Evelyn Brown

2015 REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon
Published: Sept. 17, 2015, 3:29 p.m.
  1. Overall Rating

    5/5 Stars

  2. Describe your race day.

    Started out dark and chilly, would have napped on the bus to the start but the guy behind wouldn't shut up (that's ok, he was nervous). Sat in the parking lot until start time, shed the space blanket, did the bag drop-off, then cruised down the hill. Saw my hubby along the side at the finish. Afterwards, cold towel around my neck (great idea), hot shower back at the hotel, then off for sight-seeing.

  3. Did you PR?

    YES, 10 seconds better than at your Canyon City race last year! (Really have to turn on the afterburners when I do Canyon City this November!) I ran the half, so BQ was not on my radar.

  4. How would you describe the course?

    Nicely downhill, without being so steep that you worry about your knees the whole distance. I like that it was downhill all the way to the finish, rather than flattening out at the end. That little bit of gravitational pull helped keep me rolling.

  5. Tell us about your training.

    I've been doing triathlon training lately, so have dropped back on my running mileage. But, I get out about 3 times per week for a run. I did slack off a bit, and had trained only up to about 9 miles for this one, but thanks to the downhill, I did not hit any wall at that distance.

  6. What advice would you give future runners?

    Be prepared for a chilly, not at all comfortable spot waiting for the start. If you are willing to risk it, don't take one of the first buses up the hill, that only increases your wait time in the dark and cold. I'm vegetarian, so our hunt for restaurants was difficult. Found really REALLY good Indian/Nepalese food at Kathmandu (3142 S. Highland). Ate good Japanese at Suehiro, right behind the finish line. Carbo loaded at Siragusa's, which was OK, but not a prize winner. These are all near the Hawthorne Suites, where we stayed, near the finish line.

  7. What fun things did you do in the area before or after the race?

    Drove up to Snowbird and Alta. Lift to top of Snowbird and hiked around a bit, but as it was the day before the race, I chose to ride back down the hill. Went to movies (Mission Impossible!) the night before the race.
    After the race, we went to Ogden to visit the railroad museum. Next day we went to Brighton and Solitude to look at the mountains. On the way home Monday (Los Angeles), we turned off to see Brian Head, saw some awesome rock formations on the road there, then Cedar Breaks. We have visited Zion Kolob Canyon several times, and that is a worthy side-trip as well.

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