This was my first marathon. I thought it was a lovely course; however the steep descent in the first 6 miles seemed to really kill my legs. It was really well organized and the police and volunteers did an excellent job directing runners and keeping us hydrated. The first part of the race in the canyon was much more enjoyable that the last ten miles or so in the city. Some guy was mercifully spraying runners with his garden hose. He was my favorite spectator.

The course is challenging (downhill pounding and significant uphills), but beautiful for 16 miles. Afterwards the course is ugly and hot. The run back up through Sunnyside Drive and up and back the same street in Research Park is a silly use of a beautiful city. If the organizers cannot obtain permission to run on the parade route, they should use a more scenic route than hot side streets.

The only map provided did not have mile markers, and the course significantly differed from the map, again without communication to the runners. The race started late due to poor organization of transportation. The shirt and medal are low budget. Several other minor problems existed, but all in all, this should be a great race on a major Utah holiday. Instead it is poorly designed and executed.

I really enjoyed this 1st marathon. I would have run another one if I didn't hurt my knee so much. I over-trained, but I finished anyway and the feeling was unbelievable. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to improve their fitness. I will never forget this marathon. The course, though, was pretty hard for my 1st marathon because after I ran through all the hills, that's when my knee pain started.

This was my first marathon ? I?ll be back next year. Running down the mountain in the darkness while gazing at the shimmering lights in the distant valley bordered on surreal. Then, at first light, the overhead view of the reservoir was a nice distraction from the pain of going up the first hill. The headwinds next to the zoo were tough-?but several runners that I talked to afterwards still managed new PRs, and the parade spectators really did help me ignore my hammered quads through that last mile.

I don?t have any previous marathons to compare this one with, but cheesy medals aside, my impression was that this was a first-class event. Much thanks to SLC, the organizers, and the volunteers.

My only suggestions would be to: 1) move the bus pickups back 30 or 40 minutes--at 4:00 a.m., there?s not much to do on top of that mountain but stand elbow to elbow and shiver; and 2) double the port-a-cans along the route--'nuff said... ;-)

My compliments to the SLC folks for putting on a good race. The course was beautiful, especially at the beginning as we looked down into the Salt Lake Valley and the lights of the city along with the beauty of the rising sun and the great mountain views. The long downhills really taxed the quads, but support was great throughout the race. The short jaunt along the parade route was exhilarating and fun and gave a needed boost to some seriously tired legs. Many thanks. I had a great time.

Fast downhill hard on the quads, beautiful scenery, well stocked aid stations, temp change from 40 at the start to around 85 at the finish. Course even runs a couple of blocks along the parade route. True - slightly cheesy shirt and medal but that's part of the charm. Well done.

As my first marathon, this race was a great success. I enjoyed the scenery of the course immensely. The hill up to the zoo was a killer though. I would add more time in the canyon and less in the valley, but overall the spectators were very supportive and the marathon couldn't have been better.

The course was great! It was a tad fast & steep in the beginning, but I enjoyed every step. (It reminded me a lot of my previous eleven St. George Marathons.) However...(and I just have to ask) WHAT'S UP WITH THE 3:15AM & 3:45AM (ONLY) BUS SHUTTLE SERVICE TO THE TOP OF THE HILL?!!!! We stood around for an hour and a half shivering at the start line, trying to stay warm in an over-crowded canopy. (Brrrrr.) Or some got back on the bus (if you could find room) and waited it out until 530AM. Who's idea was that anyway, and why did we have to be up there so darn early?!

OH YEAH...
P.S. The finish line needed a lot of things. Like something more than Gatorade and bananas! H E L L O? I thought they were joking when they said: 'Sorry, that's all we have left!' Anyway, all in all, this marathon was still an okay experience.

I ran Deseret News this year as part of the Utah Grand Slam. Comments from other runners over the last few years left me very wary of the quality and organization of the race. However, with the new race director I was hopeful, as were many others, that things would improve drastically. And for the most part, we weren't disappointed.

The organization was great. The expo, although small, was very orderly. Packet pick-up was a breeze. The course was great except for a couple of the out-and-backs they threw in after mile 17 to take up a few miles. Had the strong headwind heading up Sunnyside not been a factor, I might be singing another tune about this section. The Days of '47 parade committee really screwed up by not allowing the race to run along a greater portion of the parade route. That whole one block was more or less a joke. I liked the race.

I was disappointed with the finisher's medal: it was about as generic as they come. I would think that with the association with the Day's of '47 and the history of the marathon itself they could come up with something unique. I could probably go to any trophy shop and pull an exact copy of it off the shelf, have them print the name of the marathon on it and claim it as an official finisher's medal. I expect better next year DNM officials. All in all though, it was a good race.

After reading comments regarding this race from those who have run it in past years, I was pleasantly relieved to find that many of the criticisms of previous marathon participants were addressed and improved. Many of the grueling hills were cut out and replaced by downhill sections (the race features a elevation drop of 3,000+ feet). The view along the race was spectacular through the Emiration Canyon area. Water and Powerade were plentiful at aid stations placed every two miles. Fans along the way were great, especially at the end along the parade route. Overall a great first marathon.