I live in the mountains and thought I had trained for hill running BUT I did not anticipate that much downhill running.

The size of the race was great. So many friendly runners!

Not sure why they have such early shuttles. I took the latest shuttle at 3:15 a.m. (as there was a bit of confusion at the host hotel) and we arrived at the start at 4:15 a.m. The race didn't start until 530 a.m., so bring blankets, a sleeping bag, or something, because it's REALLY cold.

The spectators were great, enthusiastic and really supportive.

The weather was perfect. Glad they start so early because if you finish within 3-5 hours you can avoid most of the heat.

Definitely the most beautiful marathon I've run.

Des news is fast, theoretically anyway, but don't be fooled. The first half is very fast, and then it gets REALLY hot when the sun comes out. It's July in Utah and things can happen that second half. They have very good traffic control, and aid stations every few miles, but there is not a lot of pampering in this race. It gets tedious in the heat. The race takes place on Pioneer Day, and generally follows the pioneer trail to this is the place Utah. Coincidentally, it is also the same route as the ill-fated Donner Party of 1846, but it is doubtful that things will go that badly for you in the marathon.

It's a low-key race, with maybe 500 people in the marathon. You get a decent tech shirt and standard finisher medallion. The expo is basically a packet pick-up; there's not much there. There is a rodeo, and fireworks, and a parade all on the same day as the marathon. If you got particularly beat up in the marathon, the rodeo may make you feel better after the race. These events are not really associated with the marathon. There is a 10K that is associated, and is basically the last 6.2 miles of the course. The 10K is much more popular then the marathon and has a large field of runners. Do not expect the world to stand still because you ran 26.2 in 98-degree weather. Most of the fans are there for the parade, not the marathon. They are basically indifferent to the runners as they approach the finish, gawking if you look really bad. That last bit is somewhat like the twilight zone, people getting ready and waiting for the parade, just sort-of clueless that you might be tired at this point in the race.

If the history and challenge aspects appeal to you, the Des News is a low-cost, low-expectation marathon that is a unique and fun way to celebrate Pioneer Day and be a Utah Pioneer for a day.

This was my first marathon. (I know, not the greatest pick for a first marathon!) I had no idea what to expect.

I showed up for the bus at about 2:55 a.m. I was one of the first to arrive. The buses were very nice. We arrived at the top and were dropped off in what I think must have been a gravel parking lot (it was so dark that it was hard to tell). There was one small tent, with drinks and shopping bags with markers for your stuff. There was also one light outside near the U-haul truck for the bags.

Once at the top, I wished I'd brought something to sit on. The tiny rocks you have to sit on really hurt your rear! The wait seemed to be reeeeaaaally long. There were HUGE lines at the bathrooms. More bathrooms would have been nice. Also, next time I will bring a small flashlight because it was pitch black inside the bathrooms (hope no one fell in!).

After what seemed like a long wait, we all lined up. There was no timing mat at the beginning, so everyone crammed together as close to the front as possible. This is something that should be fixed. Your time should start when you leave the starting line.

The course itself is beautiful!! It got light after only 10 or 15 minutes. I could see the twinkling lights of the city down below, and the mountain scenery was breathtaking! I especially like running past little Dell reservoir. I was smiling like a giant dork the whole time.

The aid stations were pretty good, but there need to be TWO bathrooms and not one at EACH station. I wasted 10 minutes waiting to pee! It's so painful to wait for a bathroom when you've trained so hard for every second. Ice or at least cold water would have helped too. This is a marathon held in the hottest part of summer. Warm water just isn't as refreshing. Charge everyone a dollar more and buy some ice for goodness sakes!

The hill around mile 6 was brutal. Just when you think you're done, you round a bend and there's another HUGE hill. The last 4 miles were hard. It was brutally hot and there's little or no shade. I was fortunate enough to find some sprinklers running on South Temple. I happily ran through them to cool off. The last few miles were rewarding for me too. I was very conservative in the beginning of the race. I was near the back of the pack as everyone was screaming down the first six miles. I was proud of my restraint as I passed many of these people the last few miles as they walked.

The winner of the race this year said, "It was a tough course - too tough!" I'll have too agree with that; it was hard! I had no goal other than to finish and have a great time. I think it really paid off in the end. I ran a great time for me and had so much fun doing it! I may run this one again.

This was my 3rd marathon. I'm 59 years-old and was sure I was done with marathoning. But my son wanted to run one before he turned 18 (on Aug. 14), so I trained and ran with him. I'm not a fast runner. I hate hills. I'm not afraid to walk when I get tired. I choose to enjoy the experience. I believe the best part of a marathon is the benefit to the body that results from the months and months of training. Having said that, I had already made the conscious choice not to kill myself. After all, this is a race in July and the heat is oppressive. My next comments come from that type of mindset. I loved this race. It was very hard for me. The big uphill at mile 6 was much easier for me than the hardly perceptible uphill on Wasatch Rd. and Foothill Blvd. The severe downhill just sapped it out of me. The trees coming down South Temple made it bearable but the lack of shade going down 3rd East and to the end of the race made the heat difficult to deal with. Running for a block down the parade route was really cool. Good finish area - it was nice and shady. I heard a lot of people complaining about organization, water stops, etc. I imagine they complain about most everything in life. I choose to enjoy whatever it is I'm doing, so this race was a good positive, no matter how tough it was on my body.

One comment I must make: I could not find my bag containing my sweat clothes. It also had a $300 pair of eyeglasses I placed in it. A few days after the race, I emailed Bob Wood and he personally went down and sorted through all the unclaimed stuff and found my bag and made arrangements to get it to me. Thank you, Bob.

My closing comment will have to be this. Like I said, I'm not a fast runner. My two previous marathons were 4:54 and 4:24. This one was 5:27. That says it all. But, after spending the rest of the day sore, I was up and about the following day without any physical problems. I just enjoyed the scenery and the experience.

The course is what it is, so come prepared for it and enjoy. Overall, organization went quite well, with an on-time start and nice buses to ride up in. The problems with leaving too early in prior years were not apparent this year. But there are still just a few problems that need to be addressed. This is the only marathon I can think of that only has Gatorade available at every other stop. This has been commented about in the past, but continues to be a problem.

On the other end of the water problem, there were two issues. Issue number one comes back to a problem we saw two years ago, where each rest stop only has ONE porta-potty. There is nothing more discouraging than watching a time goal bleed away while standing in line for the only ONE bathroom that is available at any stop. There were also not enough bathrooms at the start. This was made painfully apparent when one female runner tried to sneak into the bushes only to be discovered by the rangers who were lurking about in the dark. After yelling at her and shining a million candle power flashlight on her for the whole time until she came out of the bushes, I guess he managed to make his point.

I'll be back for this one next year; it offers a unique challenge with the course design. But if you read the comments from past years about this marathon, there are a lot of negative things said, which you don't see at other marathons. Solve the water problems at both ends of the course and maybe a lot of the negative comments will go away.

Definitely a tough marathon... I could barely walk for two days afterward because of sore calves. But the course is beautiful. I appreciate that organizers let us penguins run on the parade course for a block. I will do it again, but will slow down the first 6 miles.

It was a great experience. The only drawback was the heat as you entered the city. There is no way to get around this. The organization was excellent. Volunteers were great. The course was easy to follow. Law enforcement staffed the intersections well.

Overall, a good race. Great scenery for many miles. Good organization at start (although do we have to get up there quite so early? and we need cardboard to sit on those stones!). Wonderful volunteers, plenty of water/Gatorade. Over the VERY HOT last few miles, they need aid stations every mile. It was a fun ending to be able to run as part of the parade. Great traffic control. Somewhat hard, boring last few miles, running along busy roads, with no spectators, in the heat.

The organization was poor at best. We were told at the expo that the bus times were 3:15 and 3:45 - DON'T BE LATE!!! I got there at 2:45 and didn't get on a bus until 4:15 anyways. Huzzah.

The website advertised Gatorade/water every other mile and three gel stations. Reality was water every other mile, Gatorade every fourth mile, and one gel station. Why bother with a chip when you don't cross a pad at the start??? Food (no fruit but bananas?) and drink were scarce at the end.

The few spectators were very supportive and so were other runners. The volunteers at aid stations were fantastic, and so were the police who guarded every intersection. The EMTs on bikes and sheriffs on motorcycles during the first 15 miles were great too.

If you're looking for a mid-summer race, try this one. If you have other choices, go with one of those.

Overall, I had an excellent time with this marathon! I was traveling into town from Cleveland, and this race happened to be going on, so with little training, I decided I'd give it a shot.

First the good:
-Great luxury buses to cart us to the start up in the mountains.
-A nice area at the start; it was early, but there were music, a tent, drinks, etc.... Not much fanfare at the start, but a nice bagpipe player was a nice touch.
-A fantastic view on the way down the mountain for those first few miles! The scenery was breathtaking!
-Great workers at aid stations; and I wasn't as bothered as I thought I'd be by the stations every 2 miles instead of every mile.
-Very helpful police officers helping with keeping the streets clear and giving encouragement.
-I had heard the weather would be extremely hot, but the sun stayed under clouds, and the early start kept us out of the real heat
-I learned that this race was on Pioneer Day (didn't know the holiday existed), a big thing in Utah, and I liked the little area of the course where we ran along the parade route.
-There weren't many (any) spectators up in the mountains, but I truly enjoyed talking to other runners, who were extremely welcoming and friendly, especially when they heard that I was visiting from out East.
-I liked the medals: simple, but nice.
-Plenty of food/drink at the finish line.
-Great medical people in the medical tent (I'll mention why I was there in the "bad" comments).
-I didn't experience any of the shin or quad problems that I heard would be a problem on the downhill course, and my body felt pretty good at the end with one exception (which I'll mention in my "bad" comments). I felt like, with better training and footwear, I could have had a very good time.
-The best part: to have my daughter and sister at the finish line and to have my little girl say, "Daddy, I'm proud of you!" ...always the best part at the end of any race!

The bad....
- The "expo" (if you could call it that) was difficult to find (no signs), and very small... although the workers were very helpful.
-The last-minute change to 3:45 as the LATEST time for bus pick up to the start is tough! I had to wake up at 2:30 a.m. Shoot, I'm usually getting in at that hour!
-The goody bag and t-shirt were pretty weak, even though the entrance fee to this marathon was very reasonable.
-It was a long wait at the top for the start.
-I mentioned that I didn't have shin or quad problems... but I did have one major problem. After about 3 miles, my feet felt like they were on fire! And it got worse as the course went on. I knew they would be bad at the end, and they were! I had huge, painful blisters on both feet (they have just about healed up now, 2 weeks after the race). I think more downhill training and more cushioned footwear would have helped, and I did mention that the medical staff was great (and they were wrapping up several other runners blistered feet when I was there).
-No spectators the first 14-15 miles. If you want spectators, no luck... although I have rather enjoyed the solitude.
-The incline of about 1 or 1 1/2 miles about 6 miles in was very tough!!
-It was tough for my family members to find parking to come to finish line to see me.
-They had plenty of food/drink at finish, but most drinks were not cold.

Once again, overall I truly enjoyed my marathon experience, and my visit to the Salt Lake City area. This would be a marathon that I would consider running again, and as I mentioned, I think with more downhill training and better footwear, I really think I could have had an excellent time here. Now I'm on to run NYC for the first time in November!