5/5 Stars

I came into this race injured (popliteus,) undertrained and overweight because of the injury, and with a nasty bout of stomach flu on Monday, so I had no idea what to expect. As it turned out, it was a great day but not a great race. Slightly slow on first half, 1:42, then crash and burn on the second. But it's a gorgeous course and an extremely well run race.

Ho ho ho. Didn't PR, didn't BQ, worst marathon time ever. My PR is 3:29 at Boston this year, and I did 4:48 in this race.

Fantastic course in terms of beauty. I don't know about the downhill. It tore up my legs pretty badly, although that's hard to say if it was the course or me being undertrained and heavy.

Very hard to train for a downhill race. My injury may be related to a stumble I took in Venice six weeks ago, or it may be related to training for downhill. It's an injury that road runners rarely get but cross country runners do.

Bring old clothes or go to Walmart and buy a cheap fleece to throw away. Don't worry about looking funky. Stay warm.

Don't throw your shit on the course, especially don't throw it over the side of the embankment. Either drop it where the clean up crew can get it or even better carry it to the next aid station. Come on, people, it's a national park

Indiana.

4/5 Stars

Hey, where's my picture? Without it, I can't prove that I actually ran the race.

Sure, I got the first place in my age division, but not the time. Cold/hot weather was hard on runners.

I liked the downhill part, but there were plenty of uphills.

Gym workouts and course runs. I will stay with half marathon for now.

Enjoy!

Shopping. Driving. I saw a bear near the half start line.

4/5 Stars

The scenery was amazing!!

The best thing about running your first marathon is getting a PR! So yes, I set a PR 10 minutes under my
Goal.

First 13 was all downhill 15-18 was hard! People need to know that these were straight up, not so much rollers like I was expecting!

Where we live we have no real hills or mountains... Make sure to trading going downhill then up hill, that transition is so important.

At the start it was so cold! I struggled with what to wear so I brought 3 different shirts, tights and spandex shorts. I decided to wear spandex shorts (great choice) but wore a long sleeve shirt (wrong choice)! At about mile 5 I could tell it was getting warmer. Mile 14 I was fried because it was getting so warm (I'm also used to running in 30-45 degrees). So make sure to dress light, and know that you will warm up! Also wear sunscreen! My face and lips got burnt.

I came from Montana for this race. The people working this event were very nice! The free pictures is a great idea! However, the swag bags weren't as impressive as I was hoping, and the food at the end were plan bagels and bananas. Wish there was chocolate milk and more types of bread to choose from.

5/5 Stars

Got up at the crack of dawn but got down there in plenty of time to board the bus -- although some traffic control to get into the parking lot would have been nice. I intentionally wore light clothing and knew that I was going to freeze at the staging area, and I did. However, I was comfortable during the race, and that's what matters. My running pace and I knew by mile 10 that I had a PR in the bag. I came down with a minor knee sprain about halfway through mile 12 but still came up with a PR.

YES!!! I beat my last PR, which was made in last year's Canyon City run, by 3:02!!!!!

I am never going to qualify for Boston, and it's unimportant to me. I'm an older runner who began late and I'm just doing it for fun.

AWESOME!!!

I mostly train on the weekends.

Dress light, and then toss everything into your bag to throw on the truck at the last minute.

I did not stay for the after party because I wanted to get my knee checked out by a doctor. I went to Urgent Care later in the day and was diagnosed with a minor knee sprain and advised to take it easy for a couple of days.

I came in from La Habra, CA.

5/5 Stars

This race was so fun!! I definitely want to do it again! Great views! Volunteers were wonderful! Well organized race!

Yes a PR of 1 min and 45 secs. Not much but a PR.

Beautiful! Not all downhill...there were some uphill that were not that bad

5/5 Stars

Arrived early to catch our shuttle which was well organized. I was a cold morning but shed all of my layers by the start of the race.

No I did not PR but I did get my fastest time for 2015.

I enjoyed the mostly down hill portions of the course and found it to be very scenic. The start of mile 12 was a bit tough with the up hill grade but overall I loved everything.

I ran other events leading up to the REVEL half like 5K' 10K and a 10 miler.

Its a must run race

Celebrated with other friends that competed as well at the beer garden.

4/5 Stars

organization and staff were fabulous
weather ruined it and you cannot control that
but why did you have that awful, unexpected hill on the last mile?? you did not last yesr

yeah but wanted 20 minutes faster

easy half, miserable hilly course between 15-20 miles especially when it is 70 degrees.
last mile at 75 degress was torture

ran 20 miles of your course 5 times - I live 70 miles away
ran a hill by my house up-and-down for all regular training for 6 weeks
my training times were better than race day since I always started my Crystal Lake runs at first light and weather never reached 70....

weather is crucial for a PR
train downhill a LOT

nothing
Camarillo,CA

5/5 Stars

5/5 Stars

The challenge, yet absolute beauty of the course, was my favorite thing about the race. Well organized and support was great throughout the race.

I qualfied for Boston -- beat my BQ time by over 20 minutes.

You can have a fast race but just like everyone advised me, you must have discipline on the extreme down hill over the first 13 miles and resist the urge to go to fast. I ran, and recommend, banking a little time per mile in the first half but running a fairly even pace overall. Worked well for me. Allowed me to enjoy the beauty of the course on the first half and have something left to finish strong on the second half.

Used Hanson's method for training schedule. Ran lot's of hills. Worked on improving my form and efficiency on the down-slopes.

Dress warm with "give-aways" at the top. It's cold waiting for the start. Grab a first bus seat and get a spot near the fire when you arrive!

Travelled from AUSTIN, TX. Did some hiking in the area -- beautiful in the mountains. Also plenty of good restaurants in the area.

5/5 Stars

Awesome

Yes. By 13 minutes

The first 13 was great. I didn't expect those hills at mile 14.

I train all year long

Never give up.

None