REVEL Canyon City

Francis Polansky

2016 REVEL Canyon City Marathon
Published: Nov. 12, 2016, 7:06 p.m.

Overall Rating

4/5 Stars
Describe your race day.

This is a pretty unique race. The setting is gorgeous and the organization is fantastic. It is NOT an easy race. My favorite part was the first several miles when my legs were fresh, and I felt like just floating down the mountain.
Did you PR?

I did PR by a couple of minutes but had secretly hoped for a even a better PR. I had already qualified for Boston, but my today's time would have been an easy qualifier.
How would you describe the course?

The course is memorable but not easy. The first several miles, where the descent is quite steep, did a number on my heels. The second half of the race is unexpectedly hilly (ascending) and quite demanding. Overall, my Garmin says 2,005 feet of elevation GAIN.
Tell us about your training.

I did some steep road downhill runs, but only up to 3.5 miles in distance, and that was not enough. With a hindsight, I should have done more. My future strategy will be doing a long downhill run and when reaching the bottom of the hill, turning around and run it back uphill. That, I believe, would be the right type of preparation for this race.
What advice would you give future runners?

My running sneakers have a very thin sole and not much of cushioning. I love that closeness of my feet to the road surface for more conventional marathon running. For this race, next time, I will train with and arrive with running shoes with plenty of heel cushioning.