This race provides a rare opportunity to run Provo Canyon. It is so beautiful. The canyon walls tower above you at some points. It's really a cool feeling. Great support from volunteers. Well organized. I will definitely run this again.

This race had one of the greatest courses last year, and the new course maps indicate an even faster, more scenic route. I highly recommend this marathon. You get the value of a $100 marathon, but it is only $60. I actually like this marathon more than some others that cost over $100. The course is fast, but it doesn't beat you up like some other marathons do.

This was my second marathon. It featured a really scenic first chunk (about 11 miles) through Provo Canyon, but then the race takes you through office parks, tailor parks, and behind a strip mall's docking station (random). The spectators were nice and the supplies plentiful. They should really consider routing the race through historic Provo, and ending near one of the many historical sites. This race ends at a mall, in front of Wingers, of all places.

This was my 25th marathon, and 20th state. Most marathons are fairly nondescript - a start line, a course, and a finish line. This is one of those marathons that has an unfair advantage of being run in a unique setting that few others can compare with. With the exception of a few trail marathons or ultras, the first 10 miles of the UVM include some of the most beautiful scenery you will encounter in all of road marathoning. I suspect it may also be amongst the fastest first 10 miles of any marathon course, as you basically get "dumped" out of the valley and into the town of Provo.

My only note of exception to a really well run event is something that I find smaller marathons seem to struggle with lately - correct, visible and present mile markers. Some markers I found, but others I did not. Some were way-off (Mile 19), so I did not trust some of the subsequent ones. The course once out of the Valley does have some really tight turns and varying terrain under roads and over bridges - keeps things interesting, or tricky depending on your likes.

The finisher shirt and medal are remarkably nice considering the small size of this marathon, if that type of thing is important to you.

I like this marathon, and there is real potential to PR on this course if you train-up the downhill muscles and run smart.

There was one problem I found that had nothing to do with the race organization. There seemed to be an excessive number of people outside of this marathon jumping into the race and extensively "pacing" fellow runners. I know that this is not the Olympic trials, and it's all about fun, but it does offer an unfair advantage to those of us who have no one to pace us through the tough miles and offer other extensive aid. Whatever the official course support offers is all that should be adhered to. I really do not want to have to run around "pacers" or have them "pace" someone by me in the latter stages of the race. It's fun to have a social run with friends and family as I often do, but I restrict that to my training runs. I run the official race solo and un-aided to test myself against the distance, the course and my fellow competitors, yielding to them the respect they deserve.

This was the smallest of the marathons that I have run. However, it was a lot of fun jogging on the road down Provo Canyon, especially in places where runners are not able to really run at all. A very downhill course - really fun, except for the long straightaway at the end, which really plays games with your mind.

The crowds seemed like it was bigger than it was last year, based on previous reports. Great motivators!

Overall, a great race for people who want a scenic course!

I usually don't run first year races because things tend to fall through the cracks in the organization and support. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a well organized race with hardly any problems. The course is very gentle and scenic. It follows the Provo River Trail (paved) for the majority of the run. The parts not on the trail are interesting and scenic. I loved the segment around the Provo airport right next to the lake (not paved and on bumpy dirt), with birds signing and the white fluffy clouds reflecting on the lake. There were few spectators, but that's not why I run marathons. However, I ran this race with a friend, so I always had someone with me. For the majority of the run we were by ourselves and there weren't many other runners to chat with.

Only about 100 marathoners ran the race, but I think this event will take off and grow in popularity fast.

I'd recommend this race to someone wanting great scenery and terrific organization, and who doesn't care about the crowds.

This was by far my most enjoyable running experience. The scenery is beautiful, and the course is well maintained with volunteers. The only concern I had was the cold start in April, but now they have changed to June. There were lots of sponsors, and I enjoyed eating pizza (among other things) at the finish.