5/5 Stars

Great experience. Well organized. Loved the course.

Yes set PR by 12 minutes

Beautiful

Running 60-80 miles per month. Ran 2 half marathons this year, 1 three weeks ago

It's cold at the top.

5/5 Stars

Race day was great! So many thoughtful details that helped ease my nervous of running a marathon. The shuttles were on time, plenty of restrooms at the start, fire pits, water/gaterade station, and the extra gloves and blankets. There were plenty of water stations and bathrooms thoughtout the course, volunteers were friendly and encouraging. I absolutely loved the photo booths with signs! Also, the cards with our official times and info.

Yes! I beat my Boston marathon PR of 3:20. I came in at 3:12:25, getting a 8 min PR.

It was downhill the first half, the second half was brutal. The scenery was beautiful.

I trained for 18 weeks using Hanson's method. I trained for a 3:15 finish time. Overall, my training was great! I wouldn't change anything. However, I would encourage future revel runners to make sure to run plenty of downhills during training.

I hands down recommend the double tree hotel. It was such a great hotel surrounded by many restaurants. We walked across the steet to claim jumper for pre race dinner. It was chilly before the race, so perhaps bring throw away items to toss.

Had dinner at claim jumper.

5/5 Stars

Race day was very organized and had minimal stress. No questions about where buses were located, and there was consistent instruction throughout the morning of what to expect during the race prep and while running! Awesome.

Yes! I shaved a good solid 6 minutes off of my half marathon time. Felt great!!

Very interesting and not boring at all. Loved the camera warnings.

I have run once in the past month, but have been cross training. I noticed that the downhill course was very motivating and fun.

A brief amount of hill training and hill repeats would go a long way.

5/5 Stars

this time I left the phone in its sleeve, and enjoyed the landscape and the views. Best. Decision. Ever!
Next year, I'll get a Go Pro camera :-)

I did! By 6 minutes over the last one (Revel Rockies).
I BQ'd for Boston 2016 with ReveRockies, but Canyon City got me my BQ for 2017

Beautiful.
The first half is straight down, but the second half does have a good number of hills. The elevation is not a problem.
One thing I would change for next year is the photographers and the placement of the "photos ahead" sign. At Revel Rockies the sign was well ahead, so you had time to distance yourself from the other runners and strike your best pose.

I was bad this time around and did not train specifically for down hill running. I switched to 30-45 minutes runs with 1 minute sprints every 5 minutes. I only got 3 longish (13 miles tops) runs before the race. And lots of biking over the past few months.
I didn't load up on carbs, I switched to a high fat diet, and it seems to greatly lessen sore legs. I powered the run with chocolate almond butter.

Don't go too fast on the first half, and be ready for the hills during the second half.
Clothing-wise, I had a light black compression shirt on, which worked great for the most part in the sunny parts.
This run is hard on the toes and toenails because of the decline, so make sure to clip your nails and wear shoes that are good for flat terrain.

does the 50 mile bike ride home count as fun? Just a quick in and out trip for the marathon.
I came from West LA. Looking forward to the Gold line extension for next year!

4/5 Stars

Watching the elite marathoners zoom by me as I finished my half marathon! What a unique experience!

Nope but I had fun

Scenic, never boring, difficult

Training myself to run down hills continuously helped immensely for this course!

The hills are HUGE. Train for running UPHILL and downhill.

5/5 Stars

It was great. I pr'd big time, great scenary

Yes by 50 minutes

Downhill and scenic

I run 80 to 90 miles a week and do crossfit

Enjoy the race

Went to see James Bond before the race. I traveled from San Clemente

5/5 Stars

5/5 Stars

Perfect from start to finish. Parking and shuttles were flawless. Communication at the start line was awesome. Aid stations were plenty and fully stocked. Volunteers were great. Finish line party was awesome. Can't wait to do it next year!

No, but I was close. I need to train more on down and uphills.

GORGEOUS.

Im actually trainingnfor a 50k so this fell in line with my training.

Practice those down hills.

N/a

4/5 Stars

beautiful weather,excellent course

Yes!

Amazing!

I run twice in the week (5 miles) and then I run 10 miles on the weekend. Worked great but I need to add weight training to my schedule.

Run this race!

Take pics with friends before, got a massage after

4/5 Stars

It was a great race day. I remember riding the bus up the mountain to the start line, chatting with my fellow runners about the cool downhill run to come. And given that spectators basically aren't up on the mountain (no way for them to get up there) I remember it being a very serene and peaceful run, just me (the other runners) and nature. Of course when we got down to the city of Azusa for the final few miles, the town did turn out and it was nice to see the locals cheering. Oh, and I have to mention the finish line was pretty sweet... some good and unique food (Chick-Fil-A nuggets, pie and tons of other goodies). It was a wonderful time.

I didn't PR, but I was purposely running a slow race that day (doing three half marathons in two days that weekend). Given the downhill course, it would give any runner a solid chance at achieving a PR.

The best way to describe it was peaceful. Once you crossed the start line, the runners spread out quickly and it felt like you were just doing a run through nature... with plenty of great scenery to watch as you make your way down the mountain. The course was downhill, but the steepest grade was for the first half of the marathon (I ran the half marathon which started at the marathon's half way point). The downhill grade wasn't too steep, it just allowed you to run at either a pace faster than normal or your normal pace with less effort.

The best training advice I can give is to prepare for the downhill run by doing some hill work (both uphill and downhill) in the weeks leading up to the race. This race will punish your muscles (especially quads) differently than a flat course. If you don't, you'll be really really sore the next day.

Plan for the weather to be cooler than you expect at the start (especially the marathon). You're starting right around dawn and you're at altitude. It'll be cold. Use the gloves and mylar blanket they give you and perhaps bring some throwaway clothes or something your can put in your gear bag just before the start.

And as for pace... this is a a unique race in that if you typically run a set pace, expect to run a faster race than normal. Rather than going by time, go by effort. Stick with your normal effort and you'll naturally go faster. But don't take off like a bat out of hell at the start. Even though it's downhill, you're still running a half (or full marathon).

I'm a LA local, so I'm very familiar with the Azusa area. My advice would be to hang out at the finish line after the race. There's plenty of good food (and beer) and a good chance to cheer on the other finishers.