Ogden Marathon, or Utah Valley Marathon?

[Paul Petersen]

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

I'm sure the advertising and new course really helped, but also your attention to what runners actually want goes a long way in building respect and support in the local runner community.

[Steve P]

Just curious. Are those numbers for the marathon only? Or for all races? If it's marathon only, that would probably be the second largest in UT if you hit 3500.

[Hyrum]

Just curious. Are those numbers for the marathon only? Or for all races? If it's marathon only, that would probably be the second largest in UT if you hit 3500.

When I say we are on track for 3,500 that is referring to all three races combined.  This is still going to make for a larger marathon by Utah standards though.  Only 1,000 of that will be half marathon, and we are expecting less than 1,000 of that to be the 5K.  We think that we will have between 1,500-2,000 in the marathon, but we are ahead of that pace so who knows what will happen. Regardless of where we end up we already have past last years total, and we still have more than 3 months till race day.

[Matthew Rowley]

Sounds like a fun race.  Sign me up.  I just signed up, looking forward to a great race.

[Tom]

Hey I was wondering how feasible/legal/safe it is to do training runs on the UVM course between the starting line and University? Obviously I don't mean running with traffic on the right hand side of the road like the actual race, but towards incoming traffic off the side of the road on the left. Certainly can't be any worse than running down the SGM course on a dark September morning which I know a ton of runners do.

I feel like the concrete road pounds the legs alot harder than running on the river trail and it would be to get the legs accustomed to it beforehand. Plus it would just be nice to be familiar with the course beforehand.

If it is feasible - any UVM runners interested in getting together and maybe doing a few Saturday long runs down the course in April/May?  Currently I'm thinking I'll be shooting for just under 3:10

[Hyrum]

Tom-

Last week me and a couple friends ran the last half of the marathon course on the side of the road that the marathon will be on (with the flow of traffic).  We stayed on the shoulder, and it wasn't too bad.  I would not recommend doing this while it is dark outside, and there are a couple times on the paved sections in the canyon that have a smaller shoulder (in these spots we ran on the dirt instead of the shoulder).  I have not tried running any of the first part of the race, but I think that would be a fun run.  I knew that the course would be fast, but it felt even faster than I expected.  The concrete didn't bother me too much.  Not all of it is concrete.  When you run it you will notice that there are many paved sections.  If you end up running the full marathon to train I think that the first almost 10 miles are entirely paved (I could be wrong, but I know that at least the first 10K is paved).  http://runuv.com 

[Benny Rodriguez]

Hyrum:

What attracted me was the fact that I saw you posting on st george marathon group page this " If you like the St. George Marathon you will love the Utah Valley Marathon. Over 1500 feet in elevation drop. It is beautiful, and goes by a waterfall, and Deer Creek Reservoir. See more details at " So I looked at the website, elevation and I became interested...good job of advertising it..

[Stone Jones]

I don't think you can compare the beauty of Ogden with very many marathons anywhere... it is an incredibly scenic course... and definately a good test of fitness course!
It is the perfect course for a marathon... I am curious is it considered an aided course?? It is also a very well ran race... very good Volunteer help!

[AndyBrowning]

I don't think you can compare the beauty of Ogden with very many marathons anywhere... it is an incredibly scenic course... and definately a good test of fitness course!
It is the perfect course for a marathon... I am curious is it considered an aided course?? It is also a very well ran race... very good Volunteer help!

According to USATF guidelines it is an aided course. 
Unaided versus Aided:  USATF Rule 185.5:
(a) The course must not have a net decrease in elevation from start to finish exceeding one part per thousand (i.e., one meter per kilometer.)
(b) The start and finish of the race must lie no more than 30% of the race distance apart as measured along the straight line between them, except when it can be shown that the average component of the wind direction at the head of the race (the lead runner) did not constitue a significant tail wind. 

The elevation change for a marathon cannot exceed 138 feet (is my math correct?).

[Paul Petersen]

Yep that right, anything over ~150-ish feet of net drop is "aided". It's basically the guideline IAAF uses for a course to be world-record eligible. Similar to how a sprint or jump record is void if there is too much tailwind, a road race record is void if there is too much drop. In the both cases, the time is technically considered "aided".

[Stone Jones]

Based off that criteria, I am a newby looking at this, running a non-aided course compared to the Ogden MArathon, no wind, which is easier?? I wonder with the elevation and the already mentioned rollers from mile 8-17... I have never done a completely flat course... just curious??

[Paul Petersen]

Ogden is probably slower than a flat course at sea level, but is faster than a flat course at 5000'. So it's a little bit relative.

[Jon Allen]

On a related note, good luck to everyone tomorrow at Ogden!