The marathon begins on Guardsman Pass and runs straight downhill among the canyon cliffs. After exiting the pass the route proceeds around the Brighton Loop at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon followed by gorgeous views of Big Cottonwood Creek for nearly 15 miles to the mouth of the canyon. Runners enjoy an average 5% grade during this stretch. Make sure you train appropriately for this downhill section as downhill running works your muscles differently than flat or uphill.
After exiting the canyon the marathon course will go under Wasatch Boulevard and continue through Cottonwood Heights over to the Old Mill Corporate Center. Runners will proceed under I-215 and enter the city of Holladay through Knudsen Park.
Runners will get to enjoy the beautiful streets of Holladay while running on Holladay Blvd, Arbor Lane, and Highland Drive. Following this loop, runners will enter the city of Murray crossing over Van Winkle and running west on Vine Street. After a quick turn onto 1300 East, runners will be welcomed to the finish line at Cottonwood High School.
The steep downhill grade can be very hard on the quadriceps - especially for those who have not trained for downhills.
If your quads and lungs survive, the course can be fast.
*Weather data is from the finish line. Temperatures will be much cooler (20-30° F cooler) at the start and gets warmer as runners travel down the mountain.
The REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon was the 43rd largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 59th largest in 2022.
Last year 21.3% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 27.4% of runners qualified for Boston in 2022.
This gives the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon the 45th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 24th highest percentage in 2022.
Its Course Score of 103.76 ranks it as the 12th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 2nd fastest course in Utah.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon a PR Score of 103.76. This PR Score ranks it as the 9th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 2nd fastest in Utah.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 9625 feet (2934m) Min Elevation: 4377 feet (1334m)
Hotel & VRBO Accommodations for the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon
View available accomodations around the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon Finish Line and Course. Book your Reservation now before the best places are sold out.
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CED's review of 2019 REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon.
2 /
5 Stars
Review
The scenery is outstanding. The organization is great. No crowds until after Mile 18. The drop is severe for this mountain stretch, and your quads will take a beating.
Race Tips
Must hill train, unless you really think you are built for the mile descent. it was about 40 degrees at the start, but in the 70s at the finish. I wore a sleeveless top. Good choice. BANK TIME! See below.
Please pay attention to this: I had an easy BQ by 5 minutes up until Mile 18. The "out and back" at that point is abysmal. It will seem uphill both ways for you. I lost several minutes as it's uphill and much hotter than when you start at 10k feet. YOU MUST BANK TIME ON THE FIRST 18. GOT IT? Yes, your quads will hurt, but just do it. You may not walk well for a few days, but you do want to BQ, right? Then bank about 10 minutes so you can put up with the last 8 miles. Good luck! We liked the Residence Inn.
SM's review of 2018 REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Everything, great organization, beautiful course, fast course, weekly facebook live free coaching tips, everything as expected, no race day surprise.
Race Tips
Follow weekly facebook live coaching (free) by Revel coach, Paul Carmona. It helps to strategize your pacing. Everything else is taken care of by Revel, race day bussing, parking, on course hydration, after race nutrition/recovery.
Get any hotel nearby the race day parking/bussing area. May need to drive to the parking area the day before to get familiar. Also a lot of food options/restaurants there as your training needs. On race day get there by 4:30 to give yourself enough time for port-a-john at the starting area.
Andy R's review of 2017 REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
This was not my first choice for my initial BQ attempt but really glad it worked out! Fast course, Size was perfect, plenty of aid stations, good local cheering!
Race Tips
When I heard about the dramatic downhill of this course I got scared. My advice- drive the course the day before. This totally calmed me down. Yes, it sure has a lot of downhill but only a few sections were really steep. I planned on going out just under my BQ pace but found that very hard. I was told to shorten my stride and have quicker step turnover. This was the best advice ever!! My avg pace for the first 19 miles was 30 seconds faster then planned and without the "long stride pounding" on the downhill my quads held up ok. Yes- Be prepared for the change in the out and back, it definitely was the hardest part of the course. All in all- I got my BQ by 8 min and PR'd by 23 min!!
Since this was a last min decision to run this course I just grabbed the cheapest, closest hotel to the start. Due to the size of the race I was able to get parking no problem and only walked 5 min to the busses. ALSO- I was planning on running in Idaho the same day but the fires made smoke so bad that running seemed unhealthy. Really grateful that this race still had entries the morning before so I could "road trip" down and make my BQ dream a reality. THANK YOU REVEL!!
Hamed Kian's review of 2017 REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
I'm coming from South Florida, humidity, temperature, and elevation and the change of it are extremely different. The first 18.5 Miles were fast! High altitude had negligible effects as long as you're going downhill. It was 45 degrees in the mountains and my Garmin recorded a PR from every distance from 2miles to 30k, what happened after that is a different story. The temp was 70 degrees with a slight incline at 4300 feet elevation. It was a brutal struggle to keep things moving. At the end, the final 8 Miles might have cost me 7 minutes overall but that's negligible compared to the benefits of the first 18.5. Race organization, race support, race expo and medical personnel were absolutely top notch. This was my 17th marathon and it was nearly flawless organization. Only suggestion is to put the GU people further away from the water people so I can wash it down. I ran a 3:01:26. I was worried about it being a small race but even at my level I had plenty of other runners around me to keep me motivated. Running up on slow half marathoners in the later stages of the race was not an issue.
Race Tips
Practice downhills, practice running faster paces because you'll be running 5k pace a lot. Use KT tape, practice longer runs so that you're prepared to work very hard after 18.5. Bring your space blanket for the top of the mountain, it'ss cold when you're not moving around.
I used Airbnb and I stayed near mile 23 of the course, woohoo. No issues for travel, and traffic before or after the race.
Eric Bermundez's review of 2016 REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Excellent organization and small Expo, which help me not to spend too much time walking so I could rest my legs for the race. Stayed in Crystal Inn and they offered FREE pasta dinner and breakfast to go at 3:00am. 2 race buses picked us up at the hotel to the starting line. Hydration points every 2 miles and funny signs along the race made me kept going. Very fast course and did not feel I had to brake along the course. I did a PR and only trained for 8 weeks since I had a surgery. Will race it again in 2017 and hope to train for at least 16 weeks!!!!
Race Tips
For me Miles 20 thru 24 are the tough ones, since they are flat and little slopes, also weather gets a little warm. Miles 24 til finish line are flat and little downhill which are good to give all you have left. Do some training in downhills and running hills to help legs getting used to the course...., but this course is not so bad if you have Marathon experience.
If you do not want to drive and avoid hurries, stay in the recommended hotels....the Race organizers will send buses to the hotels. Most of these hotels will offer pasta dinner and early breakfast. There is plenty of parking where the buses are waiting also.
4.4 Stars from 14 Reviews
