Thanks for signing up for the Saguaro National Park Labor Day Run, on the calendar of the Southern Arizona Roadrunners. Below are race details, but first, let's take a moment to acknowledge our wonderful race location.
Old-timers will remember when this race was the
Saguaro National Monument Run
, and we're proud to be part of the National Park Service, an American treasure celebrating its 102
nd
anniversary this year. We offer special thanks to our friends at Saguaro for allowing us to be one of the few races produced on National Park lands. Park Ranger Steve Bolyard, Rincon Mountain District Ranger Miranda Cook, and Saguaro Chief Ranger Ray O’Neill have all provided above-and-beyond support for this race over the years. It takes a lot of folks to help with this race, so if you see a Park Service employee, please thank them for their efforts!
Did you know that approximately 1% of the Park's total fee revenue comes from this single event? Thank you for helping us support this local treasure. Your one-day park pass is included in your registration, so there is no need to purchase an additional park pass.
Overall, we anticipate providing over $4,000 to the National Park Service, $2,500 to the Friends of Saguaro, and $4,000 to the Southern Arizona Roadrunners for operations and other programming, like SAR's Children's Fitness Fund.
Now, on to the race details. Please make sure you're familiar with the items of importance -- including packet pick-up, parking, race route information, and more.
We'll see you next weekend! In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact me.
Thanks!
Race Director, Southern Arizona Roadrunners
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st
PACKET PICKUP at RUNNING SHOP
10:00 am - 1:00 pm T-shirt and Packet Pickup at The Running Shop (3055 North Campbell)
YES: We will do in-person registration on Saturday, so please let your friends and family know they can swing by and register.
YES: Saturday morning will be crowded. Please be in a good mood and please be nice to the volunteers who are giving up their Saturday to help out.
YES: The shirts are tank tops, and sizing is first-come, first-served, so get there early to get your first choice!
YES: Go shopping! Please support local running by shopping local -- get some shoes, clothes, and other running products from our friends at The Running Shop.
Take advantage of their annual Labor Day Shoe Blow Out Sale. The Running Shop will be open on Monday from 10 am- 6 pm
, and it is the last day of their Labor Day Shoe Blow Out Sale.
YES: You can pick up the shirt and number of someone else, but please be respectful of the people in line and don't spend a year-and-a-half trying to figure out if the t-shirt is the perfect size.
YES: you can become a member of SAR at the race. SAR is a grass-roots, member-driven running club committed to making our region better through running. SAR members receive discounts to our races, a quarterly newsletter, discounts to local businesses and a cool t-shirt. See www.azroadrunners.org to join the club!
NO:
At this point, you cannot formally change your race distance. However, if you want to do the 5k instead of the 8-miler, please tell the volunteers at Saturday's packet pick that you intend to do the 5k. This will enable our timer to better manage your results. There is no need to change your registration or your number. Because this is chip-timed, your 5k time will be recorded. There are no provisions for moving from the 5k to the 8-miler.
NO: THERE IS NO RACE DAY REGISTRATION
- only t-shirt and number pick-up.
RACE DAY, WHEN and WHERE
When - Monday September 3, 2018
Where - Saguaro National Park EAST, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail Rd
Times - 6:25 am start time for the 8-Miler; 6:30 start time for the 5k
5:15-6:00 AM Packet pick-up at Saguaro Par
k EAST
Staging: This year we are trying something new: all staging will be held in the main parking lot at the Visitor Center.
You can pick up your shirts and numbers at the SAR tents in the main parking lot across from the Visitor Center. Go straight up the park road to the main parking lot.
There is no race day registration, only number/shirt pick-up.
6:00 am Visitor Center opens, with free giveaways, raffles, discounts, and air conditioning
5:50 Line up for early start for 8-miler. If you will take more than 15 minutes a mile and want to get an early start on the 8-mile, you can start at 6:00 am, so please come to the start line at 5:50 and ensure that you are logged in at the Timing Tent.
Early starters are not eligible for age group or overall awards.
6:20 8-milers line up at front, by flagpole. Please line up in order of your expected racing pace: 5-minutes/mile at the front; 6-minutes/mile behind them, and so forth.
6:20 A few words from the National Park Service, National Anthem
6:25 8-Miler start
6:30 5k start (note, all under-10 children need to have a waiver submitted - parents can do this at registration)
7:00 and ongoing: All post-race snacks are provided by Tucson Medical Center, with water from Culligan Water
8:30 (approx) Children's Dash, presented by Craig Dabler Jewelers. This is a free, playful 100 - 200 yard dash with no special awards. No need to sign up ahead of time. Waivers will need to be signed this year -- we'll handle that at the start of the Children's Dash. Location to be announced.
8:30 (approx) Begin Raffle Prizes and Race Awards, courtesy of The Running Shop
9:00 Official course closure -- the National Park Service reserves the right to pick up any participants still on the course starting at 9:00 am.
9:30 Parking lot opens to vehicles
PARKING
PLEASE CAR POOL! The National Park Service is creating a DROP Zone (get it? Drop Runners Off at Park - DROP). This way you can drop off a car-load of runners in front of Saguaro East, then go park.
Participants can park on Old Spanish Trail, Freeman Road, and Escalante. Please obey traffic laws and don't park in driveways. Please allow at least 2 car lengths between you and a stop sign.
Please be sure that you don't block the bicycle lanes -- keep your wheels to the outside of the road so that bike traffic is not impaired. Please keep an eye out for bike riders and be sure to share the road.
The National Park Service will be on hand Monday morning to direct traffic and assist with parking.
Please note that the Pima County Department of Transportation is monitoring the race to ensure that we are complying with safety and legal regulations. Due to the popularity of this race, authorities are considering requiring us require shuttle buses instead of allowing street parking -- please be smart, kind, and thoughtful when coming to the race this year so that we do not have to require a shuttle in future years!
Remember, the later you arrive, the farther away from the starting line you will have to park.
IMPORTANT: Please try to carpool -- it will be easier and safer for all.
IMPORTANT: Do not bring pets to the event - and do not leave them in your car!!
RESTROOMS
Please use restrooms provided by Waste Management. Portojohns will be clearly visible along the driveway heading to the Maintenance Yard, about 100 yards from the start line.
NOTE: the restroom lines go faster if you make a line for each one and you stand closer to the doors!!!
Do NOT go to the bathroom in the desert: the Park Service reserves the right to hand out fines.
TIMING
Please put your bib number on the front of your shirt using the pins provided at registration. Greg Wenneborg is our official timer, and he is using the chip-based timing system from IPICO, so your bib will have an RFID tag on the back of the bib. Please leave this on your bib and don't bend it.
If you want to do the 5k instead of the 8-miler, please tell the volunteers at Saturday's packet pick that you intend to do the 5k. On race day if you must change to the 5k, please visit the timing tent BEFORE 6:00am. This will enable our timer to better manage your results. There is no need to change your registration or your number. Because this is chip-timed, your 5k time will be recorded.
There are no provisions for moving from the 5k to the 8-miler.
SOCIAL MEDIA and PHOTOS
Our running club friend, Goatographer, will be on hand snapping informal photos. See the www.facebook.com/goatographer site for photos.
Please tag the www.instagram/RunSAR and www.instagram/RunTucson sites with #RunSAR, #RunSaguaro, #RunTucson, #hillrunningiseasy and other creative hashtags of your choosing!!
COURSE & STAGING
No Headphones
: Please do NOT wear headphones. Headphones are strongly discouraged -- not only is it unsafe to run without one of your main senses, we want this to be a fun, community event -- so talk with the strangers you're running with, then outsprint 'em to the finish!! Plus, rattlesnakes rattle for a reason -- you will want to hear 'em if they get angry . . .
(As an aside, for reasons of personal safety and public courtesy, we recommend that you NEVER wear headphones when you run outside.)
The 5k Run & Walk course covers a flatter (but still rolling) course that is suitable for strollers and families.
This is an out-and-back with a 180-degree turnaround down by the picnic ground. Please stay to the right the whole way. About 40 minutes into the 5k the 8-mile lead runners will start to pass you -- please give them the right-of-way.
- All 5k participants: Please stay on the right of the road at all times -- go out on the right, turn around and come back on the right.
- Strollers and walkers in the 5k-- please stay to the RIGHT on the route on both the out and the back - this will ensure that the 8-miler leaders can pass you during their final racing mile.
The 8-Miler
is hilly, so please be prepared for the sun and the heat. If you plan on being on the course for more than two hours, please bring your own water to ensure your safety. Please start the race in approximate order of your estimate minutes-per-mile, with the fastest runners at the front.
No strollers are allowed on the 8-mile course.
The 8 Miler is part of SAR’s
Running Shop Grand Prix
. Thanks to Dave Hill for ensuring that we are a measured course. The course is USATF Certified, #14-48-523.
No bicycles, wheelchairs, skateboards, roller skates or pets allowed on the 8 mile or 5k course.
Water Stations
- Long-time friend of Tucson running,
Culligan
Water
will be located at approximately 2, 4, 6 and 7 miles -- and the 1 & 2 mile marks in the 5k.
Students from
Sahuaro High School Cross Country
will be at the 2 and 4 mile marks.
Thanks to our friends the
Tucson Tri-Girls
for handling the water stations at mile 7, which is also the 1 and 2 mile mark for the 5k. The National Park Service will also have volunteers at the 7-mile mark.
Thanks to the cross country runners at
St. Augustine High School
for coordinating the refreshing water at the start/finish line.
Be sure to use the garbage and recycling containers provided by
Waste Management
.
AMR
provides a dedicated ambulance at the finish line.
Thanks to
Waste Management
for the port-o-johns, including one at the 4 mile mark.
Please do not use the desert to relieve yourself: the Park Service may fine you - and a snake may bite you!!
AWARDS
Thanks to the
Road Runners Club of America
for naming the
Saguaro National Park Run
the RRCA Arizona State 8-Mile Championship, with special commemorative medallions to the first male and female in the Open Division, Master's Division (40+), Grand-Master's Division 50+) and Super Grand Master's 60+.
Special thanks to
The Running Shop
, long-time sponsor of SAR and the Saguaro Labor Day Run, for the awesome awards for the 49th Annual race!
8 Miler. Overall top three and Age groups: 0-19, 20-24, etc to 75 & over
Overall 1: $40 Running Shop gift cert + keychain
Overall 2: $30 Running Shop gc + keychain
Overall 3: $20 gc + keychain
Masters 1: $20 gc + keychain
Age group 1: $15 gc + keychain
Age group 2: $10 gc + keychain
Age group 3: keychain
5K: Top three men and women, plus first place in age groups in 10-year categories: 0-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70 +
Overall 1: $25 Running Shop gc + kc
Overall 2: $20 + kc
Overall 3: $15 + kc
Masters 1: $15 + kc
Age group 1: keychain
Where does your Park Service Money Go? By Jeff Wallner, Park Guide
Have you enjoyed a picnic in the shade of a historic shelter at Signal Hill? Have you learned about the natural and human history of the Saguaro from signs along the Freeman Homestead trail? Are you better informed by the new trailhead exhibits and maps found throughout Saguaro National Park? If so, you are enjoying facilities provided by park entrance fees, paid by you and other visitors to Saguaro National Park.
Like hundreds of recreation acres across the country, Saguaro National Park operates under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004. Many visitors are familiar with the "Fee Demo" signs of an earlier law: the Fee Demonstration Program. Under both programs, 100% of all entrance fees are put to use in the park system, and at least 80% of the funds stay in the park where they are collected. Your fees are not returned to the government's general fund.
The effects of time, use, and a rugged desert climate have been tough on the recreation facilities of the park. The picnic areas of the Tucson Mountain District were built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conversation Corps. The structures are wonderful, but historic saguaro rib armadas require special care. Facilities in the Rincon Mountain District were installed by the National Park Service in the 1950's, when visitation was a small fraction of what it is today.
Projects paid for by fee dollars at Saguaro cover a wide range of visitor needs. Recently completed projects include new trailhead signs at the Broadway and Loma Alta Trails in the Rincon Mountain District, rehabilitation of eleven historic fireplaces at picnic areas in the Tucson Mountains, and installation of traffic safety signs throughout the park. Next year's projects include trails maintenance and renovating the interpretative exhibits at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center.
Whether you purchase a seven-day permit to the park, a Saguaro Annual Pass good for one year's worth of visits, or the Interagency Pass to be used anywhere in the USA, you can be happy knowing that your fee dollars are used for projects directly related to the facilities and resource of your Saguaro National Park.
