Hello to the early registrants for the February 16th TMC Old Tucson Trail Run. 

We're super excited to bring all of you out to Old Tucson for another fun-filled running and walking event in one of Tucson's iconic tourist attractions.

To help you prepare for a safe and enjoyable day, we've put together another long email with maps, images, and information.

Table of Contents:

• About You By the Numbers
• How to purchase a discounted day ticket to Old Tucson
• Planned race weekend schedule
• Age group and overall awards
• Details, including route markings, timing, cash bar, burritos, bathrooms and more
• Refund and Deferral policy
• Maps and details on the race courses
• Map and directions to Old Tucson

Participants and Changing Events:

• Click here for a list of participants and to search for your registration details.
• If you want to change your event, you can modify it by yourself in your RunSignup account or you can email us at randy@runtucson.net by the end of Tuesday, February 11th.

Trail Running Advice: If you're new to trail running, click here for our 12 Tips post.

OK, we will probably send one more pre-race email at the end of the week, but if you still have questions after reading this, please shoot Randy an email.

Have a great Valentine's Day week -- we'll see this coming weekend!

Randy and Tia

randy@runtucson.net | tia@runtucson.net

About You By the Numbers

3: youngest registrant (6 children aged 3)

86: oldest registrant (Dennis W. -- super motivational!)

546: early registrants

270: Women's Event

210: Open and Men's Event

37: One Mile Walk/Run

29: Kids 14-and-under

44: registered using the Tucson Tourism Bundle

21: states represented (Arizona, New York, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, California, Texas, Ohio, Alaska, Minnesota, Georgia, Idaho, Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, South Dakota, Virginia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma0

1: province represented (British Columbia)

75: pre-ordered burritos

6: run Tucson Trucker Hats pre-ordered

2: bags of flour to be used to mark the course

100: or so ribbons planned on the route

30: or so volunteers required to help

Separate Pricing for Old Tucson Day Pass Ticket

Click here to purchase a discounted Old Tucson All-Day Pass, using the Old Tucson ticketing platform.  

Race entry fees will include entry into the timed run/walk event, a race t-shirt, and entry throughout the park until 10:00 am. 

The Park will officially open at 10:30am, so to enjoy the day inside Old Tucson Studios, all participants  can use this link  to purchase a $10 entry ticket ($15 for guests, children 4-and-under are free) for a single Day Pass. The purchase is a discount off regular pricing and will take place through Old Tucson's ticketing platform and will include their e-commerce charges. 

Monday, February 10

Last day to purchase the add-on breakfast burrito.

See this link if you have any questions about how to do sign up for an add-on, but here's a quick overview:

• Sign In to RunSignUp
• Go to your Profile
• View your events under Upcoming Events
• Click Manage Registration next to the registration that you are editing.
• Click Add-On menu item located on the top OR left of Race page
• Edit the quantity of the Add-On that you would like
• Click Continue and follow the appropriate steps.

Tuesday, February 11

Last day to modify your race event for accurate timing

Saturday, February 15 

10:00am - 1:00pm: In-person registration and packet pickup at the Running Shop, 3055 North Campbell. 

New registrants can pay with cash, credit, or check. There are no race transfers and no refunds. 

YES: This is a great chance to get some trail shoes for the race!

YES: All shirt sizes are first-come, first-served. We'll be using the new "dynamic bib number" process, where you get assigned a number when you arrive at registration.

YES: Someone else can pick up your items and you can pick up someone else's shirt and number

YES: It may be crowded, so please be patient and be nice to the volunteers. YES: The Running Shop will have items on sale, so take some time to shop for your running needs.

Sunday morning, February 16

6:30am: In person registration and packet pickup begins at Old Tucson, 201 Kinney Road

In-person registration and packet pickup take place on the east side of the main parking lot, near the dirt walkway to the start/finish at Bitter Creek. 

See farther below for a map and directions to Old Tucson. Drive safely on the mountain roads, then park anywhere in the spacious parking lot of Old Tucson.

To enter the grounds of Old Tucson, please use the walkway that goes from the east side of the parking lot towards the Rodeo Grounds. Spectators and guests are invited to the area around the Bitter Creek set and the race route, with limited access to the full Old Tucson grounds. See maps below.

7:30: Women's Four-Miler starts at Bitter Creek Set, facing south

8:30: Men's/Open Four-Miler and the Family One Mile Walk/Fun Run starts at Bitter Creek, facing south

• We are delighted to offer all runners and walkers three registration categories of male, female, and non-binary. Anyone of any gender can run in any category event but please see below for Award details.

• The One Mile Trail is mostly stroller-friendly terrain, but there is about a 500 yard stretch that has rocks, train tracks, and other challenging terrain.

8:30 or so: Cash Bar and Breakfast Burrito will open at Stage Two, near the start/finish.

9:30 or so: Awards, Costume Contest, and Free Lil' Pardner's Fun Run -- fun 100-yard dash around the High Chaparral and Bitter Creek sets

10:00 or so: we'll wrap up about 10:00. According to Old Tucson management, all event participants and guests are asked to leave the grounds by 10:15 am through the Rodeo Gate walkway to the parking lot, and then re-enter through the main entry turnstyles.

Old Tucson personnel will make sure we're all out of the grounds on time.

10:30: Old Tucson Opens, with all ticketed Old Tucson visitors entering through the Main Entrance Gate at the front of Old Tucson. Remember, friends and family are allowed in limited areas of Old Tucson during the event up until race end at 10:00 am. To stay in town after the park opens, participants can purchase a ticket using the Old Tucson ticketing platform here.

Post-Race Through March

Remaining shirts and any awards not picked up on race day will be available through the end of March, 2025. Shirts and awards will NOT be mailed.

Running Shop gift certificates: 

4-Mile Run: Overall Female and Overall Male: 1st place: $40 gift card; 2nd place: $35; 3rd place: $30.

First place Masters, 40+ Male/Female: $35

Age group: top three in 5-year age divisions, 14&U, then 15-19 through 80+, in 5-year increments, AG1-$25; AG 2-$15 gc; AG 3-$10 gc

We welcome all runners and all walkers. See details on event categories and awards here.

Note on gender divisions: We are trying to make this as participant-friendly as possible and we at Run Tucson are delighted to offer all athletes the choice of three registration categories of male, female, and non-binary.

Anyone of any chosen gender can run in any category event. However, for record-keeping purposes, the 2025 Running Shop/Mizuno Grand Prix points and race awards are only provided to females who score in the Women's race and males who score in the Men's/Opens race. At this writing, there are not enough folks registered in the non-binary division for an award category.

SAR adjudicates the Grand Prix; click here for more information on SAR's Grand Prix.

Look for flagging. If you don't see colorful ribbons on the trail in front of you, you might be lost. Turn around and reverse your steps until you find where you went off track!

Keep an eye out for directional arrow and the volunteers from Salpointe High School and the UA Neurosciences.

Timing

Please wear your race number on the front of your shirt. The race is being timed by SAR timer Greg Wenneborg. 

There may be a delay to internet service in the area, but early results will be live at www.roadrunnerracetiming.com.

 Lil' Pardners Free Kids Dash

This is meant to be a playful 100m dash, with no prizes and no timing. Bring your little ones to the finish line at the Bitter Creek set at about 9:30 and we'll set up a low-key route around the High Chaparral set.

Weather

It looks to be a clear and sunny day, a bit chilly in the early morning, then warming to high 60's by the end of the morning.

Start/Finish and Bathrooms

The start and finish line are at the Bitter Creek set, near Stage 2, to the east of Main Street. There are many bathroom facilities throughout Old Tucson, along Main Street and near the Bitter Creek set.

Cash Bar After Race

Old Tucson is offering a cash bar with beer, wine, spirits, and more. Mosey up to the bar at Stage 2, near the start/finish. The Old Tucson bartending folks are working out details, but we think the bar will be open from 8:30-10:00, or so.

Burrito Pick Up After the Race

If you ordered a breakfast burrito, you can pick it up near the bar in Stage 2, near the start/finish by 8:30 or so.

Sponsors

Thanks to our primary race sponsors for making this possible, Tucson Medical Center and the Running Shop.

Thanks to TMC for snacks and to Skratch Labs for providing post-race hydration.

Social Media

 #RunTucson #RunLocal #TrailRunning #Imyourhuckelberry #OldTucsonTrailRun #RunSAR

Any others? Let us know!

Refunds and Deferrals

All entry fees are non-refundable. For 2025, there are no refunds, no deferrals, and no transfers. When you register for this event, you are making a non-refundable purchasing decision and must agree to this policy. You may not give or sell your number to another individual outside of the authorized transfer policy and process; doing so forfeits the race entry. Once you register, unrecoverable race course services and items are paid for as if you will be attending the event; thus, this policy stays in effect whether you are injured, have an unexpected business or family emergency, illness, etc.  

Having said that, we are committed to supporting pregnant athletes, so if your pregnancy will keep you from participating, please contact Tia at tia@runtucson.net

Click here for full details on the race routes for the 4-milers and the 1-mile. See the maps below for parking, packet pickup, and the race routes.

Suggestions: It's a trail run, so keep your eyes up, watch for cactus, watch for directions, and be willing to sacrifice speed for safety and course accuracy. You may consider wearing knobby-soled trail shoes.

Headphones: Regular readers know that we discourage head phones during events. Please be thoughtful about wearing headphones. To be respectful to others, you may need to communicate with one another on the single track trails and other tricky sections.

Difficulty: The One Miler will do a lap of the town loop, with a bit of desert trails thrown in for fun! This route will cross the Old Tucson railroad tracks, but overall should be suitable for strollers and pushed chairs. The Four Miler will include narrow single track trails and sandy washes that may be very difficult for strollers or pushed trails.

As you can see in the map below, the 1-Milers will do a single loop around the Old Tucson grounds. The 1-Mile is drawn in purple with yellow arrows. The 4-Milers will start by almost 2 loops of town, then heading out to the desert for a bigger loop, and ending with another loop of town.

In the map below, the 4-Mile route is marked in red.

The 4-Milers will start by doing 2 loops of town, then heading out to the desert for a bigger loop, and ending with another loop of town. The race starts at the Bitter Creek set.

Loop One blue arrows mark the first mile of the 4-Miler. Miles 1-3.25 are marked by the yellow arrows, including another lap through town and the big desert loop. The final in-town portion is marked by blue arrows.