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Revel Mt. Hood Marathon Reviews
Revel Mt. Hood Marathon
4.8 Stars from
5 Runners
PR & BQ by 16 minutes
By MG about 2019
Review
I liked the Bus pick up at hotel. Has a 5:00 am start which is nice. Race was very well organized. Race start temperature was perfect. Not alot of crowd support but the volunteers at the water stations were very nice.
Race Tips
Don't hold back in the early miles let gravity do the work. Train for the down hill. Hit the gym do leg squats and other leg exercises. Excellent course to hit your PR. If you train right.
Stayed at the Double Tree in Portland. Nice hotel. Race day busing form hotel if you pay extra. Which was nice. The bus was on time and not a school bus. It was a nice chartered bus.
5 /
5 Stars
Scenic and organized
By AV819 about 2019
Review
I loved the mountain sunrise and the beautiful views along Mt Hood!
My legs were pretty trashed from the downhill mountain course but I otherwise felt good. The weather was great.
Race Tips
This is the earliest I've ever gotten up for a race. Shuttle bus for Wave 3 left at 3:30 am which meant a 2:30 wake up. I stayed in Sandy via Air BNB which was helpful.
Course is brutally downhill! First 5 miles are very steep. My legs melted at mile 18. If you can do a lot of downhill training, it might help.
Arrive a few min before your wave’s shuttle time. They provide gloves and Mylar blanket which will serve well at the start line area.
5 /
5 Stars
Downhill splendor!
By JR about 2018
Review
I've run several Revel races and they promise fast and scenic downhill marathons to help you achieve PR/BQ. The Revel Mt. Hood is particularly fast, especially in the first 15 miles. The scenery is stunning as you gaze out from the historic base lodge at Mt. Hood to spectacular mountain scenery in the Oregon Cascades. The one challenge with this type of race is that after 15 or so miles when the course becomes more gradually downhill and there are some uphills, the quads are fried. I'd recommend following the Revel online coaching strategy as it really helped me achieve a BQ (though not fast enough to earn a Boston entry). In addition, Portland is not far and that is a tremendous city for food, culture, and walking around (though not on burned out quads!).
Race Tips
Follow the Revel race series coaching which they do on Facebook once a week. Really helpful as it prepares you for the rigors of the downhill course.
I'd recommend staying in Portland and grabbing the early buses for $50. Well worth it.
5 /
5 Stars
No PR for me
By Kass G. about 2018
Review
The course is beautiful, first 16 miles are FAST. Being at Mt Hood as the sun was setting was spectacular. I was in the 1st coral, starting at 5:15am. I also stayed at the Timberline Lodge, which was amazing, the start of the race was down in the parking lot also, which was awesome.
Race Tips
I expected to get a minimum of a PR on this course. I followed coach Paulâ's advise. Miles 1-5 I ran FAST, 6-10 I settled in running fast but comfortable. 10-16 I ran slightly faster than goal pace. Once I got to 18, my quads had enough. I stopped and walked through a water station, and when I started running again, I felt awful. I pushed through until mile 23, realizing then that my hopes of a BQ wasn't going to happen. My piriformus muscles, hips and quads were so tight. I ran this course in 4:08. Not my worst time, but not a PR or what I expected either. This was my first downhill course like this, although it didn't end the way I'd hoped....I would recommend it. Just remember, gravity is your friend, but you have to strengthen your quads and train on downhill running.
No PR for me