Teton DAM Marathon

I LOVED this race! I was pretty nervous about the field being so small (less than 100 marathoners finished), but the organization and enthusiastic volunteers made me feel like it was a marathon just for me. I got tons of cheers and high fives and even a hug just for me. Because there were so few of us and we were spread out, the volunteers, spectators and relay team members would cheer for you when you came by (rather than the spectator fatigue that comes with a steady stream of runners). The Teton dam start was perfect. It was beautiful and you didn't have to wait long for the 6:30am start. It was very informal with the RD just calling 'go.' The weather really cooperated that morning with just a little wind as it started to get warmer which was perfect. There isn't much traffic at all, so I was really able to enjoy the scenery. There is a portion of a few miles near the beginning on dirt road, which could perhaps be less enjoyable (muddy) in a heavy rain. I thought the course was beautiful and I even really liked the hills at the end for a change of pace. I even got my 2nd best time. The medal was great and the finish was fine. (I kind of wish there were different medals for the marathoners vs. relay runners and I would have loved to be able to purchase a hat for the race, but none available other than as awards.) The dinner/info meeting the night before was nice too. I would definitely recommend this one!

I signed up for this race because it worked out logically in my quest for 50 states. This was the weekend after the Deadwood Mickelson marathon in SD, and we spent the week in between on vacation in Yellowstone and the Tetons. I really liked this race. It is a point to point rural course with few runners and a nice early start. Add beautiful weather, exuberant volunteers, and a supportive small community, and you have a fabulous race. I know there are a lot of great marathons in Idaho, but Teton Dam should not be overlooked.

I'm a local so I've run this marathon 7 times, and 2014 was by far the best year yet. They have really made some improvements: cash awards, good-looking, high-quality medals with the year on them (not the generic, reusable type like they had before), 'king of the hill' challenge which gave a cash award for the fastest split time up the hill at mile 19, good food and free massages at the finish, chartered busses to the start line (much more comfy than school busses), nice tech-shirt, functional sports bag, and stainless steel thermos bottles for age group winners. The winning time for the men's marathon was only 3:13, and the guy got $400 bucks! They must have given out close to $2000 total in prize money and raffled off several pairs of shoes, $50 gift cards, etc. I think they must have had a new race director because this was a total turnaround from 2012 when I ran it last. There are still a few improvements they could make (for example, why isnt there an elevation profile of the race on their website?), but combine it with a weekend in the Tetons or Yellowstone and this makes for a fun trip. Do some hill training before you come. Mile 1-18 is mostly flat, but 18-23 is a challenging gradual climb, followed by a few rolling hills from 23-25, and mile 26 is all downhill.