I decided last year to sit Mesquite Canyon Trail Runs out and immediately regretted it. It was the first time I had missed that race since I ripped of the endurance band-aid and became an “ultra runner” back in 2014 when I barely finished the 50k.
Every year since I had gone back to take on a different distance, eventually repeating a few, improving on previous year’s finishing times or having a different race experience entirely because you see at Mesquite Canyon, you never know what you’re going to get.
Mesquite Canyon Trail Runs is the final race in our Desert Runner Trail Series. It happens each year in March, and if you’re competing in the series Mesquite Canyon is worth more points than the rest and for very good reason: it’s hard.
Now, I state this fact as to not undermine the toughness of the trails in the five other wonderful Regional Parks that the DRT Series utilizes. Those trails are all beautiful and tough in their own right. There’s just something about the “Tanks” that hits a little different.
Located in the Far West Valley, White Tank Regional Park is one of the lesser traveled parks because of its location. To local Phoenicians, anything past the I -10 and the 101 is seemingly located in Southern California because it’s “so far”, but us West Valley dwellers don’t mind this too much because let’s face it, our trails are far less crowded compared to those in the East Valley, which is perfectly fine with us.
When I first moved to Arizona in 2009 we unknowingly bought our first house just 3 miles from the entrance of the Tanks, so in short, that’s where I really learned how to trail run, because on a few of those trails, you really DO need to know what you’re doing if you want to get up or down them.
At that point in my trail running experience I hadn’t seen anything like Ford Canyon, Mesquite Canyon, and especially nothing like Goat Camp Trail.
I’ll never forget the day I tried going down Goat Camp for the first time. I had already signed up for Mesquite Canyon 50k and was on one of my first (probably my only 😂) long training run and decided to do a loop up Mesquite Canyon and over and down Goat Camp, leaving from my house. I got to the top of the Goat Camp descent and thought to myself, “how the hell do I even get down this thing”? At that moment I remember thinking I had no clue what I had gotten myself into. Alas, the race was horrific, BUT I did finish and ended up not only doing the 50k again, I’ve done the 8k twice, the 50 miler twice, and the 30k once. I’ve DNF’d the 50k another time, and have left a lot of blood, sweat and tears at that park during both racing and training miles. The Tanks will do that to you, but they will also make you a stronger and better runner too if you keep going back for more.
I’ve since moved and although I still run in the White Tanks, I rarely run in the park itself. A recent visit and jaunt up Mesquite Canyon with a friend reminded me just how hard that climb is and how wildly out of shape I am but nevertheless, there’s just one distance at Mesquite I have left to do in order to have “hit for the cycle”, and that’s the one I’m going to finish this year. It’s also the one I’m scared of the most for some reason; the “lollipop loop”, also known as the 1/2 Marathon.
Maybe it’s because I know the course with my eyes closed. Maybe it’s because I know how much climbing there is, and it’s relentless. Maybe it’s because my climbing is terrible right now (that’s the culprit, for sure), but either way, this distance, just like the others, is SO hard but SO FUN.
The first few miles are a nice and flattish warm up, but once you hit that first Aid Station it’s time to buckle up, this is where the climbing starts and it won’t stop for awhile. During this climb though there are a few sections of flat single track that are both beautiful and incredibly fun. Once you get around the mountain and meet back up again with Mesquite Canyon Trail though, it’s literally all downhill from there. At the bottom of the hill there’s that 2 mile stretch to the finish line where your friends and a cold beer from the Huss Brewing Charity Beer Garden awaits, and after all that climbing you can bet it will taste extra refreshing!
I am so excited to get back to Mesquite Canyon Trail Runs and after the FOMO I felt missing it last year if I survive the 1/2 Marathon this year you can bet I’ll never miss it again. 💚