Excellent support, gorgeous scenery, and though spectators are few and far between early on the course, their enthusiasm makes up for it (hence the 5 stars). Plenty of cheering St. Georgians in the last few miles. Unbelievable support - campfires at the start, and clothes drops at the first few mile markers, and my jacket (dropped at mile 2 with my number pinned to it) was returned to me IN MY GEAR BAG!! Ran a huge PR and was still cruising at the end. Quads were shot the next day, but oh well! I don't like to repeat marathons but I want to do this again next year.

Great support by the community, fast but not necessarily easy course and terrific organization. This was my first St. George and third overall.

I completely disagree about this not being a PR course. I set a new one by 25 minutes. You just have to train properly. (I run lots of hills. Both 20 milers had about 13 miles worth of uphill.) I also have a friend who ran this this year gunning for a Boston Qualifier (3:15; not sure what previous PR was) he nailed a 3:08.

In fact the worst uphill section at St. George (Veyo miles 7-9) is not as bad as some hills I run regularly. Had I not gone out slightly too fast in the first 6 miles I believe I would have hit my goal (3:55; ran 4:11)

I also had NO quad soreness afterwards like so many do. I attribute this to all the hills I run. Some minor soreness
in my hamstrings though.

The fact that the course is absolutely gorgeous is a bonus. No it doesn't have hundreds of thousands of spectators all along the course, but so what? I think that is overrated anyway.

I ran the St. George Marathon in 2001 after hearing all sorts of great things about it. Well they were all true. Great Organization! Great Support! Great Course! The course is not an easy course. There is a long uphill and the steep downhill pounds your legs. But with proper training it can be fast, and it is definitely beautiful.

I ran this marathon in 1980, 1982, and now again in 2001. It still has the same fabulous red-rock desert scenery and the great fall weather. What it has now in 2001 but didn't have two decades ago are great crowds (4000 finishers now rather than the 800 in 1982), superb aid stations at every odd-numbered mile (and more frequent at the end), several bands playing along the way, beautiful medals for the finishers, ChampionChip timers, a helpful expo and clinic, and fabulous food (specialty breads, yogurt, fruit, drinks) at the finish line. I was in awe of the superb logics and organization of this marathon.

This race was my first marathon ever. I am proud to say I finished it, and I'm going back this year. Great course, see you all out there.

I did the race in 2000 and glad I drove the course 2 days prior to the race. I first thought of it as a downhill course .... when driving it there are about 15 hills: 2 Miles for the longest, then 1 x 1 Mile and quite some about .2- .4 Miles, often preceded by almost too steep downhills. I love this course, but it is hell on your muscles, so prepare well with hilly runs and learn to run downhills! The organization is A+, many water stops, lonely stretches in beautiful nature. Great start in complete darkness, next to fires, cool ... then amazing to see the day come to life as you run. If you like an out of the ordinary marathon that is challenging, do this one, but don't expect to PR. This course beats flat courses, for it gives most of your leg muscles a great workout. Don't forget to take care of your muscles afterwards.

My best marathon experience - by far. Previous included LA, Big Sur & Rock n Roll. A beautiful point to point course with some great downhill stretches that suited me just fine. I paid for it with very sore quads, but it was worth it for the PR. The logistics - from the bus to the start to the discarded clothing pickup at the end was amazing. On most of the course the crowds were sparse but supportive. However, there was a large cheering crowd at the finish. I enjoyed it so much I'm returning for 2001.

Hilly, challenging road marathon. Great race organization. Just the perfect number of spectators situated where you need them most. I PRd three times at St. George ('96, '98, '00)! Not because it's fast and flat and not because 'it's all downhill'. I PR'd because I regularly run uphills on the trails and the first part of this marathon has some major uphill climbs (for a road race). I PR'd because I ran my butt off on the downhills. And I PRd because I barely stayed on my feet during the last agonizing mile (after making the one and only turn on the course). This marathon is beautiful, scenic, well-organized, and if you run it fast... it's a killer... but hey... so what? Third time's the charm and I'm finally going to Boston!

Very unusual marathon! Starts off in the dark after having warmed yourself by a 1/4 of a of mile small bonfires! I'd like to do it again but this time I'd make sure to train on downhill running since it was murder on my knees. Very supportive volunteers and spectators.

They say this marathon is all downhill, but dont be fooled. There are at least 3 significant uphill sections. It is an amazing course. Truly beautiful. The organizers did a great job with stops that include port-o-potties that never seemed to have a line and always had plenty of toilet paper. The scenery keeps your mind off of your screaming legs. Crowds are sparse but are there for the last 3 miles. It's amazing how well this was organized for having 5000+ runners. I dropped my running jacket at mile 3 and there it was for me at the end. St George really knows how to take care of its runners.