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Salt Lake City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Salt Lake City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 162 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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S. D. from Westchester New York
(5/3/2010)
"Not Utah's Best" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 All in all the event was fine, but it is clearly eclipsed by at least three other marathons in Utah for various reasons. The expo was very disappointing - there was almost nothing there. I did not find the pasta party, and people/runners simply were not hanging around on Friday before the race. By not holding the expo on Saturday, people where either going home from or coming from work, which limited the time runners had to hang around and socialize. I much prefer a Sunday race, since it makes the event feel like it is the entire weekend. The course was nice enough and gave you a pretty good tour of Salt Lake City. The police support was first-rate, but if they could find a way to spread the decline over a larger part of the course instead of all at once at the race start, it would be nice. The spectators were sparse but enthusiastic. My real complaint was the organization. The post-race handling of the checked bags was very poor. This is a event in a first-rate city which has too much potential to be great not to have someone put some real time and effort into ramping it up to create a truly top-notch event. Salt Lake City should not play second fiddle to Saint George and Ogden. | |
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S. A. from Idaho
(4/24/2010)
"Well-Organized Marathon and Plan to Return" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 3 Salt Lake City Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Thank you to the race organizers and volunteers who made this year's marathon (2010) a great experience. Course: I loved the race course. State Street and South Temple ARE Salt Lake and it is a rush and a privilege to be able to run on them. The course on State Street really only starts to rise for one block (between 1st South and South Temple) and then it is downhill the rest of the way. PLEASE do not change this. The previous finish via 4th Street/West Temple/2nd Street was not interesting or important to me. Running by Temple Square was an honor. Organization: This marathon is as well organized as any race I have been a part of. They do a superb job. This holds true for each of the three years I have participated in this marathon. Spectators: Fewer than past years. However, the ones who were there were very helpful. Thank you to those who gave the oranges at mile 10 and around mile 20. Constructive Suggestions (not criticisms): 1) I would like to split off from all of the half-marathoners sooner. This may involve altering the start times by 15-30 minutes between the marathon/half-marathon. The same aid stations could still be used and it should not cause significantly more congestion of the finish of the two races at Gateway. 2) With the appearance fees paid in the past to elite athletes now eliminated, I would like to see the entry fee lowered to be closer to those of other marathons in Utah. It is the same now as it was during those years of elite runners. I think this will attract more runners to the marathon. Summary: A great marathon and it is my hope to be able to return annually for many more years to come. | |
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D. H. from Southern Utah
(4/20/2010)
"Good but not great" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was a good marathon, but not my favorite. I can't complain about the organization or volunteers at all. The volunteers were prepared, happy, and a joy to be around. Using the Trax system to get to the start is a great, no-stress way to move everyone. The course was generally flat to downhill and I enjoyed the areas that we ran through. The crowd was enthusiastic, but sparse for a big-city marathon. I did enjoy running into the Gateway and the crowd that was there. The food after the marathon was plentiful and good. I really enjoyed the burritos that were being passed out. I have heard that there was a problem with the bag pickup, but I arrived after the majority of the half runners and mine was found quickly With just over 1,000 running the marathon and over 4,600 running the half-marathon, the marathon felt like an afterthought at times. There were no pace markers to help people start with others going the same speed. That made for a slow start. At mile four the marathon split from the half and then joined back up at the same spot after making a mile-loop around a park. This put us with a lot of slower runners that we needed to navigate around. Although I don't use GU, some of the other runners I was with were looking for it or some other food at the aid stations. The runners' area was a parking lot that required a long walk to get through. There was no place to lie down or stretch without doing it on the warm asphalt. A grassy area would have been nice. It was also too far from the course to watch others finish without leaving the runners' area. These are small complaints, but enough that I will go to a different spring marathon next year. | |
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D. C. from Idaho
(4/18/2010)
"Very good experience" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Salt Lake City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was the fifth year I've run the Salt Lake City Marathon. The fact I keep doing it says it all - they do a very nice job. The organization is excellent. The shirt and medal are very attractive. The course is generally pretty good. There's the hill at the end, which had most people walking up it at mile 24.5, and a section where you run on a "freeway" for a couple of miles, but the rest of it is very scenic and pleasant. There are not a lot of fans, but those who are there are enthusiastic. The volunteers are very supportive and helpful. If there were a special ranking for them, I'd give 5+ stars. I'll run this race again, but's it's been disappointing to see fewer and fewer marathoners at the race each year. I think there were only about 1,100 this year - much fewer than the first year I ran the race. I think the half-marathon, which shares the marathon course for the first 7 miles, is slowly eating up the marathon. That said, it is still a very good experience. | |
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C. R. from Oregon
(4/18/2010)
"Nice Course in Friendly City" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was fairly well organized but I would suggest the organizers add some sort of food (gel or bananas?) on the course. I looked for gel at every aid station; there wasn't any. The spectators were few but very friendly. A big shout-out to the two who passed out orange slices around mile 10. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! The course was awesome, very beautiful and through interesting sections of town. I'm used to running through a city's seedier districts and this one was no different. I don't expect a city to shut down its best and busiest streets. I loved the finish at the Gateway. The police did an EXCELLENT job of keeping runners and traffic separate. Overall, I would recommend this one to anyone. | |
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R. G. from San Jose, CA
(4/18/2010)
"Harder than I thought" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My third marathon, and the hardest yet for me. Seeing the course elevation, I imagined it to be mostly downhill. The downhill is pretty much done in the first 10 miles, and then you get some ups and downs. The 25th mile was the hardest since you can see the road sloping up. Very well organized with police at every intersection making sure the runners were safe. Got a little warm after 10:30 a.m. | |
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L. H. from Michigan
(4/18/2010)
"Great potential with better organization" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Great course through the city of Salt Lake. The net elevation drops about 700 feet, mostly in the first half of the race. The course ends with a lot of spectators at the Gateway. Some organizational flaws that can be easily corrected in the future: ran out of water for slower runners at some aid stations, had to wait in line for 1-2 hours for gear bag after the race, awards ceremony delayed over an hour and a half because of timing glitch (that was eventually corrected). Salt Lake City is a terrific venue for a marathon and this race has a lot of potential, with a little more attention to details. On a more positive note, the course was well laid out and the officers did a nice job directing traffic. The aid stations were good, except the ones that ran out of both water and Gatorade. They had good food at the end of the race. | |
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B. H. from Salt Lake City, Utah
(4/17/2010)
"Good first marathon, minor negatives" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, and overall I think it was very well run. The first half of the marathon was great, with some very scenic views going through Holladay and running mostly downhill. The second half of the marathon wasn't great, as you go down Foothill, which is just a major road and not quite as scenic. The last 2 miles were not fun as you run down State Street and slightly go uphill at the end. To be honest, the hill wasn't bad; it was just that I live in SLC and State Street is not the most scenic way to end a marathon. Food at the end was abundant and plentiful for all, and stations every 1-2 miles were great and had plenty of people helping to hand out Gatorade or water. I didn't see any gels but was not stopping for very long at the stop stations. There were a few times that there was a car on the course, but the police did a good job of getting them off right away. Overall, not a bad marathon with good organization. I just think the course could have been planned a little bit better. | |
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K. A. from Canada
(2/17/2010)
"A fun half marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 We ran the half in 2009. It was well organized. We were able to get to the race expo/package pick-up easily, we liked the Traxx system very much, and the finish line was very nice in the outdoor downtown mall area. The Traxx ride is free in the downtown area, so we hopped on it afterward to go back to our hotel. I would run this race again. | |
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E. S. from Salt Lake City, UT
(5/3/2009)
"Great Tour of SLC" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Salt Lake City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I don't know what all the grumbling is about. I thought they pulled-off an excellent event in 2009. I've run both the SLC Half and the marathon. I ran the half this year. The half is the superior event in my opinion, but it wouldn't be without the full marathon at the same time. The full marathon has a tedious section around 5000 south. I could do without that section. I saw some complaints about the section on State Street; sure, there are a few cars, and it's gradual uphill, but that's State Street. It is the "main drag" of Salt Lake City. I thought that was the best part, a big finish. There's a lot of history there. Running up toward the Eagle Gate with the state capitol and downtown rising right there... it's awe-inspiring. State Street and Temple Square ARE Salt Lake City. You could not ask for a more SLC-representative route, with the U of U, Sugarhouse, Holladay-Murray Blvd., Liberty Park, Eagle Gate, Brigham's house, his statue (hand outstretched toward the bank, back toward the temple), Hotel Utah, Main Street Plaza, Temple Square, then a big finish in the Gateway. It was great. Good finish line food. Bag pick-up was standard. Medal was above average; at least it was a "metal" medal (Ogden's was plastic last year). Want the full marathon experience? Run SLC on Saturday and Boston on Monday; they are timed perfectly for that. |
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