My husband and I were looking for a fall destination race and chose Salmon, ID as a unique spot. The Salmon Marathon has a 300 person cap (half + full) so no doubt it was a small local affair. Had a wonderful, relaxing long weekend with a marathon tucked in!

Registration was easy - first 100 got a free coffee mug or wine glass. Both were very nice. Entry fee was tiny too....maybe $50/60 in advance? There was no expo - bib pickup was in the basement of the library around a back alley. A local restaurant provided some snacks and we got our shirt, our bib and some coupons for local places. Also a PowerBar gel. No big production, and that's ok.

The morning of the race there were school buses at the host hotel (this quaint little place called the Stagecoach Inn) to take us to the starting point. We congregated at an old one-room schoolhouse in Tendoy, ID where the timing chips were handed out and porto potties were plentiful. It was 38 degrees at 5,000' so we were thankful for the schoolhouse! Race was down an old country road - surface was packed dirt/some gravel for the first 20mi or so. The total elevation drop was around 1000' but there were two climbs (one short around mile 7 and one at mile 14 that was 1.5mi up to a turnaround then back down) that broke it up. Last couple miles took us back into Salmon then up the main street (there's only one) to the City Park.

Aid stations were great - every two miles there was water, Gatorade, raisins, bananas, oranges, powerbar gel and Vaseline. Each station was manned by a few people that were so friendly and helpful and just glad to say hi. There was also a bright orange porto pottie at each station making them easy to see up ahead.

The scenery was beautiful. Mountains and valleys, cattle and horses and the Salmon River running alongside. The race ended at the City Park where there was some food and drink. There was also the local farmers market happening so other opportunities to sample local items.

The town of Salmon is very small - the restaurants and coffee shops were great, people friendly and you could walk everywhere and feel totally safe. Within 30min you could drive to old mining towns, state parks or the 9000' peaks of the Continental Divide. This area is also where Lewis and Clark traveled through so lots of historical markers and a Sacajawea Museum right in Salmon (her birthplace).

Totally enjoyed every bit of this adventure. There was a marathon in Bozeman, MT the next day so there were several runners (and Maniacs) doing the back-to-back. Totally recommend this race!