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May 14, 2024

Salt Lake City Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Salt Lake City Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 4.1

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 162 [displaying comments 121 to 131]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 > ]

A. D. from Logandale, Nevada (4/27/2005) "Great race BUT........." (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I was amazed at how well the marathon was organized since this was only the second year. I even made that comment to another runner. I would have given the organization 5 stars, were it not for recieving a recycled cup. Now that is just nasty! I have heard that this happens at other races Devine Racing puts on, so I will NOT be running one of their events till I hear this problem is solved. Other than that, I loved the race. The medals are AWESOME. Huge and heavy, just the way I like them. Very classy. The shirts are very nice as well, though the sizes run large and I was not allowed to exchange mine for a smaller size, so it won't fit. Bummer! The finish line was very well organized as well. I am not one who likes to hang around and party afterwards, but if I did, I would have had everything I needed right there. They did a great job, but they gotta fix the cup thing!
G. B. from Shelton, CT (4/27/2005) "Solid effort for second year mid-size event" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Overall a quality experience, my 40th. Course is easy to run, downhill start and finish. Wide avenues and good traffic control. Many well-staffed water stops. Largely suburban areas, some good mountain views. More spectators in some of the far off parts then you might expect. Nice finish chute and area, adequate food, good entertainment. Major negative is that its on the very expensive side, like a big city event. Includes a concert ticket, but I would rather the pasta party included. Smallish Expo, few 'goodies.' Get there early, start area potty problems. If taking the train from finish area (free),leave lots of time, slow trip. Very nice medal and race program.
S. M. from Salt Lake City, UT (4/25/2005) "Once again, an excellent race." (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Salt Lake City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What can I say except that the race organizers again did a great job. Having run this the inaugural year last year I was curious what changes would be made. I was thrilled that any changes were for the better. The crowd was bigger, the spectators better, and the overall experience better. An amazing effort for only the second year. I believe things will only get better (I did by 7 minutes, so who knows next year!)
H. C. from Arizona, USA (4/24/2005) "Highly recommended" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Salt Lake City is beautiful! Absolutely great weather and the runners are super nice! They are very encouraging and the spectators are wonderful! Great support! A must-do marathon! I had a wonderful time!
Elfi Ortenburger from Draper, Utah (4/24/2005) "Thank you Salt Lake City !" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My husband and I moved to SLC last year and just had to train for this marathon. It was my 8th and his second marathon. Everything about it was top quality. We will be back next year !
E. N. from New Mexico (4/8/2005) "SLC Did A Great Job " (about: 2004) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 You'd never know this was the SLC Marathon's inaugural effort. Maybe the city and organizers had lots of experience putting on large-scale events because of the '02 Olympics. Whatever the reason, this was a well run marathon. The only negative thing that happened was a bit of confusion about transportation from the race headquarters hotel. Not knowing SLC, I stayed there specifically so I could catch the marathon shuttle bus. The morning of the race, 0600, arrived but no bus. About 0615 a bus arrived but we were told it was for the elite 5K racers only. A group of folks, not race officials, who were familiar with SLC led us to a nearby trolley which took us to the marathon start. Okay, no harm, no foul. But if it hadn't been for those folks I have no idea how I would have gotten to the race. The course was run through the city and was relatively flat. It was scenic in parts with a terrific view of the mountains but for the most part the course was in a neighborhood environment. The rest stops were well stocked and manned. Traffic control was very good. The race is at altitude, about 4,800 ft, so train for that or expect an altitude penalty on your finish time. What I remember best were the crowds, people lined the streets just about every step the way. Whole neighborhoods turned out in lawn chairs to watch and cheer us on. I guess race organizers distributed thunder sticks to folks living along the course so they could make lots of noise and not loose their voices. The only time the crowds thinned out were the last three miles or so that are run through one of the main drags downtown. However, the last half mile or so is lined with hundreds of folks cheering you on to the finish. The medal was huge and the dri-weave training shirt was nice. One cheap shot - and boy, am I reaching here - about the shirt is that the race logo was pretty small. I would recommend to the organizers to make the logo bigger so folks can brag about this race easier. A final 'Way to go' goes out to a young lady who worked at the clothing pickup area. She spied my race number from about 25 yards away, found my bag, and had it waiting for me when I finally managed to stumble up the baggage area. Now that's a first. I'd run SLC again. I'm not sure if it could get any better, but I hear (not confirmed) that all of 05's finishers will get a commemorative DVD. I?ve never seen that before but it shows how the organizers are working to improve on an already good race.
Katrina F. from Melbourne, Florida (9/28/2004) "Something for everyone." (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 For the first-timer and for the multi-marathoner, this run seemed to have something positive for each. We began at 42 degrees but warmed up soon enough to the pleasant 60's. Altitude coming from sea level didn't bother me except for light headaches for 2 days prior to race. What a fun train system! Some scenic views and pretty nice ending coming up to the capitol building. I'd overheard other runners say only one officer had volunteered to help by the eve of the race so all others were ordered in but hard to believe because the officers were all so nice & encouraging. Thought there'd be a LOT more music per pre-race hype... did appreciate those people who had their boom boxes & car stereos going. Where were the bands? How about getting together some sub-groups for camaraderie? I'd love to meet other moms of 4 or more kids who marathon or others from the southeast, etc. Couldn't find massage area at end and family members didn't know where to go for the en masse t.v. viewing. Little help there. Also, I didn't get the promised finish-line photo!! Told the cameras glitched. My hometown running store was looking forward to that official shot. Thanks for the concert and goodies. Hope to be back in 2005.
M. S. from USA (8/25/2004) "I would never recommend this race." (about: 2004) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I have run almost 30 marathons and this one was one of the worst. I was expecting great scenery, but it was just so-so. You run along a highway for a good stretch, which was extremely boring. Yes, it was a late start, no they didn't have enough porta potties along the course as people were hitting all the gas stations and businesses along the course, and the expo was a bit dismal. The one thing that was very, very eerie was the HUGE amount of police support - they were everywhere, at one point I was passed by 24 of them on motorcycles. It was like they were expecting a riot or something. The medal was good though. None of the group of us enjoyed it, and none will do it again.
M. H. from SLC, UT (5/25/2004) "I wish they did this one twice a year!" (about: 2004) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Fans were the best I'd seen since I ran in the NY Marathon! Awesome expo! Excellent post-race snacks! Great dogs all over the course. I love those 4-legged fans...
S. M. from Salt Lake City, UT (5/10/2004) "OUTSTANDING inaugural event" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Inaugural SLC Marathon was also my first! I was extremely impressed with the organization of the race. The spectators were incredible and the weather was great to boot! I will forever remember the sensation of turning north into the Gateway for the last 1/2 mile and seeing the crowds 6-8 people deep along the course and on the balconies. If you want to feel like an Olympic athlete, this was the place to be! (Although the cobblestone crosswalks in the Gateway made my feet shout in pain). I would recommend this marathon for both first-timers and veterans. The few kinks I did notice will be worked out by next year for sure. (The first water station could not keep up with the masses and the Sugarhouse water station was low on water - but the other 12 stations were fabulous). Living in SLC I'm glad to say we have a new GREAT marathon!

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