Runners say natural beauty drew them to run in the mountains

Instead of crowds of sign-waving humans, you may spot a moose. That's what Loren Anderson encountered while running REVEL Big Cottonwood in 2014, nonchalantly grazing at the side of the road as runners streamed by.

Crowd support? How about a crowd of deer, or a thicket of trees?

All three REVEL races start at least a mile above sea level, where evergreens and wildlife predominate, far removed from the metro areas below. The natural beauty draws runners to the courses. More than 20 percent of Big Cottonwood finishers and nearly 15 percent of Rockies and Canyon City runners cited "beautiful" as the factor that most influenced them to sign up.

The courses combine the logistical support of a city race — the water and medical stops, traffic control, paved courses — with the scenic solitude of a trail race.

"I'm familiar with Cottonwood Canyon," said Anderson, 44, who lives in Vernal, Utah. "It's a great canyon, a beautiful canyon, and I just thought it would be so different. You run through a national forest. It's my favorite race, hands-down."

For some runners, the beauty isn't just a bonus. It's an intrinsic part of the race experience, as important as the music and cheering crowds of urban marathons.

"It's the most beautiful race I've ever run," Mary Abbott, 37, who lives in Littleton, Colorado, said of the REVEL Rockies course. "We started right when the sun was coming up and it was the most gorgeous colors coming over the mountains."

Abbott said the beauty was almost a spiritual experience, and talking with other runners along the course took the place of basking in encouragement from residents and other supporters along a city course.

Teresa Magula, who ran REVEL Canyon City this year and shaved 6 minutes off her previous record, said the beauty of the course helped nudge her toward the finish line.

"I love running in the mountains," Magula said. "When I saw the course, I knew it was going to be great. It's the seclusion, the ability to zone out in nature, no folks cheering, the peacefulness of the course."

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