Let's Go! It's Race Week!

Eat well. Stay hydrated. Get your sleep. Then wake up early, get moving, enjoy the scenery, and have fun . . .

Thank you for signing up for the October 18th TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon, 4-Miler, SAR FitKidz Mile and Family Mile.

We're looking forward to seeing each of you this weekend. Below you'll find all the details you need for a safe and enjoyable race weekend.

Topics Below:

• Neighborhood Note
• Packet Pickup and Race Week Schedule
• Souvenir Info
• Miscellaneous Details: parking, bathrooms, pets, post-race activities, discounts, and more
• Route Details for TMC Half-Marathon, 4-Mile Run/Walk, Family Mile and SAR FitKidz Mile
• Staging Area and Parking
• Awards: Prize Money and Running Shop Gift Cards

Sponsors and Partners: We're proud to put on Tucson's only locally-produced road half-marathon, in partnership with our friends at the Southern Arizona Roadrunners. Special thanks to TMC Health, Rio Nuevo, the Running Shop, and BEYOND-TUCSON.

Participants:

• We expect about 1200 of you on race day, including 200+ in the FitKidz and Family Mile. 4 of you are in the 80+ division, and 4 of you have registered as 1 year old. 45% signed up in the Male category, 54% in the Female category and .4 % in the non-binary category. You're coming from 13 states and 2 countries, including Arizona, California, Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Massachusetts, Connecticut, North Carolina and Sonora, Mexico.
• To search for participants, see the link here.
• If you have never done a running event like this, you may want to check out this FAQ for Newbies.

Refunds, Transfers, Deferrals:

• At this date, there are no refunds or deferrals.
• If you cannot attend the race day event, please send a friend to pick up your race goodies at the Saturday packet pickup or the Sunday morning race day packet pickup.
• We do not have a formal Virtual category, so no need to submit anything.
• If you want to change events, you can do that at packet pickup on Saturday or Sunday so allow time to check-in with the volunteers.

Cheers all,



Run Tucson's Randy and Tia Accetta

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

Saturday, October 17th, Registration and Packet Pickup

10:00 am - 2:00 pm, at The Running Shop, 3055 North Campbell Ave

• Yes: All registrants pick up their race number, souvenir medal, and race shirt.
• Shirt sizing is first come, first served.
• Yes: Someone can pick up your items for you
• Yes: The Running Shop will have sale shoes and other great items available. Thanks to Lucas and the whole crew at The Running Shop!

Sunday, October 18th, Race Morning Schedule

5:30 - 6:15 am Registration and Packet Pickup on Cushing, near the start/finish near the Mercado Annex at Cushing and South Avenida del Convento

• All race numbers, medals, and shirts will be at the Run Tucson registration tents on Cushing, adjacent to the start/finish line
• Note: parking prices have gone up to $10 to park on the Mercado lots. Click here for directions and see below for details.

FitKidz registration and packet pickup: FitKidz item will be at the SAR FitKidz tent, near the start/finish line, through 7:50 am or so

6:20 am Start line announcements

6:30 am Sunrise Start TMC Half-Marathon and 4-Miler

• We will start both events at the same time, heading west on Cushing Street, facing A-Mountain

Ongoing: sponsor tents, activities, food trucks, music, and more

• Westbound is offering $1 off drinks at the MSA Annex with specials at Rollies West and Bos Burger in the Annex.

8:00 am FitKidz Mile and Family Mile (approximate starting time, depending on when TPD clears us to use the roadways)

9:00 or so Begin Awards at Running Shop/TMC Tents near Finish Line

• TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon and 4-Miler Age Group awards courtesy of The Running Shop
• TMC A-Mountain Half Marathon prize money courtesy of TMC and Run Tucson

9:30 am Runners and walkers need to pass the 12 mile check mark, with public safety administered by the City of Tucson

• All runners still on the course may be moved to the pedestrian side of the roadway

10:00 am Finish Line closes, with cleanup and breakdown to follow

• NOTE: This provides 3.5 hours to complete the half-marathon before the Tucson Police Departments needs to open the roadways

Post-race through November

Shirts and medals of registrants who cannot make race weekend will be available at The Running Shop, 3055 North Campbell through the end of November. T-shirt sizing first come, first served.

Please remember that it is difficult for us to manage individual requests for souvenir management; thus, we cannot mail race souvenirs or promise the ability to hold items for a participant.

We're super grateful to Lucas Tyler and the whole crew at The Running Shop for all the help with this event.

While some of the folks in the nearby Barrio Sin Nombres, Sentinel Shadows, Menlo Park, and Mercado neighborhoods are welcoming, civic events like this also cause disruption and unhappiness.

We are working with neighbors, Ward 1, and the City of Tucson to ensure a safe and enjoyable race morning experience for all. A few notes:

• TPD will be on hand to manage vehicle traffic for the Sin Nombres Neighborhood Association and the Sentinel Shadows Neighborhood, with vehicles allowed on the roadway for emergency access to neighborhoods.
• The Sentinel Peak area will open for traffic at approximately 7:45, so please be mindful of sharing the roadway.
• The half route will close at 10:00 am, for a 3.5 hour window for runners and walkers.
• The Mercado has raised the fee for parking on their lots to $10 per vehicle. Parking details below and here.

The first 1000 registrants in the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon and 4-Miler will be able to get the white technical long-sleeve shirt and race medal at the packet pickup locations.

NOTE: We do not currently know whether these customized shirts will run true to size, so we cannot promise the perfect size for all participants. We try to have the appropriate amount of sizing, but we give out shirts in first-come, first-served order. You can pick it up your souvenirs at the Saturday or Sunday packet pickup times described below.

NOTE: While we appreciate the idea of a finisher's medal, we want to make sure that all of you who registered early receive your souvenirs, so the medal is what we call a souvenir medal, not a finisher's medal.

ONE MORE NOTE: While we try to provide good customer service, please note that we are not able to make additional special accommodations such as mailing individual items or having them available earlier. If you need to, please send a friend to snag your items at the three locations and times announced below.

FITKIDZ GOODIES: All FitKidz registrants will be able to get FitKidz goodies at the FITKIDZ tent near registration. Thanks to www.runsar.org for all the support they provide for children's fitness.

Directions: Click here for driving directions and info on parking.

Parking: The Mercado has raised the price to park in the nearby Mercado lots to $10 per vehicle. The Mercado folks managing parking will take cash, phone, or credit card payment at the entrance to the parking lots.

Click here for additional parking locations, including on nearby streets -- but pay attention to all parking regulations so that you avoid getting a ticket.

Please avoid permitted spots and please be a good neighbor when parking in the nearby neighborhoods.

PortoJohns: Stamback will place portojohns in the parking lots just south of the start/finish. Remember, the lines go faster the closer you stand to the doors -- thus, make multiple lines that are right near the front of the units!

There will also be portojohns on the Half-Marathon course, both adjacent to water stops:

• one near the 4.5 mile and 12 mile mark
• one near the 7 and 10 mile mark

Natural Grocers After the Race: We're thrilled to have Natural Grocers on hand. They've been providing snacks and goodies for your post-race refreshment at many of our events. Check out any of the 4 Natural Grocers locations in town.

CELSIUS After the Race: Thanks to CELSIUS for being on hand after the race with hydration and other goodies!



Snacks After the Race: Thanks to Tucson Medical Center, we will have individual servings of cookies, pretzels and granola bars, and other sweet and salty carbohydrates.

Food For Sale: We will have coffee, GELU Italian Ices, and a breakfast taco-based food truck on hand, available for purchase.

Westbound After the Race: Thanks to Tap & Bottle's Westbound for opening their bar and providing dollar-off discounts to all race participants in the MSA Annex. For other post-race food options, visit our friends at Rollies and Bos Burger at the Annex and La Estrella at the Mercado.

Post-Race at the Mercado: The Mercado District is hosting a Southern Arizona Wine Celebration. Tickets: https://app.showslinger.com/v4/southern-arizona-wine-celebration.

Photos by Damion: Our long-time race photographer is Damion Alexander, from Tucson. Damion will be out on the course riding his mountain bike and snapping photos of you. His gallery of race photos over the years can be found at his smugmug page here.

Damion is more than a race photographer: he helps set the course and he rides sag, so if you see him be sure to smile!

Finally, Damion is also Realtor with Long Realty, so track him down for any housing needs!

History of the Event: You can see more here, but it was about 20 years that we started the cross-city 10-miler down Broadway, which led to about 15 years of staging this event in Downtown Tucson with routes including the UofA, Fourth Avenue Underpass, Lost Barrio, and other Downtown locations.

Timing and Race Number: Please use the provided safety pins to attach your race number to the front of your race day shirt. Greg says try to attach the number lower on your torso.

Timing will be done by Greg Wenneborg and Roadrunner Race Timing.

See www.roadrunnerracetiming.com for live race results.

Strollers: Strollers are welcome -- but for safety's sake, please be careful of the downhill portion of A-Mountain -- and watch for the speed bumps and any vehicles that make their way to the roadway.

Headphones: For safety's sake, it's best to not wear headphones, especially if pushing a stroller. If you want to win prize money, please see the regulations regarding head phones here.

Pets: Pets are not allowed on the race course and are only allowed on the course staging site following City of Tucson regulations.

Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown: This is the 3rd and final leg of the 2026 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown, raising $4000 for BEYOND-Tucson.

Running Shop SAR Grand Prix: The TMC Half-Marathon is on the Running Shop SAR Grand Prix. See www.runsar.org for details.

Social Media: Please tag @runtucson and @runsar and @rrca with any instagram posts -- you can use hashtags #TMCAMountain or #GetMoving or #gabezimmermantriplecrown or #runtucson or #runsar or anything else you want . . .

Volunteers: Currently, about 50 people have volunteered to spend part of their weekend supporting this event. We'll list 'em all in the post-race email, but please be nice to them on race weekend!

Weather: After all this rain, it looks to be a cool morning, with plenty of sunshine and lower temperatures of mid-60's at the start. If you will be on the Half course for more than 2 hours, though, be sure to take in electrolytes to help avoid under-hydration as the temps may rise into the 80's.

All runners are asked to stay to the right -- when heading up A-Mountain, stay to the right -- when heading down A-Mountain, stay to the right!

When you're on the Loop path heading south, stay to the right and after the turn-around, continue north and stay to the right.

Although we have permits from the City of Tucson and Pima County, this course still traverses public streets and open multi-use paths.

Please keep an eye out for vehicles and other potential hazards that are common to urban running, such as potholes, speedbumps, bikes, other pedestrians, and the like.

Watch for Vehicles: Although we have permits from the City of Tucson and Pima County, this course still traverses public streets -- please keep an eye out for vehicles and other potential hazards that are common to urban running, such as potholes, speedbumps, bikes, other pedestrians, and the like.

Watch for Bikes: Events are not allowed to hard-close The Loop, so when you're on the Santa Cruz Riverpath please keep an eye out for bike riders and others that may share the space.

Water on the Route:

• There will be a water stop at the top of A-Mountain, near the 2-mile mark
• There will be a water stop at the 4.5 and 12 mile mark, as you enter The Loop riverpath just north of Starr Pass Blvd.
• There will be a water stop on The Loop, at approximately the 7 and 10 mile marks in the Half-Marathon, near Ajo.
• For public health reasons, it is best if every runner brings their own hydrating beverage for their run.
• If you will be more than 2 hours, make sure to have sports drinks with electrolytes and sodium.

Loop Turn Around for Half-Marathon

• The Loop turn-around: we're planning on having a timing mat and an arch at the turn-around point, south of Irvington.

• Those who don't go through the arch and around the turn-around sign at the timing mat will be disqualified.

• When you're on the Loop, you can run on the dirt adjacent to the paved path -- however, do not use the dirt to cut the course. Cutting the course is grounds for disqualification.

Registration and Packet Pickup: You can pick up the Mile numbers at any of the registration locations.

Start Time: We estimate the Mile start time to be at 8:00 am, so please allow enough time to get your race number in the Annex and then get to the starting line Arch by 8:00 or so.

Route: Below is the out-and-back map. Please remind the youngsters and others to stay to the right on the way "out" and stay to the right on the way "back." There will be half-marathoners on the route, so please be mindful of sharing the road.

Parking in the nearby Mercado lots will now be $10 per vehicle. Free parking is on nearby streets. Please pay attention to all parking regulations so that you avoid getting a ticket! 

Below is a draft operations maps of the staging area, to give you a sense of what to expect on race morning. (Yes, you can make fun of Randy's design skills.)

Thanks to Tucson Medical Center for being our title sponsor and making these events possible.

Thanks to Rio Nuevo for supporting our efforts at enhancing Tucson's Downtown regions.

TMC GMT Prize Money in Half. Marathon: $100, $75, $50 for first three men and women; $50 to first man and woman 40+

Half Marathon Run Age Group Awards: Running Shop gift certificates to top three male and female: U19 through 80+, in 5-year increments, AG1-$25 gc, AG 2-$15 gc, AG 3-$10 gc 

Four Mile Walk/Run Awards: Running Shop gift certificates to Overall 1, 2, 3-$30, $25, $20 gc, Masters 1 $20 Age Groups: First Place in U10 through 70+ in ten-year increments, $15 gc 

All prize money is based on Gun Time. All Age Group awards based on Chip Timing.

All prize money winners are taken out of age group gift certificate awards.

Thanks to the Running Shop for all gift certificates.

NOTE: The 4 participants registered in the "non-binary" division will receive placing in a Non-Binary Division, with the top overall runner in the Half-Marathon receiving a Running Shop Gift Certificate.

NOTE: The refund policy can be found on the race website here. This event follows standard running industry policies. It is our intent to provide good customer service to help you have an enjoyable event experience, but as with concerts, spectator sports, travel, and many other types of transactions, all entry fees are non-refundable. When you register for this event, you are making a non-refundable purchasing decision and must agree to this policy. This policy stays in effect whether you are injured, have an unexpected business or family emergency, illness, or the like. 

• Pregnant runners please contact tia@runtucson.net if you have questions about participation.
• The event cannot mail or ship race items to participants. 
• If you are going to miss the event, please send someone to packet pickup to pick up your race packet.
• 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.