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May 3, 2024

Park City Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Park City Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.6

Organization 4.7

Spectators 3.5

Number of comments: 53 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > ]

S. J. from Salt Lake City, Utah (11/3/2008) "First Marathon - Awesome!" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Park City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is the first marathon I've run. It was a lot harder than I had anticipated, but well worth the effort as anyone who has run a marathon can understand. This was a beautiful course. It started out pretty tame, but soon we were on trails for about 8 miles, it seems. Hot air balloons were rising above the mountains as the sun came up. We wound back into Deer Valley ski area - gorgeous! Then onto old Main Street for a quick uphill to Park City Mountain Resort. Eventually we ran back to the start/end. Beautiful handmade glass medals. Ran with my best friend... one of the best experiences of my life. Will be back in '09!!!
D. M. from Ogden, UT (9/23/2008) "Beautiful, small marathon" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Park City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Park City is certainly a great destination for a marathon. The course is a loop that starts from its lowest elevation. Going out, there is a brief, challenging climb that culminates on a rails/trails path that is relatively flat and steady. Turning toward Park City at about mile 10, the course starts climbing at a slightly more pitched rate, but it's still very manageable. At mile 14, the course takes an abrupt turn up the hill toward Deer Valley Lodge - the top of the course. This section, about 2.5 miles, is by far the most challenging. Once at the top, however, one begins the descent, runs through Park City, a last brief hill, then from about mile 18 it's a long, gradual downhill to the finish, retaining its beauty the entire way. There is enough variety in the course to ward off boredom. I do think many of the previous concerns about this being a "very" difficult course are overstated. I've run Antarctica and Catalina, both of which are in a class far beyond Park City in difficulty. Even Run with the Horses, run the same day, is over 1,000 feet higher and with more challenging hills along the way (although not as sustained.) The only thing to understand is that this course is a high mountain course. If you've never run at elevation, be warned that your pace will be much slower than back in Florida or New York. Still, you can't beat the beauty of this area. The medal is unique. The organization is pretty much flawless. The finisher's area had chocolate milk. :) All in all, a very good experience.
Charles Hall from Las Vegas, Nevada (8/30/2008) "Bring on the hills!!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Park City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Hands down, this is one of the most beautiful courses in America. Yeah, it's no cakewalk, but that's why we all suffer through 26.2 anyway, right? Amazing run. I'll be back as long as I can put one foot in front of the other!!
D. I. from Gainesville, FL (8/29/2008) "Tough course, but a great marathon!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 WOW! The course is challenging, but that is in part due to a Florida girl facing the altitude! Even though I found this marathon very challenging, I would recommend it. It was very well organized. The race director, staff, and volunteers were all very friendly and helpful. There weren't a lot of spectators, but that was understandable because of the isolation of some areas of the course. The scenery is beautiful, and the weather was perfect! Park City is also close to great national parks! I really enjoyed my time in Utah. Thanks to all who made it happen!
TOM SLICK from Sandy, Utah (5/15/2008) "This marathon is nothing but kick-ass!" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Park City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 All I can say is that I had a ball! This is one of the best marathons in the world to challenge your running ability. It was great to see so many familiar faces and meet up with a few of the new Forum Flyers. Don't get bent if I forget your name here, Teresa, Canyon, Lark, Hawkeye, JRTerrier, Jenifer, Smooth, Maynard, B'sMom, SweetiePie, and so many others that I've gotten to know over the years running in these races. My race was rather unremarkable. I remember starting out my race somewhere around Lark, Hawkeye and Smooth near the starting line! As I started running and I was headed east just a few blocks into the race, right out of the blue, "Canyon" caught up to me and she let me run with her. Every time she lets me run with her I seem to have a great day. I can't remember what mile it was she decided to run at her own pace and sent me away to fend for myself. I think she gets tired of listening to me chip my teeth. Thanks Sis, you always amp up my runs! Okay, I took off and kept chanting Smooths' mantra (smooth, strong and faster)over and over again. I think the difficulty of this race ranks up there with the hardest I've ever done. This year the organizers switched up and were running this one backwards from last year, with about 18 miles of it running uphill at some serious altitude. And let me tell you this: altitude is a real kick in the shorts and a major drain on anybody's stamina, and the last 10 miles downhill was difficult. But as bad as it was, I feel as though I ran one of my best technical races of all time. Everything I did to prepare worked for me on this race right down to the corn story! Now would I recommend this race? Yes, I would! As a matter of fact, this was my fourth shot at it and I love it and I'll be back in '08. But you better be ready for the altitude or your going to be in for a rude awakening. When it was all said and done, I managed to capture my dream goal to grab a 1st place in my age division (55-59) at a pitiful pace of 8.3 Min Per Mile and a finish time of 3:43:35. Next run in 21 days at TOU with my gang of 4! See you all there. Take care, and be careful out there!
C. C. from Phoenix, AZ (2/27/2008) "Great Experience!! Hard Course!" (about: 2007) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Park City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I didn't get a PR on this course and I was warned not to expect one. It challenged me like no other course has. I thoroughly enjoyed the views and the back trails that the course offered. I saw a few runners stop and take pictures of the beautiful views. I would recommend getting in town a few days early to acclimate to the altitude. Great time! Great race!
E. M. from North Carolina (11/13/2007) "Extremely challenging - but great!" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Park City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 To quote the race organizers: "The course is not deliberately tortuous - but hey, it is what it is." The altitude is a killer if you don't live there, but the scenery is spectacular, and it's a real joy to run most of the race on trails and uncrowded roads. My boyfriend mountain-biked the entire course and enjoyed himself immensely, so he's given the course five stars from a support crew perspective as well. If you're looking for a PR, this isn't the race for you; but if you want to enjoy an uncrowded, well-supported race in a beautiful setting with wonderful organizers, challenge yourself to run Park City!
C. P. from Utah (10/10/2007) "You Have to Run This Race" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Park City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I knew it was going to be hard. And it was. My goal was to run the entire race and I did. The hills were tough, but the other racers were supportive. It was a small raceonly about 500 runners in the marathon. The scenery was beautiful. We saw hot air balloons and cows. It was a rewarding, difficult accomplishment. Very well organized! The only thing, they actually ordered women's sizes in the t-shirts and they ran very small. I'm disappointed that my first marathon shirt I can't even wear!
Bill Folk from Racine, WI (9/10/2007) "Beauty and toughness!!" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Park City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The race was fantastic. I would recommend this marathon to everyone. The hills are, for the most part, easy enough, but the altitude will kill you if you are from the Midwest like me. The views are beyond anything I could ever try to explain. The aid stations were well stocked with water, Gatorade, and fantastic crews. The course is nearly half hard-packed gravel so be aware!
E. S. from Salt Lake City, Utah (9/10/2007) "Nice course, but a tough one." (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Park City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 They changed the course from 2006 to 2007. They made it harder. I suspect they changed to course to eliminate crossing over US 40 (2X). Now you go under US 40 through a box culvert. It was was kind-of creepy. I think the course would better (and faster) the opposite direction (CCW). Then they could start the the 1/2 marathon and marathon at the same time, and clean-up those early aid stations sooner. The course is definitely pretty, but from about mile 4 to mile 16 it is pretty much all uphill. It's not all that steep uphill, but it is relentless. By the time you get to Park City, and realize you still have a mile or two to go to Deer Valley, you are very much ready for the downhill section. Unfortunately the downhill section is much shorter that the incline. Then you get to Park City again and have to slog up to Empire Avenue, and that is very steep. Overall I had fun. It's a good race; well organized, with a nice shirt and medallion (artsy glass thing). You may want to run it in trail shoes. I had regular road shoes and I stepped on a few rocks that hurt my feet. I'd recommend it, but don't expect a PR.

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