Run50 State #29 | Arizona: Buckeye Marathon

🌵 Phoenix, Arizona

2026 is here, a new year, a fresh start. I didn’t want the big Run50 plan to sit still either.

It’s still very cold in North America in January. The last time I ran a marathon in Rocket City, I got thoroughly humbled by the cold front. Starting below freezing and fighting the wind, I was freezing. This time, I wanted to change directions and go somewhere a little warmer.

So I started looking at Arizona. The desert area is dry and empty, and I have always been curious about this place.

The UFO sightings involving tens of thousands of people decades ago added a layer of mystery to Phoenix, and I always believed it was true.

This time, the race was small and took place in Buckeye, a typical suburban town on the west side of Phoenix. It’s a small marathon, there aren’t many people, and the route is simple. As the first run of 2026, it’s not stressful, so it’s pretty good.

Arizona, in many people's minds, is synonymous with desert and high temperatures.

The first impression this place gives people is that it is empty. The horizon is low, the sky is high, the desert spreads out, but the city is not swallowed up.

Phoenix grew up in places like this. Many people know Phoenix from basketball, the Phoenix Suns.

Back then, Steve Nash led that team, playing fast, passing hard, and shooting three-pointers accurately. That kind of rhythm is very much like this city, straight forward and without any hassle.

Today's Phoenix is ​​more tied to technology. Semiconductors, data centers, and industrial parks are spread out one by one on the edge of the desert. Dry, stable and cheap, the desert has become an advantage.

My original interest here is UFOs. That sighting decades ago made the night sky less quiet.

In a place like this, it gets dark quickly and there are so many stars that I can't help but want to look up for one more look. Deserts, open spaces, aliens, high technology, you have to stand in it for it to count.

We landed in Phoenix at noon. There’s a 2-hour time difference from Louisville, so you’ve got an extra hour for free as soon as you get off the plane.

After exiting the airport, the first stop is PreFlight, where you pick up your car on Turo. They gave us a 2023 Tesla Model Y. What’s even more surprising is that it even had Autopilot. It was an older version, but good enough. At least Siqi and I did not have to stress about the drive.

We kept food simple and went straight to Golden Corral. Classic American buffet, no surprises. In the afternoon, we went to TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Buckeye for packet pickup.

You could tell right away it was a small race. The venue is in a hotel, and you have to queue up to get your bag. The race packet is very simple, and the ticket is actually a pair of socks with the event logo printed on it.

But the bib is quite nice. Orange, western colors, airplanes and cacti. Race to the Runway is very Buckeye. After packet pickup, we were in no hurry to go back.

We drove straight to North Mountain Park. The great thing about this place is that you can drive directly to the top of the mountain.

There are cacti all along the way. Tall, thick, and branching, this is no ordinary cactus, it is a saguaro cactus. They usually start to branch after they are seventy or eighty years old. In other words, these ones on the roadside are quite old. I don’t know if they have seen aliens, but they have definitely seen more sunrises than us.

There are already many cars parked at the top of the mountain. Everyone has the same goal: to watch the sunset. There is a small stone house not far away, which is Dobbins Lookout, a viewpoint built in the 1930s.

Standing here, you can see the entire downtown of Phoenix. The city is spread out in the desert, as if it has been paved directly.

There is a whole row of red mountain protrusions in the distance, with clean colors and tough lines. It is completely different from the green mountains in the east and central areas.

Mars is probably like this, no wonder aliens are willing to come. The sun went down quickly, first golden, then orange, and finally a layer of pink.

When the light is low, people become silhouettes. People, cacti, ridges, all reduced to outlines. Like a photo with a rough composition, Siqi and I got into the stone house, set up the camera, and took a group photo. The wind was not strong, but it was a bit cold. Desert nights always cool down quickly.

It was completely dark before we went down the mountain. I returned to Airbnb in the evening. It was a small independent house behind a house. It was not big, but it was quiet and quite comfortable. I had to get up early the next day. I had already seen the sunset and it was time to focus on the starting line in the early morning.

The marathon started at 8 a.m. Before dawn, Siqi drove me to the start at Festival Foothills Elementary School.

As the car drove west, the sun slowly rose on the right. The hills ahead are illuminated. The desert in the early morning was colder than expected.

Standing at the starting point, many people were wrapped in large clothes and shaking their legs, waiting for the start. The sun was just right, but the air was cold, and there were photographers taking pictures at the starting point.

I started running soon after arriving. This marathon route is very straightforward. First, take a short detour in the nearby residential area, and then go to the desert road.

When I turned back, I saw Deborah, a runner from Louisville. I didn’t expect that in such a small race, I could meet familiar people in the Arizona desert.

Then the road started to straighten out. Around mile 5 the route starts to really get into the desert road. There was no shade, no trees, just a road extending straight forward.

The desert is not hot at all. The morning sun hangs low, the temperature is cold, but the light is very hard.

The shadows were stretched long, and the road was lined with shrubs, gravel, and sand. The mountain lines in the distance are layered layer by layer, the color is very clean, the wind is not strong, but it is always there.

The aid stations were well spaced, and the water and sports drinks were ice cold. There were gels on the tables too, easy to grab and tear open. The volunteers were great. Someone kept yelling "you got this", and someone placed a cup right in your hand with the focus of someone doing something that mattered.

After mile 10, I noticed a runner ahead of me wearing a red top. The Colosseum is printed on the back. The lines are clear. At that moment, my thoughts were suddenly pulled away, and I remembered my previous trip to Italy.

Stones, sunshine, jogging in the city, and this desert road are completely different worlds. But my body is still in rhythm, my steps have not stopped, the desert is quiet, and the road is straight.

Halfway through, a little green finally began to appear on the roadside, not woods, just carefully maintained grass and trees. But in the desert, seeing green always makes people subconsciously relax.

Turning a corner, I saw Siqi. She ran for 10 seconds and walked for 10 seconds. The rhythm was not fast but steady. She looked in good condition. At this time, the sun had completely risen.

The light got harsher. It was no longer the low warm light of the early morning, but hit the face directly. It's a bit dazzling, and the temperature has obviously gone up a bit.

I kept moving, and I started respecting every aid station: water, sports drink, gels. I ate a little and drank a little, not because I was hungry, but to leave something for the miles ahead. My half-marathon split was about 1:55. I glanced at my watch and knew where I was. Not bad. But at that moment, I wasn’t thinking about going sub-four.

This desert road is very long, the sun is still going up, and the second half of the journey has just begun. Unexpectedly, when I ran to the back, I was in pretty good shape.

The Arizona desert in winter is cool and very dry. The air is light and breathing is easy. In addition, this is a straight, gently downhill course, so there was no constant rhythm-breaking, my legs only needed to keep moving forward.

For the next few miles, the scenery changes little. Sand, roads, fences, distant mountains. Like it's been copied and pasted. But that kind of monotony is suitable for pushing. The finish line is at the airport, Buckeye Municipal Airport to be precise. Turn right and you will see the finish arch.

A little further away, there are people in the sky. It's not an illusion, there are really people parachuting. This is originally a skydiving base, with runners sprinting on the ground and skydivers descending in the air. The rhythms are different, but the directions are all pointing to the end.

Crossing the finish line, the clock stopped at 3:58. Downhill marathon, I know it very well. But to be honest, I really didn’t expect to go sub-four before the race.

My legs tightened up after the finish. Not long after, Siqi also arrived. I met her at the finish line. We had some drinks together and Siqi later went to buy a cup of coffee.

We took some photos, some taken by photographers and some taken by ourselves. The medals are pretty and the race setup was simple, but the aesthetics were on point. The bib, color matching, and medal design were anything but perfunctory.

On the way back, the wind started blowing in the desert. Not far away, a small column of dust slowly stood up, a tiny dust devil, and Siqi and I passed right through the middle.

The next morning we went to Papago Park, where the rocks are very old. Mainly ancient sandstone and volcaniclastic rocks that have been exposed to dry, intense sunlight for a long time.

The iron in the rock slowly oxidized, that is, "rusted", and the color sank layer by layer, turning it into the stable reddish-brown color it is now.

The place is not big, but it is very recognizable. The red rock hills are undulating. The most famous one is the huge hole at the top of the rock, Hole-in-the-Rock. People can climb up directly. It is not considered mountaineering, but more like a straight up and down climb.

This is one of the least Trail-like trails I have ever walked. There are no shades, no curves, just stones, wind, and loose gravel underfoot.

Standing on the rock, my field of vision suddenly widened. In the distance was a very western scenery, with green trees, low shrubs, and layers of red hills.

There are very few colors and the light is very hard. The hole itself is also interesting. The shape is a bit like a heart, but not very regular.

Looking out through the hole, we can see the woods in the distance and a piece of water, which looks like a pond or an artificial lake. This picture is too regular and is somewhat out of tune with the surrounding desolation. A little less desolate and a little more design.

There was still time before we left the airport, so we turned into the city again. In the Tempe Town Lake area, near Arizona State University (ASU)

This place is like a river tamed by the city. Some people are running, some are riding bicycles, photographers are gathering together with cameras on their backs, the railway tracks are passing by, and the rhythm of the city has slowed down here.

I still wasn’t ready to give up on the drone. I had carried it all this way and wanted to make it count.

So wandering around, we went to another historical attraction, where real saguaros stood upright in the sand like sentries.

We took the time to take a few group photos. I finally took the drone into the air and hovered above the fairy pillar. The wind was not strong and the picture was pretty stable. At that moment, it was worthy of this trip to the desert.

🌵 Phoenix, Arizona

The return trip to Phoenix Airport was crowded. There was a long queue at the security check, with people moving forward layer by layer. The flight connected in Dallas and was delayed on the way, so time was eaten up bit by bit.

In the last ten minutes, we caught up with the flight back to Louisville. At around nine o'clock, we finally landed in Louisville. I am a little tired, but my mind is clear.

In the first run of 2026, I actually went sub-four. It was not the goal in the plan, and I didn’t deliberately chase it. I just followed the state and ran all the way to the finish line. This run also adds a little more expectation to this year.

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