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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 51 to 61]
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H. T. from Provo, UT
(6/14/2010)
"Great Course" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I really enjoyed the course of this race. Not too steep of a downhill, and a nice, straight shot at the end that didn't play any mind games. You knew exactly where you were the whole time and where you had to go. Great organization and nice buses to ride up in. For a second-year marathon, I was impressed at how well done it was. I would definitely run this race again - it was beautiful in the canyon! | |
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F. H. from Salt Lake city
(6/14/2010)
"Humans need bathrooms" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Utah Valley Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 There were many positive things about this course, and I loved the new course design with how fast it was. A race director certainly can't do anything about the weather. We were amused to watch the truck with the valuable bags drive away with the door open as they were falling out, and our "boy in blue" speeding off to the rescue. I just have one thing I have to comment about though. With a larger crowd, there has got to be more than one bathroom at the aid stations along the course. There is nothing more discouraging than to watch a time goal bleed away while standing in line waiting behind the guy in front of you who is also standing in line for the ONE bathroom! It's not too pleasant to see the other guys "standing" behind the bathroom instead of waiting for their turn either. This has been a constant problem at the Deseret News Marathon, but if the Utah Valley Marathon is going to make a name for itself as the most highly promoted marathon I have ever seen, issues like this have got to be solved. I plan to do this one next year, but I certainly hope the race director will read this comment and fix this glaring problem! | |
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J. H. from West Jordan, UT
(6/14/2010)
"Fantastic New Course!!!" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Utah Valley Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This new course is absolutely gorgeous and much faster than the previous course. If you like scenic, downhill courses like Ogden and St. George, you'll love this course. I predict that this race will soon become a favorite race in Utah. I will definitely be back! | |
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Ed Rusnak from Tucson,Az
(6/14/2010)
"Beautiful marathon, awesome experience" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The scenery just doesn't get better. It rained for about the first 10 miles, but given the surroundings I didn't care about the rain. Great support and volunteers at the aid stations. Awesome food at the finish line (pizza, fries, fresh fruit, etc.). The massage at the end really helped as well. This was only my third marathon but the first time I didn't want it to end. I really enjoyed the entire experience. Well done! Thank you! See you next year! | |
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T. M. from California, USA
(6/13/2010)
"Well Organized; Tougher Course than Expected" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I was looking for a fast course to post a PR and allow enough time to recover and prepare for a target fall marathon. I did manage to post a 7-minute PR, but the course turned out to be no cupcake. There was intermittent rain for most of the first 2 hours of the race, but that wasn't what made this course tough. The high altitude made my marathon pace seem much harder than at sea level where I live and train. Most of the first 20 miles of the course were run on a highway with some steep downhills that do a number on your legs. There are also a couple of fairly long uphill stretches that are taxing as well. It was a bit unnerving having traffic whizzing by in the next lane separated only by traffic cones. There wasn't much crowd support until the last few miles in the City of Provo. My biggest beef with the course is about the last 800 meters and finish in the mall parking lot where it was a bit confusing on which direction to turn. I even had to dodge a car that had taken a wrong turn onto the course while I'm trying to sprint to the finish line. Other than that, the race was very well organized for being a smaller marathon. The shuttles to the start were efficient. The aid stations were excellent with water and carb drink at every one, and some with gels and food. Every mile was clearly marked. The entry fee of $60 was a good value. At the finish it was nice to get an attractive, finisher's, long-sleeve, technical shirt that said, "Boston Marathon Qualifier 2010." The awards ceremony was unique, having an Olympic-style podium for overall, masters and age group winners. There were cash awards for overall and masters divisions and plaques for age group winners going 5 deep. Pros: value, shuttle service to start, aid stations, technical shirt, awards ceremony. Cons: no room to warm-up at the start, proximity of traffic on 189, sparse crowd support first 20 miles, poorly marked final 800 meters. Overall: a positive marathon experience I would recommend; just don't underestimate the challenge of the course/altitude. | |
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S. P. from Houston, TX
(6/13/2010)
"Well organized and a beautiful course" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was the third time I have participated in a smaller race. By far, this was the most well organized of them all. The number of volunteers is one of the reasons I have such a good impression. They had enough people to get things done quickly and efficiently. I guess the course was different from last year because I liked the final few miles down University; it offered a nice finishing route with plenty of spots for fans to cheer. Of course, the route down through Provo Canyon is very scenic, but there are only limited spots for spectator viewing. It is an effort to get up there and cheer, though, so there weren't a lot of spectators until you got out of the canyon. The trade off, however, is that the course through the canyon is one of the most beautiful you will ever run. While it is a downhill course for the most part, do not be lulled into a belief that there is no challenge. There are several serious long grades to run. They are not excessively steep, but enough so that you are working hard to get up them. The course is not a pushover. The only glitch they had is that the finisher shirts apparently didn't make it from the vendor on time so they will be available later in the week or mailed to those of us from out of town. They did have available a very nice, long-sleeve tech shirt if you ran a BQ time, which certainly makes up for not getting the race shirt right then and there. | |
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T. D. from Las Vegas, NV
(5/17/2010)
"Provo Canyon is beautiful" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This race provides a rare opportunity to run Provo Canyon. It is so beautiful. The canyon walls tower above you at some points. It's really a cool feeling. Great support from volunteers. Well organized. I will definitely run this again. | |
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R. C. from Utah
(11/11/2009)
"Great Race, Small Price" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This race had one of the greatest courses last year, and the new course maps indicate an even faster, more scenic route. I highly recommend this marathon. You get the value of a $100 marathon, but it is only $60. I actually like this marathon more than some others that cost over $100. The course is fast, but it doesn't beat you up like some other marathons do. | |
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Mogman Runneth from Salt Lake City, Utah
(6/30/2009)
"half good/half not so good" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my second marathon. It featured a really scenic first chunk (about 11 miles) through Provo Canyon, but then the race takes you through office parks, tailor parks, and behind a strip mall's docking station (random). The spectators were nice and the supplies plentiful. They should really consider routing the race through historic Provo, and ending near one of the many historical sites. This race ends at a mall, in front of Wingers, of all places. | |
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T. S. from Seattle, Washington
(6/29/2009)
"Will undoubtly get bigger." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Utah Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This was my 25th marathon, and 20th state. Most marathons are fairly nondescript - a start line, a course, and a finish line. This is one of those marathons that has an unfair advantage of being run in a unique setting that few others can compare with. With the exception of a few trail marathons or ultras, the first 10 miles of the UVM include some of the most beautiful scenery you will encounter in all of road marathoning. I suspect it may also be amongst the fastest first 10 miles of any marathon course, as you basically get "dumped" out of the valley and into the town of Provo. My only note of exception to a really well run event is something that I find smaller marathons seem to struggle with lately - correct, visible and present mile markers. Some markers I found, but others I did not. Some were way-off (Mile 19), so I did not trust some of the subsequent ones. The course once out of the Valley does have some really tight turns and varying terrain under roads and over bridges - keeps things interesting, or tricky depending on your likes. The finisher shirt and medal are remarkably nice considering the small size of this marathon, if that type of thing is important to you. I like this marathon, and there is real potential to PR on this course if you train-up the downhill muscles and run smart. There was one problem I found that had nothing to do with the race organization. There seemed to be an excessive number of people outside of this marathon jumping into the race and extensively "pacing" fellow runners. I know that this is not the Olympic trials, and it's all about fun, but it does offer an unfair advantage to those of us who have no one to pace us through the tough miles and offer other extensive aid. Whatever the official course support offers is all that should be adhered to. I really do not want to have to run around "pacers" or have them "pace" someone by me in the latter stages of the race. It's fun to have a social run with friends and family as I often do, but I restrict that to my training runs. I run the official race solo and un-aided to test myself against the distance, the course and my fellow competitors, yielding to them the respect they deserve. |
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