Ogden Marathon, or Utah Valley Marathon?

[Josse]

I like the name Utah valley marathon I think it sounds better.

[AndyBrowning]

The name is good.  A very small portion of Ogden and St George are actually run in those cities.

[Hyrum]

In answer to your question the course is entirely on road (20 miles of it is on US 189).  Our fist year was on the river trail, and even as a small race Josse can tell you that it was congested for the first bit.  The highway will still allow you to see Deer Creek Reservoir, and Bridal Veil Falls.  The other issue with the river trail is that Provo City says our race is getting too big for it, and they asked us to move to the street so we can continue to grow.

[Ken Spence]

I haven't run the UVM, but have run Ogden and I'm registered again for 2010.  The main reason is that I usually only run 2 full marathons per year.  SGM in the fall and Ogden or Boston in the spring the last few years.  I've only done 3 in one year once and that was too much for me and I ended up getting injured.  I guess I'm not of the Grand Slam breed.  For me, the scenic portions of the UVM course can be satisfied by running the Provo 1/2 marathon in August, so I feel like I can capture the scenic spendor of both areas by doing Ogden and then the Provo 1/2 marathon this next year (although I really prefer Hobble Creek over Provo when I can get in to that one).  If I BQ and run Boston again, maybe I would then do the Ogden 1/2 and try the UVM for 2011, however the previous comment about the proximity to the Wasatch Back Relay is also a valid point for me.  I believe if there are a lot of concerns about aided courses and prize money vs. non-aided courses for the elite, the UVM probably needs to decide who they want to cater to the most.  As you know, SGM has been very successful having an elevation aided course w/o a prize money structure.

[Sasha Pachev]

Elites running in the Utah Valley (4500 feet of elevation) have absolutely nothing to lose from the course being aided. If it was not, it would take a 2:14 flat sea-level course guy to break 2:19. If you are a 2:14 guy, why take your chances in Utah Valley?  For an elite the only reasons to run a race in Utah Valley are prize money and a chance to compete against a strong field, aided course or not.

BQ-aspiring runners, on the other hand, have a lot to lose from a non-aided course. For them it will be extra 7-10 minutes, which throws their hopes out of the window if BQ is a challenge for them at all.

[Kory Wheatley]

My issues with the Utah Valley Marathon last year:
1.  Packet pick-up very slow.  Your tired when you drive the day/night before and the last thing you want to do is stand in line.
2.  One of the aid stations had no one there when I past on the Provo trail so I missed my water quench.   The aid stations I thought could have been a lot better more like Ogden's.
3.  The second part of the course is too weird with all the tunnels, turns and small area to run (but I see you've fixed that this year).

I don't have a complaint about the concrete that really didn't bother me.


I will be considering running the course this year.  Each year with feedback conditions for this race I'm sure will get better.

[Paul (RivertonPaul)]

I know I'm late adding my comment, but one thing which distinguishes well run marathons is a well organized starting location.  In addition to plenty of port-a-potties, (I know this is semi-graphic) you really should consider having at least one of those tented portable urinals so that men just wishing to urinate can quickly get in line for the urinal which moves remarkably well when nobody has to stop take care of other business -- this also helps prevent the last minute going anywhere in order to safeguard the watershed issues.  This will also speed up the port-a-potty lines for the women if there are fewer men having to stand in them.  I imagine, it is probably very cost effective too, but have not looked into it.  For what its worth, although it may be difficult to enforce, even designating a number of the port-a-potties for urination only would at least allow people to get in line without the aggravation of wondering whether they were picking a "slow" line.  (Come on, who hasn't been aggravated by this, admit it.)  Of course, if you do this and it is successful, I suppose you'll be a trend setter but you would always be able to claim you were the first in Utah.

Some discussion on my blog.

[Paul Petersen]

Of course, if you do this and it is successful, I suppose you'll be a trend setter but you would always be able to claim you were the first in Utah.

Canyonlands Half Marathon has done this in the past. It was beautiful.

[Jose Jimenez]

Hyrum here are a few comments from a mid-packer (3:36 PR at Mesquite) who ran Ogden last year.  I have not run UVM but I have a lot of friends that did last year and had a great experience.  I love what you are doing with the Marathon and wish I would have known about the course change before I signed up for Ogden this year.  For someone like me who is hunting the BQ your course is very appealing.  It looks much faster than Ogden.  I also love the perks for people who have BQ'd or that BQ at your marathon.  What a great idea to provide something that celebrates your BQ achievement.  I think your efforts to do nice things to recognize and reward better marathoners (elites and BQ'ers) is absolutely great.  I think you probably get way more bang for the buck at UVM than Ogden.  Even your race shirt was 150% better than Ogden's last year.

Things I love about Ogden:

1.  Great volunteer army
2.  Awesome start line - very open, fire pits, tons of porta-potties, easy drop-off of clothing bag and good organization
3.  Great finish line - lots of spectators, bells for the kids, bleachers for the fans.  Great finisher's area.
4.  Pretty good Expo.
5.  Pretty good course

The thing I hate the most about Ogden though is that I don't feel I am getting my money's worth.  Too expensive.  Even the medal was crappy.  Their web site (even their new one) also sucks.

Bottom line is that if I had not signed up for Ogden already I would be doing my BQ attempt at UVM.  Matt is right though, your marathon will conflict with Wasatch Back.  However, I would not change the date.  I think this is something you will just have to live with.  In the end I think the biggest factor is how your team executes on Marathon day.  Nothing sours a marathon more than poor organization by the directors and the volunteers (think Hobble Creek last year, maybe I'm being harsh but what a cluster that was).  If you don't execute on marathon day then all the other stuff is just fluff.  Good luck this year, you may see me there if I fail at Ogden.

[Scott Hughes]

I loved running Ogden last year so I signed up again. Now seeing the course change I wish I was running Utah Valley this year. With Ogden only a month apart I would need to choose between the two and given the comments that I have heard about this race I would change to Utah Valley if I hadn't already paid for Ogden.
Hyrum, It looks like you are really trying to make this a great marathon!

[Hyrum]

Thank you for your kind words.  I also am very interested in the portable tent urinal.  I think that would help the port-a-pottie lines move much faster, and would give athletes more time to get prepared for the race.  Everyone has been so helpful, and we hope to do everything we can to make this race the best it can be.  We can't do everything everyone wants, because we sometimes get conflicting requests from different athletes, and we are also limited by what governments will allow.  We will however, do everything in our power to please as many of you as possible.  I myself run marathons, but each of you have given ideas that I had not thought of.

On a lighter note we finally have some updated photos on the website from the 2009 race that can be viewed at: http://utahvalleymarathon.com/marathon-in-utah-photos.php

We should also have a newer video on the homepage in the next couple days that incorporates race footage with the testimonials.

[Sasha Pachev]

Jose - if Ogden would let you, would you consider changing to half in Ogden so you can run UVM on fresh legs?

[Jose Jimenez]

Sasha - Absolutely. Is there a chance that can happen?

[Sasha Pachev]

I remember they have allowed that in the past. Give them a call and see.

[Hyrum]

We are really excited about the growth of the marathon this year.  We have just about hit last years number of participants and it is only March 2nd.  There is still almost 3.5 months till the race.  If we keep up our current pace per day of how many are signing up we will have over 3500 athletes in the event.  To compare last year we only had 1170 athletes in the event, so this is incredible growth.  The thing that is possibly more amazing to me is that just 2 years ago we only had 240 athletes.  To go from 240 to 3500 in two years is not bad.  I don't know if it is the new course or the advertising that is making the biggest difference.  We are just excited about the response from everyone.  http://www.utahvalleymarathon.com