REVEL Big Cottonwood
Salt Lake City, UT
- Marathon, Half Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
This incredibly fast and remarkably beautiful road race takes runners from the forests and canyons of the Wasatch Mountains to the foothills of Salt Lake City, Utah. Featuring a speedy downhill slope and spectacular scenery, this race will be sure to help you set your PR and finally hit that … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 12):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 77 | 71 | 83 | 90 | 88 |
| L (°F) | 50 | 57 | 61 | 59 | 62 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Well organized and populated
I'm suprised by the thousands of people who ran this race. You freeze at the start of the race. It helps that they have space blankets available for use. They … MORE
I’m suprised by the thousands of people who ran this race.
You freeze at the start of the race. It helps that they have space blankets available for use.
They have more than poweraid and water at one of the aid stations.
I like how they have a lot of porra potties. You don’t even have to wait in line if you are one of the first bus.
There is a lot of race support.
There is a person that rides around on a motorized scooter that checks in on everyone.
The volunteers are super helpful. I liked how they picked up the trash to keep the canyon clean.
I’m just sad that we have to block off busy roads. It’s hard for the drivers.
The race is in the beginning of fall, so you have the privilege of seeing some of the fall colors.
Revel checks in and knows how many races you have completed over the years. They go above and beyond to tell you how your performance is improving.
Not so easy if you are not a local
If you train at sea level, this race will eat you alive as it starts at almost 10,000 ft. I was supposed to get packet pickup the day of the … MORE
If you train at sea level, this race will eat you alive as it starts at almost 10,000 ft. I was supposed to get packet pickup the day of the race and had already paid for it when they emailed saying they wouldn’t do morning pickup anymore, and had to pay an extra 20$ to have it shipped instead. Not very commercial, and not ideal if you are traveling from out-of-state for this SATURDAY race.
Race morning came, and you have to be super early at the shuttle parking lot, which is not anywhere remotely close to the recommended hotels. Again, not ideal for anyone travelling.
Start area was tiny, plenty of port-a-potties but the lines were in the way of the buses, making it a logistical nightmare. Then the race starts, enjoyable downhill for a few miles untill the lack of oxygen kicks in when they have you climb a very steep mile for no reason. Continue down canyon for the next ~15ish miles (nice but very repetitive scenery), and then a pretty boring suburbia end of race, with confusing signage, endless turns, and highway fumes.
Not worth travelling for.
Big Downhill, But Elevation
The big downhill was great for having a fast time, it's still worth noting that the race is at elevation, and flattens out the last couple miles, so those temper … MORE
The big downhill was great for having a fast time, it’s still worth noting that the race is at elevation, and flattens out the last couple miles, so those temper the impact from the downhill, but regardless, this is a fast race. Well-produced and cool afterparty, but go to bag check soon after finishing, as that line eventually got huge. Also be prepared to waddle after this one, as the downhill will do a number on your legs (I was more sore than after just about any other race I’ve done, even though I did fairly well compared to other recent races).
Fantastic all-around experience
I had a great experience at this race. It was a beautiful course, awesome staff and volunteers, great atmosphere and a PR! Couldn't have asked for a better race! MORE
I had a great experience at this race. It was a beautiful course, awesome staff and volunteers, great atmosphere and a PR! Couldn’t have asked for a better race!
A PR for me!
This was the fourth Revel race i have run, this company really knows how to run an event. Everything ran so smoothly. The expo, busing to the start, then busing … MORE
This was the fourth Revel race i have run, this company really knows how to run an event. Everything ran so smoothly. The expo, busing to the start, then busing back to the parking area. There was plenty of support on the course. Going to Coach Pauls lecture before the run is highly reccomended! I am hoping they add a few new locations to their race calendar.
Lightning fast, rough start line
This course was lightning fast and super scenic! Saw a moose within the first two miles. Course support was great, and finish line was wonderful. My only complaint was race … MORE
This course was lightning fast and super scenic! Saw a moose within the first two miles. Course support was great, and finish line was wonderful. My only complaint was race morning – it was a disaster. The area where you catch the shuttle to the start line had maybe 10 porta potties for thousands of runners. I arrives 45 minutes before the cutoff and waited in line for the bathroom for almost a half hour. Then I had to get in line to board the buses, which took another 20 minutes at least as the line wrapped all the way around the parking area (which was huge). There were still people in line when I boarded the bus, which was after the official cut off time. Then when we got to the start line, even more chaos and confusion. The gear busses were pulling away as people were just throwing their bags on the back, hoping they made it. There was nowhere to stand and wait, the lines for the bathrooms were again ridiculously long, and you couldn’t hear any announcements from organizers. I waited in line for the bathrooms for another 30 minutes and then started walking towards the start line (which was probably a quarter mile to a third of a mile away) and realized they had already started the race? So I basically just ran right out of the porta potty and into the race. Not ideal, but whatever. The course itself was beautiful and I can’t complain about anything else, but not the ideal start to race morning!
Oh my Quad is right
I meant to take it easy on this. I’ve done a few downhill races before. In fact, I did Revel white mountains earlier this year. This course is steeper and … MORE
I meant to take it easy on this. I’ve done a few downhill races before. In fact, I did Revel white mountains earlier this year. This course is steeper and I felt it. I was cruising along, listening to an e-book, and feeling great. So good I didn’t realize I missed my first gel and started to feel the drain. Oops. I got back on track. Finished 9 minutes earlier than I expected. Was actually aiming for around 15 minutes slower. My legs could definitely tell after this one! Two days later I’m definitely still feeling it! I’d do this one again if friends go back though.
22 fast miles with some hills in the end
First great thing-this course does not run long. My end distance was 26.24 which is the closest I have ever gotten to the 26.2! The first 22 miles went great, … MORE
First great thing-this course does not run long. My end distance was 26.24 which is the closest I have ever gotten to the 26.2!
The first 22 miles went great, there is a hill around mile 3 and maybe some small ones later but for the most part the first 20ish miles is a breeze. Once I reached mile 23 though there were some stretches that had an incline and had they been earlier on, it would have been fine. But having them in that last bit felt really difficult. There is also a small hill right at mile 26, so right at the end you are going up hill! So be prepared for the downhill to come to a stop and for the sun to come out. Most of the race you are in the shadow of the mountain and it is cool, even cold. But around mile 18-20 the sun hits you.
The aid stations were great, and the race is well organized. The early wake up followed by hanging out at the start isn’t great, but that’s inevitable with a point to point course like this that starts in a canyon.
I still got a PR with this course, but had I maintained a better pace in those last 3-4 miles my time would have been even better! So I wish I had looked more into the details on those last few miles but that is my fault.
I would definitely recommend this one to someone looking for a fast course! Just make sure you strengthen your quads while training!
Beautiful Scenery
The race was all downhill, was a fantastic race. If you are a slower runner though don’t stay to the right for this race, I know it’s the etiquette but … MORE
The race was all downhill, was a fantastic race. If you are a slower runner though don’t stay to the right for this race, I know it’s the etiquette but you will be hurting big time by the finish. The road is angled due to snow and ice melt runoff, so the middle of the road is much much flatter. The first two to four miles you descend close to 2,000 feet. It’s usually a chilly start, they bus you to the start line and you wait. Great finish line party as well. You get a cookie!!
Course change
There used to be a "dreaded soul crushing" out-and-back about mile 18. they changed the course and took it out and added the extra miles once you get into town. … MORE
There used to be a “dreaded soul crushing” out-and-back about mile 18. they changed the course and took it out and added the extra miles once you get into town. Those last miles are kinda boring through the city but hey – you don’t have to do that out and back that felt uphill both ways – i’ll be back big Cottonwood – I love Utah races!
Expensive, among best canyon runs n Utah
This was one of my favorite half marathons in 2023 of the 5 I did. There are a few local running event companies in Utah that offer several canyon runs … MORE
This was one of my favorite half marathons in 2023 of the 5 I did. There are a few local running event companies in Utah that offer several canyon runs each year between them and one of them even offers a Big Cottonwood run for probably half the price. However, REVEL does attract a lot of participants and organize their event especially well so if you have the cash I still recommend this one. I plan to do it again.
Downhill isn’t as easy as I thought
Arrive late into Salt Lake City. It was a quick drive to the host hotel. Friday afternoon I went to the expo and it was quick and easy to navigate. … MORE
Arrive late into Salt Lake City. It was a quick drive to the host hotel. Friday afternoon I went to the expo and it was quick and easy to navigate. Additional gear was rather expensive. Saturday morning we caught a shuttle up the canyon. It wasn’t as cold this year as in previous years. I took a throw away and used the foil blanket. The port a potty lines became very long and disorganized in the small area they have for them. I heard some people mention they missed the start due to being in line. Bag check was super easy but my bag broke before I even checked it so I had to find a way to tie it closed. The race got delayed starting due to transportation issues. This really effected the last several miles of the race. The up hill at mile 3 is not a joke. It’s very steep. Everything coming down the canyon went well for me. However by the time I go to 20 it was very hot. The water was not very cold and they ran out of nunn. I heard horror stories about the old course coming off the canyon. Once you come off the canyon on the new course you hit a trail for a couple miles and the weave through town. The last 4-5 miles were so hot and felt like a death march. The uphill finish made me feel so defeated but I was happy to be done. Considering my 4:33 finish time very soon after I finished there were few vendors around. They almost ran out of popsicles (which was so nice.) the ice cold towels at the finish were also a very nice touch
The view from the back of the pack
Outstanding race. Great organization and support. Really like the new route for 2024. The only negative on the new route is that front pack marathoners appeared to struggle to break … MORE
Outstanding race. Great organization and support. Really like the new route for 2024. The only negative on the new route is that front pack marathoners appeared to struggle to break through some of the half marathoners on the recreation path.
Not for the faint-of-heart
This race was a beast. I knew that it would be going into it. I live in Florida so my only hope for this was just to strength train my … MORE
This race was a beast. I knew that it would be going into it. I live in Florida so my only hope for this was just to strength train my quads and keep the mileage high. So lots of wall-sits. LOTS OF WALL SITS.
🛒EXPO: The expo was at a convention center that was attached to a hotel. It was easy to get to. There was a lot of paid parking lots nearby but there is also tons of available street-parking available just a block or two away. The shirts ran large this year. They are custom-made shirts so they design to runner feedback and I get it — it’s hard to please everyone. I usually get a Women’s Large when they have gender-specific shirts but I was swimming in the Medium. It’s OK. I don’t wear a lot of race shirts anymore. I have so many. (they were really nice, though and they gave you options: Tank, S/S, or L/S.) In addition to your personalized bib, you get a pair of gloves and a pair of arm sleeves. There were plenty of vendors at the expo both local and nation-wide.
🚌 SHUTTLES: I stayed at a studio 6 that was about a mile away from the Cottonwood High School where the busses shuttled us to the top of the mountain. I didn’t realize how dark it was in Utah (i.e. not a lot of street lights) so I ended up driving there and giving a fellow runner a lift there, too. there was PLENTY of parking at the high school. It took about an hour for the yellow buses to get us to the top of that curvy, winding mountain, but we got there.
🚽 PORTAPOTTIES: There were plenty of portapotties (which they called “Honey Buckets” – that made me laugh) but a lot of people were just standing at the start of the line for them. I walked down to the last one and there were only about 4 people waiting so take notice: move down. (there were plenty of people just dashing off into the woods on the side of the mountain — people much braver than I). the toilets were well-stocked with TP and sanitizer though they did have hand-wash stations outside as well. Be careful, though: because of the slope of the mountain and that they are on the side of the road: the potties are slightly tipped and a bit wobbly.
🛍BAG DROP: As soon as they let you off the bus, there is one lane closed off for runners and one lane open for vehicles coming up the hill so people were camped out in their Mylar heat sheets along the side of the road while others were walking around them trying to get to bag drop and/or portapotties. Bag drop came first so we also had to deal with people walking back up from the portapotties to drop their bags afterwards. I wonder if they should change that: Portapotties, bag drop, then race start. The point is that it is all linear. I thought that the bag drop would be at the high school where the shuttles picked us up and where the race ended but it all worked out so it was OK.
🏁 THE RACE: Miles 1-3 are a steep downhill. My advice is to not slow yourself down but also not to put a lot of effort into this. 95% of the race, I felt like I was simply keeping my feet under me. Usually, my heart rate is 156 – 162 on race day but I was cruising along at 146-148 for a long time despite the altitude. You don’t need a lot of effort so don’t push. At mile 4, you make a circle near the Brighton resort and there is an uphill there. I don’t waste my heart rate on uphills so I walked it – I knew that there would be plenty of downhill ahead of me so I took the walk break to get a GU packet, reapply some anti-chafing stuff, and get some water.
Miles 5 – 15 were pretty steady. All downhill. The spots that were “less downhill” felt like climbing Kilimanjaro but they were still downhill. then: mile 15.5: at 15.5, we picked up the tail-end of the half-marathoners: many of whom were walking side-by-side but my concern was that the course just got significantly (to me) steeper. I was wondering “should I try to slow this down or just keep doing what I’ve been doing and move my feet faster?” I did the latter: I figured if I tried to slow down, the next 11 miles would be torturous so just “keep your feet moving and don’t run anyone over!” There were a lot of 🤬 bad words coming out of my mouth for that half-mile. I could not wait for it to end but luckily, it did and until we reached the end of the road at mile 18, it was smooth sailing. It was at 18 that I caught up with the 3:20 pacer. (I started near the 3:30 guy though my goal was sub-3:26) I was doing all right until we lost the shade coverage…and then I needed water. The last 10K was the worst “last 10K” I’ve ever experienced in my more than 100-marathon career. The 20 miles I had just run were starting to catch up. I had averaged a 7’27″/mile pace by the time I hit mile 20, and I watched it drop: 7’31”, 7’34”, 7’38”. Going into mile 24, a spectator said “after this hill, it’s all downhill again!” GREAT!!! Come on, Megan. You have 26 minutes to get 2 more miles… But how long is this hill?!! It wasn’t steep by any means but it was just one of those long, gradual inclines and my average pace kept dropping: 7’42” . One more water stop: fill that bottle. Then glorious, glorious mile 25! 🌞 Oh! Mile 25, you beautiful downhill beauty, you! Mile 26! “Point 2 more!” I thought. turn the corner – 🤬🤬🤬🤬 Another uphill!!! But I had to dig deep. Even though we had that nice downhill, my mile 25 was a 9’56” pace overall. I closed my eyes and just kept yelling bad words to myself (we all have different ways of coping, I guess 🤷🏻♀️) The crowd was yelling. So much support. I was dying a little with each step but f f f f f f (like the little engine that could) and finally: DONE. ⌚ 3:25:15! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Hooray!!!! I broke into tears! It was over. A volunteer asked “Did you qualify?” I said, “Yeah! FOR NEW YORK!” and I could barely stand. 2 volunteers held onto me as I tried to get my breath back, get my legs solidly under myself, and just process that I had finished the most difficult marathon of my life. (Even when I went to sleep that night, it felt like I was still going downhill – like trying to get your land legs back after being at sea. It was weird.)
💧💧WATER STOPS. I will say this – They had plenty of them (one every 2 miles) and the volunteers were excellent however: the water and Nuun tables were a little too close together. They had little cups (maybe a little bigger than mouthwash cups) and the 2 tables were pretty close together so if you are a grab-and-go runner like me, it was hard to get both at every station. If you managed to get both, you probably wasted a lot of Nuun trying to get that water, too. Also – they ran out of Nuun at mile 20. Thankfully, it was just at that one stop. I stopped to completely refill my bottle at 20, 22, and 24 because I just wasn’t able to get enough on the mountain. If I had relied on the course alone, I don’t think that this would have been a great race for me. Again — they had plenty of stops — they were just a little short. I believe in keeping my momentum on race day so that was really my only critique of this race.
🥳 POST RACE PARTY: I don’t drink but I was looking forward to something bubbly at the finish line. Since it was hosted at the high school, alcohol was not allowed. A vendor there had some sparkling water or something but the advertised flavors either weren’t brought or the half-marathoners got the good stuff, leaving the dregs for the marathoners. 🙄 One vendor had this snickerdoodle-flavored protein powder. I went back after the finishers were pretty much done and the lady let me have 4 more cups of it! 😋😋😋 That was totally awesome of her. There were people giving out popsicles. Someone had ice creak drumsticks if you signed up for whatever mailing list they had. There was a tent where you could get official times printed off and if you BQ’d (which I did because my BQ time is only 3:40) you got a little luggage tag. 😊 It was cute. I was really pleased with this race. I can’t believe I blew 22 seconds per mile off my pace in that last 10K but I made it: I got my time-qualifier for New York so my 6-Star journey can be complete.
❓❓❓ Would I do this again? Nope. Maybe the one in New Hampshire. I was fine walking around the rest of the day but as soon as I stopped moving I was toast. Unless I worked my wall-sits up to 3 hours 25 minutes each, I don’t think that I could have prepared myself well enough for this beast. I loved it. Who doesn’t love a PR? (Though I’m still going to try to hit that same time on another course.)
So – that was my experience. Train those quads. Train those soleus muscles, and be prepared to hurt. It’s worth it if you can dig deep.
Happy Running!
Nice new finish
This is the third time I've run this race and have always loved it but the new finish is a really nice improvement. The half and full have buses that … MORE
This is the third time I’ve run this race and have always loved it but the new finish is a really nice improvement. The half and full have buses that take you from different parking locations this year. The full parking lot/bus pick up is the same as the finish line and the half bus leaves from the same place as it used to. There is a TON of parking and a ton of buses to the start. You still get up to the start WAY too early given how cold it is (start was supposed to be 6:45 but a bus was late so they delayed till 7…and we were up there at 5:40). The new start does not have the up the canyon to hairpin and run back down anymore which is a bonus. The canyon is a solid 8 miles and the new course starts from the mouth of the canyon to the finish. Mile 8-9 runs through the park and ride and drops down onto BCC trail which is a bike path and gets you another mile downhill which is nice. Then mile 10 has a climb up to street level that makes your quads want to cry and then you’re fairly flat for mile 11-12.5 ish. The last half a mile or so is an uphill slog to the finish which you really, really feel because your quads were shredded from the canyon. The finish festival is much bigger than I recall from prior years and had great food. Only downside is if you’re a half marathoner, you need to find the buses (not obvious, hidden on a non-visible side of the building…) and then ride back to the start. Take it from me, drop a pin when you park your car. All the parking garages look exactly the same and you are parking in the dark. Figuring out where you are compared to where you were several hours earlier is not a game you want to play when you’re tired and sweaty and are not interested in walking all over god’s creation. Good medal and good food at finish. Love the swag, this year they had arm warmers and a nice shirt with other really fun shirts and stickers for sale.
Amazing fast course
Lots of down grade, very fast course. Canyon race, lots of folks, got hot. A little disorganized at the start, they could have started the back up the hill and … MORE
Lots of down grade, very fast course. Canyon race, lots of folks, got hot. A little disorganized at the start, they could have started the back up the hill and had all the smoothness you wanted. But, as always a fantastic race. Posting some pics, canyon views and one of the homes we passed.
A view from the back of the pack
What an incredible event. This is my second Revel race event and it is always a first class production. The scenery is incredible, blessed with shade the vast majority of … MORE
What an incredible event. This is my second Revel race event and it is always a first class production. The scenery is incredible, blessed with shade the vast majority of the morning. The course levels out the last 3 to 4 miles, but there was plenty in the tank.
All The Downhill
This was an amazing race. Communication was great, the EXPO had a lot of vendors and photo ops. There were plenty of busses to bring us up the mountain. They … MORE
This was an amazing race. Communication was great, the EXPO had a lot of vendors and photo ops. There were plenty of busses to bring us up the mountain. They gave us gloves and a mylar blanket so we could stay warm before we started. The course is absolutely beautiful. It has plenty of downhill with the last 3 miles being essentially flat. (My quads, calves, ankles, and feet ached for 3 days, but in the best way possible)! I PR’d my half by 14 minutes. At first I didn’t think it legit to count a mostly downhill run, but after I ran it, yeah, it’s legit! Definitely a different workout. I plan to run more of the REVEL series. The post race was also fantastic. A good brewery serving craft beer, massages, creamsicles, pizza, chocolate milk, snacks, and water. The photos are fantastic and you can create your own little video with the photos for free.
Well run great production and scenery
Revel races are just really well run. They do a great job. Bus dropped me of by 5:00 AM and that meant 1hour and 45 minutes to wait. That was … MORE
Revel races are just really well run. They do a great job. Bus dropped me of by 5:00 AM and that meant 1hour and 45 minutes to wait. That was a bit of a challenge, it was a bit cool. But gloves and heat blankets were provided. Course itself is fast except for last three miles. Middle part is very fast. Swag was fine , nice medal. Support on course was excellent.
This is not an easy race
This was my 14th full marathon and I am a 6 star world majors recipient. I do give kudos to the Revel team for their organization and professionalism. I must … MORE
This was my 14th full marathon and I am a 6 star world majors recipient. I do give kudos to the Revel team for their organization and professionalism. I must say, this was , by far, the hardest race I have done. The downhill is significant, and many portions were very steep. Despite training on hills, my body was not ready for this. I suffered serious damage to my legs as a result. The out and back is , no joke, absolutely awful. Then you are running down a highway in the heat, with cars racing on each side of you, breathing their exhaust. I was easily expecting a BQ with a huge margin, but ended up walking most of the last section from the out and back. It may work for some people , but it’s not as easy as marketed.