October 28 update: Online registration has closed, but you can register in person and pick up your shirt and number at the race site on Saturday morning from 6:30 - 10:00 and Sunday morning from 6:00-6:45 am. Find the red SAR tents at 101 North Church, just north of Congress at the Downtown Library Jacome Plaza.
Oct 27 update: Click here for links to all recent emails about race details plus recent media mentions + prize money and age group awards. Please note that overall and masters winners will be determined by "gun" time at the starting line while age group winners will be based on chip time. Click here for today's eblast with Top 12 Reasons to Register. Click here for list of all registrants as of October 19. All who register online after October 19 can pick up their numbers/shirts on race weekend!
The TMC Get Moving Tucson Event is the biggest urban half-marathon in Tucson with over 2,000 participants. Run or walk our exciting Downtown courses, including the suddenly-cool Downtown, historic West University, and beautiful Sentinel Peak with the classic Tucson views from A-Mountain. Plus, the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon is the RRCA Arizona State Championship with thousands of dollars in prize money available.
Remember: all runners can bring their bib numbers to Veg Box Cafe right down the street from the race on Saturday for 10% anything on the menu! Thanks to Delectables on Fourth Avenue for providing 15% cards to all folks in the Costume Contest. Come to the 8:40 costume contest on Saturday -- first 150 parade-goers will get the coupons! Wear a costume Sunday -- first 50 costumes get a coupon!
Here's the schedule for our great running week:
Saturday, October 29
6:30 Registration and packet pick-up begins (ends at 10:00)
7:30 am Tucson Lifestyle 5k Run/Walk, for all ages and participants -- costume contest, age group awards, and more! This event is part of the 2016 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown.
8:30 am TMC Girls on the Run of Tucson 5k Walk/Run, for participants, families, and Run Buddies of the TMC Girls on the Run of Tucson, Fall 2016 program. Presented by UnitedHealthcare.
8:40 am First-ever Costume Contest -- meet in costume at Reid Park Zoo booth -- Costume Contest parade will cheer on the Girls on the Run -- all parade-goers receive 15% discount coupon to Delectables, plus winners receive other gift cards and mugs.
9:20 am Charity Give -- be on hand to celebrate the Reid Park Zoo, Team Hoyt Arizona, and Child and Family Resources -- courtesy of Cox Charities and TMC
9:30 am Cox Charities FitKidz Free One Mile for children under 12 years old -- this event is free and only for children under 12 years old
Sunday, October 30
6:00 am Registration and packet pick-up begins (ends at 6:45)
7:00 am TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon -- prize money, age group awards, live music, and more! This event is part of the 2016 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown and is part of The Running Shop SAR Grand Prix. Unofficial early start at 6:30 am.
A Dozen Reasons to Be Part of TMC Get Moving Tucson
All Weekend
1. Every participant receives a free long black t-shirt with the 2016 colorful design, designed in partnership with Leslie Jordan Designs, premier race supplier
2. Every finisher receives a souvenir medal. This is the culminating medal for the 3-part Cactus Medallion for the 2016 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown.
3. Snacks and Cheer Gear from TMC, plus race morning free coffee from Team Hoyt Arizona and our first-ever GMT Food Truck Running RoundUp with awesome food!
4. Vendor booths from Tucson Medical Center, UnitedHealthcare, Reid Park Zoo, Running Shop, Center for Neuroscience, Vitamin Shoppe, and more -- plus you can check out the new student start-ups from the UA McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship!
5. Informal Selfie-Station, plus children's activities, with Cox Communications jumping castle and face painting by 2EE The Clown!
Saturday
6. It's Halloween, so run in a costume and win a prize. Costume Contest, meet in costume at Reid Park Zoo booth at 8:40 -- The Costume Contest parade will cheer on the Girls on the Run, while all parade-goers receive 15% discount coupon to Delectables, plus winners receive other gift cards and mugs. Check out this costume -- thanks to Goatographer for making the moveable gif!
7. Run with the Mayor! Mayor Rothschild will be on hand to start the Girls on the Run event.
8. Saturday's Main Stage band is Tucson's very own Juke Box Junqies, playing a raucous mix of rock and pop to keep wake you up and get you dancing!
9. More free running than you can shake a stick at: the Cox Charities FitKidz Free Mile for all those 12-and-under, plus the TMC Girls on the Run presented by UnitedHealthcare. Plus, your finish line water stop will be managed by the Huskies from Sam Hughes Grade School Cross Country.
Sunday
10. Sunday's TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon is the RRCA Arizona State Championship, with over $2,000 in prize money plus special recognition to Open, Master's, Grand Masters, and Super-GrandMasters. Speed demons have signed up, with Olympians and Olympic hopefuls coming to town to try to snag some of the prize money.
11. We've made the top of A-Mountain into party central: rock out with local hipster band Chuckwalla, cruise under the Muscle Milk Arch, get your souvenir photo taken by Oro Valley Photography, and catch your exciting minutes-per-mile 6.9 and 6.2 mile split with the timing mat provided by Roadrunner Timing.
12. Live Music: Sunday's Main Stage is local rockers Bold as Love, while Mary & the Flathead Band will crank it up at Miles 4.5 and 12! Plus, on hand to motivate you at water stops along the route will be St. Augustine HS and Sahuaro HS Cross Country, plus youth from VisionQuest and the sppedsters from the UA's Wildcat Running Club.
Beneficiaries
Proceeds from the TMC Get Moving Tucson Weekend will fund local charities, including Cox Charities, Team Hoyt Arizona, Reid Park Zoo, Child and Family Resources, and the Southern Arizona Roadrunners.
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Date and Time
Saturday, October 29
7:30 am Tucson Lifestyle 5k Run/Walk, for all ages and participants -- costume contest, age group awards, and more! This event is part of the 2016 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown.
8:30 am TMC Girls on the Run of Tucson 5k Walk/Run, for participants, families, and Run Buddies of the TMC Girls on the Run of Tucson, Fall 2016 program. Presented by UnitedHealthcare.
9:30 am Cox Charities FitKidz Free One Mile for children under 12 years old -- this event is free and only all children under 12 years old
Sunday, October 30
7:00 am TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon -- prize money, age group awards, live music, and more! This event is part of the 2016 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown and is part of the SAR's Running Shop Grand Prix. Unofficial early start at 6:30 am.
Race Awards
Rewards For Fast Running: The 2016 Half-Marathon Prize Money Structure 
• $100 to first overall male and $100 to first overall female; $50 to top overall Master's (Over-40) male and female
• $200 to the top 5 males who break 1:11 and to the top 5 females who break 1:26
• $500 for course records. Current course records are Scott Smith’s 1:06:23 (2012) and Jennifer Bergman's 1:19:44 (2015)
• $50 to first male and female member of the Southern Arizona Roadrunners
• Preem award of $100 to first male and female runner to the “A” on Sentinel Peak
NOTES:
**A-Mountain preem prize money is only given if the A-Mountain leader finishes the complete half-marathon in under 1:30 minutes for the man and 1:40 minutes for the woman
++ Runners who break the course record will receive $500, but not the additional $200
To Clarify: Awards are based on "gun" starting time for overall and masters, and chip time for age group.
Age Group Awards for both 5k and Half-Marathon courtesy of the Running Shop
TMC 1/2 marathon
Overall 1: Cash + sock
Overall 2, 3: $40, $30 gift cert to the Running Shop + sock
Masters 1: Cash + sock
AG 1: $20 gift cert to Running Shop + sock
AG 2: $15 gift cert to Running Shop + sock
AG 3: sock
5K Run/Walk
Overall 1, 2, 3: $30, $25, $20 gc to Running Shop + sock
Masters 1: $20 gc to Running Shop + sock
AG 1: sock
AG 2: $15 gc to Running Shop
AG 3: $10 gc to Running Shop
My wife says this is too complicated, but we are trying to reward performance and local running. So, as an example, if a man wins the race overall in 1:11:01 but is second to the "A" and not a SAR member he will get only $100. If the winning man or woman is first to break the course record, is first to the "A", and is also a member of the Southern Arizona Roadrunners, he or she will win $750. When in doubt, join SAR!
TMC Get Moving Tucson Event: A-Mountain Half-Marathon Top Ten Times, Men
1 Scott Smith 26 1:06:23 Oct-21-2012
2 Craig Curley 23 1:07:13 Oct-9-2011
3 Jordan Chipingama 23 1:08:20 Oct-21-2012
4 Ian Burrell 28 1:09:14 Oct-20-2013
5 Kurt Michels 29 1:09:58 Oct-20-2013
6. Craig Curley 27 1:13:00 Oct-25-2015
7 Andrew Allstadt 30 1:13:16 Oct-20-2013
8 Steve Slaby 30 1:14:34 Oct-9-2011
9 Alejandro Troncoso 26 1:14:36 Oct-19-2014
10 Alex Mauro 22 1:14:45 Oct-25-2015
TMC Get Moving Tucson Event: A-Mountain Half-Marathon Top Ten Times, Women
1 Jennifer Bergman 23 1:19:44 Oct-25-2015
2 Ariana Hilborn 33 1:21:17 Oct-20-2013
3 Autumn Ray 35 1:21:57 Oct-25-2015
4 Autumn Ray 34 1:22:06 Oct-19-2014
5 Amy Cole 30 1:23:40 Oct-19-2014
6 Maggie Callahan 25 1:23:42 Oct-20-2013
7 Alicia Shay 30 1:24:35 Oct-21-2012
8 Tia Accetta 37 1:24:43 Oct-21-2012
9 Erin Menefee 23 1:25:50 Oct-25-2015
10 Hanna Henson 22 1:26:13 Oct-21-201
Training Advice
About the Race Director: The TMC Get Moving Tucson Half-Marathon event was founded by Randy Accetta, long-time SAR Board member and past SAR President. Working at the time with Jannie Cox, the first Get Moving 10-Miler was a cross-city race. Over recent years, the race has been brought to Downtown Tucson and includes iconic A-Mountain, the Santa Cruz Riverpath, and Downtown Tucson neighborhoods. The Get Moving Tucson event is on the SAR calendar, with the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon on the SAR "Running Shop Grand Prix." A former 2:19 marathoner who ran in the 1996 US Olympic Trials Marathon, Randy is a Mentor in Residence at the University of Arizona's McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship and is the national Director of Coaching Education for the Road Runners Club of America. He and his wife Tia live near the UA with their two small children, both of whom are faster than Randy.
2016 UPDATED: How to Run the TMC A-Mountain Half, a mile-by-mile description of the race course.
Miles 1-3 The 5k and Half-Marathon runners both start in front of the historic Pioneer Building on Stone Avenue. To ensure an accurate and certified course for each race, the course will include a lap of the Downtown library at the very beginning, followed by a straight shot east along Pennington Avenue to Sixth Avenue.
Runners will head to the east side of Sixth Avenue and drop under the rail tracks via the Sixth Avenue Underpass, before heading north on Sixth Avenue all the way up to Second Street. Turn right on Second Street and head towards the University of Arizona for a half-mile or so, then turn left on First Avenue and left again on First Street. This section should be fun – plenty of folks to run with, an easy uphill through the first mile, then mostly flat for a mile, then a very nice downhill all the way through the Sixth Avenue Underpass. There is a water stop just before Mile 2, on Second Street and Fourth Avenue by the park.
Miles 3-4 The 5k will finish on Church at the cross walk of the Old Court House, while the Half-Marathoners will go past the finish line on Church at the Old Court House. From Court House/Jacome Plaza, go north on Church to Sixth Street, then turn left on Sixth. This stretch to I-10 is all a gentle downhill down towards the Santa Cruz. Take advantage of this slight drop. From Sixth/St. Mary’s you’ll turn south on Bonita and have the whole street to yourselves until you hit Congress. Heading west on Congress to the A-Mountain road at Cuesta is a gradual rise - not very noticeable, but still, a bit uphill. You’ll be on the north side of Congress all the way to Cuesta. Again, be patient on this stretch.
Miles 5-7 Once you turn south on Cuesta and hit Sentinel Peak Road you will begin to notice a bit of an uphill. OK, it's a bit more than a bit uphill. Almost the same distance as the famed Saguaro hill, the climb up to the “A” on A-Mountain can be broken into a few sections. Stay to the right side of the road on this whole stretch. The first piece through the neighborhoods is gradual, so try to get in a steady rhythm without working too hard. As you hit the parking lot on the right about a half-mile up the hill, you’ll notice a flattening for a couple of hundreds of yards. This is a good time to re-assess your pace and shake out your arms a bit. Then you have a quarter mile of steepness to the split at the top of the mountain, where the Cross Country team from Sahuaro High School will be cheering and handing out water. In 2015, we'll have Chuckwalla rock n' roll band, plus friends from Muscle Milk. Go through the Muscle Milk arch!
The race route will take you to the right, counter-clockwise, with a gorgeous view of the Starr Pass area to the west and the Santa Rita Mountains to the south. You can see the sparkling observatories of Kitt Peak and the mountains surrounding Baboquivari Peak. The hill softens a bit as you make the half-mile push for the sparkling white “A.” There are a couple of false summits as you approach the top, so maintain a steady pace.
According to mapmyrun.com, the whole climb is about 1.5 miles with a 509 foot elevation gain. Not that bad, right? Once you hit the low brick wall marking the parking areas on the east side, you’re almost to the top. Another hundred yards or so, and you level out for a few steps before plunging downhill. 
Miles 7-8 The downhill is probably the hardest part of the course. Enjoy the pull of gravity, but you’ll want to be careful of running too fast - don’t brake yourself, but don’t overstride too much, either. Like with the Tucson Marathon, too much too fast will blow out your quads, so be smart on the downhill section.
Miles 9-10 Once you’re off the hill, the half-mile stretch heading east on Congress is pretty easy. Please stay inside the cones on the south lane of Congress. You’ll turn south on Grande and stay on the right side of the road all the way down to the bike path entrance just north of 22nd/Starr Pass Blvd. You may be tempted to pick up the pace on this stretch, but it’s probably better to be patient here as you run in the morning sunshine below Sentinel Peak. When you enter the Santa Cruz River Path at Grande (just north of Starr Pass Blvd), you'll have a water station, live music, and an ambulance at the dirt lot. At this point you should be in a nice rhythm.
Mile 10-12 Once on the bike path, you will stay on the right hand side of the bike path and head south for exactly 660 yards then do a U-turn and head back north, still staying on the right side of the lane as you pass runners for another 660 yards until the path opens up. (As you can probably tell, we needed this turn-around on the bike path to ensure that the course is exactly 13.1 miles.) You’ll head north on the bike path all the way until St. Mary’s again. Again, stay on the bike path the whole way -- you'll have a water station crewed by the cross country runners of Catalina High School offering water just before Mile 12. We'll also have live music here. You should be feeling good along the River Path, so this is a nice place to step up the pace a bit. There are some shady stretches and you’re getting closer to home on this primarily flat stretch.
Mile 12-13.1 Exiting the bike path onto St. Mary’s is a bit tricky. As you come up the hill off the bike path approaching St. Mary’s, you can either hug the pathway to the right and stay on the narrow sidewalk heading east across the Santa Cruz or you can jump down from the curb to the main roadway. If I were racing it, I would probably hop the curb, but it’s a bit high, perhaps as many as 10”, so be careful here. As you head under the I-10, you’re about 2/3 of mile from the finish line, so it’s time to put the pedal to the metal!! You finish with a long straight-away up Church Street. Save some for the final kick!
Race Hotels
It's UA Homecoming weekend so all of our hotels are already booked -- sorry!!
Beneficiaries
Proceeds from the event will fund local charities, including Cox Charities, Team Hoyt Arizona, Reid Park Zoo, Child and Family Resources, and the Southern Arizona Roadrunners.
Community Partners
We want to thank a host of community partners for help with this event, including our title sponsor, Tucson Medical Center. Without TMC's support, we could not produce such a large event. We urge all runners and walkers to patronize our sponsors and partners-- check out their logos and links on the sidebar!
Interested in being a sponsor? Contact Race Director Randy Accetta. It's expensive to put on a race Downtown, and we're looking for course sponsors, t-shirt sponsors, and post-event sponsors. Join the healthiest community in Arizona!
Contact
Call Race Director Randy Accetta 520-991-0733 or
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