4/5 Stars

It was difficult, but I love the beauty of the canyon. The volunteers really help to keep your spirits up.

By a couple minutes! Oh yeah! Plus I had time to stop to go to the bathroom and walk a few times.

I love the canyon scenery, and wish more of the half was in the canyon and if it was a week later to see more of the fall colors.

5k's almost every day did it for me

Make sure and have a healthy diet for a while before the race

The Massage is absolutely the best part!!!!!!

4/5 Stars

it was a perfect and beautiful race day, weather and conditions couldn't have been better.
I love how well the race it organized!!

yes, 5 minutes better than last year

The course is awesome!
I need to do more downhill training next year
The leaves were more colorful this year

I spent a lot of my training, in speed training
That helped getting a PR
Will spend more time in downhill next year

downhill training is a must!
Tighten the shoes slightly seemed to help as well

not much
only live an hour a way

5/5 Stars

5/5 Stars

Perfect weather ... great day!

No ... I did last year though. Had a rough year and haven't been able to train like I should.

Beautiful ... amazing!

Not what it should have been. I knew that going into town was tough ... that's where I bonk!

Try to make sure you pace yourself for the hills and the flats. The hills can be fast and furious but sometimes they take it all out of you too!

Shopping ... Tim McGraw concert Saturday night to celebrate!

5/5 Stars

5/5 Stars

You need heaters at the campground !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes

fast and straight

I only ran 4 miles per day to prep.

bike to get ready for the downward run.

Went to the state fair.

5/5 Stars

This was my 1st half Marothon love it can't wait for next year.

Well yes I've never ran one before

Beautiful and fun

I need to do more down hill training

Downhill train

Nothing really

5/5 Stars

I had a tough day.I had done Pocatello marathon the week before and this was my eight marathin this year. I ran keeping in mind that next week I will do Top of Utah. My motivation was not to PR.

No. I have three more in the next month. I tried to pace myself accordingly.

Severly down hill and brutal after leavingmthe canyon.

I run 10 to 12 a year.

Practice down hill running if you want to PR here.

Got to bed early the night before and rested and watched football after. I live in Magna.

3/5 Stars

I was optimistic about the race from the race packet pickup on. Until... the start (or lack there of). There were some announcements, but never a clear statement about exactly what what was going to happen. I recall something said about "would the pace runners please start making their way to the start and line up?" sometime after 6:30 and "would you please take your warmup bags to the truck?" in a very casual way. Suddenly, after waiting in line at the truck I realized that that people were starting the course! What happened was essentially a "rolling" start. Every other race I've been in has had a CLEAR start with much less confusion, this was very "whatever", "just have a good time", sloppy and lackadaisical. For such a big production like this I was especially disappointed in really just the start. Everything else was well run.

As I understand it, BQ times are based on a gun start and not a chip start. So I'm already starting now at a disadvantage without any idea of when the race had actually started. There was no big announcement, no gun, no shouting, nothing to indicate that the race had begun other than people were slowly starting to move downhill.

My plan had been to stay with a pace runner who would get me to the finish line with 0:05 to spare to BQ. Ha, I spent at least the first 6 miles running much faster than I should have trying to catch up with my goal pace runner. I never did even though I passed 11 other slower pacers in my "sprint" start. My guess as to what happened in the last half of the race is that because of my fast catch up pace that I began with, I developed pain in my hips and right calf which made it only possible to endure the flat miles of out and back section after reaching the mouth of the canyon. People were passing me left and right.

The last two downhill miles should have been easy... pour on the finishing speed, but I was I in too much pain and couldn't push through it. I was pretty disappointed and wonder if I should give up on trying to BQ. I'm in my early 50s and this was only my 8th marathon so I guess I shouldn't compare myself to others who have been doing this for decades with dozens of races experience. I must ask myself though what I'm doing wrong?

I take responsibility for running the race poorly, but I attribute much of the reason for making those bad running choices to the disorganized start. If I had been able to start and stay with my goal pace runner I believe my finish would have been a much different story.

No. I was off my pr by 0:25 which was set earlier this year in miserable conditions in the Ogden marathon's cold, heavy rain. I also missed a BQ time by 0:30. I was in just too much pain the last 7 miles and didn't care at that point about the people I had passed earlier who were now passing me.

It's very pretty, but deceptive. If you're not at your best you can kind of "coast" down the canyon. Things will start to fall apart though in the following flat section and gradual inclines. I saw this in many other runners at this point too.

I run on trails at 6500' to 9000' elevation and followed the Nike running app's "coach" marathon training regimen. I also swim laps for 1 mile a session four or five times a week. I've done two other big races this year and feel I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. It's not the stamina to endure the distance that I lack or the speed to achieve a BQ time (I've run some 6:30 miles in training), it's starting too fast and the pain that develops in the later parts of the race that prevents me from making a BQ time for me.

Be prepared for warm temperatures in races and make sure that there's no confusion at the start. Try to be prepared for the unexpected.

I had to drive four hours one way to get here and only spent a little time afterwards dining and shopping before I had to return home. I live in east central Nevada in a small town called Ely which is hours from most everywhere.

5/5 Stars

I refer to this race as the friendly race. Everyone is so helpful. The staff, volunteers, emergency personnel, participants are fun and happy. The course is BEAUTIFUL!!! I will probably participate in this race every year. I think it is great that there are so many different skill levels and that the walkers are just as welcome as the runners by the participants and staff. This race is very organized and has a lot of extras that make it stand out from other races. I HIGHLY recommend this race.

Although my pace is quite slow, I was pleasantly surprised that I finished faster than last year, especially considering my lack of training and health issues.

Beautiful!!! I wish the ENTIRE race could take place in the canyon. If the entire race or all but one or two miles took place in the canyon I would be in heaven! I hope REVEL can find a way to make that happen.... maybe next year? =0) The shade, light breeze, and breathtaking scenery made me want to turn around and go back up the canyon. But the rest of the course is okay, minus the traffic. The exhaust fumes and people smoking in their vehicles with their windows down wasn't great. It is a great course though, even with the few minor things I mentioned. I love the canyon portion!

My training was pathetic! I did what I could, when I could. I would have liked to train more, but health issues and other major events didn't allow me to train as I would have liked to. I'm just happy to be able to participate in this event and enjoy the exercising, fall colors, great people, and beautiful views.

Prepare for the hills by training on hills, up and down. If you have knee, quad, or calf problems (especially if you haven't trained much on the hills) I suggest wearing support gear. I also found walking backwards uphill on a treadmill to be helpful. Start out slow and go at a comfortable pace.

Enjoyed the area and seeing the start of the beautiful fall colors. I highly recommend The Bohemian Brewery (7200 South and slightly east of State Street) for an enjoyable dining experience. Whether you enjoy their wide variety of beer (you can sample them for 50 cents each to find out which one(s) you prefer) or just want a good meal that is made fresh or both, this is the place to go.