State 47 Las Cruses New Mexico Marathon Review

This race took place in a Las Cruces New Mexico. It’s a nice small town with lots of restaurants about an hour northwest of El Paso TX.

The race began and finished at the Field of Dreams football/track stadium. It was not large but not too small with the marathon starting first, the half 15 minutes later and the 4.7-mile event after that.

The course was very flat with just a couple of small bumps. The surface was a mix of blacktop, concrete, and dirt. About half the course was on a walkway winding along the dry Rio Grande.

Aid stations and facilities were plentiful. However, there were no gels offered on the course.

Dean ran with his friend Lee who wanted to break 4:30 for the marathon. Lee's watch didn't have a good GPS signal at the start, so his watch said he was going slower than he really was. Dean was recovering from the Across The Years marathon just a few days earlier so he was easing into the race trying to eventually catch up to Lee. It took nearly 4 miles to catch up. They went through the half in around 2:03. The second half of this out-and-back was more challenging. Lee was tired and the temperature had risen. Near the 17-mile mark, they came up behind a man who was wearing an Across The Years shirt. It was a different color than the one Dean received just a few days before. Dean asked what race he did presuming it was from a previous year. No, he had run the 200-mile race the previous Saturday just seven days ago - impressive. He also said he would be in Louisiana the following weekend for another marathon.

You may think you train and race a lot. But there is always someone out there who is doing even more.

Later we approached a man whose shirt said on the back "100 Marathon Club." Dean told him congratulations on 100 marathons. He informed them that he had run over 600 marathons -- impressive.

The course continued back toward the track on which it started. The first short out-and-back was not necessary on the return trip toward the finish line. This could have been marked better with signage or a volunteer. Paula would have added this by mistake if Dean hadn't come back to run with her. We heard after the finish that a lady would have been the first overall in the half marathon if she had not mistakenly repeated this short out-and-back on the return to the track.

Once on the track, runners had two full laps to complete. To some this was an opportunity to see the finish and push hard for a goal. For others, it was heartbreaking to do two laps instead of one to reach the finish.

Lee was motivated to reach his goal.  It was going to be close, but he dug deep and finished with about 30 seconds to spare.  

Overall, this was a fun race, and we would recommend it.

As a side note - Lee is quite impressive as a streak runner, ultramarathoner, and person.  He is quite the athlete even though he underwent serious heart surgery several years ago.  Praise the Lord that Lee is still able to enjoy running.