Review
Picking a New Mexico Marathon was harder than I thought
On the way there, I flew out of Pittsburgh to connect to Houston then Albuquerque. Then on the way back I connected through Dulles to get back to Pittsburgh
I stayed with a couple of hashers, and they were also able to pick me up from the airport!
The Expo was small and in a hotel ballroom and the flow could have been better
There should have been signs to indicate which booth is for the 5K, half marathon, and marathon
There was nice swag for marathoners including a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a stuffed roadrunner toy. The race shirt is nice but generic in that it doesn’t identify the distance run
The course itself is more or less out-and-back
Asphalt about half of which was on a paved park trail (shared with the public) and the other half in neighborhood streets
My biggest criticism is that the first water stop was 3.5 miles in, which is a bit silly considering the fact that it was a bit warm and we are at a higher altitude. Additionally, there were no medical stations throughout the course
So if someone needed medical care (ex. dehydration, injury), they wouldn’t be able to get proper help
I understand it’s a smaller field size, but none of the roads were blocked off, so we had to deal with cars driving right next to us which is dangerous if we want to pass someone
Signage along the course was mostly good, though there were 1 or 2 intersections where I had trouble figuring out where to run
As for the finish line, it was definitely geared towards the 5K, half-marathoners, and fast marathoners. When I finished (over 5 hours), there was next-to-no food or water for us. Or an opportunity to use the cold bath.
I would consider running the half marathon of this race if I were to return because it seems like they were able to have the finish line party
I wouldn't use this for a PR and/or BQ because of the altitude
Race Website: Albuquerque Running Fiesta