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Gordon Treadway
2016 REVEL Canyon City Half Marathon
Published: Nov. 13, 2016, 8:05 a.m. 
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Overall Rating
4/5 Stars
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Describe your race day.
Had a great time interacting with the people in the race. There were great people performing greatly on the race course. I was grateful for the kind volunteers and supporters along the race route--it's a bit like life, having people there periodically to lift you up and encourage you along your way.
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Did you PR?
No. After running in the Big Cottonwood two months ago I endured a respiratory infection, back sprain and even got hit with Shingles. I had almost given up on running Canyon City and earning the Triple Medal. But I had set that as a goal--to Triple--at the start of the year, so I did my best and came to the race with the only purpose to finish. When I realized I was going to make it under 2 hours I felt like it was a PR for me!
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How would you describe the course?
It's a lovely course. Not as scenic as Big Cottonwood, but it's good. The uphills on the first half are challenging, but good. I love the start location and the sunrise was spectacular. The Finish line was much better than in previous Canyon City races. Because of the first half, this is not a true downhill course for a Half.
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Tell us about your training.
I run a lot and train all the time. This was my fourth half of the year. But this was my most challenging race to train for because of the injuries and illness that I mentioned above.
I'm a Reveler. This is my 6th Revel race, including 3 Big Cottonwoods,2 Canyon City's, and a Mount Charleston. I love the way you put on races. The medals are truly motivational--and anyone who says otherwise isn't being honest. No other race provides better medals. The shirts this year were awesome. I loved that I have a set of cool shirts from the races. They will be in my closet for a long time. Those things matter. There is a kindness from the volunteers that I don't get in other races. The announcer at the start line was kind and supportive and made me glad I was running. I think Revel puts on a good race. I will add constructively that the drop bag pickup yesterday was a disaster. There needs to be leadership there. Big Cottonwood is a much bigger race and that pickup was as easy as could be. But yesterday no one was in charge. Everyone was walking around in there. Bags were spread out. It took me over a half hour to find my own bag and it was 20 yards away from where it should have been. You want to make sure your racers have a great experience from beginning to end and there were a lot of frustrated people at that point, which is sad because that's there last interaction with Revel and the Race. I had an experience with a half marathon pickup several years ago in Provo, Utah. The bags didn't make it to the end of the race for over an hour after I was done. Then it took another hour to find my bag. I would never run that race again. Yesterday wasn't at all that bad, but it wasn't a great experience for some of us. Still, I loved the race. Also, I was a legacy runner yesterday. There needed to be explanation to us all about what that means and why that's important. There were two other people I was with who have been to Canyon City three times and didn't have that bib. Then there were first timers who did have the bib. That needs to be communicated better so we feel great about it. Does it give us a benefit? One other thing--the Triple. It's a great marketing initiative on your part, and at least for me, it worked. Though I live in Southern California I love Big Cottonwood. I set the Triple as a goal and made it happen even with my own challenges physically this fall. I loved the motivation it provided. It would be cool to make a bigger deal about those who earned it. I didn't like having to ask the volunteer for it. It can't be too hard to have it show up on my race results card, or have it be on my bib or something. It would have been cool to have the race announcer announce that I was wa Triple Runner as I crossed. But at the results table, when I asked for my Triple Medal the guy next to me said he was a Triple too. But it was obvious he didn't know what it meant. I think he was a legacy runner or had run three races that summer. The volunteer tried to ask him, but her questions were not specific and she didn't want to tell him no, she she just went ahead and gave it to him. I asked him if he had run three Revel races this year and he didn't have a clear answer and walked away with the same medal I had traveled thousands of miles and purchased airline tickets to get. I just think there could be an improvement there. Keep up the good work!