DATE: August 9, 2009
LOCATION: Rachel, Nevada
I came across this race online, and felt like it would be a lot of fun. I was already planning to travel to California for my Grandpa's 90th birthday in August, so I talked with my mom and aunt and we planned this race into the trip.
My mom and I flew to Las Vegas where we met my aunt who drove in from Orange County. We got a hotel in Las Vegas where we spent most of the afternoon and evening. The race starts at midnight in the middle of the desert and travels for 26.2 miles near Area 51 before finishing at Rachel, Nevada (a small town in the middle of nowhere). But from Las Vegas you are bused to the start (a 2-3 hour bus ride). So we had to arrive at the host hotel at 8pm and the buses left about 8:30pm. We were then bused to the starting line, which we arrived at about 11:30pm. Once there we were given glow sticks and go ready to run. Once the marathon started the half marathons were bused to the half way point where they started. My mom and aunt both did the half marathon.
The race is always held in the weekend closed to the full moon, and being in the middle of the desert allowed the moon to provide quite a bit of light. I brought a reflective vest and a headlamp, but really didn't need it. The race was a lot of fun, some people dressed in alien costumes and others brought a lot of glow in the dark clothing.
The first half of the race is all uphill. It starts about 4,500 feet and climbs to about 5,600 feet. Once I hit the high point (about mile 13), it downhill for about 8 miles before it levels out for the final 5 miles. The finish of the race is about 4,800 feet. So needless to say it was a challenging course.
Being my first race back I had no real goal in mind, I just wanted to have fun. I tried to get a good nap in so that I could say up all night, but I also drank a lot of caffeine in order to keep me awake. The first half was hard, but being the middle of the night, I could not see the challenge ahead of me, I just kept going. The race itself was pretty uneventful. Running in the dark in the middle of nowhere was pretty boring, but it was fun to see the other runners and the crazy costumes.
I finished the marathon in 3:57:21, which was less than 4 hours, so I was pretty happy. The race finished in a cafe called "Little A'Le'Inn". There they have a full breakfast and lots of alian merchandise for sale. I wasn't too hungry, but did enjoy some biscuits and gravy as well as some fruit.
They then bus you back to Las Vegas, and on the bus ride back I got to sleep. We then drove to southern California where I enjoyed some time with my family.
The whole experience of the race is a lot of fun!
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