The Bear Lake Utah Marathon & Half is a race that can be ran on it’s own or if you want to challenge yourself, you can sign up for the Trifecta and take home some additional swag and bragging rights. The trifecta is a great way to gain membership or level up if you are a member of Half Fanatics, Marathon Maniacs or the 50 States Club.
Below are some pros and cons from what me and some of the other runners thought about the race.
scenery- Different kind of scenery today than from the previous races. Along with the white cap mountains & countryside, you get a beautiful view of the lake, neighborhoods & the town of Garden City. This is what I've been wanting to see at all 3 races.
Aid stations – Like the previous 2 races for the half, they had 3 ad stations (5 total since the course was a down and back) and they were fully stocked with water, electrolytes, gu, jelly beans, pretzels and a ports potty. Just like the previous 2 races, a negative about the aid stations were they would sometimes run out of cups and toilet paper. It was an issue for the back of the pack runners and most marathoners.
Course – This course was a down & back with mostly paved roads with about 2 miles of trail near the turn around point. The start and finish was in the grass at a small park in downtown Garden City. Once you leave the park area & cross the street, the first 2.5-3 miles, you're running on a narrow bike path next to the main street, which was great because i felt safe not having to worry about oncoming traffic. Once you make the turn at the lighthouse, you run about 2 miles through some neighborhoods. Just before the second ad station ( & 4th on your way back) you run up a steep hill, but once you get to the top, be sure to turn around and check out the view. When you get to the 5 mile marker, you start making your way towards a trailer park & the beginning of the trail part of the course. It's an uneven packed country dirt road with large rocks with a gradual incline up to the 3rd ad station & turn around point. Negative - Since I've only ran paved courses, it would have been nice to know how much of the course was going to be trail so i could have been better prepared with my training & gear. Still felt odd starting and finishing the course on grass rather than in the parking lot area. My wife is a back of the back runner so on her way towards the finish line, some of the people in the neighborhoods along the course were out mowing, which with her allergies, made it difficult for her to breathe. If the RD could make it know to the community about what is happening during the day, maybe that would help some of the others still out on the course.
Pre & Post Race – Packet pickup for this race was either the day before the first race, the day prior or the morning of the race. You get a tech shirt, drawstring bag, local sponsor swag, and the choice of either a mug or buff. Post race, whenever you finished, you got a nice size medal with a ribbon showing the state and under the pavilion, they had fruit, water and pizza from a local sponsor. If you placed in your age group or overall, you got a gold medal (which they didn’t have available on the first day so they brought them on the second day). They had an announcer and music playing throughout post race so even if you’re a back of the pack runner, everyone is cheering and are happy to see you finish. At this race, they had a local sponsor selling beer & another one handing out ice cream sandwiches.
Con – Like the previous races, a lot of the swag and medals were from the previous year so some people got a medal with a bears head on it (this years design), some got a medal with a bear paw on it (last years design) & some got a different color than others. When i finished, i got a blue medal, but whenever my wife finished her race, she got a yellow one. i had to go get swap out mine so that we matched. Some runners didn’t like the new design because it didn’t say ‘half marathon’ on it. If you ran all 3 races in the trifecta, you got a flask. If you were a marathoner that ran all 3 races, you got a belt buckle. Me & some of the other runners were also expecting to get a separate "Trifecta" medal as well but i never saw any out on the table at the finish line. There was also some confusion about if you registered early, you would get a free hoodie. Me, my wife & some other runners registered in June whenever it first opened up & some runners registered during a Black Friday sale. The RD came by the table & honored what the previous owners of the event promised & we got a hoodie for finishing the event.
Even though the course had trails, I will still say that Utah was my favorite out of the 3 courses. All 3 races had amazing course support & volunteers to help everyone make it through this challenging endurance event. With what this RD & his staff was able to do within the 6 weeks prior to the start of this, I have no doubt that any hiccups that they had will be fixed & this will be THE summer event for every runner. I would still recommend this to any runner who's looking for a challenge & i look forward to trying this again in the near future.