Valley of Fire Marathon Returns

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

More than 177 runners, along with their families and supporters, gathered in the early morning hours at Valley of Fire State Park on Saturday to participate in the 2012 Valley of Fire Marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K races.

The athletes came from all over the world to participate in the race. The race included entries from Canada, England, Germany and Mexico; as well as runners from all over the United States.

Thirty-five of the runners came to run the full marathon. Another 75 opted to run the half marathon. Forty-three people enrolled in the 10K race and 21 runners took on the 5K challenge.

The race is a grueling ordeal for all the runners. It begins at the Visitor’s center and immediately goes into an extreme uphill slope towards Mouse’s Tank.

After the series of hills and dips through that narrow canyon pass, the 5K runners turn around just short of the Rainbow Vista parking area and returned back to the visitors center finish line.

Other runners continued on to the top, taking a right turn at the Fire Canyon turnoff. Continuing to the end of that road they the return back to the main road. From here, 10K runners took the left back down the canyon to the finish line.

Marathon and half marathon runners, however, turned right and began the long trek all the way to White Domes area. Once there, they turned around and came all the way back to the visitor’s center where the half marathon runners crossed their finish line.

But there was a still a long trail ahead for the marathon runners. The continued on past the visitor’s center to the main park highway, turning right. They continued along the highway to the Atlatl Rock turnoff where they turned right and followed the scenic loop. This road eventually turns into a rugged gravel trail and hooks back to the main highway. At that point the runners turn right and continue past the west ticket booth. At that point so late in the race, the runners experience a long steady incline uphill that has been called “Hell Hill” by past runners. At the top of the hill, the runners turn around and go all the way back to the visitors center finish line.

Race organizer Deborah Bowling of Planet Ultra events admitted that none of the races are for the faint of heart.

“We love doing this race,” Bowling said. “It a spectacular setting and you couldn’t get a more perfect day for it, But people are threatened by the difficulty of the course. This isn’t a course for runners to break their record. This is one to really enjoy the experience of running in a beautiful place.”

Only one Moapa Valley runner participated in this year’s race. Fourteen year old Nathaniel Brill of Overton ran the 5K. Brill, who is an 8th grader at Mack Lyon Middle School, took an overall second place in the 5K with a time of 23:34. Brill came in first in his age class. Brill said it was his second year to run the race.

For some the event was a family affair. Several parents brought their young children and ran with them in the 5K race. The youngest runner in the event, five year old Freya Pietras of North Las Vegas, ran the 5K with her father Jared Pietras and had a time of 40:30.

This was the second year for Freya to have the distinction of youngest runner. She ran the 5K last year at the age of 4.

When the results came in, the top runners were announced and were presented with their awards.

In the full marathon event the runner with the first place male finisher was Todd Baldini of Denver, Colorado who ran the marathon at 3:19:44.

The first place female finisher went to Joy Lassiter of Elko, Nevada who ran the course in 3:40:12.

In the half marathon event the first place male runner was James Harrington of Las Vegas who had a time of 1:28:37. The top female runner was Mallory Reese of North Las Vegas who ran it in 1:54:33.

The first place male runner in the 10K was Jack Christensen of Las Vegas who ran it in 44:26. The top female in that race was Wendy Everson of North Las Vegas with a time of 54:38.

In the 5k race, the top male runner was Sean Greasley of Las Vegas with a 22:11 time. The top female runner in the 5K went to Tracey Shirley of Box Elder, South Dakota who had a time of 28:43.

Bowling expressed appreciation to local volunteers who helped at the finish line and at various aid stations throughout the course. These included members of the MVHS Cross Country team, a group of employees from the Lost City Museum and a group of Moapa Valley Ham Radio operators who helped with communications along the route.

Bowling said that Planet Ultra will be organizing the event again next year. However, next years event will most likely drop the full marathon event and keep the half marathon, 10K and 5K races. She cited difficulties in the marathon course where runners must go out onto the main highway in the second half of the race. Park officials can close down the road to White Domes but are unable to close the main highway through the park during the race, Bowling said. So there are safety concerns, she said. The half marathon and shorter events can all be completed along the road to White Domes, Bowling said.

“The most popular events are those smaller races anyway,” Bowling said. “That is where we get the bulk of our runners. So we think it will still be a successful event.”

Full 2012 race results, photographs and information about next year’s race are available at runvalleyoffire.com.