Four Corners Quad Keyah 2024

Short review

FOUR CORNERS QUAD KEYAH MARATHON SERIES Four Corners Monument  Thursday December 5 - Sunday December 8, 2024   Welcome to the Four Corners Quad Keyah!

SCHEDULE OF RACES – A marathon and half marathon will be completed each day, Thursday through Sunday.  All races begin at 8:30 a.m., except for Sunday (New Mexico), which starts at 8:00 a.m.  There is no course limit and all runners will have the chance to finish the race each day. The final marathoners typically finish by 5:00-5:15 p.m. Each day will begin and end in one of the four states:  Thursday will feature a marathon and half marathon beginning and ending in Arizona; Friday is Utah.  Saturday will be Colorado, while Sunday will begin and end in New Mexico.  There are 150 combined slots for marathon and half marathon series runners. There will be a single-day marathon and half on Sunday the 8th, with a cap of 100 runners.

There is also a 2-mile Community Fun Run on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.  There is no fee or awards for this noncompetitive event.

All marathon and half marathon races are timed by Rocky Mountain Timing.

LOCATION: The Four Corners Quad Keyah (“Four Lands” in the Navajo language) will be staged at the Four Corners Monument near Teec Nos Pos, Arizona on the Navajo Nation.

The closest airports are Cortez, Colorado (CEZ, 40 minutes), Durango, Colorado (DGO, two hours), Farmington, New Mexico (FMN, one hour) and Albuquerque, New Mexico (ABQ).  Four Corners Monument is approximately four hours from Albuquerque or Flagstaff, two hours from Durango, six hours from Las Vegas and eight hours from Denver.

REGISTRATION – Online registration for the Marathon and Half Marathon is now open through Wednesday of race week.  (The registration cap is 150 four-day series runners, with 10 charity bibs available.) Registration will close at 12 noon on Wednesday, December 4.  Your registration includes on-course support (including fluids, Honey Stinger products, fresh fruit, and sweet and salty snacks.), race swag, entertainment throughout the weekend and post-race food each day.  All proceeds benefit youth adventure and community wellness programs on the Navajo Nation.

PACKET PICK-UP – The gates will open at 7:00 a.m. daily and packet pick-up will be available beginning after 7:30 a.m. 

BAGGAGE DROP – There will be a bag drop at a safe, dry location at the Monument Aid Station, where runners may drop or retrieve bags as they need throughout the day.  Runners will also have access to their vehicle throughout the day.

COURSE – [Courses for the races are subject to change, based upon the discretion of park officials, race organizers and the weather.]  

    Each day’s race will begin and end in the same distinct state, offering runners a chance to complete four marathons in four states in four days.  Runners may choose to compete on a trail or a one-mile paved option each day. The routes consist of a variety of terrain and scenery, and offer runners a variety of experiences.  Routes may be adjusted by race organizers due to weather conditions and other factors, and are subject to change.

   The Arizona and New Mexico trail routes will utilize a 5.25 mile trail/dirt road course, which runners will complete five times; half runners do two laps and out-and-back to Ray’s A.S.   Utah will feature a 3.75 mile loop course, including some challenging singletrack in the beautiful surrounding canyons.  Colorado will have a scenic and very runnable 5.25 mile trail course that runners will complete five times; half runners do two laps and a shorter final loop.

   The loop nature of the events will allow runners to have regular access to their personal kit and to course support – food, medical support and live music.

FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT – There will be snack boxes and other foods available after each day’s race.  We will also have a variety of live entertainment each day on and near the course, including drummer Gary Elthie, a variety of local royalty, local favorite Red Hawk and the Mountain Spring Band..

AWARDS & GEAR – All finishers receive a unique finisher’s medal for each race, depicting the state they completed that day.  Runners receive a variety of swag throughout the event, including long-sleeve performance t-shirt, drawstring bag, event poster, cup, koozie and sticker.  All four-state finishers will also receive a beautiful Quad Keyah Christmas ornament on Sunday.  Runners will also receive a choice of a unique poster from the Navajo Code Talker poster series.  We do score a series total time for those runners who race the trail course each day. Runners who race on the trail each of the four days are eligible to compete for this award. 

LODGING – There are several lodging options within 40 minutes of the Monument.   Ute Mountain Casino is the closest lodging to the 4C Monument, about 30 minutes.  Cortez, Colorado (40 minutes) has a host of good lodging and dining options.  Farmington, New Mexico is just over an hour from the Monument, with many food and lodging choices while Bluff, Utah has a small-town vibe, just under an hour from the Monument.   If you want to stay on the Navajo Nation, the closest hotels are in Kayenta, Arizona (with several nice options), which is about 75 miles from Four Corners on Hwy 160.

The Four Corners Quad Keyah Marathon Series is co-sponsored by the nonprofit organization NavajoYES, Four Corners Monument, and Navajo Parks & Recreation Dept., with major support from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Beclabito Baptist Church, Utah Navajo Health System and Teec Nos Pos Trading Post.

CONTACTS/INFO – 

Josh/Rocky Mountain Timing (Registration & Results): info@rmtiming.co - 970.403.2794 

Tom:  928.429.0345; chuskaman@yahoo.com  

www.navajoyes.org || www.facebook.com/NavajoYES