Hello Run Tucson folks! Below are a few news items for runners and walkers in Southern Arizona.

But first, next up for us is the 3rd Annual El Tour de Tucson 5k Run/Walk on Saturday, November 22nd, produced in partnership with our friends at El Tour de Tucson.

Pricing is only $30 and includes the timed race, a finisher medal, and entry to the 3-day Zenni Expo and Fiesta, with beer gardens, food trucks, live music, and awesome vendors in the biking and fitness industries.

Once again, Fleet Feet will provide gift cards to age group and overall winners. On Your Left Timing will manage the timing and results, with live tracking throughout the race.

Wanna' ride a bike instead? See the El Tour page for all bike event details. They are expecting about 10,000 cyclists, so this promises to be a huge fun-filled week here in the Old Pueblo.

Want to visit Tucson and enjoy a couple of days in our beautiful fall weather? Check out the El Tour lodging page here!

Cheers all,

Randy and Tia Accetta

randy@runtucson.net | tia@runtucson.net | News at Run Tucson

Local News Items

1) The Southern Arizona Roadrunners has opened nominations for the Spirit of Rob Bell Award. In 2000, Rob suffered a fatal heart attack while warming up for a track workout. The Spirit of Rob Bell Award was developed by fellow runners Ken Johns and Julie Luft, and his colleagues at Pepsi.

Do you know anyone who embodies the spirit of kindness and camaraderie displayed by Rob? Click here or on the image below to learn more.

2) As we think about the untimely passing of Rob Bell 25 years ago, our hearts are filled with grief for the death of Edwin Alexander, a member of our local fitness community who was killed while cycling in Marana, AZ this past week.

Edwin's tragic death is a reminder to all of us to be especially careful -- both when exercising and when driving. Please, please: share the road, slow down, be mindful of others.

3) November is a busy month in Tucson:

Everyone Runs hosts the TMC Veteran's Day Trail Run at Catalina State Park on November 9th

The Garmin Tucson Marathon takes place on November 15. The discount code RunWithUs-Tucson-2025 will give you 15% off your online registration here. Jen Wolf from the United Way is helping get all the volunteers needed for this city-wide event -- you can email her at jwolf@unitedwaytucson.org if you're interested in helping out.

The next SAR race is the super-popular Thanksgiving Cross Country Classic 5k and 1.5 mile. Produced at Reid Park in Central Tucson by SAR and The Running Shop, the race takes place on Thanksgiving morning. Current pricing $28.

Not up for running but still want to do something fun? Here are three ideas:

On November 8th, our friends at BEYOND-Tucson are hosting a social hike at the beautiful trails in the cactus-covered Painted Hills. See details at the BEYOND page here.

On November 13th Run Tucson is hosting an injury management talk with ProActive Physical Therapy at Ciao Down, 3230 N Dodge Blvd. Ciao Down will set up their new nacho bar on their back patio. If eating nachos and learning about running injuries make you thirsty, you can grab a beverage at the Hop Shop and bring it to the ProActive talk. Space is limited so contact Tia at tia@runtucson.net if you're interested.

On December 5th, TMC Health is holding a Topgolf fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the 35th annual Hook-N-Slice Golf Tournament, contact Amy Breck at amy.breck@tmcaz.com.

Next up: El Tour de Tucson 5k Run/Walk

Saturday, November 22nd

Event Week: Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22

What: El Tour 5k Packet Pickup, Registration, and Fun

Beer Garden, Vendor Expo, Live Music, plus Downtown Tucson lodging discounts for a fun weekend getaway - see Channel 13 video below

Where: Zenni Expo & Fiesta

Tucson Convention Center Exhibition Hall, 60 South Church Avenue, Tucson

When: Three Days, including

Thursday, November 20, Noon – 9:00 pm, Convention Center

Friday, November 21, Noon – 9:00 pm, Convention Center

Saturday, November 22, 6am - 7pm, Convention Center

5k Race Day Schedule, November 22nd

6:00 am - 7:00 am: Packet pickup and registration at the Convention Center next to starting line

7:15 am: Start 5k Run/Walk, with ongoing festivities at race site and finish at El Parque de San Cosme, with finisher medals awarded to all finishers

Ongoing at Finish Line at El Parque de San Cosme: Music by Starlight Deejays, facepainting for the kiddos, Raising Cane's goodies and activities, Arizona Bowl goodies, AAA post-race snacks, Disney characters, and more

8:15 am: Start FUN Ride!, the family bike ride with adaptive riders and others doing a 1.5 and 3-mile loop, finishing at the 5k finish line

9:15 am: Approximate time for El Tour 5k Awards, age group awards by Fleet Feet, at Expo Stage, near the beer garden

Ongoing morning and afternoon: bike rides begin, expo activities, music, and more

See here for more details on the full El Tour weekend schedule

Pricing: $30

Finisher's Medallion

All finisher's receive the El Tour 5k Finisher's Medallion

This is from 2024 -- I still have not picked up the new medals, but I'll try to get that done for next week's email!

Fleet Feet Awards

Special thanks to our friends at Fleet Feet Tucson for providing gift cards to overall and age-group winners. Timing by Oro Valley's On Your Left.

Fleet Feet Tucson has two locations:

In Tucson at 7301 East Tanque Verde Road, #151

In Oro Valley at 7607 N. Oracle Road, #121

Overall male and female finishers Fleet Feet Gift Cards

1st $50
2nd $35
3rd $25

Top three age-group male and female finishers in 5-year age groups: U19 through 75+

1st $20
2nd $15
3rd $10

Optional Souvenir Shirt

An optional soft style El Tour 5K is available with your registration for $15.

A note on the history of El Tour running events

We call this the 3rd Annual El Tour de Tucson 5k because it's the third year that El Tour has hosted a run/walk on the same course and the same day as the big bike ride.

Years ago Perimeter Bicycling organized annual running races staged at different locations in the Tucson area, often on a September weekend from 1998-2015. (In fact, as we humble-bragged last year, in separate years in the early aughts, both Tia and I won the 10k races that were staged out by the Tucson Mountains on the northwest side of town -- and we each still have these super cool awards from those races.)

We're mindful of the happy history of past races and we're grateful to all those who added to the running community in years past.

More About El Tour Bike Ride Options

The Routes & Start Times

Perimeter Bicycling and El tour de Tucson are thrilled to to bring this world class event to downtown Tucson. El Tour de Tucson was recognized by USA TODAY as the country’s Top Road Cycling Event. All Rides/Routes start and finish at the Tucson Convention Center and the surrounding area.

Wanna' ride? Sign up here!

The Century (7:00 am start)

102 Mile Bike Ride

5K Run/Walk (7:15 am start)

3.1 Mile, 5K run/walk for all ages, all abilities, all bodies

The FUN Rides! (8:15 am start)

3 Mile / 1 Mile Bike Ride

The Metric Century (9:00 am start)

62 Mile/100 Kilometer Bike Ride

The Half Metric Century (10:00 am start)

32 Mile/50 Kilometer Bike Ride

Run Tucson's 2026 Calendar

Who We Are

Run Tucson was created by Tia and Randy Accetta to make our hometown better through running.

Coaching

Run Tucson is also the umbrella for The Workout Group, Tucson's longest-running coached training group -- now in its 26th season with group coaching and personal online and in-person coaching to help you achieve your running groups. See www.runtucson.net for details.

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