Where Beauty Meets Determination! You need to experience Salt Lake City to believe it. The Salt Lake City Marathon is challenging, yet beautiful. It’s what you make it and the team at High Altitude Special Events Management are here to support your pursuit towards greatness. We’re showing you the way. …
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Where Beauty Meets Determination! You need to experience Salt Lake City to believe it. The Salt Lake City Marathon is challenging, yet beautiful. It’s what you make it and the team at High Altitude Special Events Management are here to support your pursuit towards greatness. We’re showing you the way. Now show us your determination!
Voted “Best Running Event” in Utah for 2017 and 2019, the Salt Lake City Marathon is the kind of event you need to see to believe. Starting at the Olympic Legacy Bridge, this gorgeous race takes you past the towering Wasatch Mountains, through some of the most iconic parts of the city, before it culminates at the finish line in the heart of downtown. Then, it’s time to reflect on what you just accomplished and enjoy the after party with friends and family. There is something for everyone – Full and Half Marathons, 10K, 5K, Bike Tour, 10K Skate and a 1K Kid’s Marathon! Beautiful? Yes. Challenging? Absolutely. And being Beautifully Challenging is what makes the Salt Lake City Marathon a race you need to see—and run—for yourself.
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Well Run Event
Each distance had a different race start location which helped with the managing the crowd. I arrived 45 minutes early which helped with parking. The start line had plenty of … MORE
Each distance had a different race start location which helped with the managing the crowd. I arrived 45 minutes early which helped with parking. The start line had plenty of potties. Along the route for the 10K, there were plenty of water/gatorade and potty locations. Support in the neighborhood for the 10K was scarce but still great.
Run SLC, it's worth it!
Salt lake residents are very supportive of the runners in this race every neighborhood has residents out cheering the runners on. Lots and lots of aid stations. Signage on course … MORE
Salt lake residents are very supportive of the runners in this race every neighborhood has residents out cheering the runners on. Lots and lots of aid stations. Signage on course was great, can’t make a wrong turn. Traffic control was top notch. Normally I do not like running through neighborhoods but the architecture was so diverse with a mixture of old and new so I enjoyed the sites.
Everyone should run this race at least once.
Ultimate course scenery
Ran this on an anniversary year with friends and we all loved it. Immediately one of my top 3 all time favorite races. Great expo, swag, lots of spectators. You … MORE
Ran this on an anniversary year with friends and we all loved it. Immediately one of my top 3 all time favorite races. Great expo, swag, lots of spectators. You have to take the trolley to the race start but everything was very smoothly organized and communicated. SPECTACULAR course views: includes mountains, university campus, downtown, and some more eclectic neighborhoods.
Cool and Beautiful
This was my second half marathon, and a considerably smaller event than my first. And this made it a vastly more enjoyable event - easier to maintain pace, over take … MORE
This was my second half marathon, and a considerably smaller event than my first. And this made it a vastly more enjoyable event – easier to maintain pace, over take people, etc.
Organization: The event was really very well organized. Suitable amount of communication and easy to follow instructions. The only small amount of confusion was the Trax map and timetable as the map is a little old and doesn’t show all the stops. But easily solved with google!
Packet pickup was easy and quick. Slightly frustrating to be “forced” through the expo, vs just picking up the bib and swag. But not a big deal.
Race Day: Very easy to get to the start thanks for the free Trax access. Lots of toilets at the start – top marks! The race was a wave start, which was excellent and helped to space everyone out. The course undulates before dropping down to the city. Very well marked course, but do be aware of the number of potholes. Crowd support was less than my previous race, but I would have to say this was nicer (vs lots of screaming) – but that’s a personal preference.
Frequent water stations and people were really good about putting their trash in the provided bins vs scattering it all across the road. I carry my own water, so I can’t comment how well the stations were stocked.
Well organized finished – easy to find your friends. The runners get routed through the food alley to collect items and then reunite with friends.
It was cool and overcast on race day – but heh, it didn’t rain and it’s April, so not unexpected temperatures.
Beautiful Course
Beautiful course with the Rockies in the distance as you run through the city.You start out running up a hill and I was gasping when I reached the stop from … MORE
Beautiful course with the Rockies in the distance as you run through the city.You start out running up a hill and I was gasping when I reached the stop from the altitude. After mile 2 or 3, it is about 4 miles downhill which made my quads sore. There were plenty of aid stations with water, Gator Ade and maybe 3 or 4 Gu stops. It should be noted the Gator Ade was poured into cups from Gator Ade bottles, not a mix, so it was the correct strength!
The expo was a smaller than I expected, but had all of the usual things you would expect. One thing that was different was the IV drip vendor was giving free B-12 injections. Also, the expo is only one day, so it can be crowded.
The course was well marked and had plenty of volunteers. One problem was the condition of the roads in numerous areas with cracks and pot holes.
The race medal and shirt were very nice.
One of the best things about the event was the logistics in Salt Lake City. Getting from the airport to downtown was easy on the Trax train and only $2.50! (($1.25 for us senior citizens) The Trax train was also free for most of the downtown area, so there is no need to rent a car. Salt Lake City is very walkable and had numerous restaurants! If you plan to make it a weekend, keep in mind that many places are closed on Sunday. Best restaurant was the Cooper Onion!
I very much enjoyed this destination race to check Utah off my list and highly recommend it.
Rollers and Altitude
Spectacular views of the mountains and the university. City is very clean and the course was as depicted but the hills and altitude was a bit much for this low … MORE
Spectacular views of the mountains and the university. City is very clean and the course was as depicted but the hills and altitude was a bit much for this low mileage guy. A race definitely worth doing but not a PR course.
Lovin the Hills!
Expo is one of the best since COViD, with lots of giveaways. The public transportation getting to the marathon was very efficient, and easy to navigate. There were tons of … MORE
Expo is one of the best since COViD, with lots of giveaways. The public transportation getting to the marathon was very efficient, and easy to navigate. There were tons of bathrooms at the start and all throughout the course. The aid stations were plentiful, volunteers and Traffic control were awesome. A couple rolling hills at the start, and a fun down hill about mile 3, on the marathon course whenever heading east (towards the mountains) plan on up hill. Main hills at approximately 10, 15 and 20. The finish was great with bands, beer/food and free engraving (even to the back of the pack).
Great support, great race
This race was amazing, despite the cold, hills, rain, snow, and hail! The people of SLC still turned out to cheer us on and were an amazing support. The expo … MORE
This race was amazing, despite the cold, hills, rain, snow, and hail! The people of SLC still turned out to cheer us on and were an amazing support. The expo was great and post race there was free medal engraving, which I’ve never seen! They were well prepared with plenty of portapotties at start and heaters at finish. Only wish is that beer was available for those of us that finished around 9- they didn’t start serving until 10ish and it was way too cold to wait. Will do again!
I've seen snow, I've seen rain
For those of us who missed the "fun" of running Boston 2018, I present to you the 2022 Salt Lake City Marathon! Rain while we were waiting before the race … MORE
For those of us who missed the “fun” of running Boston 2018, I present to you the 2022 Salt Lake City Marathon! Rain while we were waiting before the race transitioned to snow just in time for the gun to go off! But no, we couldn’t stick with snow, we had to transition to rain and even a bit of hail (or frozen ice pellets, I’m not a meteorologist, so it was something like that) off and on throughout the race. With that being said, the race organizers cannot control the weather, it is just important to realize that spring weather in the Rocky Mountain region really is a crapshoot – so if you are considering this race, you have to know that weather could be a factor.
So yes, the weather wasn’t ideal, how was the event?
Expo – easy to pick up the bib and packet, but unremarkable otherwise. Pretty small, looked like there was some decent stuff from the local running store (gear and nutrition), but not much else.
Getting to the start line – free rides on the public train system (called Trax) the day of the race, and it worked out quite well. There was a station that was within a 1/2 mile from the start line, which works out great for those of us who were staying downtown.
The race – there were corrals, but they weren’t really enforced too much. I just meandered into my corral without being checked, but they were self-assigned anyway so it didn’t matter too much. We started in waves, and maybe because everyone around me was honest with their time placement we were able to start at a pace that felt right. I didn’t have to weave in and out of runners who were up way in front of where they should be, so that’s a big plus in my book!
Even without the advertised great scenery (all the mountains were obscured by clouds), I actually enjoyed the course quite a lot. It was not easy, but not overly hard either. There were some good sizable downhills paired with some good uphills, but after the first few miles it transitioned to a rolling course. Since the race was mostly in the city and close by suburbs / neighborhoods, we did get a nice tour of a lot of the Salt Lake City area. Course support was top-notch, even with the poor weather the volunteers were upbeat and cheerful, and there were plenty of aid stations (maybe averaged out to one about every two miles). Crowd support was pretty light. Not sure if that was due to the poor weather, but if crowds are your thing SLC *may* not be what you want in a race.
After the race – the finish was well organized, we got our medals, a bottle of water, and a drink of gatorade if we wanted it. The runners-only area of the finish actually wasn’t very large, so really once you collect those items, you move on out to the after-party area. Included on your bib was a ticket for food and a beer – kind of standard fare these days, but I ALWAYS enjoy the after race beer. I’ve had better after race events, but it was nice.
Swag – the medal was very nice, happy to add that to my medals hanger. The shirt was not customized to your race, so everyone from the 5k to the marathon got the same cotton-blend shirt. Honestly, as someone who has done a fair amount of races – these two items are all I really want for a race.
Overall, I thought the SLC Marathon was a great event, even with the less than ideal weather. Once it cleared up later in the day I was able to see how beautiful the city was, I can imagine the course would be even nicer on a sunny day! The race was well-organized, communication was just about perfect (some races send TOO many messages), and support was everything we needed. I felt welcome to the race and definitely am glad that I chose SLC as my Utah race.
Fun Race
I really enjoyed the SLC marathon. Fun course, great spectators, wonderful aid stations, cool medal. The finish line festival didn't have as much going on as I thought it would, … MORE
I really enjoyed the SLC marathon. Fun course, great spectators, wonderful aid stations, cool medal. The finish line festival didn’t have as much going on as I thought it would, and the expo was small. But I care more about the race itself-and I have no complains with that part! If you’re training at sea level, don’t expect a PR with this race. Read my full race recap here! https://262.run/2019/04/17/salt-lake-city-marathon-april-2019/
Super Race
This race was a training run for me but was SO much fun. I usually am by myself and I had my very good friend with me - at my … MORE
This race was a training run for me but was SO much fun. I usually am by myself and I had my very good friend with me – at my pace and even met a couple of fun ladies along the route. Scenery is typical neighborhood, but Salt Lake always had some really great people. The pre-race and post-race were excellent. Lots of community support and sponsorship. I loved our shirts. Expo was small but was going along with FitCon which was cool. Only difficulty is the elevation if you are not use to it. Weather was a little chilly in the morning but warmed up and was really nice. My friend and I think we will make this one an annual tradition. Maybe do the half next year.
Most Gorgeous Views
Beautiful race, loved every minute. Views were gorgeous and I cried a little at how beautiful it all was. The post race snacks were great and it was just an … MORE
Beautiful race, loved every minute. Views were gorgeous and I cried a little at how beautiful it all was. The post race snacks were great and it was just an all around great experience. Running through country scenery and downtown all in one go.
Fantastic runner support!
Fantastic runner support! Plenty of Porta-potties!!! (You know how important that is, and it is so rare.) I never had to wait in line for a porta-potty before the race, … MORE
Fantastic runner support! Plenty of Porta-potties!!! (You know how important that is, and it is so rare.) I never had to wait in line for a porta-potty before the race, during the race or after the race. The aid stations were frequent and well-stocked (Chocolate and Salted Carmel GU! and Berry). Fantastic course, hilly, but not too challenging with beautiful and unique neighborhoods, a canyon full of trees in full bloom, all the classic SLC sites like the capitol building, the University, the temple, downtown, etc. Public transportation was a piece of cake- it dropped you off right at the start and you could pick it up right at the finish and it was free all day. Never had to wait more than 5 mins for a light rail train. Such a smooth and impressively run race, I’ve already signed up to run it again next year!
You Never Forget Your First
This was my first full marathon, and it was a memorable experience. Everything about it went really smoothly. The expo was awesome, and the starting line was well organized and … MORE
This was my first full marathon, and it was a memorable experience. Everything about it went really smoothly. The expo was awesome, and the starting line was well organized and comfortable. Running through the streets of Salt Lake City was great, and the crowd support was pretty good for a race of this size. I especially liked seeing the young spectators—kids with card tables giving out water to whoever wanted it, little ones getting “low fives” from everyone who passed. The finish line experience was very well run. The course itself can be a challenge, with its ups and downs. Overall, though this was a great experience both times I ran it.
Great way to see Salt Lake City!
This was my first time to Salt Lake City and the race did not disappoint. If you stay downtown, logistics are a piece of cake with the free train ride … MORE
This was my first time to Salt Lake City and the race did not disappoint. If you stay downtown, logistics are a piece of cake with the free train ride to the start offered with entry. The course showcased the city well with a mix of rural mountain areas, city parks, popular neighborhoods, and downtown streets. It is a slightly hilly course with some uphills and downhills to break things up. The finish line area was extremely well organized with lots of variety in things to do, see, and eat. I especially enjoyed getting a free post-race massage! With race day taking place in April, the weather could be anything, so be prepared (it was COLD this year).
Hello, world! Welcome to Salt Lake!
The Salt Lake Half Marathon course is truly beautiful. It begins at the University of Utah, climbs into the Avenues where it runs through some historic neighborhoods and past an … MORE
The Salt Lake Half Marathon course is truly beautiful. It begins at the University of Utah, climbs into the Avenues where it runs through some historic neighborhoods and past an old cemetery, then descends through Memory Grove and into the city. It runs up South Temple to 9th East, up 8th South to 11th east and into the Sugarhouse area. At 21st South the marathon runners turn east; the half runners go west to 6th east, then through Liberty Park, then down to 2nd east with the finish line at Library Square. If you’re not familiar with Salt Lake City, you’ll have to trust me that this is a really nice tour of the city. I think they might take foreign tour buses along part of this route.
There are two fairly major hill climbs in the middle of the race, but the majority of the race was either rolling hills or fairly flat with a downhill slope.
There were aid stations every two miles with water and Gatorade. The finish line was both runner- and family-friendly. Beware of the lines to visit Captain America and the Disney Princesses on the way to the beer tent.
The best way to get to the start line is to use the light rail (Trax). Your race bib gets you a free ride on the train, and then you don’t have to deal with the limited parking.
The race has become large enough that the start line is now divided into corrals, but the corrals aren’t specifically called to start, and it appeared to me that being in your assigned corral was merely a suggestion. Since the race is chip timed the biggest issue with starting at the back of the pack is picking your way through the slower runners.
The weather in April is always a crap shoot. We were prepared for rain, but the sun decided to surprise us. There was actually more wind after the race than during the race – but that’s just this year.
A confession: Salt Lake City is my home town, and I’m proud to call the Salt Lake City Marathon my hometown race. See you next year in SLC!