Park City Utah Marathon
This was an amazing marathon simply from the pure beauty of the mountain landscape. I made a stressless 3046 mile round trip drive through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming (hitting all the capitols) and finally arriving in the heat of 111 degrees in Salt Lake City. Park City is best known for the 2002 Winter Olympics and is 4000 feet above Salt Lake at about 7000 feet in altitude. I had a chance to walk in the bathtub warmth of the Salt Lake and watch Olympic ski hopefuls train (year round) on the same day.
Despite being in the mountains, the marathon was relatively flat by gradually increasing to about 8500 feet at the 16 mile marker and mostly downhill from there. One steep hill at mile 18 took a lot of courage… but knowing that was it made it easier to conquer. The finishing medal was handmade stain glass which looks nice hanging from my Jeep mirror. The temps were cooler than Salt Lake City… started at 6:30am in the 50s and it was 83 when I finished. No real problems with the altitude other than the first mile which was faster than I anticipated. After slowing down, enjoying the scenery, the marathon ranks right up there for organization and beauty.
Next up: Pocatello ID on Saturday Sept 5 followed by a trail marathon in Colorado Springs CO on Labor Day.
