Colin Gill's Staging Area

Great event!! The course is fast, but not as fast as I thought going into it. It is essentially entirely downhill, with an exception of a few hills at the beginning. The hills at the beginning are not super steep, but long enough to throw a wrench in your plans for a pace you can only maintain running downhill. However, once I got over how poorly I underestimated the hills, I really enjoyed the course. Up and down was a lot of fun, and was a break break from the constant downhill only marathons in the state.

The race was a little chilly until exiting the canyon (next year will be a few months earlier so weather should be perfect), but each participant was given hat and gloves before the race.

Race directors did an exceptional job, course was well marked, volunteers were plentiful and amazing. Lots of motivational cheering at each aid station. Swag bags had lots of good coupons to local Beaver shops, and had lots of fun little giveaways from sponsors. Finish line was great, massages available and plenty of good post race food and music.

I stayed up at Eagle Point Ski Resort because my family was a little worried about riding the bus up to the start line and so that I could “sleep in” a little more. It was perfect, and allowed us to drive the course backwards the day before. I ran to the startline which was about a mile from my accommodation at the ski resort. It worked perfectly.