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Revel Canyon City Marathon Reviews
Revel Canyon City Marathon
3.3 Stars from
10 Runners
Misleading PR Score
By EF about 2017
Review
This is one tough race. Once you've pounded down 5000 ft in the half, there is 600 ft of up to tackle. I ran tons of elevation in preparation for this race and it still didn't fully prepare me. This site's appraisal of this race's PR Score of 110.94 is extremely inaccurate. Other Revel courses are less difficult.
Run Revel does a great job of putting on a race. The runner expo is extremely low key but they more than compensate for this with excellent aid stations, a multitude of port-a-potties and yummy treats at the finish. If you like bling, the medal is quite substantial.
Race Tips
Pace yourself conservatively on the downhill. Dress warmly for the start line.
There was a shuttle from the Doubletree Hilton right to the start line.
3 /
5 Stars
Train well, no worries!
By Jared R about 2017
Review
Well organized, great swag, cool medal, The expo is perfect, Azusa is a great town that fits this event very well. I would run this event again.
Race Tips
Fast yes! Easy not so much, Start off slow and you'll be ok. the heat was not an issue this year, dress warm for the start and bring a light, there are no lights at top of the mountain. No one wants to "feel their way around" a porta potty at 4am. The downhill is great but prepare for a few hills towards the end of the first half. Aid stations were well suited and the volunteers were great.
Come to Azusa a day early to settle in. We ate breakfast at Flo's Coffee Shop & Restaurant, food was awesome!
5 /
5 Stars
Great the 1st time but maybe plan on a 2nd run too
By RY about 2016
Review
Really well organized, nice swag bag (incl a cap and throwaway gloves) excellent 1-hr bus shuttle to the top. A really BEAUTIFUL course, esp the 1st half: big sweeping curves down a mountain pass, just gorgeous. Good support on course and fun finish area. Also: free race pictures and video!
Yup it got warm by the end, be prepared for that. But we had blessed cloud cover most of the race, so can't complain.
The only problem: AWOL pacers! Where were they? My GPS was spotty (in the mountains) and pacing would have helped a lot. The 3:25 pacer seemed to disappear at some point. There was no 3:40 pacer.
It is an unusual course, so that's why I suggest planning on running it at least twice, especially if you don't have much experience with elevation.
Race Tips
I did some, not a lot of hill training. I thought the 1st half was not that bad. My problem is that I shd have held back and did not--and paid dearly the last few miles at the end. The steep downhill was good for maybe -15 to -30 sec off my goal MP, but I actually ran the 1st half -45 sec, which was way too fast. I'd say plan on running the downhill a little faster than HMP and save plenty of gas for the second half.
5 /
5 Stars
By PS about 2016
Review
Although appealing on the surface as a fast downhill course in the middle of fall, this race is a monster....an absolute monster. Yes, this course has a drop of 5,000 feet for the first half of the marathon but be very aware that the second half of the race has over 1,500 feet of CLIMBING including +300 feet at Mile 17. I was on BQ pace for +20 miles before the wheels started falling off. By Mile 22 the load of 2,000 feet of climbing plus the escalating temperatures (approx 78 degrees) caught up with me. By Mile 24 I blew up....it took every ounce of life I had left in me to walk/granny jog the rest of the way and avoid a DNF. I set 2 records that day...fastest half marathon and slowest half marathon. It was that brutal for this experienced runner.
The race was very well organized and had great communication leading up to the start. Plenty of portapotties at the start. There's a real nice firepit for runners to gather around while waiting in the 40 degree chill. The gear check at the start was real easy.
Big complaint I had was with the aid stations across the last 10K....the temperature of the water and hydration fluids were very warm. It would have been extremely helpful if the aid stations were equipped with ice to keep the fluids cool. Tubs of water and Gatorade sitting out all day in 80 degree heat is not desirable after running 20+ miles.
Race Tips
1. Train as much as you can running downhill for prolonged stretches.
2. Study the course. There are a number of hairpins in the first half so mentally prepare yourself for running those tangents as efficiently as possible.
3. Hydrate early and often. Even though the race starts up in the mountains, the temperature can rise significantly as you reach sea level. Without proper hydration and fueling, your day can end by the time you come off the mountain. The 2016 race had a high of 82 degrees even though it averages in the low 70s.
2 /
5 Stars
By Stanley about 2016
Review
Organisation was fine. From parking to busing up to start line. California traffic was a killer. Even a 16 mile location took close to 2 hours at times. The first half is an extreme downhill and is sure to kill your calves and quads if you are not used to downhill running. 2nd half had so many tough elevations (Some around 1 mile) which you had no answer to it because your legs would already have died. If you really want to do a good time, you must also run the tangents as the routes are mostly curves.
Race Tips
It will be a positive split , given the profile of the course. You absolutely must train tons on downhills or you will suffer. Do not overdress as it gets really hot after just a few miles. If you are unable to train hills, I would suggest a flat course rather than this marathon.
Fairfield Inn by Marriott and Holiday Inn West Covina were close to the finish line (About 6 miles). The surrounding area was easy to find food and groceries.
1 /
5 Stars
By TM about 2016
Review
The Race was well organized. Free Pizza, Pie , Beer at the Finish..I wanted to Follow a pacer but they didn't have many Slots covered which was very surprising given how organized they are on other aspects! The Course is fast if u pace yourself Right. The first half is all downhill. The second half has some rolling hills which you have to slow down and by this time, it was really hot and the calf's , Quads were on fire. By Mile 20, My legs cramped, I saw my pace slow Down by 2 Minutes and my BQ gone. Definitely, One needs to do a lot of training on Steep Hills for both Downhills and uphills to get the legs ready for the ride.
Overall, I PR'ed by 21 Minutes but could have done better with better pacing and a cooler temperature!
Race Tips
You want to be a little conservative on ur pace the first half to preserve energy for the Hills on miles 15, 17 and 20. If's the weather is above 60 Degrees, Go 5-10 secs slower per Mile than planned. Going at your goal pace will not get you to 26.2 at your MGP except for those who are used to running in that heat.
I didn't stay at the host hotels but stayed at a hotel a Mile to the busing area. The host hotels were 5 to 8 Miles away and had no Shuttle buses. We car pooled with other runners from the hotel. Its a little cold up the mountain. So take some throw away clothes with you.
4 /
5 Stars
By jwb about 2016
Review
Revel organization is fantastic. This course is a steep downhill and then flattens out and has some uphill in the back half of the marathon - very hard on quads, back, etc. Fast, but only if you don't fall apart. I went out too fast and paid for it in the end.
4 /
5 Stars
By JL about 2016
Review
It was too hot and only the first half of the course was fast.. the last 13 miles had a good amount of uphill...with no shade in the heat I ran another marathon 2 months before and lost 10 lbs prior to this marathon and was still almost 30 minutes slower
Race Tips
Bring a cooling towel practice running steeper downhill and rolling hills in the heat.
The marathon hotels weren't close to the marathon because of CA traffic...it took us forever to get to the expo and race because of traffic even though we were staying at a marathon hotel 5 or 6 miles away
2 /
5 Stars
By Andy about 2015
Review
Difficulty with Revel is 14 miles of downhill which I over ran with a pace leader who did around 2 minutes too fast. She thought this could be banked. Instead of running 40 seconds a mile faster I should have back off about that amount. Since I didn't I didn't do well on the hills which followed. Might go back and try again sometime.
Race Tips
Take it easy on the 14 miles of down him. Maybe 15 to 30 second faster, than marathon pace. Don't hold back and let the hill do the work. However watch out if use a pace group as my 3:35 group ran too fast which hurt later in the race.
