2021 Laughlin Half Marathon Race Recap - Laughlin, NV

Official Time: 1:59:13
Placement: 86th out of 337, 56th male, 12th in age group
Results:  Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Upper 40's, slight wind from the north
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2019]

Mile	Time	Comments
1	8:11	This mile went better than expected. Fairly flat
2	9:05	Slight uphill here -- keeping good form and being patient
3	9:26	Worst of the initial hills. Just focusing on getting it done.
4	9:33	Bathroom break for 20 - 30 seconds and then begin the downhills!
5	7:57	Making up some time fast!
6	7:59
7	8:14	Hill lets up a bit -- now I need to power myself
8	10:15	This hit me hard. Up a big service drive and my legs were shot
9	9:21	Slight incline here. I was desperately trying to get something going.
10	8:40	Could I salvage this race?
11	9:20	Back down to the dam. Just shuffling along
12	10:43	Running along the bike trail -- with some inclines. I hated this mile
13	9:49	Forcing myself to give it all I had.
13.07	0:35	Just get it done.
Total Miles: 13:07 1:59:12

Introduction

So way back in 2019 after completing my first Laughlin Half Marathon I decided to go for the double race medal and getting the Lake Havasu Half Marathon done.  If I ran both of them, I'd get an extra medal.  Having never been to Lake Havasu Arizona, it sounds like a cool plan.  The race was scheduled for April and it would be something new.

Unfortunately Covid-19 came along and postponed the race.  Early this year (in 2021) the race was scheduled to happen but I did not feel comfortable traveling.  With kind consideration from the race director, I was able to transfer the race entry to 2021's Laughlin Half Marathon.

When I ran the race in 2019, I had a great time and it was a challenging and unique course.  While the course is challenging, I wanted to do better on it and I put the memory of it in my back pocket to do again some day.  So I had absolutely no qualms about doing it again.  What's not to like: running, gambling, good food, desert scenery and all around fun!

The Race

The race started at 7 AM on Saturday 12/4/2021.  I found myself searching for the shuttle bus that would take me to the race site a little before 6 AM.  Memory served me correctly -- and the bus was in the same spot as it was last year.  I had picked up my bib at the packet pickup the day before, so I was pretty much set to run.  

The bus ride was fairly short.  It took us about 10 minutes to reach the high school where the race would start.  We had access to the high school gymnasium to stay warm in.  On the plus side, we had clean bathrooms as well.  The time went by quickly and there were plenty of people to socialize with.

The race started promptly at 7 AM.  We assembled out in the front parking lot, got some basic instructions and off we went.

The first mile of the race involves basically running a long lap around the school.  You wend your way around the school's parking lot before going down a service drive.  Whereupon  you do a lap around the high school's track and then returning back up the service drive.  

I hit the first mile in a pretty quick low 8 minute mile.  A bit too fast but on target given that the first mile was somewhat downhill.  I did take note that the next 2.75 miles were going to be challenging; I definitely remembered that from last year.

Those miles definitely are cause for pause.  It isn't a crazy ascent but you are definitely climbing.  Fortunately, you are still fresh into the race, and you've had a bit of a warmup.  I knew that the uphill would be short-lived and that I would get to the top and have some insanely fast miles coming back down.

I worked on maintaining my form, being patient and trusting that if I could just power through these miles that the sweet downhill reward would be just ahead.  I worked with some other runners so that helped.

I finally reached the summit of the main road at mile 3.77 -- just like I did 2 years ago.  I did realize that I had to use the restroom and at the top of the hill there was a porta pottie.  I had been flirting with whether I needed to go or not (#1) and I knew if I didn't go, I wouldn't be able to concentrate.  Fortunately the portable was empty and I took 30 seconds off my race to conduct my business.  

Concerning to me at this point was how out of breath I was. Had I gone out too hard?  The brief respite was actually pretty good for me.

I jumped out of the bathroom and I was immediately greeted with a beloved site: nothing but downhill for as far as the eye could see.  I took off down with this stretch with renewed vigor.  I had gotten through the worst part and the rest of the race would be comparatively easier.

The next 3 miles or so were a delight.  I was hitting 5K paces with ease.  My breathing was easy and I was just coasting along.  If only the entire race was like this.

I did about 1.5 miles along the main "highway" into town followed by a left hand turn into the Davis Dam / Pyramid Canyon area.  This is probably the prettiest stretches.  You can see the casino-lined town of Laughlin below you and after turning into the park's entrance you can see Davis Dam as a tiny white dot below.

The race became "real" upon reaching the bottom of the service drive.  I had forgotten that upon arriving to the bottom there were a few hills.  I thought there was maybe one, but I forgot the first one was quite long and steep and it was followed by a grind above the dam and up into Arizona, where the turn around lie.

My legs suddenly felt like Jell-O.  And while that mile wasn't too bad - pace-wise, every inch of it hurt.  My once easy pace was suddenly very hard.  And it didn't end upon reaching the top of the service drive to the top of the dam -- it continued.  I had conveniently forgot about this part.

My pace grew worse and I was dying to ask the front runners who were flying by me on the downhill how much further I needed to run.  Eventually, though, it did come and I turned around the coned off turn-around (and I was suddenly in Mountain Time and in the state of Arizona)  Finally I could recoup some of my time on the downhill back into Davis Dam Park.

Davis Dam

Unfortunately I was gassed.  I was in the marathon shuffle mode where every step seemed to take a lot of energy.  I was doing well, all things considered but my race at that point might as well have been over.

By the time I was down with the returning downhills and making my loop around the city park at the base of the dam, I was drained.  I kept willing myself forward and overall -- my miles splits at this point where still somewhat okay -- they came very hard-earned.

The next 2 miles are along the river walk bike trail.  It is actually really pretty.  To your right is a wall of dirt hills and to the left is the Colorado River.  You are surrounded by desert vegetation along the paved path  There are some stretches of hills -- particularly as you get near the edge of town.  And here I recorded one of my worst miles.  I just had nothing left.  I just wanted to be done.

The final mile is kind of cool -- you drop into north end of town and run along the bike trail before finally doing your last mile or so on the "Strip".  You are surrounded by casinos, a few spectators and businesses.  It isn't as cool as running at night along the Las Vegas Strip -- but it is a unique experience.

You do have one lane entirely to yourself and at this point I was intermixed with some of the 5K and 12K runners.  But it was a bit of a depressing feeling -- as I was being passed by many other half marathon runners who still had gas in the tank.

Finally the finish line drew near (the race is certified so I knew that I was going to have to run 13.10 miles) and I crossed under the finish line with a deep sigh of relief.

Conclusion

I really had visions of running this in 1:53 - 1:55.  While my training hasn't really been endurance-based, I felt I had done enough long runs leading into the race (each weekend doing 9 or 10 miles).  Also I was coming from 4500 feet elevation to about 500.

So I think not having a lot of endurance in me caused me to run out of gas at mile 8 or 9.  On the plus side, I did beat my time from 2 years by 2 minutes (more if you exclude the bathroom break).  Yet, I was still disappointed.  I was shooting for a strong end-of-year half marathon and I should've adjusted my expectations upon the course.

I grabbed some water (weird -- it was in a can of Liquid Death -- apparently they make water) and a banana and grabbed my medal.  The weather was absolutely perfect with only a bit of wind and I enjoyed just sitting on a retaining wall and watching runners cross the finish line.  The after glow of a race that was run hard (but not necessarily well) was just a joy.

After I recovered a bit, I ventured to my room -- I was staying at the finish line hotel -- the Tropicana of Laughlin, so it was a quick 10 minute shuffle and back.  I grabbed my camera, took some photos of the finish line and settled into a post-race rest mode.  I sat in the sunlight and enjoyed the weather and just people watched.

Post race refreshments included chips, cookies, fruit, water and beer.  They actually had a really nice spread of food and there was plenty to go around.

Overall the race was well worth it. I had registered ahead of time, so the price was reasonable, the medal was huge and the t-shirt was nicely designed.  I really enjoyed the course -- although it is challenging.  The views and the chance to run near the dam are unique and make this race travel-worthy (most of the runners were from California)  

There is definitely more downhill then uphill (at least according to my Garmin) but you really need to be prepared for the hills scattered throughout the course.

The medal's inner circle spins.

I really enjoyed the race and I would love to do this one again.  The organization was spot on and the mile markers were pretty accurate.  There was plenty of support and ultimately it was a pretty cheap getaway (all things considered), especially after taking advantage of the race discounts for the hotel.  It is a bit of a drive from Salt Lake City (7.5 hours) so it is a commitment.

Mesquite Nevada Trail System

Introduction

I discovered the Mesquite Foothills about a year ago while looking for hiking in the area. I didn't want anything too crazy, as Mesquite and the surrounding desert area can be fairly remote.

The Foothills trail is a bit of a picnic area followed by about a mile or so of trails.  It is fairly popular with the locals.  There is a bathroom located at the site as well as benches and a covered area for a picnic.

The trail meanders and there are signs guiding you, but it is easy to just sort of blaze your own trail.  And after about a mile, the main trail just abruptly ends.  It does allow you to scramble a bit further where it ends in a dead end where apparently a car that fall off the surrounding mesa crashed.

You can also return to the main road (Lower Flat Top Drive) at various points too.

After the Sun Half Marathon I decided to hope on over and get in a quick walk.  I had done the city trail plenty of times and had often looked at the ATVs ascending a dirt road above me towards the buttes that dot the city's landscape.

Finally, I decided I'd hoof it up the dirt road and see what was up there.  It would've been much easier with a vehicle but within a mile  I had reached the top (and there were a few other hikers who had made the walk).  Incidentally, the parking lot for this trail is located a few hundred yards south of the entrance to the Foothills parking lot.

If you really love the desert, you will love exploring at the top of the mesas.  The trail is very well defined but it is definitely not one you want to do in the dead of summer.  There is no shelter and no water.

For a February day in the upper 50's, it was fun poking around and looking at giant crevices in the earth and cactus.  There is also plenty of cresote and desert brush up there.

This trail was also highly runnable, once you got to the top.  In fact, if I hadn't just eaten and had a pair of shorts on me I would've done some running up there.

Here are some photos of the city trail and the trail above the city trail:

View of Mesquite from the city trail

Another view of a giant rift

I don't think these are wild horses

More trails exist going south

The hill you will have to climb to get to the top of the ATV trail

2019 Snow Canyon Half Marathon Race Recap - St George, UT

Official Time: 1:55:08
Placement: 287 male out of 597, 561st overall, 26th out of 53 in the 45 - 49 age division
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Low 40's, sunny and warmed up near the end
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: First Year for me

Mile	Time	Comments
1	8:54	Warming up here. Toes were frozen
2	8:37	Settling into a pace.
3	8:12	Hitting the meat of the downhills
4	8:09
5	7:55	Wish all the race was like this. Fast downhills
6	8:03	Nearly 300 feet of drop
7	8:23	Course is starting to level out now
8	8:51	More or less on the flats. At this point, I was just tired.
9	8:52
10	9:11	Grinding away.  Felt really tired at this point.
11	9:52	Garmin reports no uphills, but there were some.
12	10:02	Gassed at this point
13	9:42	Doing whatever I can just to finish
13.05	0:20	Thank goodness it is overt
	Total Miles: 13:05 - 1:55:09

Introduction

One of the most popular November races in the Utah area is the Snow Canyon half marathon.  It is located in St George, where the weather tends to be about 15 degrees warmer than the northern part of the state.  Being that the Salt Lake area was getting its first taste of colder weather, it was refreshing to head down and "warm up".

The Snow Canyon race is also popular in the fact that the meat of the race is held on the service road through the Snow Canyon State Park.  The park is a popular destination for visitors in the area as it offers stunning white, sand and red rock formations, climbing and hiking opportunities.  It is just a beautiful area to visit.

Also the race bills itself as downhill and fast.  It isn't a crazy drop and I've certainly ran faster downhill races but this one was nice in the fact that it didn't burn my quads out like other ones I have done.

Either way, I was looking for something to do and decided to make it a long weekend by including this race.  Also, this race normally is the week before the Las Vegas Rock 'N Roll marathon and hence I am generally reluctant to do it just on account of logistics.  This race was scheduled 2 weeks before my annual Vegas jaunt so I decided to knock this one off my bucket list.

The Race

Packet pickup was held on Friday.  The race allows you to pick up your bib on race morning, but I took half a day from work and got down there by 3 PM.  I love their venue for packet pick-up.  It is clean, spacious. and I actually knew a vendor or two.  I was in and out in about 15 minutes.

I did NOT sleep well before this race.  I normally don't while on destination races.  Sleeping in a different bed, wondering if my alarm is going to go off and worrying about all the details of finding parking and the race's location kept me tossing and turning most of the night.  I think I may have slept about 3 - 4 hours and was not well rested when I woke up at 5 AM.

I had my re-race food (Wheaties) and a couple cups of hot tea (for the caffeine) and packed my gear.  I brought a ton of warm gear too -- not for running but for the long wait.  And boy I am glad I went with the heavier stuff.

I drove about 15 minutes to Snow Canyon High School and easily found good parking.  I was there at about 6:15.  The buses loading period was from 6 AM until 7 AM with urgent warnings of "get there early".  With the race starting at 8:30 and probably a 20 minute bus ride, I loafed in my car as long as I dared before jumping onto a school bus at just a hair over 6:30.

The bus ride seemed to take forever as it headed out of town and into the outskirts of St George.  I couldn't really tell where we were going but the houses gave way to barren desert and grassy fields.  We were dumped off at a Red Mountain Trailhead which doesn't have a lot of amenities

It was cold... I am so glad I brought my heavy gear for the roughly 80 minute wait.  I found a clump of dirt / hay to sit in (the parking lot had no pavement) and just sat there shivering and trying to stay warm.  I had my running gear on, plus tights, a sweat shirt and a warm running jacket on and I was still cold.  My toes were frozen by the start of the race.

Fortunately the time went by quickly and with about 12 minutes to spare, I made about a quarter mile walk to the starting line.  Along the way I started to take off my clothes -- reluctantly, as it was still chilly.  But I knew as soon as I started running I'd be fine.

Ultimately, I went with cheapo gloves, shorts, a hat and a long-sleeved t-shirt.  My only mistake was wearing a black shirt, which seemed to attract the heat of the sun as the day warmed up.

The first two miles was mostly run to get some feeling back in my toes.  I hit the paces I wanted to, about 8:30.  It was run along the highway and we had an entire lane dedicated to ourselves.  There were a slew of runners so I was never running by myself and I settled somewhere near the 1:50 pacer and the 1:55 pacer.

I felt pretty good despite not sleeping well but I could feel a little fatigue in my legs from last week's half marathon.

The first 7 miles of the race are primarily downhill and just shy of the 5K mark we entered into the Snow Canyon State Park area.

At the state park, the run gets a lot more scenic and pretty.  I didn't take any photos of the race while running (I was attempting to race the course and not carrying a phone or any hydration).

The state park is known for it's beautiful white and red rock formations.  It is a popular tourist attraction and normally costs about $7 to enter.  Today, I had free entry to at least run down the service road.

It was a joy to run down the road surrounded by natural beauty and the cool / pleasant morning air.  Also it helped that the course was downhill, so I was knocking off low 8 minute miles.  No wonder this course boasted that people could achieve some fast times.

I worried about going too fast.  I was about 30 seconds per mile faster than I'd like to be, but with the downhills, I figured I'd just go with it.  However, the fatigue in my legs was building up.  I had a feeling I was going to pay for it in the latter stages of the race.

After exiting the canyon, the course winds its way through the neighborhoods of St. George.  We were jumping onto bike trails, sidewalks, and finally the road for the final 4 miles or so.

My Garmin output leads one to believe it was a gentle downhill but in reality there were a bunch of "micro hills".  At this point, my legs were dead and I was feeling listless.  The course was still interesting to me, but I wanted to be done.  I couldn't make up my mind if I was carb-depleted, dehydrated, or what.  Maybe it was a little bit of both.

It was disheartening to be slowly swallowed up by runners as they passed me.  My once glorious 8:30-ish pace was creeping into the 9's and then humbling me into the 10's.

It was hard to enjoy this section of the course as we ran by chic desert house dwellings.  I was hurting and sort of wanted the race to end.  There wasn't much left in my legs and the downhill sections were clearly over with.

The final mile couldn't come any sooner as I shambled my way into the high school's parking lot.

I was greeted by a large group of cheering folks as I hustled under the St George Races blue and yellow arch with a decent time of 1:55.

Conclusion

I grabbed a medal as I walked on the high school's track towards the refreshments. I wasn't feeling that well and my stomach was sort of in a dizzy.  The temperature was definitely warmer but not insanely hot but I think a combination of being overly tired and slightly dehydrated had me feeling weak.

I grabbed some Gatorade (I think Endurance formula judging from the salty taste) and circled around waiting for everything to return to normal.

Post race refreshments were chocolate milk, muffins, and potato chips.  Once my stomach had settled down enough I was able to eat some of the food but it took a solid 15 minutes before I felt well.

The medal was a big one and well designed.  From top to bottom, I really enjoyed this race.  The shirt was well designed and high quality.  And I absolutely loved the course.  It was pretty in all aspects and despite the final 4 miles being a slog and less glamorous than Snow Canyon, it had its own charm as well.

I wish there was another aid station closer to the start.  The first one was at 4 miles and I think that sort of lead to a bit of dehydration.  There were amply stocked aid stations, however, roughly every 2 miles.

The course's mile markers were also way off.  The first 10 miles or so they were about .1 of a mile short.  Suddenly around mile 11 or 12 it was right on target.  Ultimately the course came in at 13.05 for me.

I loved this race.  Even writing this a few days later, I am still kind of on a "buzz" from my experience.  The course was fast, scenic, and well-organized.  From start to finish, I was happy with my race.  I just wish I had been a little more fresh for running, rather than having so much fatigue from last week's race.

Hopefully I can swing by next year.

Danger Cave State Historical Monument - Wendover, UT

Introduction

One of the nice things about running is that I am able to explore things on foot better than I would've if I had to try and find a spot to dump my car, especially when it comes to desert exploring.

I was in Wendover on a Thursday night and I got there early enough to place the sports bets that I wanted to and dump my stuff in my room before saddling up and heading out for a desert run.  It was already sort of late and I had plenty of hiking to do in the next 48 hours so I didn't want to go out too long.

So I headed up Aria Blvd and proceeded out to the desert.  The question though was where to go.  I've done just about all the trails out there.  I decided ultimately to try and find Danger Cave. 

Danger Cave's location isn't too hard to find and you can probably get to it by car.  There seemed to be a dirt road that lead to it if you were willing to take Exit 4 off of the I-80.

Me, I was running it.  So I headed down this ATV trail and hung a left at the point of the mountain.  About another third of a mile I spotted it...

I headed down along this ATV Trail

There is a slight hill with a path you have to climb to get to the entrance.  The entrance is closed off.  As the name suggests, the rocky area around it is ready to fall and the cave when it was discovered was called Danger Cave after a boulder rolled off from the top of it.  You can see the historical boulder that rolled off the edge of to the right of the entrance:

The park service does do tours of the cave so check their website periodically.

The visit to the cave was sort of a check mark on my list.  I spent about 5 - 10 minutes snooping around before heading back to Wendover.  It was a rewarding run and kind of cool that I was able to check it out.

Here are some photos of the area:

Dead Horse Ranch State Park - Cottonwood Arizona

Introduction

One our trip to Camp Verde for the weekend, my brother and I opted to swing by Dead Horse Ranch State Park.  The park is on the edge of a town called Cottonwood.  It is a very short detour off the road to Jerome, Arizona -- a popular tourist town.

Admission was $7 per car and we rolled in, it was a hot day in the mid 90's.  Despite the town being at a pretty high elevation, it was really warm and the sun was intense.

Our first stop was to the park's lagoon.  It was definitely the most popular place there as people had brought lunch and their fishing poles in order to do some fishing.  I didn't see much catching, however.

Walking in the heat wasn't too bad and we made the roughly mile walk around the lagoon (I am not even sure it was that far).

We were left scratching our heads as we wondered if this was "it".  We had an entire afternoon to kill and all we had accomplished was a short walk that had killed about 30 minutes.  I think we were both moderately disappointed.

If you look closely at the background you'll see some hills rising over the end of the lagoon.  I saw a young man sitting at the top and I just had to get up there.  Luckily we spotted a trail.

I had brought plenty of water just in case we found a trail, so we went back to the car, moved it closer to a trailhead and figured we attempt to take the trail that would presumably take us to the top of the ridge and then head back -- it wouldn't be too far.

Lime Kiln Canyon Trail

My brother and I had stumbled onto the Lime Kiln Canyon Trail.  This is a totally exposed trail with very little (if any) shade.  It does climb fairly rapidly but it is short lived and before you know, it is fairly flat and would've been great for trail running (if we were running).

The trail does in fact lead to the ridge overlooking the lagoon.  However, you will have to trail blaze a bit.  It'll be fairly obviously as others had the same motive.  I was a bit surprised they didn't have an official trail to the edge though.

My brother and I wound up taking the trail to Rattlesnake Gulch Overlook.  This was about 2 miles one way.  Again, it was easy to do after the initial brief climb and there were plenty of canyons, rock formations and desert fauna to take in along the way.  It was just extremely warm.

The trail is well defined and at important junctures, it did have signs directing you where to go (there was only one).  We were the only ones (foolish enough) to do the trail that day.  There are no resources on the trail -- drinking fountains, bathrooms or water.  So be sure to bring plenty of supplies.  Cell phone reception was good.  I do believe that ultimately the trail will take you to Sedona.  The trail also appears popular with cyclists and horse back riding.

Be sure to study the maps before you go.  There are looped trails you can do.  However, do to the heat, we cut our hike to the minimum.  We totally loved it and would love to do a larger loop when it cools off.

Enjoy the photos: