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Mesa Falls Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Mesa Falls Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.9 
Spectators 3.2
Number of comments: 56 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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R. B. from Canada
(9/2/2013)
"Excellent race from start to finish" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 I chose this marathon in part because of the comments I read on this website. I was not disappointed!! Excellent from start to finish - but especially the course itself. It was a fast race but still challenging with the different road-trail combinations and incline-decline. I will definitely run this race again!! | |
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Mike Weaver from Bremen, GA
(8/27/2013)
"An all around great experience!" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If you can get to Idaho, you need to do this marathon. Every part of the experience was great. At packet pickup, Dave (the RD) introduced himself, showed me previous race pictures and course diagrams, and gave me local sightseeing suggestions. The spaghetti dinner and pre-race breakfast were great. All of the people involved with this race were so nice and made everyone feel at home (even though I traveled 2000 miles). The course is challenging, even more than Hatfield-McCoy (according to my legs!). The first 9.3 miles are on a dirt/crushed rock road, the next 4mi are paved, and pass through Mesa Falls park. Then its about 3mi on a dusty old railroad trail by the Warm river (amazing, but watch your step, I saw people fall). The hills really start at miles 16-20, some quite steep. After mile 20, there are rolling hills through beautiful farm country back to Ashton. There is water, gatorade, and gels about every two miles along the course. At the finish, there were several laptops for live scoring, pizza, fruit, water. I stayed at the Rankin Motel which was across the road from the school (race headquarters) which made getting around easy. After the race, I headed up to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful. Again, this is a must do marathon. | |
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R. G. from McMinnville, Oregon, US
(9/24/2012)
"Great destination marathon!" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I would echo everything Eric from Nebraska said (Go Cornhuskers) and add that the potato sack swag bag was epic. There weren't many fans on the course, but the ones there were great and the more desolate areas were peaceful and scenic. | |
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Eric Olson from Omaha, Nebraska
(8/31/2012)
"Tremendous Experience!" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 First, I'd like to start with the negatives... - (there were none!) Now for the many positives... - the people were so friendly - the course was absolutely gorgeous - heated buses (w/ toilets) at the start - inexpensive/delicious pasta feed ($5 a person/$25 a family) - free breakfast for runners - Mesa Falls was breathtaking - 4-5 choices of fluids at aid station - the community was behind this marathon - GU and fruit at every aid station - plenty of food left at end of race - Mile 14 was all it was touted to be! - extraordinary Huckleberry Shakes - unique wooden finisher medals My favorite small town marathon, bar none!!! Kudos to the residents and race organizers of Ashton, Idaho! This Nebraskan was blown away. | |
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J. M. from St. Paul, MN
(8/29/2012)
"Awesome!!!" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the marathon in 2012. The pasta dinner, pre race breakfast, the bus ride to the start, the race, the volunteers...everything was perfect. This was a great event in every way. There are not may spectators out on this scenic run, but the ones out were great (it is a remote area). This is a great event! | |
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B. H. from Salt Lake City, UT
(8/28/2011)
"Great race would definitely recommend it" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a great marathon. I have decided to just list the most pertinent features of this marathon because one person's negatives are another's positives . . . . -About 1/3 of this marathon is trail which I really enjoyed - Aide stations were plentiful throughout with water, gatorade, GU gel, powerbars, fruit and probably other cool stuff I didn't even see -Port a Potties were adequate but not plentiful, but they had one every 3-4 miles and four at the beginning (but not a large race) - Half marathoners start 2 hours after full marathoners, so all finish around the same time (could be plus or minus but I like running with the half marathoners) - Great $5 dinner night before - Great Free breakfast morning of - 30 minute or so bus ride to start (nice buses!) - Not a lot of schwag but not an expensive marathon - T-shirts were polos which I liked but my girlfriend wasn't fond of - Medal was small but nice and wooden which I liked (marathoners and halfers got the same one which I kind of like as well but I know others don't) - Pizza and fruit at the end (fruit was kind of running low at the end) - FREE Huckleberry shake at a local restaurant (IT WAS FANTASTIC! really hit the spot) - Started 10 minutes late (I could care less, but this might bother some people . . . organizer was trying to be nice and allow people to get out of the restroom) - Some significant hills around mile 17-22 which were a little tough that late in the race - Also the last 5 miles are pretty much out in the plains of Idaho with no shade and a very hot sun beating down on you (probably no other way to design this one b/c it is nice to end in Ashton, but just beware) - As a consolation multiple sprinklers to run through including the guy in his lawn-chair at mile 23 that really blasts you right in the face (literally) and back with water - Overall great organization and Dave Jacobsen the race director was honestly the best race director I have ever had the pleasure of working with . . . refunded money when I inadvertently ordered 2 extra shirts and then let us register late for pre-race dinner. Great race for the state of Idaho. Hometown feel, very friendly volunteers and fellow racers, small race feel (i.e. not super competitive but very fun!). Would recommend it to anyone. Only real negative for me was the last 5 miles (probably unavoidable and not a fault of course design) | |
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K. O. from Seattle, WA
(9/20/2010)
"beautiful course, fantastic organization" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 A little late but I wanted to add my thanks for a wonderful race. Extremely well organized and supported. There were far more spectators than you could reasonably expect from this small town. The course was beautiful. I was especially pleased with the colors of the blue sky and yellow wheat fields after mile 19 or so. Got lucky with the weather; it was cool but not cold (except standing around pre-start). If you need a reason to go to this out-of-the-way spot: I combined the marathon with a trip to Yellowstone Park, which is about 100 miles away. P.S. There really was a bear; I drove the course the day before and saw it (a black bear) around mile 13 or so. Didn't see it while running. | |
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P. F. from Oregonian
(9/6/2010)
"Fantastic Small-Town Marathon" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Other positive comments mirror mine. Dave, the race director, does a great job and is a hands-on guy. He kept trying to get people out of the breakfast room and onto the buses. The start was supposed to be 6:30. It was a tougher course than indicated on the paper topo. The 9.5-mile gravel road chunks were large. I loved Mesa Falls and the rails to trails part by the river. The "hill" seemed long and was humbling. The rolly-polly hills after mile 21 were great on the legs. All volunteers were encouraging and course support abundant. Not many vehicles or spectators; my kind of race. Photographer wasn't around at the finish but I was a late arrival. The Huckleberry Shake at the Soda Fountain was sublime. The course was a challenge and definitely worth the effort. Ashton, Idaho is a hidden gem. | |
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Daniel Weaver from Longview Texas
(9/3/2010)
"Hooked me on smaller marathons" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a delightful experience for me. I especially loved the trail run, which started past mile 13. The start on the gravel road was beautiful but a little rough on the feet. Also, the water stops were manned by wonderfully friendly people, but at the first, they seemed a bit over-whelmed. More volunteers are needed. An absolutely divine course for me. Running along Warm River with nothing but me and the squirrels and birds was spiritual. I was completely satisfied with the whole thing. You should try to run this one. Small but well done. | |
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D. D. from Spokane, WA
(8/30/2010)
"Great course; harder than it looks on paper" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mesa Falls Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Plan to get up early because the buses leave at 5:15 a.m. for a 6:30 start. This year the temperature was cool, so it was a bit chilly on arrival at the starting line out in the middle of the Targhee National Forest. Oh, and a tip: instead of getting out of the bus to stand in line at the porta-potties, the buses have HEATED bathrooms in the back. The first 9.5 miles are through the national forest on gravel roads. No major obstacles - supposedly there are bears in the woods, so caution is urged if a woodsie is imminent - but do watch your feet, as there are some golf ball sized stones. Past that, you run on pavement for the next 3.5 miles, net downhill about 200 feet, then join up with the half marathoners on a dirt trail for a net downhill about 400 feet before the big hill. This part is fast if you can avoid running into a half marathoner. Generally they are very polite and move to the right if you let them know you'd like to pass. After leaving the dirt trail, you start the big hill. The elevation chart is deceptive - it looks like a nice, generally downhill run. But the hill at 17.5 goes a couple of miles and it's sneaky; it's about 300 feet over 2.5 miles and it lasts a long time. After you get to the top there are a couple of UPHILL rollers and you're thinking, hey, where's the downhill? But you already had the down hill so... Actually, from 20 on, you have 300 feet of net downhill to the finish, so you can make up some time. Funny, though, to me it seemed flatter with downhill rollers but not generally downhill. Guess that's just the giddiness after 20. And then you roll into town and through the balloons at the finish and, boy, is it the good life. Fresh pizza, chocolate milk, healthy stuff like bananas and chewy bars, PowerAde, everything a runner might desire (oops, no beer - local social considerations). The medal is made of wood with a salmon on one side and the Mesa Falls Marathon on the other - unique. Great event - well organized, and smallish, with 209 marathoners this year. Far away, but southern Idaho is lovely and the falls are spectacular. The only thing I didn't like was the polo shirt, but then I'm kind of fashion impaired, so what can I say.... |
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