- Weather
- 51°Ftypical startModelled estimate
- Field size
- ~7,000 runners
- Course
- Flat
- Elevation
- 150 ft gain
Fast winter race; strong spectator support
PR10Weather9Experience9
Mid-January · Southwest · Point-to-Point
Rock 'n' Roll Arizona
Phoenix/Tempe, AZ
A flat desert loop through Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale, run in mid-January before the desert heat returns.
Flat desert loop across 3 cities
- Best for PR
- Boston Qualifier
- First Marathon
Opens the race organizer's website
Typical start
43°
Cooler than 76% of U.S. marathons
Modeled historical conditions
Elevation gain
200ft
Flatter than 54% of races
Estimated total climb
Field size
2K
Larger than 71% of races
Estimated field
PR potential
9.4/10
Top 11%
Almanac model
Percentiles compare this race against all 224 U.S. marathons in the Almanac.
Course profile
200 ft gain
Flat course, point-to-point.
0510152026.2
Race-day weather
Modeled from location, month and coastal proximity, not verified race history.
6 AM
35°
Start
43°
Midday
54°
ExcellentGoodWarmHeat risk
Typical start sits at 43°F, excellent marathon conditions.
Typical dew point 21°F, 6% chance of precipitation, wind around 7 mph. All modeled.
The bottom line
A quietly fast race that does not ask for much beyond honest pacing.
Rock 'n' Roll Arizona is a strong choice for a PR attempt, and Phoenix/Tempe offers very little meaningful elevation. The tradeoff is that nothing about it is extreme in either direction.
Why runners choose this race
A point-to-point course around Phoenix/Tempe, AZ, with very little meaningful elevation change.
The case for it
- PR attempts
- Boston qualification
- First-time marathoners
The tradeoffs
- No notable warnings in the data.
Course and logistics
- Course type
- Point-to-Point
- Surface
- Road
- Profile
- Flat
- Total gain
- 200 ft(estimated)
- Field size
- ~2,000 runners(estimated)
- Crowd support
- Pockets of spectators
- Entry
- Data coming soon
- Start / finish
- Start and finish in different locations
Race details
- Typical timing
- Mid-January
- Region
- Southwest
- Editorial tier
- Featured
- Data last reviewed
- 2026-08-26
- Best for PR
- Boston Qualifier
- First Marathon
- Point-to-point
- Flat course
- Destination race
Similar races
Races with a comparable profile.
- Weather
- 54°Ftypical startModelled estimate
- Field size
- ~800 runners
- Course
- Flat
- Elevation
- 200 ft gain · 0 ft net
Event listed as: Marathon
PR9Weather9Experience6
- Weather
- 46°Ftypical startModelled estimate
- Field size
- ~500 runners
- Course
- Flat
- Elevation
- 50 ft gain · 0 ft net
Event: Gold Wave Marathon
PR9Weather9Experience7