Comparing the Routes of the Deseret News Classic

I've been running the 10K on Pioneer Day for over a decade.  Since I'm not a fan of the marathon course, my only option has been to run the 10k.

..Okay, before I get started, maybe I should backtrack.

This year, the races on Pioneer Day got a new name, the Deseret News Classic.  Last year, in 2012, they were called the Deseret News Marathon Race Series.  A few years before that, they just called it the Deseret News Marathon, even though they offered a 10K and a 5k untimed run.

For simplicity sake, I've always just called it the Pioneer Day run.

What is Pioneer Day?

Pioneer Day is a legal holiday in Utah.  Banks are closed and state government is closed, but it's not just a bank/government-only holiday; lots of people (including me) get the day off.  There are fireworks shows at night and parades in many cities around the state.  The largest parade is the Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake City, and it happens to be the third largest parade in the country (it also plays a role in the race, as we'll discover in a few paragraphs).

Pioneer Day is celebrated on July 24 every year, and it commemorates the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.

The Half Marathon route is the only one of the courses which passes directly in front of the This is the Place Monument, which commemorates the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers on July 24, 1847.  It's a good reminder of why we celebrate Pioneer Day in the first place.

The 10K Route

For years, the only two timed races offered on July 24 were the marathon and a 10K.  I must admit that I really love this 10K course.  The route starts at Research Park, up by the University of Utah.  It runs down to Foothill Blvd. and then westward past Rice-Eccles Stadium to 13th East.  After that, it proceeds up to South Temple.  The next section, almost two miles, is a on a downhill slope on South Temple, a pleasant tree-lined avenue lined with stately homes (including Utah's governor's mansion).

The final two miles of the 10K route are the best:  it traces straight down the parade route, on 2nd East and then 9th South to Liberty Park.  The street is lines with thousands of people, many of whom have camped out overnight, who cheer on the runners as they wend their way to the finish.  It makes for a very enjoyable run, and I've made it part of my July 24 tradition since 2002.

The view of the 10K route at the top of the parade route.  The view here is southbound on 2nd East from South Temple.  Crowds line both sides of the street for the entire distance, two miles from this point to the finish line at Liberty Park, on 9th South at 6th East. 

The Marathon Route

For anyone who desired to run longer than a 10K, the only alternative, before this year, has been the marathon.  My wife has run this marathon, but I never have.  There are two things that I don't like about this marathon course.

First, is the long climb near the beginning of the course uphill to Little Mountain Summit, at the top of Emigration Canyon.  Second, it's the fact that marathon runners, other than the elite runners who can complete the race in under three hours, do not get to run down the parade route. Nope, because the parade begins at 9:00, ordinary marathoners, like me, are forced to run one block to the east, on 3rd East.  It spoils the magic of running on Pioneer Day!

So, I have always stuck with the 10K.

Finally, a Half!

This year, 2013, for the first time, the Deseret News added a new race to the program:  a half marathon. When I looked at the course, it had all of the plusses of the 10K route and none of the drawbacks of the marathon.  To wit:  the half marathon began about a mile shy of Little Mountain Summit -- on the Salt Lake side -- so there was no uphill.  The first six miles were downhill running in the canyon until emerging at the Hogle Zoo.  The last six miles traced the 10K route, parade route and all.

The half marathon course also eliminates the additional leg that the marathon route has, turning south at Hogle Zoo and hugging the bench before joining Foothill Blvd near the mouth of Parleys Canyon, and then turning back toward downtown Salt Lake City. That jog in the route has the psychological impact of heading in the opposite direction from the finish line in those crucial, depressing mid-teen miles.  Again, the route of the half spares runners from this.

After looking at the route, I knew immediately that I would sign up for the half!

Utah's Governor's Mansion is one of the sights along South Temple.  All three races pass in front of here, at 6th East.

Maps

This page contains maps of all the races
http://deseretnewsclassic.com/about/course-maps/

Did the Half Marathon Hurt the Pioneer Day Run?

2013 marked the first time that the Deseret News Classic offered a half marathon.  In prior years, the only choices for a timed run were a 10K or a full marathon.  The addition of a half to the program filled a big gap in distance options.

The thing that I wondered was this:  what was the impact on the other races caused by the addition of the new race?

Number of Finishers

Year	Full Marathon	Half	10K		Total
2009	493		2264		2757
2010	564		2343		2907
2011	500		1839		2339
2012	544		1944		2488
2013	428	903	1151		2482

The total number of finishers in the three races this year was 2,482. While, that number is a far cry from the nearly 3,000 finishers back in 2010, it's almost identical to the number from last year, 2,488, and almost 150 more than the number of finishers from 2011.

I don't know what caused the big drop-off after 2010, but it looks like it all came out of the 10K race. The addition of the Half this year seems to have taken another big bite out of the 10K, but remember that they charge $20 extra for the half marathon, so this was an enhancement to revenue.

Of course, the new race brings a new demand for busses to the start line that wasn't needed for the 10k because 10K runners park at the starting line in Research Park. Also, I'm sure the longer course necessitates higher expenses such as additional police presence to block intersections. (although, there was less than a mile of the Half Marathon course that was already a part of either the full marathon course or 10K course or both.)

My source for the number of finishers are the race results found on this page: http://deseretnewsclassic.com/about/results-2/