5/5 Stars

Talking with an old friend around mile 4, wife BQ'd with a 3:27, I PR'd with a 3:09

Yes! Beat my PR by 21 minutes! Missed qualifying for Boston by almost 5 minutes sadly.

Fast. Scenic. Pain was worth it. Elevation drop was crazy, sure made you aware when you were inclining later in the race. Turnaround point was kind of brutal.

Hal Higdon Advanced program was insane. Having the three 20 mile runs and introducing speed work definitely helped for this full marathon!

If I could change my training, I would have been more religious on staying on top of pace runs and incorporating more hills into my weekly mileage.

Hardest part is stepping out the door for training. Carbs are your friends. If you hate pasta, make it your friend. Say no to GU gels. Altra footwear will solve all your problems.

Had a victory Starbucks after. Starbucks coffee is horrible, but it was the best post race coffee I've ever had.

But, thank you volunteers. This couldn't have happened without you. Thank you so much for fueling us to achieve our goals!

5/5 Stars

I had a great time at the start line with friends and so excited to see family at the finish!

I set a new PR! I PR'd by almost an hour! I wanted to qualify for Boston but didn't this year. Next year I will!

It was absolutely incredible. The downhill made me feel like a speedster! I also liked the challenge of the out and back.

I did all my long runs in Big Cottonwood canyon. It really helped on race day to be familiar with the course and I'm not even sore because of all the downhill training.

Do downhill training!! Dress warm on race day morning and shed along the course if needed.

We took the kids to eat breakfast after the race. It was nice having so much to choose from.

We came from Eagle Mountain, Utah

Start: Cold for 1:45 till start.
Downhill: Fine and awesome
Wasatch blvd: suckville
End: Nothing to do but leave. (needs beer tent; see slc maration)

No

Ok, until mile 19 when we went on Wasatch.

I did a lot of downhill.

Train for Wasatch blvd.

There wasn't' much for my family at the end; which was kind of a bummer. I dont' know if it's possible but a big tent and heaters would be awesome for the start.

5/5 Stars

Cold then hot. Painful. Beautiful

Yes...by a minute. Not even close to a BQ...never will be. I'm sloooooow. Like to get my money's worth out o a course.

Challenging for me. Especially when you turn onto Wasatch Blvd. Those hills are tough. A welcome relief to the downhills, but that is still at altitude so, that makes it a little more challenging.

I actually went out to SLC in July and ran the Canyon from the start line to the big parking lot at the bottom of canyon. That was the biggest help of all. I learned how much more water I would need than I thought. I took a 50 ounce backpack of water and ran out at mile 15.

I also do a mix of cross training of all types of workouts. That really helped me with recovery.

I also live where there are hills so I would walk/run up them and the run back down. That is a major help, but not everyone has that available.

Buy shoes in a bigger size than your normal running shoes. This saved my toes. I have special shoes that I only wear on downhill training. Others were saying their toes and toenails were hurting after the race and mine were fine. (My feet hurt but not my toes)

Take water with you if you are a slower runner and will be on the course a long time. Every 2 miles is a long time between sips when you are slow! There is no way I would have had enough water from the water stops. With such low humidity, it is easy to dehydrate. I drank at every stop both Powerade and water and still had to have about 30 ounces of my backpack. Still got very dehydrated at the end.

Sunscreen---

Eat out at some really good places all over cottonwood heights and the other cities in the area. Drove around in the mountains. Some cool Shopping. Toured the downtown and Temple Square area of SLC, toured and shopped in Park City too.

Live in Arkansas

5/5 Stars

Freezing, then cold, then awesome, then uncomfortable, then painful, then my body very angry at me, then my will very forceful at it, then my soul emerging to lead, then winning, then elated tears.

Yes!
Previous longest run was 6.2 miles.
1 mile 11:23
5k 36:37
10k 1:13
Half (of course) 2:41
Longest run 13.48

Down hillish.

I've been learning to run on the balls of my fertile been learning to run in minimalist shoes (5fingers).

Kick butt!

I live here

5/5 Stars

Great day!
I think you need another water stop in the last 3 miles. I was quite thirsty by the end, with being more exposed in the sun.

This is my first, so I guess so. Haha

Gorgeous!

I should have trained more.

5/5 Stars

It was convenient to catch the bus at the Crystal Inn. The sunrise right before the start of the race was beautiful. The race started faster than I expected, and it was nice to have reprieve from the downhill around mile 19. I've never been more happy to see a finish line.

I PR'd by 14 minutes.

The course is fast-- not to be confused with "easy." I underestimated it, and it tore apart my calves. I could barely run the last three miles.

I felt well trained for the race, but I wasn't prepared for the grade of the downhill, and my calves paid the price. I recommend doing fast training runs on a similar downhill.

The Crystal Inn was great. They even packed us bagels and bananas. The Mylar blankets were nice, but come prepared in layers. I made the mistake of not wearing gloves, and my hands froze. I wore my hat (beanie) until mile 22 when I finally took it off.

5/5 Stars

It was a little cool in the morning, and was thankful for the emergency blanket in the marathon packet. The announcer at the start line kept us well informed of the time and when to be ready, so was prepared for the start and got off to a great beginning. It was my first marathon, so followed everyone's advice and training as close as possible, so from start to the end it was a beautiful race - especially in the canyon! The aid stations were organized well and all the volunteers were super helpful, so everything went so smooth to keep hydrated and fueled along the way. It was pleasantly surprising and relieving to have enough gas left to finish strong and even exceed my ideal finish time!

This was my first marathon and decided ahead of time I'd be happy with anything under four hours, but would ultimately like to get my age group Boston Qualifying time of 3:25. I ended up finishing at 3:21!

The course was beautiful and was the best setting for my first marathon as I love running in nature, so having most of the course in the canyon and along Wasatch Blvd along the Wasatch bench overlooking the city was the ideal scenery to enjoy the ultimate runner's high.

I trained using a program I found on the runkeeper app. For the terrain, I would do flat runs for two weeks and the third week would run up a portion of the course then back down to where I had parked. My furthest long run was 16 miles starting below the spruces, running to the top of guardsman pass, then coming down, going up to Brighton, and back to my car. Once I ran only down hill by being dropped off at the next parking spot below the spruces, running down the canyon, running the out and back on Wasatch blvd, then down to be picked up at Union Park Plaza. Training for uphill and flat seemed to be a huge advantage during the marathon because I ended up passing everyone in front of me and was never passed after getting out of the canyon while keeping almost the same minute per mile pace.

Wear super cushioned shoes, don't ditch your gloves too fast because it gets warm before the Spruces, but gets even colder than at the top for several miles in the area of the Spruces. I was fine in my thin shirt and shorts otherwise if it is a sunny normal temperature day. Head to the porta-pottie line early because the lines get long at the start and too many people didn't have time to empty their bladders, so then the first few aid stations have lines for the porta-potties too, plus the half marathon porta-potties will be on the truck headed down the canyon before you can get to them, so if you don't want to wait in line, you will be holding it till the middle of the canyon.

We moved her from the D.C. area several years ago, so are now locals that are still trying to just soak up all the amazing beauty and natural activities we have to enjoy in our own backyard!

5/5 Stars

Race day was wonderful. Everything was well organized. The support on the course was fantastic. Everyone was kind and helpful. A friend and I ran this together after training together. We had a great time.

Yes, I set a PR at this race by 17 minutes.

Beautiful scenery, wonderful area. Loved it and will run it again.

I completed a full training program for this marathon and felt strong throughout the race. I would recommend training for downhill racing instead of just following a standard schedule.

5/5 Stars

Beautiful scenery and downhill glory! Made a Faster Time than I expected and it's only my 2nd Half!

Sure did by 9 mins from my 1st Half Marathon!

Beautiful all around, loved the change of scenery as you go down the canyon. Love the twists and turns.

Consistency is Key in my book, as long as you keep running no matter how much distance you go in the end it will pay off! I did a 12 week training, got set back with some lower leg pain, but just kept running as much as I could whether I got the distance I needed that week!

Be prepared for it to be super cold before the race starts and the first half of the race is chilly!

Stayed in a hotel close to the race over night before the race and went back to relax after the race! It was Great! I'm just from Utah County too! Ha.