I finished the 2011 St. George Marathon! Yes...all 26.2 miles!

October 1, 2011 began as my alarm went off at 3:45am! Oh man, I was so tired, was I really doing this? Yes, I was, but this year was the first that all of my siblings were running it and my dad. It was going to be great! Yet, we were all pretty unsure how we'd all do since we all didn't train as well as we all would've liked to. I started off ok, but May was rainy, June had our family trip to NY/Boston and then July had a trip to Lake Havasu, AZ and a Church History tour at the end. August surprised me with an Operation Smile trip to China and so that left me with just September to train, oh and I worked in between all those events! So to say the least, I was afraid I'd need a wheelchair after the race. Well we all piled into my dads car and drove down to the park next to the St. George Temple where the race finishes. We parked and boarded a bus which took us up to the start of the race. The bus, in my mind, is a fun time to sit back and think about what we are all doing. Here are a 100+ random people, boarding a bus at 4:15am on a nice Saturday morning, and the only thing we have in common is that we are all crazy, marathon runners! I may never see any of them again in my life, but the fact that we shared that bus ride together will live forever.

Once at the start, my dad unzipped his duffel bag and unveiled his 3 camping pads that we blew up and then laid on to rest. Everyone starred at us and thought, "man I wish I had one of those", I just know they were! It got close to 6am and with the race starting in just 45 minutes, I decided to head to the line of porter potty's, literally, there are hundreds of them! The line was too long for me to wait in patience, so I headed for the treeline, as was everyone else! One the race route, if someone has to go, they just veer off and go. Yet, it still strikes me funny to see a woman take drastic measures and squat right off the side of the road with only a bush to cover her. Pretty much there was no cover, you just run past and don't look! We all packed our belonging bags with our clothes and threw them into the Uhaul van and then headed to the road where everyone was lining up waiting for the gun to go off. As the gun sounded, my siblings and dad headed out with the 4hr pace runner, while I waited for the 5hr pacer. I found her and started off just ahead of her. I kept a pretty steady 10-11 min. mile for the first 7 miles until I met Veyo Hill. I walked/ran up Veyo Hill and after that was able to pick my pace up again but it had definitely taken a toll on my legs. I was thrilled though that my knees weren't bothering me! At mile 15, a little girl was holding a mostly empty ice bag out, I took a chunk of ice that fit in my hand. Huge! But oh so good, it was the best treat besides the rootbeer popsicles I had at mile 24. The chunk of ice melted in my hand for the most part and as it did, I was able to bite off pieces and chew them. I would then wipe my hand on my forehead to cool myself off. The heat this year was pretty hot, which I think affected a lot of people during the race. I don't think they cooled themselves off enough. The announcer at the start of the race said it was the warmest morning in their 35 years of running. That gives you a little idea of how hot it was the rest of the day.

At every aide station, which was at every odd mile, I took one Gatorade cup and two waters. I would drink the Gatorade which was mostly cold, but the water was always warm, so gross after you've been running and so I'd dump the rest down my back! Oh that felt so good! There were also a few mister stations and some kids with hoses out, so I took every opportunity to cool myself down that I could! My dad met me at the 1 mile marker, he called my mom to tell her I was on my way in. I told him I was feeling ok and that I could keep going, so he could go find our family friend Natalie Ellis and his sister Kathy Beddes. All in all, it was a great race! I felt good after, didn't cramp up like last year, and was able to walk around the condo after my nap without too much difficulty. And I finished in 5:18:54!

Running down Snow Canyon...my average mile was 12 minutes 10 sec. Average speed 4.9 mph!

I placed 4773rd overall with 927 runners behind me...placed 1998th in women with 545 runners behind me...and I placed 224th in my age division with 58 runners behind. I was ahead of about 12% of the male runners. And out of the 5700 runners who finished, 45% were women and 55% were men.

The aftermath of an aide station at the St. George Marathon. Cups, goo packets, orange slices, banana peels cover the street. I always feel so bad throwing my cup on the ground, but can I just say "Thank you" to the volunteers! They are amazing and pick up after us lazy marathon runners! :)

A random runner and one of the great signs seen on the route, the humor keeps you moving!

I'm searching for my family as I came down the shoot, but I never saw them...yet they have a picture to prove they were there! I'm so glad they yelled my name, even if I didn't hear it, I love the support!

Dad and his kids! His dream, to have all his kids run the St. George Marathon with him someday! He introduced us to one of his friends on the bus that morning and his friend couldn't believe we all consented to run. Haha, it's crazy, but awesome! Oh and check out the dude behind my shoulder, creepy!