Cassidy Harmon
reporter2@suunews.com
The Cedar City Half-Marathon proved to be a success despite less than perfect weather conditions.
Not even cloudy weather could ruin the excitement felt in the air Saturday morning for the Cedar City Half Marathon.
The day started out very early for the runners, some waking up as early as 5 a.m. Unfortunately, before the race started it was a frigid 55 degrees and raining.
Even though the ice rain was chilling the runners bones it didn’t lower their spirits. The race began at the top of the canyon in Woods Cross. Crystal Christensen, a level 2 nursing major from Draper, was one of 879 racers who competed in the race. She described the scenery at Woods Cross like a wedding reception: there were Christmas lights strung up, bonfires for runners to huddle around and music playing.
Christensen said the excitement from all the other runners was contagious. Right before the race commenced Christensen said she remembered thinking, “What have I got myself into?…. No backing out. The only way to get down, was down.”
Kelli Pugh, Crystal Christensen’s sister-in-law, traveled down from Salt Lake City to run in the race. She has run seven half marathons and said this race was absolutely beautiful.
According to Christensen, “The first three miles are easy. It’s after mile four reality hits and you realize you are in the process of running 13.1 miles.” Both Pugh and Christensen agreed that the scenic outdoors helped take their mind off of the fact that they were running for two hours straight.
The first person to cross the finish line was Kevin Martin, a biology major from Bountiful. He finished with a remarkable time of 1:19. After he crossed the finish line Martin passed out, so the paramedics rushed to his side. He was later taken to the ER by ambulance to get some blood work done. Later that day, Martin was discharged from the ER and returned to the half marathon to receive his award.
Among some of the other contestants to cross the finish line were Matthew Eddy, Associate Professor of Sociology and Southern Utah University’s ACES (Assistant Coach for Excellence and Success).
Christensen and Pugh both agreed that this half marathon was hard and required a lot of mental willpower. But they both look forward to running the half marathon again next year.
Although the sun wasn’t shining, the runners didn’t let the cloudy skies overshadow accomplishing such a daunting task of finishing a half marathon. If you are interested in running the half marathon look for the Cedar City half marathon next year.
