5/5 Stars

I’ll never forget descending into the fog. I would have stopped to capture the image except this was a race and I met my “don’t be completely disappointed” goal by 19 seconds.

There was no water or cups at the aid station at mile 11 I recall. At another aid station after mile 20 I grabbed a cup of water and felt Deep Blue on my lips. I suspect that the cups were contaminated by the Deep Blue provided at the same aid station.

No. I was off by over 20 minutes. I hung with the 4:25 pace group until the course flattened out around mile 20.

Small inclines in the beginning, then a beautiful descent until around mile 20. Then it seemed quite flat. I held back during the initial hills, but I realize that I should have restrained my effort even further.

I ran track every Monday, a tempo run every Wednesday, and trained with AREC for the Long Beach Marathon. I failed to cross train, or to lose weight before the training season.

Bring a down jacket for the wait at the start. It was very compressionable to fit in the check in bag. Show up early. I arrived just before 4:00 am so I wasn’t stressed about being ready. I went to bed at 6:00 pm so I could arise at 2:00 am to leave Huntington Beach by 3:00 am to arrive around 4:00 am.

Afterward, I met with my fellow runners from the Whittier Pacers group and those from AREC. Before the race I sat in the amphitheater, glanced at the incredible stars, then tried to rest in the cold as best I could.

5/5 Stars

This is my second Revel Race, and I am literally running with a smile on these courses. I have run 13 marathons, and the Revel Races are my favorite. I’ve never walked away from a marathon saying how much fun it was, not until running with Revel.

The scenery is always beautiful and the course pace is amazing. I’ve PR’d by 20 minutes with both Revel Races. Mt. Charleston and today running Big Bear. The best races! Thank you!

Yes! 20 minutes, and yes, my first BQ!!
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to run such an amazing course. The views were breathtaking!

Perfect. The views were stunning and the course fast and furious! A quad workout, definitely, and a great opportunity to run a fast point to point course. I am a fan of Revel and Big Bear is by far the best!

Interval training, cycling, several downhill/rolling hill runs, mileage increase weekly and -3 treadmill runs at race pace.

Drive the course, plan your strategy. There’s a cool app called “Findmymarathon.com” that provides the elevation of every marathon, so you can plan a Conservative vs. Negative Splits based on your finish goal.

We stayed in Banning and enjoyed meals/activities there and in Redlands.

I traveled from Helotes, Texas.

5/5 Stars

beautiful course. weather was perfect. bag contents were perfect with the gloves and blanket. more porta potties are needed at the start.

no-but that was because I didn't train well

beautiful. much better than canyon city in terms of difficulty. hills weren't bad and great that they were in the first 9 miles for the most part. too bad the last mile was flat.

did some hills but didn't get the milage in

train on hills every 2-3 wks

go out to eat. we only came overnight

3/5 Stars

Our bus driver drove us to the wrong race site. We were all running the full marathon and he drove us to the half. A couple of us really had to go to the bathroom because the bus ride was almost 1 1/2 hours. The bathroom door on the bus was jammed locked and we couldn’t get it open. We arrived at the race start and I was in the porta potty when the national anthem was sung. The truck to take our bags to the finish was gone. A guy collecting foil blankets took my bag, promising to get it on the truck. When I finished my race my bag was not there. It showed up over an hour after I finished. I still enjoyed the course but the race should have been delayed.

No but I did qualify for Boston

Beautiful scenery
Canted and steep highway was challenging

Practice downhill running

Nothing except expo. It was raining

5/5 Stars

running above the clouds! great course as always from the revel team!

yes by 10 minutes.

downhill. fast. downhill.

5/5 Stars

Stayed at a hotel 0.5 miles from bus pickup. Got up at 3:45am and got ready/bathroom/etc. Ran to bus pickup. Stood in line about 10-15min to get on the bus (not a big deal since weather was great). Slept/rested on bus ride up. Didn't have enough time to get to the port-a-potty before race start so had to use a tree! Ran the race! Easy bus ride back to parking, walked back to hotel.

yes, 8 minutes. And yes I qualified for Boston.

It doesn't get easier than this one! Very few uphills. I recorded 300 ft total elevation gain which is nothing over 26 miles.

I ran a lot of uphills- not in particular for this marathon but to strengthen my legs in general. As with running uphills I also had to run downhill so I was use to it.

There might not be enough time to use the port-a-potty at the top so use it on the bus during the bus ride up (if available).

From San Diego- didn't do anything really fun :(

5/5 Stars

I worked hard for a 2 hour half marathon. Loved the volunteers and support and encouragement.

Yesz I came in at 2:00:36 my previous PR was 2:13
Did not qualify for Boston, but was not even thinking about that

Course was beautiful. It’s literally out my back door so I’m veey familiar with the course and the terrain

I would train more. We have had a lot of personal issues the last couple months and my training did suffer. I came off a half marathon last weekend that did not go well...so I was happy to finish out with this one

Do it for yourself. Enjoy it. Make it fun. Don’t over think it. You’re just going for a run with a few friends and you get a free banana and a medal.
That’s what it’s all about.

I live locally so this doesn’t apply to me

5/5 Stars

Like always, REVEL came through with flying (running) colors again! I believe Big Bear offers a better route than Canyon City. The descend is not as steep and there's not a lot of switchbacks as Canyon City which makes it a lot less injury-inducing and, hence, enhances the runners' potential for a PR. Good venue choice, guys! The notifications and emails were all sent out very timely that nobody could have gotten lost in any possible way. The expo would have been more fun had it not been for the downpour the day before. Volunteers were in plenty supply and, may I commend, the finish line crew was efficient except that the name announcer butchered my name (not the easiest to pronounce by the way). The swag bag had a lot more useful items than most races I have participated in. Finally, the medals are awesome, as usual!! Love it!! See you next year!!

No, but I fared better than last year.

I believe Big Bear offers a better route than Canyon City. The descend is not as steep and there's not a lot of switchbacks as Canyon City which makes it a lot less injury-inducing and, hence, enhances the runners' potential for a PR. Great scenery to top it off- the clouds were below where the half-marathon starting point. Good venue choice, guys!

Our team actually trained in the downhill run at the Fontana Days run route on Sierra Ave. and on the former Revel Canyon City route in Azusa. It helped a lot to get your legs, knees, quads, shins and feet get used to the downgrade run.

Be prepared to wear layers- shed them as you go.

Took tons of pictures, cheered all the finishers as they crossed the finish line, took note of funny/interesting-looking/crazily-clad runners.

5/5 Stars

Did the half and thankful for the cloud cover for the entire race. Beautiful course.

Yes, PRd my half

Fast and scenic. Not a lot of sloping. Definitely a PR course. Felt safe running on the road with an entire lane blocked off.

Wear layers since it’s cold at the start.

Traveled from Seattle. Will definitely repeat this race and consider the full marathon as well. This was my 4th Revel race this year and #5 will be at Mt Lemmon in Tucson.

5/5 Stars

Had the most amazing race from start to finish. Course was beautiful

No

Super fast smooth and well organized

I was training for the full when I pulled my hamstring and it knocked me out of training for 8 weeks. Dropping to the half was my safest option. Mt. Charleston full in April!!!

Definitely run the course for training the weather for me was perfect. Strengthen your quads and lots of hills

Took amazing pictures of my medal had some yummy treats. Had a couple of beers by my favorite local brewery and waited and watched all the friends BQ