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Nikki Anderson
2017 REVEL Rockies Marathon
Published: June 12, 2017, 12:37 p.m. 
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Overall Rating
5/5 Stars
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Describe your race day.
The race is incredibly organized. The volunteers and the staff are super supportive and excited to be there. I loved the music playing at the start of the marathon. The buses were school buses and charter buses would have been preferred, but overall nothing to really complain about.
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Did you PR?
Yes, but only because it was my first ever marathon. No on Boston for me, but I knew that wasn't even a possibility. The people around me who learned it was my first marathon were some of the most supportive and kindest people ever. They ran with me for about a mile before they continued on their journey. It was great, and towards the end we rallied with the runners around us to push through the pain and finish. This is why I keep racing; I love the running community
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How would you describe the course?
The race course was BEAUTIFUL. We drove it the day before so we knew what to expect, and I HIGHLY recommend this to people. The course, because of the turns and grade of descent, makes you run on a slant for a good portion of the race. Miles 1-5 are completely downhill, but when you reach mile 5 you have a slight hill followed by flat. You go a little further and I think it's around 7 when you find a small hill, but then it's downhill until you turn off of Squaw Pass road. Miles 1-11 are a significant descent for you to use to your advantage. You won't feel tired, but you should fuel adequately so you can finish the race. Mile 11-16 you face some large, rolling hills that honestly went by quickly. I played the climbs conservatively and then used the large drops to my advantage at the top of these hills. At 16 you start a flat race until mile 20. This was where I hit the wall and thought it was toughest because of the flatness. Shortly after mile 20 you reach your last hill. From there, you flatten out or descend again. The last two miles are purely downhill with exception of the .1 of a hill to finish, but then you actually finish running down to the finish line with your last 500 feet or so. I didn't notice any elevation problems either, but I think that's because I got in on Friday and was able to acclimate a little bit.
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Tell us about your training.
I trained using an app called Aaptiv that has a training plan in it. It was an awesome plan, but I had to modify some because of a shin splint. I've run downhill races before so I knew my body would be pretty wrecked after, and this race magnified that feeling. I would highly recommend hill training to people that don't have large declines. That's pretty hard to train for, but you can usually find a hill to train some on to prepare for the rolling hills. If you have the ability to do some downhill running, by all means take advantage of that.
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What advice would you give future runners?
I recommend getting in on Friday so you can mentally prepare on Saturday and basically relax. Drive the course beforehand if you can. Take layers for the top because it is chilly, but you won't need them to run in. Apply sunscreen from the nose down so you don't get sunscreen in your eyes as you run, but definitely don't try to get away from not applying. You'll need it because once you're out of the first 11 miles there isn't much shade on the course. Take your own gels and chews so you have them, and use the aid station ones just in case. I grabbed at aid stations and put them in my belt with my own just in case I would need them. I'm glad I did because I ended up using one or two more gels than I anticipated. I bought a lot of asics 6 weeks out from the race and ONLY wore them for training/the race. My shoes weren't worn out and my legs and felt healthy for the entire race. Take sandals to change into afterwards and be prepared to walk about a half mile to the shuttle. That sucked.
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What fun things did you do in the area before or after the race?
We went to the zoo after the race to try to keep the blood moving and just do a little walking for recovery. We went to voodoo doughnuts too which is cash only FYI if you're thinking about visiting there too.
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