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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 41 to 51]
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S. C. from San Francisco
(4/27/2009)
"Great race except police let cars onto the course" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran the Las Vegas marathon in December 2008 and that is how I heard about the Salt Lake City race. Overall I am happy with the experience but I will likely not return next year because the course was supposed to be closed to traffic for 6 hours. I finished well within that time and yet had to contend with police waving cars through intersections while other runners and I were already in the intersection. The Saturday scheduling of the race has to be questioned. Marathoners should not have to compete with traffic. | |
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B. B. from Los Angeles, CA
(4/23/2009)
"Overall Great Experience" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the SLC Marathon for the first time and was unsure if this marathon would be a good one, since I read the comments religiously for many marathons I do from MarathonGuide. But I was pleasantly surprised with Devine. I have ran LA Marathon 10 times and remember how much I disliked some of the changes Devine implemented, but the SLC Marathon was great. The course at 4,500-foot elevation was great, with not too many turns (so it doesn't slow down your momentum) but it had enough turns to distract the mind. I didn't think it was difficult at all. There may be a couple miles that have a slight uphill, but it only added about 15 seconds to those mile splits. I made it up at the end because I like to finish my marathons hard. Fluid stations had enough of both water and Gatorade and enough volunteers. Not sure if it was volunteers only or spectators too, but orange slices were given a few times throughout the later portion of the course and I LOVE eating oranges on my run! Thanks, volunteers and/or spectators. The density of spectators was not that great in comparison to more urban marathons, but it is understandable as it's a relatively small marathon with about 1,000 finishers. Weather in SLC was perfect for me around 50-60 degrees F in April. Great for marathoning! The medal was fine. I've done 26 marathons and I'm 24. I've seen smaller even at the Rome Marathon but this one was good. Yeah, Devine put their name on the ribbon that goes around the neck, but no big deal. It is nowhere to be found on the medal itself. I finished in 3:42:00, only a few minutes from my PR, so if you are trained for the elevation, this race is a fun race. I had a great time! | |
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Kerry Green from Mesa, Arizona
(4/22/2009)
"Good overall race" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 With all of Devine's financial troubles, at least those perceived by the media, I was momentarily concerned that the race might be canceled. To my pleasant surprise, Devine pulled off an awesome race. I agree with previous comments regarding the long hill after mile 24 - I wasn't expecting it! Other than that, the course was beautiful; the crowd, though small, was great; and the weather was absolutely perfect. I even enjoyed the pre-race gospel music. My small recommendation for Devine, should they be reviewing these comments, is that they consider staggering the half-marathon and marathon starts. Towards the end of my race, I had to politely (perhaps impolitely at times?) excuse myself before passing slower half-marathoners who occasionally walked in 4's (side by side by side by side). I'm all about everybody getting a chance to run, but finishing the last 10K of a marathon in zigzag fashion isn't preferred. That said, I would run this race again in a heartbeat. | |
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S. H. from Minnesota
(4/20/2009)
"The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This race can adequately be summarized by the following: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. The Good - Packet pickup was smooth, volunteers were helpful, aid stations were plentiful and the volunteers at them were well trained. The race number, shirt and medal were all pretty decent. There were plenty of post-race refreshments. The course itself was runner-friendly. The Bad - UTA in the morning was way behind schedule and didn't run enough trains to properly serve the number of runners. A train arrived full just a couple of minutes before the start. The choir that sang the national anthem was absolutely horrible. We're talking Rosanne Barr-bad. They were an embarrassment. Also, they had the marathon and half-marathon merging together at 6 miles and then again around 21. I had to dodge and weave around walkers who were absolutely clueless that the race is about running, not walking. Step aside, PLEASE!! The Ugly - Post-race baggage pick up. Good GOD!! Who was the idiot who thought it was a good idea to use color-coded stickers IN ADDITION to the race number. WHAT??? The race number is a pretty simple (almost idiot proof) system. Instead, the volunteers had the runners search for their own bags. Absolutely ridiculous. Unless they fire the person who came up with that system, there is no way I would ever run this marathon again. | |
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John SLC from Salt Lake City, Utah
(4/20/2009)
"First-time runner, great experience!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Maybe my opinion is what it is because this was my first time running in a marathon event - I don't know. I ran the half marathon this year for Salt Lake City and I fell in love with it. I thought it was well organized, and as a first-time runner, I had no problem getting started, registered, picking up my stuff, etc. I used the Trax system to get up to the starting line and that worked well, but it was a bit crowded. The starting line had a gospel choir going on, which I actually enjoyed, but everyone's taste in music will vary. It was an upbeat choir though, nothing that would put you to sleep. The only recommendation at the starting area is to maybe add more bathrooms, as the lines were a bit long and slow in moving. I thought the course was well done, and it takes you on a beautiful tour of the Salt Lake valley. The course was mostly flat, with some light downhill running and a little uphill - nothing crazy, and great for first-time runners. I thought there could have been an extra aid station or two, for those of us depending on them, but all in all they did a pretty good job. There was water and/or Gatorade at every single stop, enough for all the runners. They also had easy-to-see mile markers and several timers throughout the course, giving you a good idea of what your pace is... especially for those of us who lost their watch a few days before the race, haha. When I finished, there was plenty of water and medals available. I finished in 2 hours and 12 minutes, but about 2.5 hours after the race had started. I didn't check out the other amenities, but from what I was told, they did a good job providing for everyone. The spectators were great! I think throughout the course there could have been more, but there were still a good number of them out. The people at the aid stations were also very generous and nice. The finish line area was packed with people cheering and waving the runners on; even the police who were handling traffic were good sports about cheering runners on, so that part was very great. I enjoyed it enough that I intend to run it again next year, and my family members had such a great time cheering me on and being part of the crowd that even they want to get involved and run next year. There is not much I would change about this event. It was straightforward - no problems, lots of fun, great spectators, and even the weather was amazing. | |
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A. C. from SC
(4/20/2009)
"A nice race" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I was pleased with this race. A nice size, with overall good organization. The shuttle (the local light rail) was a bit crowded even for those allowing nearly 2 hours before start time, but I had plenty of time to get to the start and be on time. I stayed at one of the host hotels, which was very accommodating and close to the finish. Great crowd support evenly spread throughout the course, and plenty of water/Gatorade for all. Expo was laid out very well, and was also very close to the finish and host hotels. The city itself was undergoing a lot of construction, which took a bit away from the scenery, but somehow it still ended up being a beautiful course. I hope this race continues. It's a great race, it's easy to fly to, even from the East Coast, and it was a pleasant experience. My only regret is that I had to return quickly. I would have loved to stay longer and explore! Thanks to all of the volunteers and everyone who helped make this a great race. | |
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m. b. from albany, california
(4/20/2009)
"Have run it 3 times... considering a 4th!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Salt Lake City Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have run this race three times now, so, obviously, I am a big fan. This is one of the most beautiful courses I've run, out of 25 marathons. Running along the base of the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains is an awesome way to start the day. I've heard a lot about Devine Racing's recent financial problems but must say there was no evidence of troubles along the course. The shirts were nice, as were the finisher's medals. The volunteers were cheerful and efficient, and the crowd support has certainly grown over the past six years. The only thing I don't like is the climb up State Street at the end. I wish it were downhill instead!! Congrats to Devine, volunteers and all of the marathon finishers. | |
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K. L. from Idaho
(4/19/2009)
"Nice course but I should have driven it first" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Everything I read about the course said it was pretty flat, with a small all-around elevation drop. There were some uphills, but the first half had more downhills, and they were steeper than I expected. Thus, IT band issues I had never encountered before presented themselves at about mile 4 and remained steady end grew ever stronger through to the finish! Otherwise, a nice/well organized course/race. The TRAX transport was completely packed, but it got us there. Start line "johns" were too few to accommodate the sudden influx of the packed TRAX passengers who were already running late; thus there was no time to go before the gun! Best word of advice: Take the early train! This is the largest race I've run so far. I'm used to a handful of fabulous fans leapfrogging the runners in a van and cheering throughout the course, so the many fans here were a WONDERFUL novelty to me. Thanks, SLC. | |
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D. C. from Idaho
(4/19/2009)
"Very Solid Race" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Salt Lake City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 If you like snow-capped mountains, sunny skies, moderate temperatures, a relatively easy course, and good organization, this race is for you. If you need lots of spectators to cheer you on, this is not the race for you. There are people out on the course to cheer you on, but not a lot of them. I found the organization to be flawless. The course is very gentle and interesting, with tremendous views - with the exception of a long hill after mile 24 that comes at the wrong time in a race. The finish line is well done, with lots of food. I've run 31 marathons, and this one is very solid. I'd recommend it highly. | |
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K. C. from Meridian, ID
(4/19/2009)
"Nice race - beautiful surroundings" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Salt Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 3rd marathon. I was amazed at the organization for smoothly running an early start marathon, regular marathon, half, bike tour, and 5K. The course was beautiful. It had some rolling hills, the longest being around mile 19 or 20 - it seemed to go on forever. The expo and pasta dinner were small but nice. The spectators were plentiful and enthusiastic. My only complaint was that there was no GU available as advertised - apparently a distributor had fallen through. I was lucky I brought some of my own, but many didn't. I thought the organization should have provided something as an alternative - maybe bananas or something. Overall, I enjoyed the race and would consider doing it again some year. |
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