Hello to the folks who have registered for the Saguaro National Park Labor Day Run.
Please accept a quick note to let you know that SAR has your registration and you're all squared away for the event. As veteran SAR runners know, I like to give as much information as possible, so please take the time to review race weekend details so that you can have as pleasant a race experience as possible!
As always, thanks for being part of the SAR running community. Not a member? Check out SAR member benefits
here
!
Saturday, August 31
10am - 1pm race number and t-shirt pickup at The Running Shop, 3055 North Campbell
YES: This year’s shirt is a soft-cotton in two colors. All shirts are the same cut. T-shirt sizing is first-come, first-served, so get there early to get your first choice!
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: Go shopping! Please support local running by shopping local -- get some shoes, clothes, and other running products from our friends at The Running Shop. The Running Shop will be open on Monday afternoon, as well, so you can take advantage of their Labor Day Sale after the race, too!
YES: You can pick up the shirt and number of someone else, but this is capped to 5 total people at a time -- 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!
Note: If you want to change from the 8-miler to the 5k, please tell the volunteers at Saturday's packet pickup 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. If you want to move from the 5k to the 8-miler, please bring the $10 additional race fee.
NO: THERE IS NO RACE WEEKEND REGISTRATION
- only t-shirt and number pick-up.
Monday, September 2nd
Saguaro National Park EAST, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail Rd
5:15-6:00 AM Packet pick-up at Saguaro Park EAST
You can pick up your shirts and numbers at the SAR tents in the main parking lot near the Visitor’s Center. There is no race day registration, only number/shirt pick-up.
6:00 am Early start time for 8-mile walkers and walk/runners. If you anticipate spending longer than 2 hours on the course, please start early. Note, early starters are not eligible for awards or Grand Prix points, except for age-groups 65+. It will be hot on race morning, so please make the safe choice.
6:15 8-milers can begin to line up at flagpole, 5k behind the 8-milers. In both races, please line up in order of your expected racing pace: 5-minutes/mile at the front; 6-minutes/mile behind them, and so forth.
6:15 A few words from the National Park Service
6:25 8-Mile Run start
6:30 5k Walk/run start
Post-race Refreshments: water, Gatorade, cold samples from
Nekter Juice Bar
, plus salty and carbohydrat-y snack items
8:30 (approx) Begin Raffle Prizes and Race Awards, courtesy of The Running Shop
9:00 Official course closure -- for safety's sake, the National Park Service reserves the right to pick up any participants still on the course starting at 9:00 am
.
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.
Please note that the Pima County Department of Transportation is monitoring the race to ensure that we are complying with safety and legal regulations.
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 – the restrooms will be readily visible on Park grounds, just west of the race staging area.
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.
Course and Staging Information
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-Mile Course
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
The Running Shop SAR 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, 4, and 6 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 volunteers from
The Workout Group
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 providing the privees.
Please do not use the desert to relieve yourself: the Park Service may fine you - and a snake may bite you!!
Awards
Race Director Prize Money Challenge: The first man who breaks race director Randy's course PR of 42:48 will receive $424.80 in cash on the barrelhead. The first woman who breaks a gender-graded equivalent of 47:48 will receive $474.80 in cash on the barrelhead.
Nicholas Hilton 41:33, 2018
Katie James 46:39, 2016
Special thanks to The Running Shop, long-time sponsor of SAR and the Saguaro Labor Day Run!
8 Miler.
Overall top three and Age groups: 15-19, 20-24, etc to 80 & over
Overall 1, 2, 3 $40, $30, $20 + bottle opener
Masters 1 $20 + bottle opener
AG 1 $15 + bottle opener, 2 $10 + bottle opener, 3 bottle opener
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, 2, 3 $25, $20, $15 + bottle opener
Masters 1 $15 + bottle opener
AG 1 bottle opener
In these races, there is no double-dipping. Overall winner will be taken out of all Age Group awards.
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 areas 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 1950s, 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 resources of your Saguaro National Park.
