The Deseret News Marathon starts at the top of Big Mountain. The course travels down the canyon - dropping 3,000 feet - and finishes along the Days of 47 Parade route.
The Deseret News Marathon was the 164th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 169th largest in 2022.
This year 8.7% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 15.3% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Deseret News Marathon the 94th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 172nd highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 100.93 ranks it as the 28th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 5th fastest course in Utah.
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 Deseret News Marathon a PR Score of 99.54. This PR Score ranks it as the 62nd fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 7th fastest in Utah.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Deseret News Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 7428 feet (2264m) Min Elevation: 4244 feet (1293m)
The marathon is beautifully placed from Emigration Canyon down to the valley. 4,000 feet of elevation decline certainly helps, but make sure your quads, lower calf, and Achlles are ready for the beating. Before you reach the city, the views are incredible so make sure to look up and bring your phone!
The expo is small, and you can expect to pick up your bib, shirt, and speak with the vendors within an hour. Photographers appear about 4 times throughout the course, and is free for download post-race! Requests for volunteers were communicated nearly to race day, so I feel an aid station could have been eliminated without notice. All races (5k, 10k, Half, Full) are run on the same morning, so there was some slight confusion for where the marathon course diverted.
Race Tips
With race day in July, expect heated temps near the finish line (80F+), whereas it is very cool in the mountains (62F). Make sure to have the proper apparel to safeguard against the sun.
The finish line is at Liberty Park, however it is closed off to also accommodate for the Days of '47 parade. The surrounding community prepare tents and camp out the day before. So family and friends need to park further away for a spot.
TimS's review of 2017 Deseret News Marathon.
2 /
5 Stars
Review
This event is pretty low key for the full marathon. Less than 400 runners ran in 2017. The first 18-20 miles were pretty enjoyable. The last 4-6 miles were miserable. We winded around town meaninglessly just to fill the mileage. It was difficult to know we were wandering further from the finish line in those challenging miles. They didn't have near enough aid stations - in the last 4-5 miles there was only 1 station with water only. They only had goo at one station, all the others were water and Gatorade. The shirts are ugly. They advertise how exciting it is to finish the race on the parade route. You run 2 blocks of the parade, then are directed away from the parade, wandering for another 6 blocks. I was all stoked when I hit the parade, thinking I was about to finish, but nope.
Race Tips
Bring your own water and treats.plan for a tough last 5ish miles
I drove with a running partner and parked at the stadium where the buses were. Our wives drove together and parked a few blocks from the finish line. Because of the parade/road closures, it is tough to get back to the stadium, so we had to send the other couple back on the buses that were provided at the finish. If you don't have 2 drivers I would just get on the bus back to the stadium.
