding 1.5 miles downhill to the finish. “The Ski Valley road was definitely the toughest part of the course,” says Karla Gendler. “But downhill is just as hard.” This was the first half-marathon for Gendler, who is an elite road cyclist. Why choose this tough mountain race? “Because it’s the inaugural event, it’s a pretty cool course, and I’m an endurance athlete,” she says.
A more experienced marathoner, Karin Sandoval, returned to Tucson from St. Louis to do the race. “When I was in grad school at the U of A, I always wished there was a marathon up Mt. Lemmon.” She celebrated her 34th birthday on the same day as her dream marathon.
For some athletes, like Tucson’s Brian Walker, age 63, finishing in 6 hours, 39 minutes was a great achievement. “This is my fourth marathon this year, and I love Mt. Lemmon.” He was anxious before the event, “I had a calf injury, and I really didn’t know how I would feel.” He credits his success to smart training and new orthotics for his shoes.
A younger runner finished just behind Walker. “I can’t believe it took me so long! I took a nap on the course,” says Mathew Nelson, age 35, of Tucson. “I just felt so tired; I had to nap for 30 or 40 minutes around mile 17. Then I woke up covered in ants.” His tribulations didn’t end there. “I felt nauseous, then vomited, but I felt much better after that.”
“I started to get altitude sickness,” says Kimberly Smith from the Tucson Tri-Girls Team. She’d experienced in the mountains previously, so she knew what to do: “I just focused on not looking down and keeping the fluids coming in even though I was a bit nauseous.” She finished the race in about 6 hours, 37 minutes.
Vail School District brought about 50 runners and 70 volunteers to the race. And Vail school busses transported runners to the start and back down the mountain from the finish.
All runners appreciated cheering spectators sprinkled along the course and the volunteers at water stations. An impromptu party broke out at mile 20, when college kids waiting for the official pilot car turned on some dance music and played a little frisbee.
Humans weren’t the only runners in the race. Two dogs also made the journey up the mountain, including Bosco, a friendly gray Schnauzer. His companion, Eric Smith from South Londonderry, Vermont, credited Bosco with his successful completion of the world’s toughest race: “He pulled me up the mountain.”
The attached slide show includes photos from half-marathon mile 7, marathon mile 20, and the marathon finish.
Top finishers and times:
Mt. Lemmon Marathon male: James Miles, age 25, Tucson, 3:13:42
Mt. Lemmon Marathon female: Emily McGregor, age 25, Tucson, 3:59:13
Mt. Lemmon Half-marathon male: Lucas Tyler, age 29, Tucson, 1:34:12
Mt. Lemmon Half-marathon female: Beth Utley, age 24, Oro Valley, 1:52:10
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