San Tan Mountain Regional Park and my house literally could not be father apart. Folks joke that I live in Southern California because of just how far west of Phoenix I am, so it’s no surprise that I rarely go as far as Queen Creek to run a race, but since I had recently had a taste of its sweet trails at Sinister, our night race that we host at San Tan and loved it, I figured it was time to explore San Tan some more, so I signed up for San Tan Scramble 17k back in January 2021.
January 2021 was still the “Covid Era”, so things at races were still a bit different. We still had wave starts, and staff was becoming quite accustomed to helping out whenever and wherever possible, so my later start time for the 17k made it a no brainer to put down the phone for the morning as my usual Social Media Manager position and help park cars.
I’ll never forget how cold it was that morning; we’re talking toe and face numbing cold. The kind of cold where you don’t want to get out of your vehicle let alone park them. But a handful of us showed up before sunrise, put on our safety vests and waved cars into their respective spots like we were directing planes down the runway. As always, we all had an absolute blast.
Once I noticed dark sky beginning to lighten I knew it was probably time to start getting myself ready to race. We still were doing wave starts during this time so of course I chose to start in the last wave for two reasons: 1) give myself more time to get ready and 2) I’d rather be the one chasing instead of the one being chased.
With very cold fingers I shakily pinned on my bib, struggled to tie my shoes and barely choked down a banana before making my way to the front of the line in the final wave of the 17k. I knew that this distance was a big loop and there wasn’t much climbing at all until the infamous Goldmine climb towards the end so I decided once RD Noah said his famous “Go get ‘em, 17kers” I was going to just let myself run as fast as I could right out of the gate, but staying below my “red line”, and that’s exactly what I did.
The first few miles were a total blur, literally. My eyes were watering so badly from the cold that I could hardly see. About 20 minutes in I finally began to thaw out and soon realized that I was having the most fun I’ve ever had during a race…the course was an absolute blast!
Swooping twists and turns and oh, so smooth! I felt like I was on a roller coaster. I knew going into this race that I was fit enough to do well, but I had no idea where I was in the standings because of the wave start and I loved that because it kept me pushing and chasing the leaders, wherever they were.
The miles flew by and for once I stayed at a steady pace. Around the final Aid Station I knew that the big climb was coming so I prepared myself. I truly thought that I was going to be able to jog the whole thing, but a few steps into the incline I quickly realized this hill deserved a lot more respect than I had anticipated. I power hiked up and over and then was greeted with a very sudden and sassy descent that sent my legs into a tail spin. I had no control. I remember thinking on that downhill if I made it out alive it would be a miracle.
Fortunately, I did and there was only about a mile until the finish line and that segment was flat and perfect for my final push. I floored it though the finish, hid behind a bush for my signature finish line vomit, collected myself and headed over to the timing tent to see how I fared, not really having any idea. I ended up 1st woman and 6th overall, with one of the faster times on the course…I was stoked!
To this day, the San Tan Scramble 17k was one of the best races I’ve ever ran. I’m notorious for going out too fast and slowly dying, but that didn’t happen that day. I kept my pace steady, kept a smile on my face, and just enjoyed the journey. The course was one of my favorites and I’m looking forward to coming back soon and doing it again. I’ll even park the cars beforehand, too.
