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breeslee
Joined: 11 Sep 2006
Posts: 11
Location: American Fork, UT
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 Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:11 am Post subject: Canyonlands Half Marathon |
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| So did anyone else enter the lottery and get accepted? I'd love to hear from anyone that has run this race as to what things to expect. Does the organization compare in any way to the St George? What kind of weather should I expect? Those kinds of things. |
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robow8
Joined: 07 Jul 2006
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:33 am Post subject: |
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Ran it a few years back. Pretty well organized, though not up to SGM standards. (Which, BTW, was rated the best organized marathon in January's Runner's World) Weather at the start was cold, probably around freezing. Once we started running it was better. It got sunny and warm once we got out of the canyon and into town. I've heard it can be windy, though we didn't have any that year.
Good luck, it's a beautiful course! |
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artichoke
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Posts: 29
Location: UTAH
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| Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:22 pm Post subject: Canyonlands Half Marathon |
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The best 1/2 marathon in the state, in my opinion. I've done it 10 times and finally no longer have to deal with the lottery. Well organized, although has started late some years. My biggest complaint is that they bus you up to the starting line so early you're waiting around for 2 hours in the early morning shade in the canyon. Also, the late start being at 10:00 a.m. means you need to stay a second night in order to get a shower back at your hotel. I've asked for late checkouts in the past and the hotels haven't been too accommodating. I haven't run it every year and my first year was back in bout 1988. It was a great race then, but not as popular. Every year I've done it the weather has been ideal. Although I'm still waiting for that unseasonably warm year that is bound to happen and the 10:00 start will be dangerously warm. It's pretty cold in the early morning, but warms up nicely throughout the race. The course is beautiful. Catch the video on their website and you'll learn that the course is very deceptive. You think it should be an extremely fast downhill course since it follows the river for 10+ miles , but the elevation difference is only about 75 feet from start to finish. It has a easy climb up into Moab the last 2 miles or so. Good luck. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the years.
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Artichoke |
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breeslee
Joined: 11 Sep 2006
Posts: 11
Location: American Fork, UT
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| Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:09 am Post subject: Thank you! |
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| Thanks for the great advice! |
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over55
Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 10
Location: NM
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| Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Canyonlands Half Marathon |
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| artichoke wrote: | | The best 1/2 marathon in the state, in my opinion. I've done it 10 times and finally no longer have to deal with the lottery. Well organized, although has started late some years. My biggest complaint is that they bus you up to the starting line so early you're waiting around for 2 hours in the early morning shade in the canyon. Also, the late start being at 10:00 a.m. means you need to stay a second night in order to get a shower back at your hotel. I've asked for late checkouts in the past and the hotels haven't been too accommodating. I haven't run it every year and my first year was back in bout 1988. It was a great race then, but not as popular. Every year I've done it the weather has been ideal. Although I'm still waiting for that unseasonably warm year that is bound to happen and the 10:00 start will be dangerously warm. It's pretty cold in the early morning, but warms up nicely throughout the race. The course is beautiful. Catch the video on their website and you'll learn that the course is very deceptive. You think it should be an extremely fast downhill course since it follows the river for 10+ miles , but the elevation difference is only about 75 feet from start to finish. It has a easy climb up into Moab the last 2 miles or so. Good luck. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the years. |
I've run it many times but not yet ten--though I may be nearing that total. I agree with artichoke but I've had both warm and cold runs. Definately the 2 hours in the cold (shade) waiting for the sun to shine in the canyon is COLD. Even in warm years you need warm clothes for the long wait. At least one year there were clouds so even after the race started it was cool. I can also remember a very warm race one year. That's Spring in the desert. You could have cold, warm or mild weather at the finish. I usually bring old clothes to wear before the race and put in the retrieval bag. I have both long sleeves and short sleeves for the race just in case and choose depending on the weather. I have $1 gloves I can toss. Besides what artichoke mentioned we wait about 1/2 mile from the start so they move us to the start about 30 minutes before start time--remember that for your last port-a-potty visit. Also that means you put your retrieval bag in the truck 20 or so minutes before the start--another reason for the gloves. There are some hills and I think it's a moderately challenging course-definately harder than a flat course at sea level. All that said it's beautiful, eficiently run. Not many spectators but typically great Spring weather. |
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