This was my first marathon. I woke up all night to wind howling... scared the crap out of me! Ahh, a headwind! But it turned out to be a tailwind (until the last mile or so). It was warm, but heck, you trained all summer!

Let's be constructive: Well organized for sure (I parked at the park). The running through town was a bit dismal after running through a most beautiful canyon. This is my first so I've little to compare it to (give me another few weeks). 14 miles of descents, no wonder my quads were streaming! I thought is was because I never run on pavement. I was 4 minutes slower than my goal. It's a little comforting to know not everyone ran their fastest. I hit the wall at 23 and frankly don't remember much after that. I do recall the snacks being a bit lacking though. It was the same stuff as the aid stations. I was ready for something else.

Warmer than expected but not hot. There are a few hills after the very scenic and quiet downhill canyon run. Being a flatlander, the downhill front end didn't catch up to me until about mile 23. The crowd support was really impressive - much more than I expected for such a small race. Everyone was very friendly. Organizers did well with even the smallest details. Very enjoyable experience and my running buddies can't wait to try it themselves.

This year was my third try at TOU. Two years ago I pulled after catching the flu the night before the race. Ran last year under perfect conditions and had a great experience. This year I broke two ribs three weeks before the race and still seriously considered running but the doctor and my 'better half' talked better sense. I just want the committee to know how much I appreciated the T-shirts. I have pulled from other races before after a six month training period and $40-$60 entry fee and got nothing for the effort. The finisher's medals are great and I wish I could have earned them, but at least with a shirt, I feel like I got something for the effort. Keep up the good work. "I'll be back!!!"

The '04 race was affected by hot temperatures and high winds. The winds funneled up the canyon and got quite gusty. The canyon section of the race is quite scenic, though a steeper downhill than expected. Between the heat and downhill, I was cooked at 16 miles and shuffled back into Logan. Within Logan, the course is a bit of a maze. A bit discouraging to see the finish and then still have 2 miles left. For those who have done St. George, elevation is much more of a factor here. Skip the pasta feed and head up to Callaway's in Smithfield (about 10 miles north). Glad I went, but doubt I will be back.

We knew it was going to be a tough race when the Weather Channel said it was 72F in the valley, at 4am!

In spite of the heat and the wind, I really enjoyed this marathon experience. Great little expo, good pre-race dinner, well organized start, pleasant volunteers on the course with water and Gatorade every 2 miles, almost no cars for the first 15 miles, lovely scenery, accurate mile markers that you could see from a long ways away, friendly spectators, and medals and trophies that you can be proud to own and display: for us, this was the best organized marathon we've done so far.

Next time we do this race, I hope Mother Nature will bless us all with somewhat cooler weather!

I am a walker, and this was my 10th marathon. I read the reviews and thought I could handle the lack of support. Most of the other marathons I have done haven't been so strict on the time limit. When they got to the 6 hour people, roads were opened. And they mean it. The canyon opens at 3 hours. And you are in the canyon for the first 14 miles. Once it opened, I was nearly run over by trucks pulling ATVs. You had to be off of the road. Going through the towns wasn't bad, but again, at 1 pm, you are on the sidewalk. I hadn't planned on this being a problem, as this was to be a PR race. No one planned on the heat (85 dF at 1:30 pm!), so everyone was slow this year.

Pasta dinner was nice. I got a cool watch as a door prize (everyone gets a door prize!) Coolmax shirts are nice (but were big). They do their best, but this is best for runners, not walkers. By the time I got there, nothing left in the post-race area. Really cool moose trophies!

The BEST medals of any marathon. Some races seem like they spend 50 cents of of your $40 on a medal (take note, Ogden). Not TOU, it is heavy and well designed.

This year was hot (still better than the year it snowed the entire way), well put together and, yes, it was hot this year, but can't be perfect all the time.

My 34th marathon and I will be back at TOU next year. See you all in St. George next week!!

TOU was my 29 marathon, would have been a great experience if not for heat and wind. The first half of course is very beautiful, after 20 miles there are to many turns, you just want to hurry up and finish. Overall it was a good experience!

This is a great race if you like walking the last six miles. Just got back from the 2004 Top of Utah Marathon.

Ahhh, what a killer run. It was very downhill and very hot. Now I understand why downhill marathons
are so hard. They just burn up your quads and leave your legs trembling like a little puppy dog who just wet the carpet.

The day began on the wrong foot when the bus the organizer scheduled to pick up about thirty folks from our hotel never showed up. This caused a mad dash with people running around trying to figure out what to do to get to the start of the race. Great way to start an ulcer; bad way to start a race.

I knew it was going to be trouble when it was up to about 70 degrees at 7:00 am start. The downhill canyon section is beautiful but boy does it burn up your quads. By the time you get to mile 17 you've run your entire race. The course would be a perfect and very fast half marathon.

The last part of the race snakes through town. A lot of turning and ups and downs make for a slow finish. Everybody I spoke with after the race seemed really tired and bewildered by the fact that they just ran their personal worst.

This was a hard marathon, mostly because of the heat. As soon as we got out of the canyon it was hot! The aid stations had nothing but warm Gatorade and warm water which was really bad for hot weather.

The one thing that would make this marathon better would be starting it at least an hour earlier. The medal was cool and the event is very well organized otherwise.