Hills, Altitude,magnificent scenery; the essence of running; A transcendent run in the heart of the San Juan mountains. Just a flawless, extremely well organized event; great volunteers, perfect August weather, great Micro-brews, terrific food and some really fine folks make this a unique marathon experience.

This was the inaugural marathon so I was a bit apprehensive, but I was visiting Colorado and needed a marathon. I could not have made a better choice. The race was so beautiful, along several gravel roads with almost no vehicles. Zero spectators but aid stations had water and Gatorade which was all we needed. The altitude and heat were challenging. There were 46 of us in the marathon, with about 300 in the accompanying half marathon (they did the second half of the marathon, the downhill half). Both Ouray (you-ray) and Ridgway have lots of olde world bars and cafes and plentiful accommodation.