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Utah Valley Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Utah Valley Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 64 [displaying comments 41 to 51]
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Stuart Graves from Salt Lake City, Utah
(6/12/2011)
"Great Course & Great Organization" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Utah Valley Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The organizers of this marathon nailed it this year. This is a seriously well run marathon. The course is spectacular. I would especially recommend this course for a first time marathoner. Also, kudos to the volunteers. | |
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P. W. from Mississippi
(6/12/2011)
"Breathtaking Beautiful Course" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Provo Marathon was my 50th marathon, and easily one of the most beautiful courses I've ever run. It is simply an amazing race. The view will have you smiling your way through 26 miles ! That being said, I have a few 'minor' suggestions for the race organizers: 1. The expo and packet pickup was a nightmare. It took over an hour to get my number and shirt. The line moved at a snail pace. I noticed this same complaint in reviews of 2009 and 2010. Hope you get it straight by 2012. 2. HUGE disappointment in the photographers! I literally ran through 26 miles of jaw-dropping beauty and saw two race photographers, one in downtown Provo ( the background - a bank!). And one at the finish line. Really ?!?! I've run boring drap races and ended up with 40 pictures of me running yet in what is easily the most beautiful course I've seen, a HUGE lack of cameramen! Thumbs down on this! Still the race is great. The people of Provo are wonderful. The support is outstanding. It really should be a 'Don't Miss' Marathon. | |
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J. K. from Baker, Fl
(2/8/2011)
"Beautiful Race, Fast Course" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, have since run 2 more, and I'm about to do another this weekend. The course overall was great. The uphill portion at mile 6-9 was not overly taxing on a native flatlander such as myself. The downhills more than made up for them. Traffic on the valley road was hardly noticed, and once you got into town the traffic control was great. Yes, my bus got lost too, which had us nervous; but fortunately we were early enough that it didn't matter. I will agree on the comments/complaints about the start and finish areas; they do need work. Also, double the porta-johns at the aid stations; I didn't want to sacrifice time and wait either. Finally I caved in at mile 25 when I saw one that wasn't occupied. Great race overall - just needs some tweaking. I plan on returning in 2012 to make it my Boston Qualifier! | |
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R. C. from Provo, Utah
(10/10/2010)
"Favorite Marathon & Easy Boston Qualifier" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Utah Valley Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have no idea what people are complaining about. I felt this was a very organized race that in a few years has grown up to be a very well run race. Each year there are like 5 times as many runners as the year before. It can't be that bad if it keeps growing as fast as it does. The course is extremely fast, and this is I think the only marathon in the country with a Boston Qualifier rewards program. | |
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R. P. from SLC,UT
(6/27/2010)
"Fast course; shaky organization" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Pros: fast, downhill course. Caveat: we got lucky with the drizzly, cool weather. This could have easily been 20 degrees warmer. Cons: overcrowded, disorganized start (porta-potties in the starting corral?). Terrible post-race area: food was pizza and french fries. They were out of chocolate milk; all of it was given to half -marathoners. No shirts, but waiting in line for shirts after a marathon is not great idea. Cheap, generic medal. | |
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S. A. from Idaho
(6/24/2010)
"Great Marathon and Race Course" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This marathon overall provided a wonderful experience. The following are intended to be comments and suggestions (not criticisms) for future participants and the race directors. Course: Beautiful course. Yes, I heard the traffic in the canyon between miles 6 and 19, but it did not take away from the experience. I also very much enjoyed the design of the last 6-7 miles straight down N. University. Course Suggestions: 1) Create a new starting point for the race. It has now grown to be too large to start at this specific place; getting the buses there in time is tough and it will only be harder in 2011. 2) Do not change the finish location at Provo Towne Centre Mall. Obviously it is not as scenic as finishing at a park. However, it is very rare at marathons/ultras to have the luxury to be able to drive a car and park it early in the morning and only walk about two minutes to catch a bus and then walk across a parking lot for only another few minutes after finishing to get to your car (as opposed to public transportation or race shuttles). There is nowhere else in Provo to be able to manage this many cars/people. Volunteers/Spectators: Not many spectators between miles 1-19 until leaving the canyon. The ones on N. Unversity were very supportive. A big thank you to the volunteers. They stood in the rain and wind for hours and completely supported the race participants with dedication and a good attitude. All of the aid stations were well staffed. I am very grateful. Volunteer Suggestion: 1) Be prepared with extra staff/fluids for a hotter day in 2011 and increased need/demand for fluids compared to 2010. This will almost certainly happen. Organization: The race grew between 2009 and 2010 at a pace that even surprised the race directors. They were caught off-guard a little bit and this led to a few "growing pains," which they had not completely predicted. However, this is to be expected. Overall, the marathon was well organized. Organization Suggestions: 1) Mandate that everyone takes a bus to the starting line. No private cars. The race is too big for private cars with one or two participants in them. This held up the buses and contributed to runners starting late. 2) Start the race on time - no matter what. A late start has implications on hotel check-out later on, course closure times, police, etc. 3) Porta-potties: Move them away from the starting line. It caused a true obstacle at the start. Also, have more than one at each aid station. 4) Consider changing the date to the first weekend of June (see average temperature data by National Weather Service). 5) T-shirt: Only 500 made it to the race in time. This meant most finishers did not receive one on June 12th. The t-shirt is important for many of us. It was paid for with the entry fee (i.e. nowhere does the word "finisher" appear on the shirt). Pass it out at packet pick-up - not at the finish line. It is not welcome to stand in a line for this during recovery time after finishing. Summary: I have been lucky enough to run marathons and ultra-marathons on three different continents in the world. This is a great race. The race organizers took no salary for all of their time. They are extremely honest people with high integrity and they support a wonderful cause. They will no doubt learn from everyone's suggestions. They and the volunteers deserve a huge thank you for a great job. This race will be sold out in 2011. | |
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D. C. from Idaho
(6/19/2010)
"Incredible Scenery" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Utah Valley Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race has some of the best scenery in the world for a marathon. There were pastures with horses and cows, lakes, waterfalls (many of them if you looked closely), rivers, streams, large snow-capped mountains, green forests, and Provo City landmarks at the end. There are some hills but they aren't too bad when running my pace. There's enough downhill to help you go faster, but it's not so severe that it beats you up. I agree that the organization could have been better, but overall, it was pretty good. Just move the porta-potties at the start and redesign the finish area, and the whiners will have nothing more to complain about. Note: This is a marathon, not a vacation at a five-star resort - you are supposed to suffer a bit (and not getting a shirt at the finish is really suffering, right?); that adds texture to running and makes it memorable! And, I finished at 4:15 and got a shirt (fat boy size) no problem. The volunteers deserve a special thanks for helping out in less-than-ideal weather. They were freezing in the rain, cold, and wind, but kept encouraging us on. They were terrific. Most of this course is rural without good spectating locations. Most of the spectators are in the last 10K, when you leave Provo Canyon. However, the spectacular scenery more than makes up for lack of spectators. This marathon has scenery so unusual that I'll bet they have to limit the number of runners in few years. It will become very popular. | |
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N. R. from Provo, UT
(6/16/2010)
"Loved my first marathon" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I chose Utah Valley as a second choice when I didn't get into the Ogden Marathon, but I am SO GLAD that I did. I was hesitant to choose this race because I am a resident of Provo, UT and I didn't want to have to race where I train all of the time; but running on the main highway in Provo Canyon really was a unique and breathtaking experience - plus, it was neat to see familiar faces in the hometown crowd. This was my first marathon, and the entire race was a memorable experience. The course was very green and scenic, with the dramatic mountains in the canyon. Great scenery, fans, and aid stations. The one thing I didn't like was that the finish line was a little congested. They were passing out t-shirts right when you were finishing and the lines at the tables were blocking people from getting to the recovery area. Besides that, I had a wonderful first-marathon experience. | |
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S. K. from SLC
(6/16/2010)
"Great Race, But Needs Better Organization" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Fun, fast, scenic course down Provo Canyon, ending at the Provo Mall. Great route despite the downpour. Hills weren't that bad, but there were a lot more of them than I expected. Few problems: the bus got lost on the way to the race so I got to the start late. The POPs at the race line were right by the start line, so it was very congested. Also, there was no t-shirt at the end. | |
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D. C. from Salt Lake City, UT
(6/14/2010)
"Horrible start and worse finish area" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Utah Valley Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 After a bad start (delayed 15+ minutes in rain without any announcements), I have never seen a worse finish area (no drinks, no shirts, no food, mass of confusion at under 4 hours after the start, so most were affected). Too bad, because the race course is good and there is potential for this to be a very good race. Obviously the organizers had no clue (despite the website saying the organizers are experienced marathoners). I have run 74 marathons and this was the worst finish experience. Two days later there is still no explanation on the website for how to get the shirts. |
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