I think this is the only race inside of a national park, so naturally I had to register and give it a try. This was also the last national park we visited as a family before my mom passed away. We did a day trip from my parents’ place in the desert. I had booked this trip in hopes that I’d be able to coax her into a race with me, since it was a nearly unlimited time for the 5K and 10K distances.
We drove out there from my dad’s house the day before the race. We checked in at the host hotel, The Oasis at Death Valley. It was simply jaw dropping how beautiful it was. It truly was an oasis in the desert. If you ever do this race, I really recommend this hotel. The race starts right outside the hotel grounds, pickup is in the back too. The casitas were well designed. There was a washer/dryer (presumably more helpful if you’ve got a longer trip), a fridge, lovely bathroom, and spacious bedroom. The grounds boasted a few restaurants, an ice cream shop, a post office, and event spaces. Overall such a great gem in the middle of the desert.
The race itself starts outside of the hotel…somewhere between the hotel, very expensive gas station, and Furnace Creek visitor center. The park ranger kept shuttling runners off the road and onto the shoulder. Unfortunately for this race, the road was open to traffic but we were not really exposed all that much. My GPS completely cut out so I had to redraw the map:
A small portion is on a walk/bike path, and then you take a turn into a side street to Harmony Borax. You follow up the road that turns from paved to trail, and then wind around Mustard Canyon. Not surprisingly it is colored like mustard. You eventually reconnect with the road. There is an aid station at the intersection. You retrace your steps back to the start, and then loop back out again and go a little further to capture some miles. There were quite a few people out there doing their first marathon here. This is a pretty cool backdrop. It never got hot. Winters in the desert are perfection, really.
I would love to register again, and to spend more time in the park. Unfortunately, it’s just a few weeks after Dopey, so I’d really have to bank a lot of time off to make it work. With NPS funding being cut, the race has also paused registration for the first time in 28 years. Fingers crossed the race continues as planned. There was even a legacy runner there, which is pretty awesome given the novelty of the race.
Amara in Training 