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☰
Big Cottonwood Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Big Cottonwood Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 155 [displaying comments 151 to 154]
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S. W. from United States
(9/27/2012)
 "Race That Has Potential" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Big Cottonwood Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The course is one of the more beautiful courses I have run. I did not find it to be a fast course and would recommend pointing to beauty rather than speed. The spectators were good in terms of numbers and enthusiasm for a race of this size, particularly given that the first 14 miles was in a canyon that was basically off limits to spectators. The packet pickup was one of the best I have seen. It was easy in and easy out. There was basically no expo which is fine by me. There was a runners shop in the same strip mall as packet pickup for those who wanted to shop. The shirt was short sleeve and said it was for the Big Cottonwood Marathon and half. In the runners bag were also a set of gloves that came in handy on race morning. There was nothing else in the bag that I found useful. I did note that the website said there would be packet pickup Friday and Saturday but when the runners guide came out I found that there was no Saturday pickup. There seemed to be some confusion as the buses departed the finish line to take you to the start line. Runners were having to get off the bus and help direct traffic. Despite that they got the folks to the start line soon enough for an on time start. For this I applaud them. I have been in several races where they delayed the start because runners were waiting for porta-potties. I say if the runners are there, they should start on time. The originally published start time was 6:00 until about a week or two out at which time they changed it to 6:30. They gave a number of reasons, all of which they should have known before they set the start time. I am OK with 6:30 but I am not OK with changing the start time. The aid stations were sufficient in terms of availability of goods, number of volunteers, and frequency of aid stations. I did note that the gels, fruit etc., were not at the aid stations specified; everything was there, just not at the station specified in runners guide. The runners guide raved about all the excellent food available at the finish line. Nothing could have been further from the truth. They had cups of water and some type of cherry baked good and that was it. The sandwiches that were promised were apparently long gone. OK, I finished in just under 5 hours but in my mind food should not be just for people who are fast runners. The finishers medal was OK, but also said Big Cottonwood Marathon and Half. Overall this race has some potential but the organization left much to be desired. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say these were just first year hiccups. | |
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C. M. from USA
(9/23/2012)
"Hard On The Body" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Big Cottonwood Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Though it's listed as a very fast course due to elevation drop, it's just too steep. 14 miles down Big Cottonwood Canyon beats up the legs. Then you leave the canyon and climb. 15-19 is a net uphill. Then you head on a steep down again which I found hard to run. By the end of the race, I couldn't make my legs go. I have run more than 30 marathons. Not a rookie or new to the sport. And while a gentle downhill is a big help for a faster time, there are courses that can go too far, creating the opposite issue and this race is one of them. I ran my slowest time ever due to my legs being toast. I trained on downhills. But unless you can run down a steep, steep grade week after week it won't matter. And if even if you do that, i am not sure it would help. | |
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R. S. from Utah
(9/23/2012)
 "really good course, not many fans" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Big Cottonwood Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Positives - Really well organized, cool shirts, great custom medals, good food and massages at the end. Parking close to bus pick up made it easy to leave at the end. Negatives - just a few. The last half of the race is more difficult than it seems on paper...maybe that was just my fault. Hardly any fans because the first half is canyon and there were less than 300 runners. During the last half you run through city streets and there were a few intersections that were had nobody guiding traffic - kinda scary. However, like they advertised this course is really fast especially the first 14 miles and it was super beautiful as well. If you like downhill and don't care about having a lot of fans or other runners around you at the end of the race, this marathon would be perfect for you! I will certainly run this race again. | |
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s. m. from sandy utah
(9/23/2012)
"PR course if you like brutal downhill" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Big Cottonwood Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Brutal, gorgeous downhill course. My wife who loves downhill, pr's by 12 minutes. She has run about 20 other 1/2 marathons, so it wasn't a fluke time. It's a quad burner. Swag and organization was awesome!! Will for sure it again next year. |
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