REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon

The REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon is a net-downhill, point-to-point road marathon held every September in the Salt Lake City area of Utah, organized by REVEL Race Series. The marathon starts at Guardsman Pass near the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon at roughly 9,625 feet of elevation and drops steadily along Big Cottonwood Creek at an average 5% grade, losing more than 5,200 feet by the time it finishes at Cottonwood High School in Murray, Utah, after passing through Cottonwood Heights and Holladay. A companion Half Marathon starts lower in the canyon, near the Mill D parking area, and follows the same downhill finish. Both distances are USATF-certified (Marathon: UT15006KH; Half Marathon: UT23007TJD), and the marathon is widely regarded as one of the fastest Boston-qualifying (BQ) courses in the country, historically producing strong BQ and personal-record rates. Runners are bused to the start from Murray High School (marathon) or a Midvale park-and-ride (half), race-day packet pickup is not offered — bibs must be collected at the Friday expo at the Salt Palace Convention Center — and finishers who complete three REVEL races in a calendar year earn the series' Triple REVELer medal. Canyon mornings run notably cooler than the Salt Lake valley, with gloves and mylar blankets provided at the start.