The sun is not up as Gary Denny places water at Sagauro National Park

People start arriving for the 40th Annual Saguaro National Monument Race a little after 3 a.m. on Monday morning, Labor Day.  And no, they’re not there to get a head start on ‘running’ the race, they are there to volunteer to help the race ‘run’ smoothly. It’s pitch black, the full moon casts a blue haze across the desert.  Now it’s easy to understand The Moody Blues poem at the end of Days of Future Passed – “Cold hearted orb, rules the night, removes the colors from our sight…”, but I date myself.  From the light of lanterns, flashlights and bicycle headlights, volunteers are taking last minute  registrations, looking up names, handing out t-shirts and pointing people to the Porta-Potties (nearly 20 in the area). More than 800 people are pre-registered, and another 100 or so will sign up the morning of the race.  Their needs are many, including race bibs (and safety pins to hold the bibs), t-shirts, race information, mileage signs, post race snacks and my job today: delivering water to the aid stations along the course.

Gary Denny is a past board member and SAR president, he no longer runs due to aching knees, but helps set up and tear down the water stations each year.  Race Director Randy Accetta gives us the  formula for calculating the amount of water each runner will need throughout the race, “6 oz. per runner, taking into account the heat, number of cups and the amount of ice, etc, etc. etc.” Let’s just say it is A LOT. Gary and I take the loaned moving truck with all the requirements for 4 aid stations: 2000 gallons of water, 12 coolers, 4,000 cups, 4 tables, 4 trash cans and 4 rakes.  If the truck breaks down, we could survive for weeks in the desert, plus our little oasis would be both tidy and well manicured.

Sahuaro HS Super Heroes handed out water

The Sahuaro and Santa Rita High School XC teams each run a water station.  The Sahuaro team gets into it and goes Superhero mode, wearing capes, masks and sporting superhero monikers.  To many of the runners, they will be superheroes, handing water to passing runners, ensuring none spills before it is either gulped down or tossed on the racers head.  I realize the rakes are to help collect the cups that runners will discard like leaves in the road as they zoom by. Probably a lesson learned in one of the previous 39 renditions of this race.

Back at race central, many of the registration volunteers excuse themselves to prepare for the race, as most are pulling double duty, volunteering AND racing.  Meaning they arrive much earlier than other racers, assist them with their needs and then move on to the race. I am smart, having elected to volunteer, and then volunteer some more.

The Pima Cross Country Team timed the race

case of problems. Along with the Pima Cross Country team timing the race, the Park Rangers directing traffic and random people generously lending a hand, 800 runners get through the course and have a great experience.

Running Man's course for the recent Street O hosted by the Tucson Orienteering Club

I recently ran a race that had no set distance, no set course and no set starting time, but still was instructed to complete the race as fast as I possibly could.  Oh and along the way I had to find and identify 8 – 12 markers along the course.  Welcome to competitive orienteering.

My friends in the Tucson Orienteering Club recently hosted a “Street O’, an orienteering race designed to introduce the sport to us non-orienteers.  Combining map reading, racing, logistics and planning, Orienteering can be enjoyed at a leisurely pace or as a competitive, fast race.  My friends and I were just about to find out how fast.

The object of the race is to travel to 8 (short course) or 12 (long course) of the 15 pre-determined markers laid out on a map.  Starting from the Palo Verde Park just south of Broadway, we were handed a map at our designated starting time.  The map showed streets, alleys, washes but no street names or other identifications.  Laid out on the map were the 15 markers, with 15 corresponding questions for each. The idea is to get to a marker as quickly as possible, answer the question and move on to the next marker (hopefully in a logical, well-thought out manner. Yeah, right).

The first thing I learned is that running and a reading a map is one of the hardest things to do.  Thank goodness I wasn’t chewing gum.  I quickly identified the first few items and was confident things were going my way until I got stuck.  Marker # 2: “Utility pole # at wash junction?” threw us for a loop (my friend and fellow Soggy Wogger, Steve Outridge was at this marker too).  There were four poles at this junction, but none matched.  Here is where I realized that orienteers are good – they are required to find pinpoint markers with just a map and old fashioned compass.  We literally had to get in the wash to see the pole.  Steve attempted to follow me to the next few markers, but I ditched him through the wash and on to the next marker.

I’ve selected the short course, 8 markers, and quickly get through the next 5 – 6 markers.  I’m on a roll.  Cactus on the wrought iron door?  Saguaro – Check.  Yellow sign on street corner? Speed Humps – check. Each marker, although sometimes small or intricate was easy to locate once you learned to read the map.  I finally come to my last marker – “What are the blue things”? I’m racking my brain looking for something small in the junction of two back alleys.  I run up and down the alleys, fearing that time is ticking away, frantically looking for something blue.  Finally it dawns on me that I’m surrounded by ‘blue things’ – about 150 blue recycling bins. Duh.

Recycling Bins are blue. It took Running Man, Tim Bentley a few minutes to figure this out.

My map is a crumpled sweaty mess as I’m blazing down a back alley towards the finish. I have no idea where my fellow competitors are, as I’ve only seen two out on the ‘course’.  I cross the line in 29:00 and later map it out to be a little over three miles – 9:40 per mile, with stops, turns, backtracks and a few zigzags.  The top orienteer that day is Mark Everett, he was an overachiever and went to all 15 (of the 12 required for the long course) markers in 33:54, and I figure that to be just under 6:00 per mile pace.  Times like that would place Mark in the upper tier of many of the local road races.  That is fast, people, and not only was he reading a map and answering questions at that pace, he was probably chewing gum too…

Our friend Cristina Luis organized the event.  She recently qualified for the United States National Orienteering team and travels to Hungary in August to take on the best teams in the world.  Read a great article about her here, and support the Orienteering Club here.

The racers were giddy as they handed out the ribbons at the end of a recent Tucson City Parks Road Race. Blue for 1st, red for 2nd and so on…  Fellow racers cheered and clapped during the ceremony; and when my name was called for 1st (in my age group), I was through the roof.  It seemed everyone shared similar sentiments when called to the front – from the 10 year-old boy who out-kicked me (oh, I’ll get him next time), to the couple married longer than I have been around. All of them winners.

If you ever participated in an activity as a kid, you probably received a ribbon – swim meets, 4-H projects, science fairs or art contests. There are many.  Those ribbons were proudly displayed on your bedroom wall – or better yet on the fridge for all to see. Proof to the world that you had participated and accomplished great things. 

Now you can travel back to your childhood every week courtesy of Tucson City Parks. For just $3.00, these low key, family fun races are a blast.  Staged at various parks throughout town, between 60 – 80 racers compete in a one-mile predict, 2K and 5K cross country style race. No need to be the fastest runner in the park, ribbons are awarded in five-year age group categories, meaning everyone can compete. Run enough of the races and you might be in the running to be the Tucson City Parks Grand Prix Champion (updated – I finished 3rd!). 

The staff is great and really makes it fun for everyone.  The best part – when they announce your name for your fabulous prize.  Mine is on the fridge…

Tucson City Parks Road Races (and track meets)…