Arizona · Mesa · Feb

Mesa Marathon

Feb 13, 2027

Next edition

3,008

Finishers

in 2026

point-to-point

net downhill · +288 ft / −1,154 ft

You board a bus in the dark and ride up toward Usery Mountain, and when the sun comes up you are standing below the big white Phoenix sign painted on the hillside. From there the course is mostly down: findmymarathon lists about 1,154 feet of loss against 288 of gain, which is why so many runners come here chasing a Boston time. Early miles roll through cactus desert with the Phoenix valley opening below you, then the grade settles and you work toward Mesa and the finish at Riverview Park. Treat the downhill with respect; your quads will remember it long before Riverview Park. The 6.5-hour limit is generous, the February start is cool, and the free kids' 1K means your family has something to do while you run.

Next edition

2027-02-13

Distances

Marathon · Half Marathon · 10K · Kids 1K

Field

3,008 marathon finishers (2026)

Course

point-to-point

Gain / loss

288 ft / 1,154 ft

Time limit

6.5 hours (marathon and half)

Lottery

The course

Point-to-point net-downhill course that starts below the white Phoenix sign on Usery Mountain, runs through cactus desert with views over the Phoenix valley, and finishes at Riverview Park in Mesa. Course map ↗

Getting in

Open now on mesamarathon.com/register. Current price window Oct 14, 2026 to Jan 5, 2027: Marathon $189, Half $169, 10K $69, Kids 1K $10. Team discount of $5 each for groups of 4+. Registration opening date and final close date not published on the fetched page; no cap or sell-out announced. Register ↗

Worth knowing

The marathon course is USATF-certified (certification AZ23023JOE) and the time limit for both the marathon and half is 6.5 hours, with both starting at 6:30 a.m. ↗
findmymarathon lists 288 ft of gain and 1,154 ft of loss, and 3,008 marathon finishers in 2026, with 16.3% of finishers hitting a BQ time. ↗
The marathon begins below the large white Phoenix sign painted on Usery Mountain and finishes at Riverview Park; RaceRaves describes nearly 1,000 ft of net elevation loss. ↗
Runners who complete both the Mesa Marathon and a partner race earn a Desert Double medal presented by Human Powered Health; the weekend also includes a free Kids 1K. ↗
RaceRaves race reports from 2015-2016 refer to the event as the Phoenix Marathon, indicating an earlier name for the race. ↗

Where it sits in the year · all 100 races

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mesamarathon.com/

Checked 2026-10-13. Always confirm on the official site before booking travel.