REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon: Pacing & Race-Day Strategy
A steep plunge out of Big Cottonwood Canyon, a BQ magnet that’s ruthless on untrained quads.
- Where:
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- When:
- Saturday, September 12, 2026
- Course:
- Steep net downhill · canyon
- Best run as:
- Even pace
Course & elevation
Big Cottonwood drops roughly 5,000 feet net, plunging out of Big Cottonwood Canyon high in the Wasatch down to the Salt Lake valley floor. The canyon descent is steep and sustained for the first 18-plus miles before the course flattens through the valley to the finish. The relentless downgrade produces some of the fastest amateur times anywhere, and it shreds the quads of anyone who hasn’t trained the downhill.
- Start → Finish
- 9,000 → 4,500 ft
- Net
- −4,500 ft
- Total gain
- ≈ 0 ft
Key moments
- Mile 1–18A steep, sustained canyon descent. Float on a quick cadence and never brake or overstride.
- Mile 18–20The grade eases onto the valley floor; your legs are already deeply loaded from the canyon.
- Mile 21–26.2A flatter run-in to the finish, where trashed quads fall apart and trained ones hold form.
Pacing strategy
Treat this as a downhill specialist’s race and bank weeks of quad-conditioning descents in training. Run a light, fast turnover down the canyon without reaching or braking, and conserve enough leg integrity for the flatter final 5 miles, which punish anyone who overcooked the descent.
Pacing by goal time
Checkpoint splits for four common goals at REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon. These are effort-even rather than pace-even: the paces shift with the course profile, so climbs are slower and descents faster by the amount the grade actually costs. For any other goal time, use the planner below.
| Checkpoint | Sub-3:00 | Sub-3:30 | Sub-4:00 | Sub-4:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 3.1 | 17:595:60/mi | 20:596:60/mi | 23:597:60/mi | 26:598:60/mi |
| Mile 6.2 | 35:585:60/mi | 41:586:60/mi | 47:587:60/mi | 53:588:60/mi |
| Mile 9.3 | 54:066:08/mi | 1:03:077:09/mi | 1:12:088:11/mi | 1:21:099:12/mi |
| Mile 12.4 | 1:12:506:18/mi | 1:24:587:21/mi | 1:37:078:24/mi | 1:49:159:27/mi |
| Mile 15.5 | 1:32:587:14/mi | 1:48:288:26/mi | 2:03:589:38/mi | 2:19:2710:51/mi |
| Mile 18.6 | 1:55:207:32/mi | 2:14:348:47/mi | 2:33:4710:02/mi | 2:53:0111:18/mi |
| Mile 21.7 | 2:18:357:49/mi | 2:41:419:08/mi | 3:04:4610:26/mi | 3:27:5211:44/mi |
| Mile 24.9 | 2:42:157:55/mi | 3:09:189:15/mi | 3:36:2010:34/mi | 4:03:2311:53/mi |
| Finish | 2:58:158:00/mi | 3:27:579:20/mi | 3:57:4010:40/mi | 4:27:2212:00/mi |
Grade adjustment is a model, not a promise. It assumes even effort and ignores wind, heat, and how well your legs handle sustained descent — which on a steep course is often the deciding factor.
Plan your mile splits
Enter your goal time to get a mile-by-mile pacing band for REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon. The even pace option is pre-selected to suit this course.
| Mile | Pace | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:09/mi | 9:09 |
| 2 | 9:09/mi | 18:18 |
| 3 | 9:09/mi | 27:28 |
| 4 | 9:09/mi | 36:37 |
| 5 | 9:09/mi | 45:46 |
| 6 | 9:09/mi | 54:55 |
| 7 | 9:09/mi | 1:04:05 |
| 8 | 9:09/mi | 1:13:14 |
| 9 | 9:09/mi | 1:22:23 |
| 10 | 9:09/mi | 1:31:32 |
| 11 | 9:09/mi | 1:40:41 |
| 12 | 9:09/mi | 1:49:51 |
| 13 | 9:09/mi | 1:59:00 |
| 14 | 9:09/mi | 2:08:09 |
| 15 | 9:09/mi | 2:17:18 |
| 16 | 9:09/mi | 2:26:28 |
| 17 | 9:09/mi | 2:35:37 |
| 18 | 9:09/mi | 2:44:46 |
| 19 | 9:09/mi | 2:53:55 |
| 20 | 9:09/mi | 3:03:05 |
| 21 | 9:09/mi | 3:12:14 |
| 22 | 9:09/mi | 3:21:23 |
| 23 | 9:09/mi | 3:30:32 |
| 24 | 9:09/mi | 3:39:41 |
| 25 | 9:09/mi | 3:48:51 |
| 26 | 9:09/mi | 3:58:00 |
| 26.22 | 9:09/mi | 4:00:00 |
Fueling & hydration
Aid stations roughly every 1.5–2 miles with water and sports drink. The cool canyon start and the easy-feeling descent both tempt you to skip fuel, so lock in a gel schedule from the opening miles and drink on time regardless of thirst.
Weather
Mid-September brings a cold, occasionally near-freezing high-canyon start that warms sharply as you descend into the valley. Pack throwaway layers for the long pre-dawn wait at altitude.
Is REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
It can be, but with an asterisk. The course drops 4,500 ft net, which puts it in the band where the B.A.A. adds 10:00 to your submitted time for 2027. That does not disqualify the race — it means you need to run 10 minutes faster here than the standard alone suggests.
A drop this size is fast and punishing at once. Sustained descent loads the quads eccentrically, and runners who have not trained for it tend to lose more in the last 10K than the profile gave them in the first. If you target this race, train downhill specifically.
This drop is our estimate rather than a figure from the course's certificate. If it sits near a threshold, confirm with the organizer.
Dial in your pacing & fueling
New to how training builds toward a race like this? Start with Anatomy of a Running Plan, find your zones with the pace calculator, and plan race-day nutrition with the fueling calculator.
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