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...

New Years Eve was spent in a hotel in Peoria Arizona. We traveled out west so Dean could mark off Arizona in our quest for a marathon in all 50 states. He was injured when we went to the Phoenix Marathon in 2023.

This race was the “Across the Years” event. The marathon was the shortest option. However, his watch measured 27.16 miles when he crossed the line after 19 laps. This event is for those who like to go long. There were time-based races including, 6-days, 72 hours, 48 hours, 24 hours, 12 hours, and 6 hours. Distance races included 200 miles, 100 miles, 100K, and the marathon. And then there was the “Last Man Standing”. This consisted of starting a new lap on the 1.42 mile loop every 20 minutes.

The results were impressive. But we will focus on the race.

The course this year was at the Peoria Sports Complex home to the Mariners and Padres training camps. Loops weaved around the ball parks. The surfaces included concrete, blacktop, dirt, and gravel. The...