This race has some of the best scenery in the world for a marathon. There were pastures with horses and cows, lakes, waterfalls (many of them if you looked closely), rivers, streams, large snow-capped mountains, green forests, and Provo City landmarks at the end. There are some hills but they aren't too bad when running my pace. There's enough downhill to help you go faster, but it's not so severe that it beats you up.

I agree that the organization could have been better, but overall, it was pretty good. Just move the porta-potties at the start and redesign the finish area, and the whiners will have nothing more to complain about. Note: This is a marathon, not a vacation at a five-star resort - you are supposed to suffer a bit (and not getting a shirt at the finish is really suffering, right?); that adds texture to running and makes it memorable! And, I finished at 4:15 and got a shirt (fat boy size) no problem.

The volunteers deserve a special thanks for helping out in less-than-ideal weather. They were freezing in the rain, cold, and wind, but kept encouraging us on. They were terrific.

Most of this course is rural without good spectating locations. Most of the spectators are in the last 10K, when you leave Provo Canyon. However, the spectacular scenery more than makes up for lack of spectators.

This marathon has scenery so unusual that I'll bet they have to limit the number of runners in few years. It will become very popular.

I chose Utah Valley as a second choice when I didn't get into the Ogden Marathon, but I am SO GLAD that I did. I was hesitant to choose this race because I am a resident of Provo, UT and I didn't want to have to race where I train all of the time; but running on the main highway in Provo Canyon really was a unique and breathtaking experience - plus, it was neat to see familiar faces in the hometown crowd. This was my first marathon, and the entire race was a memorable experience. The course was very green and scenic, with the dramatic mountains in the canyon. Great scenery, fans, and aid stations. The one thing I didn't like was that the finish line was a little congested. They were passing out t-shirts right when you were finishing and the lines at the tables were blocking people from getting to the recovery area. Besides that, I had a wonderful first-marathon experience.

Fun, fast, scenic course down Provo Canyon, ending at the Provo Mall. Great route despite the downpour. Hills weren't that bad, but there were a lot more of them than I expected. Few problems: the bus got lost on the way to the race so I got to the start late. The POPs at the race line were right by the start line, so it was very congested. Also, there was no t-shirt at the end.

After a bad start (delayed 15+ minutes in rain without any announcements), I have never seen a worse finish area (no drinks, no shirts, no food, mass of confusion at under 4 hours after the start, so most were affected). Too bad, because the race course is good and there is potential for this to be a very good race. Obviously the organizers had no clue (despite the website saying the organizers are experienced marathoners). I have run 74 marathons and this was the worst finish experience. Two days later there is still no explanation on the website for how to get the shirts.

I really enjoyed the course of this race. Not too steep of a downhill, and a nice, straight shot at the end that didn't play any mind games. You knew exactly where you were the whole time and where you had to go. Great organization and nice buses to ride up in. For a second-year marathon, I was impressed at how well done it was. I would definitely run this race again - it was beautiful in the canyon!

There were many positive things about this course, and I loved the new course design with how fast it was. A race director certainly can't do anything about the weather. We were amused to watch the truck with the valuable bags drive away with the door open as they were falling out, and our "boy in blue" speeding off to the rescue. I just have one thing I have to comment about though. With a larger crowd, there has got to be more than one bathroom at the aid stations along the course. There is nothing more discouraging than to watch a time goal bleed away while standing in line waiting behind the guy in front of you who is also standing in line for the ONE bathroom! It's not too pleasant to see the other guys "standing" behind the bathroom instead of waiting for their turn either. This has been a constant problem at the Deseret News Marathon, but if the Utah Valley Marathon is going to make a name for itself as the most highly promoted marathon I have ever seen, issues like this have got to be solved. I plan to do this one next year, but I certainly hope the race director will read this comment and fix this glaring problem!

This new course is absolutely gorgeous and much faster than the previous course. If you like scenic, downhill courses like Ogden and St. George, you'll love this course. I predict that this race will soon become a favorite race in Utah. I will definitely be back!

The scenery just doesn't get better. It rained for about the first 10 miles, but given the surroundings I didn't care about the rain. Great support and volunteers at the aid stations. Awesome food at the finish line (pizza, fries, fresh fruit, etc.). The massage at the end really helped as well. This was only my third marathon but the first time I didn't want it to end. I really enjoyed the entire experience. Well done! Thank you! See you next year!

I was looking for a fast course to post a PR and allow enough time to recover and prepare for a target fall marathon. I did manage to post a 7-minute PR, but the course turned out to be no cupcake.

There was intermittent rain for most of the first 2 hours of the race, but that wasn't what made this course tough. The high altitude made my marathon pace seem much harder than at sea level where I live and train. Most of the first 20 miles of the course were run on a highway with some steep downhills that do a number on your legs. There are also a couple of fairly long uphill stretches that are taxing as well. It was a bit unnerving having traffic whizzing by in the next lane separated only by traffic cones. There wasn't much crowd support until the last few miles in the City of Provo. My biggest beef with the course is about the last 800 meters and finish in the mall parking lot where it was a bit confusing on which direction to turn. I even had to dodge a car that had taken a wrong turn onto the course while I'm trying to sprint to the finish line. Other than that, the race was very well organized for being a smaller marathon. The shuttles to the start were efficient. The aid stations were excellent with water and carb drink at every one, and some with gels and food. Every mile was clearly marked. The entry fee of $60 was a good value. At the finish it was nice to get an attractive, finisher's, long-sleeve, technical shirt that said, "Boston Marathon Qualifier 2010." The awards ceremony was unique, having an Olympic-style podium for overall, masters and age group winners. There were cash awards for overall and masters divisions and plaques for age group winners going 5 deep. Pros: value, shuttle service to start, aid stations, technical shirt, awards ceremony. Cons: no room to warm-up at the start, proximity of traffic on 189, sparse crowd support first 20 miles, poorly marked final 800 meters. Overall: a positive marathon experience I would recommend; just don't underestimate the challenge of the course/altitude.

This was the third time I have participated in a smaller race. By far, this was the most well organized of them all. The number of volunteers is one of the reasons I have such a good impression. They had enough people to get things done quickly and efficiently.

I guess the course was different from last year because I liked the final few miles down University; it offered a nice finishing route with plenty of spots for fans to cheer. Of course, the route down through Provo Canyon is very scenic, but there are only limited spots for spectator viewing. It is an effort to get up there and cheer, though, so there weren't a lot of spectators until you got out of the canyon. The trade off, however, is that the course through the canyon is one of the most beautiful you will ever run.

While it is a downhill course for the most part, do not be lulled into a belief that there is no challenge. There are several serious long grades to run. They are not excessively steep, but enough so that you are working hard to get up them. The course is not a pushover.

The only glitch they had is that the finisher shirts apparently didn't make it from the vendor on time so they will be available later in the week or mailed to those of us from out of town.

They did have available a very nice, long-sleeve tech shirt if you ran a BQ time, which certainly makes up for not getting the race shirt right then and there.