REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Cottonwood Heights, UTSeptember 11, 2027
REVEL Big Cottonwood starts on Guardsman Pass around 9,625 feet and runs straight downhill through the canyon for close to 15 miles at an average 5% grade, finishing roughly 5,244 feet lower in the Salt Lake valley. There's only about 221 feet of climbing in the entire race.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
That ratio, 221 feet up against 5,465 feet down, is the whole training problem. Downhill running loads your quadriceps eccentrically, meaning the muscle lengthens under tension with every footstrike, and eccentric loading is what causes the damage that makes legs stop working. Train flat roads for this course and you can be fit enough and still fail at mile 18, because fitness isn't what runs out.
352 days to race day
REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon · September 11, 2027 · about 50 weeks out
Your plan starts with your race and works backward. Every week lands on a real calendar, with race day at the end.
When to start training for the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon 2027
Race day is September 11, 2027, which is 352 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildStart February 13, 2027
- 24-week buildStart March 27, 2027
- 18-week buildStart May 8, 2027
- 16-week buildStart May 22, 2027
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart June 19, 2027
You have about 50 weeks until race day, so there is still room for a full build. Stride reads the runway you actually have and maps every week from today to September 11, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon course facts
- Course
- Point to Point · Downhill · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 221 ft gain, 5,465 ft loss
- Net elevation drop
- About 5,244 ft lower at the finish than the start
- Highest / lowest point
- 9,625 ft / 4,377 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 1,179 in 2025 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 4.3% in 2025
- Race day high / low
- 70°F / 44°F on average
Boston qualifying note. The Boston Marathon adds 10 minutes to qualifying times run on courses that drop this much, starting with 2027 registration, so a time here counts as 10 minutes slower than the clock.
Start-line temperature is not listed for this race. The course finishes thousands of feet below where it starts, so the weather recorded in the finish city does not describe the start line.
Let’s find the plan for you.
Your race, current mileage, longest run, marathon experience, and available days decide the best fit. Stride maps the plan you choose to race day at the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon.
- Stride Run-Walk FinisherThree sessions a week with planned walk breaks, cover the full distance before race day.
- Stride First MarathonThe classic four-day first-marathon build: easy running and one weekly long run, no speedwork.
- Stride First Marathon PlusA first-marathon build with a little more volume and weekly race-pace miles.
- Stride 6-Day FinisherFinish your first marathon on frequency: six easy-leaning runs a week, no monster long runs.
- Stride 5-Day Pace BuilderFive days a week with race-pace runs before your long runs, built for a mid-pack time goal.
- Stride 6-Day RhythmSix days a week with three quality sessions, steady fatigue that teaches you to finish strong.
- Stride Time-Based FoundationFive time-based runs a week, mostly easy, the injury-averse way to a strong finish.
- Stride Time-Based BuilderSix time-based runs a week at a strict 80% easy / 20% hard split, chase a time goal without breaking.
- Stride 3-Day Cross-TrainThree runs plus two cross-training days over 24 weeks, marathon fitness on a busy schedule.
- Stride 3-Day QualityExactly three hard runs plus two mandatory cross-training sessions, every workout counts.
- Stride 6-Day CumulativeThe six-day cumulative-fatigue build with quality from week two, for PR chasers with a base.
- Stride Threshold 55The serious BQ/PR build to 55 miles a week: threshold work, medium-long runs, and 20-milers.
- Stride Threshold 70The high-mileage BQ/PR build to 70 miles a week for veterans with a deep base.
- Stride 2-Quality FlexTwo fixed quality sessions a week, everything else flexible easy running, fits any schedule.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Choose your REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon training window.
Compare 12, 16, 18, and 20 weeks counted back from race day. The 18-week option includes the complete four-day schedule.
The course: 15 canyon miles at 5%, then 11 in the valley
REVEL Big Cottonwood begins on Guardsman Pass and descends among the canyon cliffs for nearly 15 miles at an average 5% grade to the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. From there it runs through Cottonwood Heights and Holladay and finishes at Cottonwood High School. The course is USATF certified under number UT15006KH.
The elevation range is enormous, from about 9,625 feet at the top down to about 4,377 feet at the finish. The atmosphere thickens the whole way down, which is why altitude tends not to be the limiter here even for runners who live at sea level. Oxygen availability improves with every mile you cover while your quads get steadily worse.
The valley miles are where the race is actually decided. Once the canyon lets you out, roughly 11 miles remain on ordinary ground, and you have to run them on legs that have already absorbed the better part of a mile of vertical descent. Most people's mental picture of this race stops at the canyon. Their race does not.
How to train for REVEL Big Cottonwood
Train for REVEL Big Cottonwood by building eccentric quad durability, a separate project from marathon fitness that takes roughly eight weeks. The race's own guidance is downhill work about once every 10 to 14 days, using repeats between a quarter mile and a mile, at lower total volume than a normal session.
Technique matters as much as volume. The mistake is braking: reaching the foot out ahead of the body to slow yourself, which multiplies the force through the knees and quads on every single step. Pitch forward slightly from the hips, shorten your stride, lift your cadence, and let the hill carry you. Done properly it feels like gliding, and it runs 15 to 20 seconds per mile quicker than normal for the same effort.
Then plan the second half, because only about 11 miles are run outside the canyon and those are the ones that hurt. Do at least two long runs that finish with 8 to 10 miles at goal pace immediately after a sustained descent. That exact sequence, downhill and then flat at pace, is what race day asks for, and almost nobody rehearses it.
Ramp downhill volume gradually. One overambitious session can leave you sore enough to lose a week of quality work, and quad damage doesn't respond to willpower.
Getting in
Entry is by online registration with no lottery, and REVEL races draw runners specifically for the descent, so popular editions fill. Logistics are the part to plan around. The start sits high on Guardsman Pass, so expect an organized ride up the canyon well before dawn and a cold wait at the top, and confirm the current schedule with the organizer, because it drives your entire race morning.
Where does the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon get hard?
The valley miles after you leave the canyon around mile 15, where roughly 11 flat miles have to be run on quads that already absorbed almost a mile of vertical descent.
What is the weather like at the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon?
You start on a mountain pass thousands of feet above the valley finish, so the temperature at the start line has almost nothing to do with the temperature where you'll cross the line. Expect a genuinely cold wait before the gun and a warm finish, with the valley averaging a 70F high and a 44F low in September and humidity around 53%. Bring a throwaway layer, and train some long runs that start cold and end warm.
Is the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
REVEL Big Cottonwood is a certified Boston qualifying course that has historically produced qualifying times at a high rate: 21.3% of finishers in 2023 and 27.4% in 2022, though only 4.3% in 2025. Before you choose it as a qualifier, know that from the 2027 Boston registration cycle onward the BAA applies a net downhill index, and a course dropping this steeply carries a 10 minute adjustment, so a time run here is treated as 10 minutes slower than the clock. That changes the math on this race completely.
Is the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a poor choice for a first marathon, and it's worth being blunt about it. A first timer has no reference for what 5,000 feet of descent does to their legs, and the failure mode isn't ordinary fatigue, it's quads that stop absorbing force somewhere after mile 15. Run a normal marathon first, learn what the distance feels like, then come back here.
REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon questions, answered.
How much elevation does REVEL Big Cottonwood drop?
About 5,244 feet net. REVEL Big Cottonwood starts near 9,625 feet on Guardsman Pass and finishes around 4,377 feet in the Salt Lake valley, with roughly 5,465 feet of total descent against only about 221 feet of climbing. Nearly 15 miles of that comes in the canyon at an average 5% grade.
Is REVEL Big Cottonwood a good Boston qualifier?
It's fast, but the rules changed. The course produced high qualifying rates historically, 21.3% of finishers in 2023 and 27.4% in 2022. From the 2027 Boston registration cycle the BAA applies a net downhill index, and this course carries a 10 minute adjustment, so a time here counts as 10 minutes slower for registration.
Do I need to train differently for a downhill marathon?
Yes, and it's the whole point of preparing for this race. Downhill running loads the quads eccentrically and causes muscle damage that flat training does nothing to prevent. The race recommends downhill sessions roughly every 10 to 14 days, repeats from a quarter mile to a mile, short quick strides and no braking. Start about eight weeks out.
Does the altitude at Big Cottonwood affect sea level runners?
Less than you'd expect. The race starts around 9,625 feet but descends the entire way, so oxygen availability improves with every mile, and downhill running has a lower cardiovascular demand to begin with. The organizers report altitude has not been a factor for lower elevation runners. Your quads, not your lungs, are the limit.
Where does the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon get hard?
The valley miles after you leave the canyon around mile 15, where roughly 11 flat miles have to be run on quads that already absorbed almost a mile of vertical descent.
What is the weather like at the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon?
You start on a mountain pass thousands of feet above the valley finish, so the temperature at the start line has almost nothing to do with the temperature where you'll cross the line. Expect a genuinely cold wait before the gun and a warm finish, with the valley averaging a 70F high and a 44F low in September and humidity around 53%. Bring a throwaway layer, and train some long runs that start cold and end warm.
Is the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
REVEL Big Cottonwood is a certified Boston qualifying course that has historically produced qualifying times at a high rate: 21.3% of finishers in 2023 and 27.4% in 2022, though only 4.3% in 2025. Before you choose it as a qualifier, know that from the 2027 Boston registration cycle onward the BAA applies a net downhill index, and a course dropping this steeply carries a 10 minute adjustment, so a time run here is treated as 10 minutes slower than the clock. That changes the math on this race completely.
Is the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon a good first marathon?
This is a poor choice for a first marathon, and it's worth being blunt about it. A first timer has no reference for what 5,000 feet of descent does to their legs, and the failure mode isn't ordinary fatigue, it's quads that stop absorbing force somewhere after mile 15. Run a normal marathon first, learn what the distance feels like, then come back here.
When should I start training for the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon 2027?
Race day is September 11, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around April 24, 2027, a 16-week build around May 22, 2027, and a 12-week build around June 19, 2027. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon as your race, and answer a few questions about your recent running and your weekly schedule. Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans, maps every week from today to September 11, 2027, adjusts when life gets in the way, and puts you in a feed of runners training for the same race.
Choosing a training app?
A REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon buildup is months of your life. See how Stride compares before you commit it to an app.
Find your plan.
Your race, current mileage, recent longest run, goal, and run days determine which plans rank first. Choose one and subscribe, then open every workout in Stride.