Marathon in St. George

This past week was a busy week with helping tend the grand kids with Maycie in the hospital, but you can read about that in Monica's blog when she gets it done, ushering, the marathon, general conference, and Derrik's football game.



We ushered at Tuacahn on Friday night for the play "Big River" (it's about Huck Finn) with Terry & Diana, Brice & Aleena, & Joquetta (Monty's cousin) who was down here with her sister, Gail Baggs who was going to run the marathon the next day. Gail needed to go to bed early for the race. When you usher you get to watch the play for free. The play doesn't get out until about 10:30 p.m.




On Saturday morning, October 4th there was the yearly running of the St. George Marathon. The race starts up in Central and goes 26.2 miles down to St. George. The race is down the main road in front of our housing area so they close the road to cars. We go out and cheer them on each year. This year it was different because it was rainy all day which made it hard for the runners and for us sitting out there in the rain and cold. The race starts at about 6:45 a.m. The first people to pass us were a few wheel chair racers. The first runner was shortly after that at about 8:10 a.m. when he made it to where we were sitting which is about 17 miles into the race. At the first, the runners are few and far between, but it gets more crowded as the day goes on, then it gets fewer toward the end.

Some people run in groups and even carry balloons or flags.

We make signs and hold them up for people we know who are running in the race.

This runner is the husband of Candy Facer, a teacher Monty use to teach with up in Huntsville. Many runners wore garbage bags over their clothes to help keep them dry, but their shoes were just wet and miserable, with no way to keep them dry. His wife Candy also ran the race, but my cell phone had too many pictures on it so I couldn't take one of her when she got to where we were. Her husband was about 45 minutes ahead of her.

This is Monty's cousin Gail Baggs, daughter of Joe and Edesa Anderson. I ended up using Monty's cell phone to take her picture when she got to us since mine was full. She finished the race in 4 hours 58 minutes and 2 seconds. I think that is amazing. She is a trooper. She had also ran another marathon a week or two before up in Logan. I don't know how she does it.

The last person to finish the race took 8 hours 14 minutes and 1 second. That is a long time to run or even to walk for that long.


Each year after the race I think about running the marathon the next year after seeing some of the people who run the race. I tell myself that I could do it if they can. It just takes a mind set and a willingness to train. I don't know if I am ready to take that on.
Anyone want to train with me???



Who knows maybe someday you will see me on a blog after I do a marathon,
but don't hold your breath!!