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Apr 28, 2024

Salt Lake City Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 4.1

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 162 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 16 > ]

T. B. from HI (4/24/2014) "Beautiful Scenic route" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Although, this was my first time to Salt Lake City and there were many 'firsts' for this trip, I couldn't have happier! This was my 24th marathon in the states, so I feel like I've seen and done a few to say that is in my top 5. Pros: Well organized transportation to the start line. Even though the train was a little late, they held the start gun for us. Great volunteer support. Always had plenty of water and powerade/ gatorade. They had both, which I've never seen before. The course was challenging but beautiful in most places. They blocked off entire boulevards downtown for the marathoners. You have views of the mountains where ever you are on the course. Well organized finish line and finish area. Loads of opportunities for photos. Cons: At the very begininig of the race, it bottlenecks on a hill, but its short. There wasn't a lot of food giving to us post-race. Although, it appears to be mostly downhill, it is challenging. I would recommend this marathon to any intermediate runner or if you are coming from a similar altitude.
Y. G. from Washington (1/8/2014) "Choose another UT marathon..." (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Ran Salt Lake City in the hopes of enjoying a little bit of the city during the race. Not so much - just a course through the burbs, on the highway and pretty miserable. At the expo and on the website it suggested taking the Trax to the starting line. Our train never came - I guess that line was not running that morning and there was no signage or warning to that effect. We had to run 2 miles to the start, missing the beginning of the race all together. The shuttle back to the trax to our hotel took forever and with no heat blankets at the end my lips were blue by the time I got to the hotel. Signs at the train station would have been very helpful for any out of town guests as we were very confused. The shirt & Medal were nice and it was good to get another state accomplished but when I hear such great things about other UT races I wish I had tried something a little more off the beaten path.
F. F. from West Jordan, Utah (8/12/2013) "More than expected." (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I had heard about some of the issues in the past so I was very reluctant to run this one. I'm glad I did. The course was great, fans supportive despite it raining for the better part of the marathon, tables well-stocked with drinks, gels, etc., and plenty of porta-potties along the course. This was a week after Boston and there was a sense of foreboding, but marathon went off without a hitch. Great volunteers. I have already registered for next year. Can't wait.
A. L. from Calgary, Alberta (5/17/2013) "A well organized race" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The details and planning that went into every aspect of the race was well thought out from the route, water stations to the Boston tributes and the level of security (the race was 1-week after Boston 2013). The spectators were out there cheering us on despite the rain and cold weather and it was touching to see so many Boston tributes along the course. A very well-run race. I would recommend it to anyone travelling to the area or a nearby area.
John Eng from New York City (4/26/2013) "Small Marathon with Great Camaraderie" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 It was a pretty cool day in the mid-40's and hard rain for the races. About 900 marathoners and about 4,000 half marathoners. Logistics - Not the easiest but still can be done without a car. You take the TRAX (Salt Lake's light rail system) to the start which is about 20 minutes ride. The train I was on was extremely packed. The finish at Liberty Park means you need to take their shuttle bus to the Ball Park TRAX station which is then about another 5-10 minute ride back to downtown. The hotels are about a half mile away from the Convention Center. The start is shared by both the Half and Full marathoners. Unfortunately, most of the runners chose to ignore the signs on where to line up. This resulted in spending the first mile and a half zig zagging past walkers and slow runners who decided to line up near the front. Since SLC was the first major city marathon following the Boston Marathon bombings, they had a nice tribute. First there was a moment of silence followed by a rendition of 'Sweet Caroline'. The first 3 or so miles of this race has some steep downhills as you are coming off the mountain. After that, the course can be described as rolling with good stretches of flat. One thing that struck me about this race was the tremendous camaraderie between the runners. On the out and backs, the runners on the out portions were exchanging high fives with the runners on the back portions. Throughout the whole race, there were so many shouts of encouragement from my fellow runners. I was so touched by the feeling of concern, enthusiasm, consideration and friendliness from the fellow runners that this turned out to be one of my most memorable marathons of the 26 ones that I have run. A decent amount of enthusiastic spectators. Not a lot but I assume the numbers were down because of the rain. SLC Police did an excellent job of traffic control. Hydration stations were well run and frequent. However, the first few stations were crowded because of the half. I suggest carrying a small water bottle with you to get you past the first few stations. After about Mile 8 when the half and full marathoners diverge, this is not an issue. At the finish, food offered was bagged pretzels, bananas, water, beer, gatorade, cookies and lots of yogurt. Several shuttle buses were waiting bringing you to the Ball Park TRAX station. So if you are looking for a somewhat smaller marathon in a city whose backdrop is surrounded by beautiful mountains, Salt Lake City is a fine choice.
J. M. from St. Paul, MN (4/22/2013) "hmmmmmmm?" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I was excited to run this marathon. Little mistakes kept happening, which I will explain further down that impacted my view of it. It was a cool and rainy run, and I was impressed with the voluteers and law enforcement helping out. Extra security was in place since Boston, but it did not have a negative impact on the experience at all and those providing the security were all awsome. The medal was nice also as were all of the people. Now here are the little things that took away from the experience: 1) Very small expo for an event of this size, 2) No gear check bag provided, 3) Host hotel said they had a shuttle to take us to the start (in reality it just dropped of off at a light rail station and then we took that to the start, 4) Host hotel said they would have a shuttle at the finish area to bring us back to the hotel (in reality the shuttle took us from the finish area to a light rail station and had to take that back to the hotel area and walk the rest of the way), 5) Gear check bags were left out in the rain at the finish area, 6) No sign saying where gear check was at the start, 7) Poor signs saying where the shuttle at the finish was, 8) The pasta dinner was good, but it was at a park near the finish the night before the marathon, I think having it at the expo location would be better for a few reasons and 9) hard to find friends/family after the marathon as there was no designated 'family area' like a lot of marathons have. I know and appreciate what it takes to put on a marathon, but for one what has been going for a while I would expect better. I am still glad I went, but would not run it again.
N. F. from Hill AFB, UT (4/21/2013) "Love this one!" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Salt Lake City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran this half marathon in 2011 and again this year (2013). I loved both years, despite the poor weather this year. The expo was great, the race is a fun atmosphere. Even in the pouring rain, there were great spectators!! Transportation to the start was easy. Water stations were adequate. I loved the shirt this year,though they were sized very small and I was not allowed to exchange at the expo. The swag bags were not very impressive, but there were plenty of freebies at the expo to make up for it. And I have to say.....there is way too much hype for the Ogden Marathon and I much prefer to do SLC over Ogden. Looking forward to 2014!!!
M. S. from Rock Springs, WY (3/14/2013) "race great; organizers poor" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Salt Lake City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 You pay $95 or more to run a marathon and all you get in the 'goodie' bag is ads for more races sponsored by same organization??? That's not a goody bag! Course is nice and easy; good support at tables. NO gu or powergel, though. CHEAPO!
K. O. from Spokane, Washington (10/25/2012) "Great People, Great views, a great time." (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I had the oppurtunity to run the Salt Lake City Marathon and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It definitley made a memory for me. The crowds and fans were great, the support throughout the course was also great. One thing to be prepared for is that Salt Lake City sits around 4,200-4,300 feet. Keep that in mind as well as the course has a rather large elevation change throughout, something to keep in mind when you are training for it. Overall it was a great time.
M. P. from Wylie, Texas (4/26/2012) "I loved this race" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I was pleasantly surprised how wonderful this race was. So well organized, and all the volunteers were friendly. Salt Lake City is beautiful, the snow-covered mountains are eye candy. For not having had much time to organize this race, the director(s) did a great job.

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