I ran the 2012 race and really enjoyed the experience. This is a smaller marathon that runs around the north end of Bear Lake the day before their usual race around the south end. It was added so that 50 states could get two states in one weekend. There were 98 finishers and the Race director told me that 53 of the entrants were running both races.

It is advertised as a simpler race with limited support but I found the organization and support fine. My only criticism is the vagueness on the web site as to what 'limited support' means. Well in 2012 'limited support' meant aid stations every 3 miles with a port-a-potty, water and gatorade. Many of the later stops also had gel (multiple flavors). I wore a fuel belt and filled up my bottles at the later stops and this worked out great.
At the races end they had two buses to bring folks back to their cars. This did mean a lengthly wait for most but many of us walked down to Bear Lake to soak our legs during this time and that was very refreshing.

The course is very pretty and the first 19 or so miles are super flat. There are a few hills the final 10K which really aren't too bad except for the fact they are at the end of a marathon. The roads are all open to traffic but this is never an issue. The final miles on the east side of the lake are so quiet a runner can even run the tangents safely.

There are no fans at all. The only folks I saw were family members who 'leap frogged' runners throughout the race. If your family wants to really see you many times in a race this is the one for you.

You get a special back to back medal (and despite what the other comment said I had someone present me the medal) and a Back to back t-shirt.

I spoke with the Race Director and he said that the Friday race was becoming more and more popular so he wouldn't be surprised to see more support for this race in future years. But like I said I felt the support was excellent.

I flew into Salt Lake City and stayed in Logan UT. That was about 40 miles away from Garden City. A little farther than I would like but not really a big deal. Both days I picked up my bib race morning so I can't comment on any expo.

This was not as nice or as organized I thought as other Mammoth Marathons. You could start any time and tell the person your finish time.
No one handing out metals at the end, just told to pick one up.
Road not busy, but rough pavement to run on.

I was ready to welcome the cold early morning with a jacket and a warm hat. Last year's photo's gave me the heads up!! The last 5 miles of the marathon I notice many animal carcass on the side of the road. Animals not marathoners! First time marathoners should do this race. Keep your feet moving and eyes enjoying the beautiful area.

I pretty much echo LD's comments. Weather was awesome, 45 - 50 degrees and calm. Beautiful scenery along Bear Lake. Great support for a small race. The first 13 miles were against traffic on a main highway but its early start makes traffic minimal. Make sure to visit the hot springs by Mile 20 after the race. They were awesome! (And have a raspberry shake in Garden City - not to be missed.) Thank you to the race directors for a great race!

This marathon was originally started for some 50-Staters to get in another state in a weekend - and this year over 70 of us showed up to run (apparently 25 ran last year). I had very few expectations for this race. I knew there would be aid stations, but I really thought I'd need to carry my own water bottle and GU; instead, they had water stations every 3 miles with GU, Gatorade, and/or fruit at most. The volunteers were amazingly friendly, and they hopped from station to station. They also made sure that they had people at each station until the last person passed. We even got a special shirt that said, "52.4 miles," since most of us running Friday were also running Saturday, and a "Back to Back Marathon" medal. The course was gorgeous, and the runners were friendly. It was pretty much the perfect marathon experience. (There were no spectators except for the cows and volunteers, but that didn't take away from the experience at all. The cows did watch us until we were out of sight.)

The course is located in a rather remote and gorgeous location, and is generally easy to traverse. Organization of the race is probably best described as flexible, which has positives and drawbacks. The race organizers are very accommodating and helpful in all regards; however, it seems that some aspects of the race were not very well planned out. This included bathrooms before the race and along the course, starting times, and (as a minor point) course photography! This is such a nice area with great views and photo ops - too bad there was no one to take pics! And as for spectators... well, there are none, save birds, horses, and other wildlife perhaps. However, I was fortunate in the respect that it was an open course (and still not much traffic, thankfully) and so my mom was able to follow me the whole time to cheer me on and get some personal pics! As a side note, the race directors were nice to her as well, and so that was cool for both of us.

It was a nice experience overall, which is especially important when doing two in a row (which all who ran this race were - and which was why they created it in the first place, which is of course very kind of them!).