Daydreaming in Patagonia

Ann and I headed down to Tucson for our annual visit with Amber and David. David had discovered the Daydreamer in tiny Patagonia, Arizona—about an hour south—and we all signed up for the 30k.

There was just one small problem: I had foot surgery in mid-December and couldn't run for a month. I'd only been back at it for a few weeks, with a week off in there for a trip and a cold. So I was way undertrained and hoping for the best. Whoops.

David ended up hurting his foot last minute and dropped to the 10k, being extra cautious since he finally got in to Western States this year. We could tell he's already started training—he was way faster than the last time we ran together.

We arrived in Arizona on Thursday night and squeezed in a Friday morning run at Sabino Canyon. This made me nervous since I've had pretty spectacular falls there our previous two visits. Somehow, I managed not to eat rocks, sand, and cactus this time.

Friday afternoon we drove down to Patagonia and immediately fell in love with this adorable little town. Race packet pickup was an event, with a locals market with vintage clothing, jewelry, treats, and other treasures. We chatted with a winery owner who was selling vintage housewares, then headed to her place—Queen of Cups winery—for a lovely wine tasting. The race brought in Las Vigas, a Sonoran food cart, for race eve dinner. They ran out of the vegan option early, but made me a special plate.

Race morning started at 6:45 am with a pre-race briefing that began with a sound bath. The race director played a singing bowl. A first for both of us, and I have video. Then at 7 am, we were off.

The first three miles were on the road before turning onto what the race director warned was the toughest, roughest section of the whole course. The trail was rutted and littered with rocks—big enough you wouldn't want to step on them, but too small to push off from. You had to pick your way carefully through.

Between my history of Arizona faceplants, my recent loss of fitness, the super dry air, and the 4,000-foot altitude, I was slow and cautious. Ann practiced her patience and waited for me regularly, just like Cedar does (sometimes).

Once we crested the big hill in the middle, the trail smoothed out into sandy grit and we could finally run together. It felt good.

There was an aid station at mile 3 when we turned off the road, but then nothing until mile 15. Boy, were we excited to see that one. It was under an overpass, so there was shade, and they had pickles and Skratch powder so you could customize your electrolytes. Then another station right away at mile 17, complete with two dogs.

The last few miles paralleled the road. A bit boring, but we enjoyed running together. We did get slightly off-course at one intersection where the pink ribbons seemed to point one direction and the GPX track showed another. We chose wrong, but met back up with the official course soon enough.

We crossed the line together, and Ann came in 4th in her new age group. She thought she might have placed if she wasn't waiting for me, but when we checked results, the third-place woman beat her by more than an hour. Those Arizona trail runners are no joke.

We celebrated with smoothies at the Covey in town, then headed back to Tucson for lunch and showers.

The next day, Ann and I went for a slower run in Sabino Canyon. And I successfully did not fall this trip. That's the real victory here.

Patagonia is a gem, the Daydreamer 30k was beautifully organized and full of its promised good vibes, and running in the desert without face-planting? Type 1 fun all the way.