I was a part of the disastrous New Las Vegas Marathon in 2006, and swore off Devine Racing forever. But... I decided to give them one last try, and man, am I glad I did. Of the 5 Devine races I've run, this was worlds above the others. I can't believe this was the same company. Good expo, good (and useful) shirt, easy to get to the start line, and the food at the end was the best I have ever seen. Good job Devine; you renewed my faith in you. Incredible race.

The middle part of the course is not so good, but the beginning and the end are top-notch. It was very well organized from the expo to the finish line. You get a nice medal and a nice shirt. The post-race refreshments were the best I've ever experienced, a HUGE improvement over last year. Put this race on your calendar just for the fun of it, or at least do the 1/2M. The new date in April and earlier start time is much better than last year. This marathon should get the "most improved" award for 2007. The one thing I noticed that I liked better last year was the post-race "party." There was no "party" at the post-race party in 2007. The music was fine, but no beer, tiny crowd... not much of a party. Maybe everybody got too partied out at the finish line. That was great this year.

This race does everything well. The organization is very solid, the basics covered well. The course is pretty good - mostly declines that don't beat up the legs. Spectator support, while not spectacular, is good. This year's weather was really about as good as a marathoner could hope for - in the 40s most of the time. I ran this race last year when it was in June (way too hot!) and vowed not to do it again unless they moved it back to April. They moved it, and I ran. My time was faster than expected, because of the good, cool weather.

Participation seemed way down for the marathon this year, with many more runners in the half. Too bad, because this really is a good race.

Thanks for moving the race back to April. I'll keep running it as long as it is during the cooler spring months.

I didn't have a great race time-wise, but I had a heck of a good time in the city. The expo was pretty good; it was easy to get your goodie bag and shirt. The shirt is one that might actually get worn and not get cut up into a quilt. The course was not too bad; most of the hills are down, and about the only nasty incline is right at mile 7 (mile 7 is the top of the hill). They split the full and the 1/2 apart and the full went through a park and then joined back up with the half, so there was some congestion there, but within a 1/4 or 1/2 mile the full racers went one way and the 1/2 went another. The best thing was the chow line at the end. It seemed to be endless pizza, chicken wings, smoothies, power drinks, breadsticks, yogurt pops, more bananas and water. I couldn't carry everything I wanted so I went back afterwards two times. Each time the pizza and wings were hot, as were the breadsticks. I've been to bigger races but never been to one with this much food.

This was my 41st different state marathon and I will rate it (although it ended up being my slowest time in over two years - not your fault!). I would consider this in the top 3 best to run. Getting to and from was very easy to do.... The shuttle train was neat! The only negative comment was the High Mountain Well water bottle - way too big for a race! It was a shame to see so many of them thrown off to the side, seemingly half full. Your expo was a lot of fun. The booth with the folks from Snickers/Marathon Energy Bars were very helpful with info. The packet pickup system was perfect! AND - the end of the race section - WOW! I have not eaten that well in many, many races! This was a great marathon experience even in all my pain!

Of the marathons I have run in recent years, SLC was the best organizationally, at least this year. Vegas 2006 was ok, but SLC handled the post-running nutrition the very best of anywhere I have been. The course was laid out well, and hey, for 7,000 - 10,000 runners, the bathroom situation was not bad, at all. Suggestion: I know it's "illegal" to do anything on Sunday in Utah, but Sunday would alleviate the traffic congestion/delays. The early hours of TRAX arrival at the U of U was good for breaking up the sheer volume, but as usual for Utahns, everyone ended up there at the last minute. Having the race on Sunday and a bit later in the day may help relieve the early hours and traffic problems. Most times, Utah spectators are very melancholy and unenthusiastic, but the spectators were pretty impressive! Overall, very well done, SLC organizers and spectators! Thank you for a great experience and helping the runners to survive well pre-, during and post-race! I hope the next SLC Mayorship continues to support great organizational insight.

This was my first marathon, and I had a great experience at it.

The expo was nice, the course was beautiful (hey, home town, gotta say it!), and the spectators were awesome.

Only complaints I have were of the clock (yes, why was it set for the elite runners???), the heat (75-90 degrees, I'm glad they've moved it back to April this year), and the lack of shade and chairs at the finish. Black asphalt was not nice to have to deal with at the end of a long race.

I didn't have any issues with food at the end. I was able to get chips and oranges and drinks at the Wild Oats booth just fine.

The Salt Lake Marathon is an alternate marathon to the Utah Grand Slam, voted overwhelmingly by the Grand Slam group to be the alternate. The admission price I think is a lot of the problem - at $80 - when all the other ones are only $50 or so. But I added this one to the Grand Slam this year, for the first time. The course was good, and support from aid stations and spectators was done well. My first ride on Trax to the start went fine. Overall it was a positive, fun experience until I got to the finish line.

Like everyone else, I give a marathon everything I've got, and almost always find myself overheated, tired, and sick at the end. At Ogden this year there were medics waiting for me at the finish line, who whisked me into the aid tent for help. At Deseret News this year there were also medics who half carried me into the aid tent for help. At Salt Lake my time went very well, and I improved my time from what I expected by 10 minutes with an extreme effort in the last few miles. I ran across the finish line at full speed, and got a great picture, which I actually bought. But unlike Ogden or Deseret News, there was no one there to help.

I leaned against the fence as I stood on hot asphalt for several minutes until I was able to walk away. Then I had to walk for what seemed like FOREVER. When I got to the destination after the walk, there was nothing but dirty black asphalt again. By now after that long walk I was really sick, and everything was getting brighter and brighter as something was happening with my vision. Instead of lying down on grass or in an aid tent, I was still just on that asphalt. Lucky for me, I was able to find a small plastic folding chair to sit in until my vision returned to normal, otherwise I would have just had to lie on the asphalt. After that I had to walk all the way back out again to get back to my car. I realize there doesn't happen to be a park in the Gateway, but there needs to be something at the end for runners who are struggling. I'll probably be back next year, but I hope things can be better at the end.

Granted, I was four months pregnant so I only did the half marathon this year, but I had to get online and share my experience.

We got there early and were able to park just 1/2 mile away from the start line which was nice. We stood in line for the bathrooms for over half an hour - not nice. For the first two miles of the race, people were running into the bushes. The view was gorgeous but dang it was hot that day; I would vote for an earlier start next year. The expo the night before was awesome and we got performance tees - very nice! I'm still grumbling about the lack of water for the five miles in the middle (thanks go to the neighbors for handing out bottles and orange slices) - and when I crossed the finish line I didn't get a medal!!!!!!!! They "ran out." Took them four weeks instead of the promised two weeks to get it mailed out. Next year I'll try the Bike Tour instead.

This was my second SLC Marathon. The first SLC Marathon had its problems (insufficient toilets, difficulty getting to the start, inadequate food and drink at the finish, etc.). I said then I would never run SLC again. Two years later, a friend talked me into running in 2006 and I found out nothing has changed. The toilets were still 35-40 deep with less than 25-30 minutes to start. Trax (the trolley to the start) should have trains running more often, and not packed in with bikes. There seemed to be a total lack of organization at the start as even the elite runners had a false start. There are too many different classes of events all starting and/or hitting the finish line simultaneously.

The finish area is an absolute disaster!!! Water and a mini banana (brown at that) just doesn't cut it after 26.2 miles. If this is one of the top 12 new marathons, I would really hate to imagine what others are like. A month earlier I ran Ogden, Utah (little Ogden) and it out-classes SLC by a long shot.

This event will never live up to being an elite marathon under the current leadership and how it is organized. I still have no clue why a marathon of this caliber charges $80. For what? Fair price is more like $35-40 max, if that. This is one marathon to avoid until the price comes down or the quality, organization, and amenites greatly improve.