Park City Marathon

This was probably the prettiest marathon I've done. Beautiful views of valleys and mountains, ski resorts, golf courses, neighborhoods, the quaint Main Street area of Park City, the famous white barn, and even several hot air balloons (which likely had nothing to do with the race, but were fun) make for nice distractions throughout the run. Would be a tough course for a PR, as it is more uphill than down to mile 16, but well worth it. Aid stations were well-stocked, with most of them having oranges and/or bananas and a couple having GU, in addition to water and sports drinks. The volunteers were very nice and supportive. Not a whole lot of spectators otherwise, but I had my own little crew who went to several spots on the course, and I've run small marathons before, so not much of an issue for me. The medal was interestinga rather artistic one, but I thought fitting for the town. The packet pick-up was pretty spare: no bags and a non-tech shirt. But if you're interested in a very nice run in a place that normally has good weather, I'd definitely recommend it.

If you don't expect much, except a T-shirt, a plate of potato chips and a coke at the end, then this M is for you. First 16 miles are uphill. Nice gradual incline until about 13.5 miles then the real climb begins. The views of Deer Valley and downtown PC are beautiful. Well worth the uphill run. After Deer valley, it's 10 miles of rolling hills. This is my 8th PCM and was startled to see how far the M has fallen since I last ran in 2011. No place to warm-up except outside, you don't even get a bag to put your clothes in. Hopefully, they will get better sponsors next year. Otherwise, avoid this marathon until they get their act together.

The marathon was very well organized, and the planners made my experience stress free. Park City, Utah is very beautiful, and the people of the community were very friendly. Running at 7,000 feet altitude is very difficult, so don't worry about your marathon time. I hope to be back someday to run in the area again.