Arches Marathon

I have run what was called "The other half", in Moab, held in October race multiple times. I believe, starting in 2010 and have been one of the top 5 female finishers for many years running. It has been my absolute favorite race! Best in the country! However, the last time I ran this race, mad moose had taken over. Nothing against them, but it definitely was not the same. Prior to this, they used to have great music at least 1 hour prior to the race during warm up getting everyone pumped up! They also had Moab Brewery reps at the finish with real glass mugs that had the other half logo on them. They served as an awesome memorabilia collection. They also had great bands playing early on at the finish line. So if you were a top finisher you enjoyed your cold beer, cool glass and band while you cheer everyone coming in to the finish. Since mad moose took over I think maybe in 2015 or 2016. There was no music at warm up, less camp fire barrels to warm everyone up. At the finish if you were a top finisher, the band did not begin playing until, well I don't really know, because I waited a long time after finishing and this time had to leave before the ceremony. Normally the band started playing right after the top finishers. This along with PLASTIC CUPS (which destroys our planet) and I am not talking about water cups, this replaced the very cool Moab Brewery glass mugs with the other half logo. This was very disappointing! I have a large collection of these and look forward every year to adding to it. Overall, It was just as if they just tried to cut budget and corners and the love and enthusiasm that originally went into creating a great race was no longer there. AS IF CORPORATE TOOK OVER A LOCAL TOUCH! However, I cannot take away from the course. It is absolutely beautiful, you can never beat a race in Moab. But the feel and the quality and excitement for this race is just not the same. If you have not run this race prior to mad moose taking over, you would never know how great the feel and energy was prior! You probably love it! And you should! It is still a great race, but I am no longer motivated to run it every year as I did prior. In the past if there was a conflict in my schedule, there was no interfering with this race! I considered it hands down, BEST in the country! Now, it's just not as exciting anymore! I might run it from time to time, just because it is Moab, but it's not the same love!