Deseret News Marathon
Salt Lake City, UT
- Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
First run in 1970, the Deseret News Marathon is the oldest road race in Utah and the 4th oldest marathon west of the continental divide. The marathon follows the path the Utah pioneers traveled when they first entered the valley. This event is truly a part of Utah’s heritage! The … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jul 24):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 93 | 100 | 99 | 90 | 98 |
| L (°F) | 71 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 70 |
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Fantastic course down the canyon in SLC.
The course was better than the SLC marathon. The swag was great. The finish line area was well organized and plenty of options available the runners . Overall one of … MORE
The course was better than the SLC marathon. The swag was great. The finish line area was well organized and plenty of options available the runners . Overall one of the events I have ever participated in
It's a good experience
I wasn't prepared for how steep parts (especially the first two miles) of the course would be. And there is an uphill portion from about miles 5-7. I thought the … MORE
I wasn’t prepared for how steep parts (especially the first two miles) of the course would be. And there is an uphill portion from about miles 5-7. I thought the race was more difficult than advertised due to the steep hills. But this is a really established (oldest in Utah) and really well produced race. If you are looking for a big downhill race in the summer, it’s pretty good. But it’s not easy.
Fun race, shirt boring
Getting to start of 5k was a challenge as many streets closed as a major parade was going to start after the races. I jogged a mile to reach start … MORE
Getting to start of 5k was a challenge as many streets closed as a major parade was going to start after the races. I jogged a mile to reach start in time due to traffic. I am an out of towner so the locals may know better than I of course. The trade off were large crowds second half of race. Shirt only says marathon and not the other 3 distances being contested.
mostly downhill so good for setting PR.
Good mix of mountain terrain (first 7 miles) all downhill and city views back 6 miles (mixture of incline and flat). I wasn't climatized to a long stretch downhill and … MORE
Good mix of mountain terrain (first 7 miles) all downhill and city views back 6 miles (mixture of incline and flat). I wasn’t climatized to a long stretch downhill and went way faster pace than normal and didn’t realize the toll it would take on my shins and knees so struggled with the mile incline at mile 7 and rest of race.
The view from the back of the pack
Nice run, well organized. Early start with buses staged for dropoff at the University of Utah stadium. Quality post-race party with transportation back to the stadium. MORE
Nice run, well organized. Early start with buses staged for dropoff at the University of Utah stadium. Quality post-race party with transportation back to the stadium.
Good race, but PR not guaranteed
Race cons: Logistics! You have to be up around 2/230am for this race to catch the bus up to the start. We got to the start an hour before the … MORE
Race cons:
Logistics! You have to be up around 2/230am for this race to catch the bus up to the start. We got to the start an hour before the start time, which wasn’t bad and the weather was nice (it’s good to bring a sweater while hanging out). After the race though, you need to take a bus to get back to your car. Why can’t the buses pick us up from somewhere near the finish line to make this part easier??
Little to none crowd support! For the first while, like up until mile 16, there aren’t any crowds cheering you on. Then after mile 16, it goes back to little to none. The last mile there are more crowds due to the parade so that was nice. I don’t mind races without a crowd, but it does help to have people there.
More hills than you might think! This course is majority downhill (which will cause your thighs to be more sore than ever! At least it did for me) but from about mile 6 till 8 if I remember right, there are two decent hills. After that it’s mostly downhill, but then mile 16ish-21ish there are more hills. They aren’t steep, but at that point in the race, it doesn’t need to be steep to be hard! I should have studied the elevation course more because I was not mentally prepared for these later hills and it messed me up.
Race Pros:
Pretty course! The majority of this course is running through the canyon and it’s beautiful!
It’s gonna be hot, but not as bad as you might think! You should be prepared for the heat, however, the first couple hours are really nice with the sun not fully up yet, and the canyons breeze. Make sure your hydrating though because near the end, it’ll be sunny and hot.
Downhill! Yes, there are some hills, but it’s mostly downhill which helps you hit those paces. Don’t get too carried away though, because as I said, there are hills you want to be ready for.
Fun finish line and swag! Nice medals (not amazing, but nice), lots of photo ops, photos from the race are posted online for free, a variety of snacks at the finish. Great volunteers as well, both at the finish and at the aid stations.
Overall, would I run this race again? I don’t think so, mainly due to that 2am wake up! But who knows, maybe I’ll come back for redemption because I really fell apart around mile 19 and missed my time goal which I was very disappointed by.
It was a good race, and who knows, maybe as time passes, I’ll decide the early wake up isn’t a big deal after all and sign up again.
Beautiful first half or so…. Then hwy
Post COVID race…. The expo was basically, pick up for shirt and bib. No vendors, just flyers and a protein bar in the bag. Catching the bus at 3:30, not … MORE
Post COVID race….
The expo was basically, pick up for shirt and bib. No vendors, just flyers and a protein bar in the bag.
Catching the bus at 3:30, not so bad (we’ve all done this before). Sitting at the top of Big Mountain for 90 minutes is a bit frustrating.
It’s dark at the start, dawn within the first 20 minutes (full moon day of my race was helpful). Steady decline and winding road well into the fifth mile. Yes, beautiful running out of the mountain. Thru some neighborhoods and then mostly highway running. Not all intersections felt safe but most were ok. No crowd support or spectators, so if you like or need this you’ll not find it here! For being over a 50 year race you’d think the community would be more welcoming… quite the opposite as we felt like we were a nuisance.
Because of my poor personal performance, I did not have the opportunity to run with the parade which I think could have been very cool.
I was almost hit by a car (not close) but because of the commotion of that and the police officer I almost missed a turn.
Lastly; there are no other timing mats in the course except for the start and finish. After looking at the map, my friend and I believe anyone familiar with the city and details of the course, could easily cut 3-4 miles off the marathon. We are
Confident at least one person did just that! They’ve only cheated themselves but this could be avoided.
A Fun Experience on a Exciting Course
The aid stations were fine and the volunteers interacted with me to stay hydrated. The course was amazing and it went throughout many areas of the University of Utah and … MORE
The aid stations were fine and the volunteers interacted with me to stay hydrated. The course was amazing and it went throughout many areas of the University of Utah and also Salt Lake City. The race could be improved with more motivation Gatorade near the porto potties, although the volunteers were helpful. The most unique aspect of the race was the interaction with the volunteers and personal directing the course because my performance improved with my interactions.
beautiful course
Bussed to the start where you begin just as the sun rises. It's about 40 degrees colder at the start than the finish so be prepared. It drops over 1900 … MORE
Bussed to the start where you begin just as the sun rises. It’s about 40 degrees colder at the start than the finish so be prepared. It drops over 1900 ft in the beginning of the race so be prepared for serious down hill. Finishes in the city in the blazing dry heat.
Hot July Marathon
Race starts in the mountains and ends downtown. If you a fast enough you can run the parade route. I did not train properly for this race, between hitting the … MORE
Race starts in the mountains and ends downtown. If you a fast enough you can run the parade route. I did not train properly for this race, between hitting the wall and the heat in July this was my worse marathon time. I’m eventually going to run this again to redeem myself.
Join the parade and run downhill
The first thing to note is that this race is raced on Pioneer's Day, which is always July 24th. So this year (2018) the race was held on a Tuesday. … MORE
The first thing to note is that this race is raced on Pioneer’s Day, which is always July 24th. So this year (2018) the race was held on a Tuesday.
Pre-race:
-Small expo, but nice volunteers
-Wasn’t easy to find a pasta dinner the night before (I actually skipped pasta for this race).
Race day:
-Early morning meet up for buses to the start (~4am).
-You wait at the start for a bit of time (one hour or more) so be prepared: something to sit on, extra layer (as it is a bit chiller), and if you have something with a light it helps (it was VERY dark and the buses were driving through the crowd in the pitch dark–it’s amazing there were no problems!)
-The course is mostly downhill and beautiful
-Roughly 1 mile is actually on the parade route. People are lined up on both sides of the street for the parade. For the back of the packers (like me) the crowds were a little bored by the time I came by! There were a few floats that went by–literally right next to me.
-Roads are open, but traffic wasn’t heavy so it wasn’t bad.
Excellent race all around
-21 mile and fairly steep descent to start the run -Don't be fooled into thinking this is a guaranteed PR, it is a tough run -Can be hot, but aid … MORE
-21 mile and fairly steep descent to start the run
-Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a guaranteed PR, it is a tough run
-Can be hot, but aid stations were frequent and well stocked
-A lot of spectators present at the end of the run as it coincides with the Pioneer Day celebration