Enter your goal time. Get hill-adjusted, mile-by-mile splits built from actual GPX data — covering the 2,446-foot descent, Veyo Wall, Snow Canyon, and the finish into downtown St. George.
St. George drops 2,446 feet from the Pine Valley Mountains to downtown — making it one of the fastest marathon courses in the country on paper. But that massive descent is also the trap. Every foot of downhill hammers your quads with eccentric contractions that accumulate silently for 20 miles, then explode into the wall when you still have a 10K to run.
The opening seven miles plunge through the canyon, and most runners arrive at Veyo Wall at mile 8 already carrying significant quad damage from running the descents too aggressively. Veyo Wall's 100-foot climb is where those early-mile sins get exposed — the runners who banked time on the drops are now walking a hill that would be routine at mile 2. From there, Snow Canyon delivers another 1,000+ feet of steep descent through miles 15-21 that will shred unprepared legs.
This calculator helps you solve that problem by giving you an exact, step-by-step plan built on research, experience, and data. Enter your goal time, set how aggressively you want to treat uphills, and we'll give you a target pace for every mile on the course that closes exactly to your goal time — accounting for every foot of elevation change from the Pine Valley start to downtown St. George.
Enter your goal time and effort level. Your personalized mile-by-mile splits appear instantly.
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| Mile | Elev | Effort | vs Goal Pace | Target Pace (min/mi) |
Pace Bank | Elapsed |
|---|
Elevation data parsed directly from the official St. George Marathon GPX course file. Uphill penalty applied above +0.4% grade; downhill benefit applied below −0.75% grade. Math closes exactly to goal time.
What the elevation profile doesn't tell you — where you can push, where you must hold back, and why managing 2,446 feet of descent matters more than any single hill on the course.
The race starts at 5,193 feet in the Pine Valley Mountains and immediately begins dropping. The first few miles descend gradually through the central area, but by mile 4 the grade steepens noticeably and by miles 5-7 you're in a full-scale canyon descent — mile 5 drops 154 feet, mile 6 drops 117, and mile 7 is the biggest single drop on the entire course at 220 feet.
This opening section is where St. George races are won or lost — not because of what happens here, but because of what happens later to runners who didn't respect the downhill. Every foot of descent hammers your quadriceps with eccentric contractions. At mile 7, the damage is invisible. At mile 22, it's catastrophic.
The canyon floor approach at mile 7 marks the bottom of this opening plunge. If you've arrived within 15 seconds of your target split, you've set yourself up for a strong Veyo Wall and a survivable Snow Canyon. If you're 30+ seconds ahead of plan, you've already begun writing checks your quads can't cash.
After seven miles of pure descent, the course suddenly pitches upward at mile 8. This is Veyo Wall — the signature climb of the St. George Marathon and the feature that separates runners who paced the opening descent from those who didn't. The wall gains 100 feet in a single mile, with the climb continuing through mile 9 at another 55 feet.
Veyo Wall is not the steepest hill you'll ever run. On fresh legs, it would barely register. But arriving here after 700 feet of downhill pounding, with your quads already micro-damaged from eccentric contractions, turns a routine climb into a race-defining moment. Runners who went out too fast in miles 1-7 often walk Veyo Wall — and once you start walking at mile 8, the math to recover your goal time becomes brutal.
Miles 10-12 roll through Diamond Valley — gentle terrain that feels almost flat after the wall. The half marathon mark arrives near mile 13 as the course begins descending again. If your elapsed time matches your calculator's projection at this checkpoint, you're positioned perfectly for the second half.
Snow Canyon is where St. George earns its reputation as one of the fastest — and most punishing — marathon courses in America. Over seven miles, the course plunges 1,149 feet through some of Utah's most dramatic desert scenery. Mile 15 drops 205 feet. Mile 16 is the steepest mile on the entire course at 259 feet of descent. Mile 17 continues at 140 feet down. The relentless grade doesn't ease until mile 19.
The lava fields and red rock walls are stunning, but this section is a quad graveyard. By mile 18, you've descended over 1,800 feet total since the start. The eccentric muscle damage from that much downhill running is equivalent to running a flat marathon's worth of muscular stress — and you still have 8 miles to go. Runners who pushed the early descents often hit the wall somewhere in miles 19-21, sometimes dramatically.
Mile 21 drops another 244 feet into the outskirts of St. George. By this point, the course has delivered its verdict: runners who respected the downhill still have legs. Runners who didn't are in survival mode. Your calculator splits know the difference — trust the numbers over how you feel.
The final section carries you through red rock scenery and into the streets of St. George. Miles 22-24 still descend steeply — 139, 196, and 158 feet respectively — continuing the quad punishment that defines this course. The grade finally eases at mile 25, and the last mile into Vernon Worthen Park is essentially flat.
By this point, your legs are carrying over 2,400 feet of accumulated descent damage. The crowd support in downtown St. George is strong, but don't let the energy pull you into a pace your body can't sustain. If you've executed your splits through Snow Canyon and arrived here within 30 seconds of plan, you have enough in reserve for a controlled finish.
A desert race that starts at elevation in early October — conditions vary more than the "perfect running weather" reputation suggests.
The St. George Marathon runs on the first Saturday of October in southern Utah. The race starts at 5,193 feet in the Pine Valley Mountains where early-morning temperatures are cool, then descends 2,446 feet into the desert floor of St. George where conditions can warm rapidly. The high-desert climate means very low humidity but intense sun exposure once the marine layer burns off. Race start is 7:00 AM — early enough to get most runners through the exposed Snow Canyon section before peak heat.
| Year | Start Temp | Finish Temp | Humidity | Wind | Conditions | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48°F | 68°F | 22% | 6 mph SW | Ideal | Cool start at elevation, warmed gradually. Excellent BQ conditions for front-of-pack runners who finished before 10 AM. |
| 2024 | 52°F | 72°F | 18% | 8 mph W | Good | Slightly warmer start than ideal. Back-of-pack runners faced 70s°F through Snow Canyon. Low humidity helped offset heat. |
| 2023 | 45°F | 64°F | 25% | 5 mph NW | Near Perfect | Coolest start in recent years. Light tailwind through canyon descent. Strong finishing times across all age groups. |
| 2022 | 54°F | 75°F | 15% | 10 mph SW | Warm | Temperatures climbed quickly after 9 AM. Runners in the 4:00+ range faced challenging heat through the final miles. |
| 2021 | 50°F | 70°F | 20% | 7 mph W | Good | Moderate conditions throughout. Manageable for most finishers. Desert sun exposure became a factor after mile 18. |
The practical takeaway: in a cool year (below 50°F at start, staying below 65°F at the finish line), St. George is as fast as its massive descent suggests. In a warm year, the combination of desert sun and 2,400+ feet of quad-destroying downhill creates a compounding problem — heat stress on top of muscular damage. Add 5-10 minutes to your conservative goal on warm days and protect yourself early. Your calculator splits remain accurate regardless of temperature — the hill adjustments don't change, only your ability to execute them.
One of the fastest BQ courses in America — if you respect the descent. Here's why this course works, what the standards are, and how to pace a serious BQ attempt.
The St. George Marathon's 2,446-foot net descent makes it one of the most popular BQ destination races in the country. The math is straightforward: a net drop of nearly half a mile over 26.2 miles provides a significant gravity assist that translates directly into faster finish times. Combined with typically cool October start temperatures and a well-organized race, St. George consistently produces BQ times at a rate well above the national marathon average.
But the BQ rate swings hard with execution. Runners who respect the descent and run controlled splits through Snow Canyon finish fast. Runners who treat the downhill as free speed blow up spectacularly. The course is unforgiving of pacing mistakes — there's no flat recovery section in the second half where you can regroup.
These are the BAA's official qualifying times. Meeting the standard gets you into the registration window; actually getting in requires running faster than the cutoff, which in recent years has been 5–6 minutes under the standard. Check baa.org for the current cycle's cutoff history.
| Age Group | Men | Women | Non-Binary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 3:00:00 | 3:30:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 35–39 | 3:05:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:35:00 |
| 40–44 | 3:10:00 | 3:40:00 | 3:40:00 |
| 45–49 | 3:20:00 | 3:50:00 | 3:50:00 |
| 50–54 | 3:25:00 | 3:55:00 | 3:55:00 |
| 55–59 | 3:35:00 | 4:05:00 | 4:05:00 |
| 60–64 | 3:50:00 | 4:20:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 65–69 | 4:05:00 | 4:35:00 | 4:35:00 |
| 70–74 | 4:20:00 | 4:50:00 | 4:50:00 |
| 75–79 | 4:35:00 | 5:05:00 | 5:05:00 |
| 80+ | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 | 5:20:00 |
The biggest mistake BQ chasers make at St. George is treating the opening descent as free time. Running 20-30 seconds per mile faster than target in miles 1-7 feels effortless at 5,000 feet of elevation. The problem: you're accumulating 727 feet of quad-destroying eccentric contractions, and Veyo Wall at mile 8 is about to expose every second you banked.
Enter your BQ goal time in the calculator above. Your splits for the first 7 miles will already be faster than your flat goal pace because the grade naturally accelerates you. Run those numbers exactly — don't add more speed on top of the grade benefit. Arrive at Veyo Wall with your quads intact and your elapsed time matching your calculator's projection.
Snow Canyon (miles 15-21) is where BQ attempts live or die. The 1,149-foot descent through these seven miles will shred quads that were already damaged in the opening section. Your calculator splits give you a specific target for each of these miles. Trust those numbers over how you feel — feeling "great" at mile 16 after 1,500 feet of descent is a warning sign, not a green light.
One timing note: St. George runs in October, which means your qualifying time is valid for the following April's Boston registration window. That's roughly a 6-month window — tighter than spring marathons, so register promptly after qualifying.
A point-to-point race with mandatory bus transportation, a 2,446-foot elevation drop from start to finish, and the 50th anniversary celebration in 2026.
The Race Expo runs at the Dixie Convention Center on Friday before race day, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Packet pickup is only available at the expo — there is no race-morning pickup. Plan to arrive early Friday to avoid afternoon crowds and give yourself time to explore the expo.
The 2026 race marks the 50th anniversary of the St. George Marathon, with a $100,000 prize purse and special anniversary celebrations throughout race weekend. Events and activities may be expanded beyond the typical schedule.
The race is point-to-point from the Pine Valley Mountains to downtown St. George, and you cannot drive to the start. Buses load at Vernon Worthen Park between 3:45 AM and 5:15 AM on race morning, with the last buses departing at 5:15 AM sharp. The drive to the start takes approximately 45-60 minutes.
The staging area at the start line has gear check and porta-potties. Temperatures at 5,193 feet of elevation can be 10-15°F cooler than in St. George — bring throwaway layers for the wait. Dress for 40-50°F at the start even if the St. George forecast shows 60s.
The start area is at 5,193 feet of elevation in the Pine Valley Mountains. The gun goes off at 7:00 AM. Self-seeded corrals — there is no formal wave system, so runners self-organize by expected finish time. Faster runners should position toward the front to avoid congestion in the narrow early miles.
Gear check closes before the gun. Checked bags go on trucks and meet you at the finish in Vernon Worthen Park. Don't check anything you'll need at the start.
Aid stations are spaced approximately every 2 miles along the course, stocked with water, Gatorade, and e-Gel. Medical support is stationed throughout, with additional coverage at known trouble spots like the top of Veyo Wall and the Snow Canyon descent.
The course time limit is 6 hours 15 minutes, with a pace vehicle following the back of the field at approximately 16:13/mile pace. If you fall behind the vehicle, course marshals will redirect you.
Spectator access is limited through much of the canyon and Snow Canyon sections. The best crowd support comes in the final miles through St. George neighborhoods and at the Vernon Worthen Park finish.
The finish is at Vernon Worthen Park in downtown St. George at 2,747 feet of elevation. The post-race area includes food, medals, gear check pickup, and the Desert Double 5K finish area (the 5K runs Saturday afternoon and shares the finish venue).
Cell service can get congested post-race. Designate a specific meetup point with your crew beforehand — the park is large and easy to get lost in when 8,000 finishers and their families are milling around.
St. George hotels book fast for race weekend. Six months out is standard for the best options near downtown. The Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard Marriott, and several Airbnb options near Vernon Worthen Park put you closest to the bus loading and finish areas.
Race-morning parking near Vernon Worthen Park fills quickly — the same lot serves as the bus loading zone. If you're not staying within walking distance, arrive well before 3:30 AM to secure parking. Ride-share is available but demand surges at 3:00-3:30 AM.
The St. George Marathon drops 2,446 feet net over 26.2 miles, starting at 5,193 feet in the Pine Valley Mountains and finishing at 2,747 feet in downtown St. George. The steepest single mile is mile 16 at 259 feet of descent through Snow Canyon. The descent is not uniform — miles 1-7 drop through the central canyon, miles 8-14 climb and roll through Veyo and Diamond Valley, then miles 15-21 plunge steeply through Snow Canyon into St. George.
The calculator on this page accounts for every segment using actual GPX data, so you'll see how each grade changes your target pace and cumulative bank going into the finish.
Veyo Wall is the defining climb of the St. George Marathon, hitting at mile 8 with a 100-foot gain. After seven miles of steep descent — including a 220-foot drop at mile 7 — your quads are already absorbing significant downhill stress when the course suddenly pitches upward. The climb continues through mile 9 with another 55 feet of gain.
Runners who went out too fast in the opening descent often hit Veyo Wall and blow up — making it the course's most decisive feature despite the race's net-downhill reputation. The calculator gives you a specific target pace for Veyo Wall so you know exactly how much to slow down and still finish on time.
No. With 2,649 feet of total descent across the course, the eccentric quad damage is enormous — every extra second you push on the downhills is a debt you repay with interest after mile 20. The steep miles through Snow Canyon (miles 15-21, dropping over 1,000 feet) will shred unprepared quads regardless, but runners who banked time early arrive there with significantly less muscular reserve.
The calculator already gives you credit for the downhill grades. Your target pace in the steep descent miles is faster than a flat-course equivalent because the grade naturally accelerates you. Run your numbers and you'll arrive at the St. George finish with your legs intact.
The calculator uses elevation data parsed directly from the official St. George Marathon GPX course file, segmented into 27 intervals covering all 26.2 miles. The uphill penalty (adjustable 12-15 seconds per mile per 1% grade) and downhill benefit (fixed at 8 seconds per mile per 1% grade, applied below a -0.75% threshold) are based on published exercise science research on grade-adjusted pace.
The math closes exactly: the sum of target pace times distance for every segment equals your goal time to the second. Real performance varies with fitness, weather, and fueling, but this is the most accurate free framework available for this course.
