It’s time to run the red rocks.

Training time has ended for the Sedona Marathon Event, which returns to its classic, full course for its 11th year Saturday, Feb. 6, beginning at 9 a.m.

The 26.2-mile course, 12 miles of which is on unpaved U.S. Forest Service roads, returns after nearly two straight days of rain closed the muddy roads and forced the cancellation of last year’s full marathon but left the shorter courses unaffected.

No chance of that happening this year, said Adam Gifford, official coach and master of ceremonies for the marathon.

“The marathon will be faster than last year because it’ll actually happen,” said Gifford, whose wife Lindsay will attempt the half marathon this year. “There is zero chance of rain this weekend. It’ll be a Chamber of Commerce day — blue skies, a high of 60 degrees — just a perfect day for running.”

Temperatures should in the low-40s at the start of the Full Marathon at 9 a.m., in the mid-40s for the 5K start at 9:30 a.m. and reach the 50s by 11 a.m.

Returning should be a competitive mix of local and Flagstaff runners in the field. Last year’s half-marathon winner Alvin Begay, of Ganado, will be up against the full course record of 2:46.24, set by 2014 winner Thomas Puzey of Flagstaff.

Sedona runners like Kalayeh Arjomand, who finished ninth overall on the full course two years ago, will look to crack the three-hour mark. He’ll be pushed by Lauren Kelley, sixth-fastest female from 2014, with a time of 3:46.14.

Although total entrants are about 300 or so off the last marathon’s pace, that could change with on-site registration up to the start of the race, said assistant race director David Keeber.

“Four reasons we’ve been running lower,” he said. “Last year’s cancellation made everyone a bit gun-shy, the January weather was really bad, and races all over are down because the marathon market has become saturated.”

The mix of dirt and pavement surfaces could also be a factor, Gifford added, as the dirt surfaces slow runners down.

“Dirt roads just aren’t as fast as pavement,” he said. “That could be a detriment to some people, although we’ve made it very obvious on the website that they’re going to be on 12 miles of dirt road. So it’s no surprise.”

Runners should also note that the drop-off for shuttles from the parking areas, at Sedona Red Rock High School and the Sedona Cultural Park, has changed to the race concourse on the corner of Bristlecone Pines Road and Navoti Drive.

“We’re not doing it in front of the hospital anymore,” Keeber said. “It’s safer, and logistically, it’s a little less fraught.”

But the Sedona Marathon Event remains one of the top 10 runners’ experiences in the world, and for reasons not confined to the challenging, scenic course.

Ask Heather Hermen, who ran in the first Sedona Marathon Event and will be running for the seventh year Feb. 6. Her online fundraising tool has accumulated $11,012  as of Thursday, Feb. 4, to donate to teachers, students and school staff since she began training for the half-marathon in early September.

“I’ve been out there every Saturday, and this is the hardest I’ve ever trained for a race,” Hermen said. “It’s so humbling, the response I’ve gotten.”
Hermen, whose fastest run clocked in at 2:09 in 2008, has been motivated by that response to overcome the course’s inherent challenges.

“The course is terrible,” she said. “It turns around on a hill and finishes on a hill.

“But the view — I have to stop and take a selfie, every time. It’s incredible.”