REVEL Big Bear

Jessica Garcia

2018 REVEL Big Bear Marathon
Published: Oct. 14, 2018, 8:04 p.m.

Overall Rating

5/5 Stars
Describe your race day.

Everybody is always so friendly at Revel races, the running community is awesome. I chatted with other runners about their goals and Boston. I truly had so much fun for all 26.2 miles!
Did you PR?

Yes I PR’d by 14 minutes and qualified for Boston 2020.
How would you describe the course?

The scenery was beautiful. The rolling hills through mile 9 were tough because we were at elevation but it was all gradual downhill after that. I loved that it wasn’t super steep downhill like at Big Cottonwood.
Tell us about your training.

I run about 4 days a week and I do CrossFit 4 days a week. I think the strength training really helped for this downhill course, since there’s not many safe options to train downhill in SoCal.
What advice would you give future runners?

Be conservative on the hills through mile 9, there’s some big climbs during those miles and they feel very tough since you’ll be at elevation. It is very cold at the start so bring warm clothes to toss before the race.
What fun things did you do in the area before or after the race?

I travelled from a city that’s only 45minutes away so I did not do anything in the area. Big bear is beautiful though so I recommend renting a cabin up there!