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The Jack & Jill's Downhill Marathon course drops approximately 2,000 feet from the start just before the Snoqualmie Tunnel to the finish in North Bend, Washington.
The course is mostly on the the dirt/gravel old railroad beds of the Iron Horse and Snoqualnie Valley Trails.
Less than a mile from the start runners will travel over two miles through the Snoqualmie Tunnel.
The race features both a Saturday and Sunday marathon.
How does the Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon Rank?
The Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon was the 117th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 109th largest in 2022.
Last year 30.6% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 28.2% of runners qualified for Boston in 2022.
This gives the Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon the 16th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 20th highest percentage in 2022.
Its Course Score of 104.88 ranks it as the 7th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 3rd fastest course in Washington.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon a PR Score of 103.38. This PR Score ranks it as the 12th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 4th fastest in Washington.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 2603 feet (793m) Min Elevation: 521 feet (158m)
Hotel & VRBO Accommodations for the Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon
View available accomodations around the Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon Finish Line and Course. Book your Reservation now before the best places are sold out.
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How Fast Can You Go?
If you ran the Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon in 3:46:00, what would your time in other marathons be?
See how your race times would compare on other marathon courses with our time conversion tool.
Norm's review of 2021 Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
For 2021, the weather was great and the two COVID modifications were a rolling start and no pacers. Pre-race communication was a bit sparse (I'm guessing a lot of details were being sorted on the fly due to COVID) but come race weekend, everything went smoothly. I had set out hoping to run 3:45 and ended up with a 3:35 - BQ'd by 15 minutes! The downhill grade is perfect - enough to make every mile feel effortless, but not steep enough to shred your quads. The trail is packed gravel which isn't perfect, but given how I ran, I guess it isn't much of a factor!
Race Tips
GPS: My Garmin Forerunner 245 logged the race at 26.34 miles so I'd say it was pretty close
Pace: Unless you have experience with these downhill marathons, consider running based on effort, not pace. I had set out targeting 8:30 miles but once settled in, found my average pace at 8:10. I initially panicked but the miles kept clicking by effortlessly and I decided to roll with it. Ran out of gas in the final mile but that's what I had expected. Average pace turned out 8:12 - way faster than planned but that's the beauty of this course!
Rent a car and stay in Issaquah. Bonus if you can find a friend/spouse to drive you to the start then meet you at the finish. It's a small race so car access at the start and finish are easy
DC's review of 2019 Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon.
3 /
5 Stars
Review
Good course overall, but a little too warm to run it in July. The tunnel is awful. Watch your step. Also, I gave a volunteer something to hold at the finish line. He promised to do so. It was not delivered. The race director did not return my inquiry about this item. Communications leave a bit to be desired. They run a highly desirable race by runners, and they know it and act like it.
Race Tips
Do NOT lose time in the tunnel. That is easy to do. Stay with a pace group if your timer is not working. Pacer was great. Satellite signals are suspect here.
Hotel choice is not great nearby. Parking is kind of messy at the start.
morey's review of 2018 Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon.
4 /
5 Stars
Review
The steady gradual downhill is just enough to give you an extra, maybe 10s per mile advantage. I've never run a course where the pitch is so perfect the whole way. Not enough to trash your quads, just enough to give you an edge. On course support was typical/basic. Water every 2 miles or so. Only a few had gatorade. Don't expect nutrition/gu's- bring you own. Beast Pacers! a plus.
It's a small, friendly race. Easy 'overhead' getting to and from the start/finish. Not a lot of on-course spectator options- but a few. Plenty of food, water, sports drink at the finish. Nice medals and shirts. Seems like everything was well organized and taken care of by the RD (USA Endurance Events).
Scenery is a 10. Plus- the course is mostly in the shade, even on sunny days. Nice
The Tunnel is a fun feature of the event. Bring your headlamp (toss it in a bin at the end of the tunnel and they bring them to the finish). It's a perfect 54F. Watch your step as there are sections in there that are a bit more uneven. Here's the answer to everyone's question: Yes- my Garmin (a Fenix 3HR) did a pretty decent job keeping pace and distance through the 2.5mi long tunnel. Perhaps it went into treadmill mode? Dunno'. YMMV.
There's no 'expo'. Just a packet pickup. Where they had some fairly nice J&J Marathon caps, jackets, hoodies, shirts, inexpensive headlamps, etc for sale. Oh- the had free pace band temporary tattoos there! cool.
Race Tips
Just ran it this year (2018)- and many (not all) of the on-course mile markers were pretty far off. So- this drove a lot of people crazy (i.e. including me) trying to use them to manage pace via a pace band. The 20mi split, for instance, was totally inaccurate. It was short... indicating you were going much faster than you really were.
The course is hard packed double track dirt/gravel road. While trail shoes are not necessary, I'd recommend shoes with enough thickness for some protection against some of the pointy rocks. If I ran it again- I might use my faster trail shoes- whose tread would get a bit more bite into the dirt vs a road shoe tread that has a bit of slippage with each step.
My Garmin ended up with a total distance of 26.5mi- which is fairly normal for a marathon. However, its instantaneous pace readout was mostly unusable. the trees and steep hillside seemed to affect its pace accuracy during the race. Which is why I was relying on the mile markers.... which were a mess!
The fact that this is a two day event- with Two fulls, and two half marathons, made it great for a group activity- destination event. If you have a driver- staying near the start in Snoqualmie Pass is a fine idea. You just need a ride back up the hill after the race.
MT's review of 2018 Jack and Jills Downhill Marathon.
4 /
5 Stars
Review
This was an amazing marathon in terms of the shirt, medal, and course scenery. I personally wasn't a fan of the gravel road that the course is on. I don't think it's a good surface for people that have had previous ankle and/or knee issues. The course didn't feel especially fast to me and I didn't find it very shaded on such a hot and sunny day. I think this is a great destination race, but for me it wasn't a PR course.
Race Tips
Definitely start conservatively or you will suffer dearly later. Also be aware there are very few bathroom options on the course.
4.4 Stars from 7 Reviews
