St. George's 2005: A Chance To Be Prospero in "The Tempest"
A Race Review by Richard West

St. George's Marathon, St. George, Utah
October 1, 2005 Results

A Few Observations
The Course
Best Sign Along the Way
Three Bands Perfectly Placed
The End

To type more than a little presumptuously (and pretentiously), often marathoners must endure their own "Macbeth,""Othello," and "King Lear" before reaching the joy of "The Tempest."

...Meniscus tear in Chicago, '03, my "Lear."

...Bungled pacing in Paris, '04, my "Macbeth."

...Plantar's, July '04-Feb.'05, my "Othello."

...St. George, 3:35, finally a chance to be Prospero in "The Tempest":

"We are stuff as dreams are made on,

And our little life is rounded with sleep."

Or to put it more prosaically, every ole dog has his day.

A Few Observations

The marathon's expertly administered, no hitches in the getalong at any point. Moderately interesting expo, 84 exhibitors. Best deal: two pair of gloves, $5. Judging by booth snapshots, the Ogden Marathon, run thru a canyon in June north of Salt Lake, looks beautiful.

Race day, you catch school buses in town around 4:30-5am, motor north 26.2 miles to hover with the tumultitudes around 40 or so small bonfires aside the highway to keep warm in the pre-dawn 50 temps. Sorry, no "Kum Ba Ya." Good central aid station with safety pins, nipple band-aids/Gu/Body Glide, cocoa, bananers, oranges, etc.

What Next Dept: Two minutes before the horn honks starting the race around 6:45, I'm standing on the highway with 4700 others, bite into my Gu and the only tooth in my only bridge crumbles. Front tooth. That'll blow the blinds off the windows of your mind. So the unswerving punctuality of chance, bewilderness under a sheet of stars with Gu in one hand, broken tooth in the other. You know, folks, you train 6 days a week for 7 months, avoid injury, illness, jail time, hurricanes, missed airplanes, and then your (*#$@) tooth falls out. Nothing to do but tuck the remnants in the front Race-Ready pocket, hoist a third-finger to The Fates, and earth-pad off.

Reason for pretty good marathon: running gap-toothed allowed more air intake. Don't shave the legs, boys, lose a tooth.

The Course

Squelch the rumor it's "all downhill." No, a moderately difficult roller coaster, very difficult if you've neglected hill training. Good news: the first half's the hardest part, especially the monster at mile 7 that climbs steeply up and around Veyo Volcano for 1.1 miles, followed by a short respite before the 2-mile hill, miles 9-11. Oof, wheeze, pant. Then bits of flatness with periodic hills of varying difficulty until mile 23 when it is indeed a steep, quad-shuddering descent into town. Aid stations every 3 miles, plenty of Port-A-cans at the start & along the way. Misting sprayers toward the end. The spectacular scenery makes the run seem like you're licking honey off a thorn, helps divert the brain-pan from the pain of passing miles: towering red-rock cliffs, petrified burnt-orange & creamy-white dunes, perfect teat-shaped volcanoes, hazy blue mountains in the distance, limestone karsts, lava-capped ridges, a landscape so quiet you don't need ears.

Best Sign Along the Way

"Joey, I'm Free After You Shower." Don't know if she was a (#$@*) or just available but probably the latter in earnest, sincere Utah.

Three Bands Perfectly Placed

Only three bands but perfectly placed when you needed a little help at miles 24, 25, 26 – two halves of the high school band and one excellent rocky roll combo. Every marathon's last mile seems longern a Baptist Sunday, but this one down a runway-straightaway with the balloon-arch finishing line seemingly a mirage that continued to recede...when will it end?

The End

But it does next to a lovely tree-shaded park. Unintended humor: leaving the Del Monte Refreshment Area (grapes, cantaloupe, melon, sodas), you were offered a loaf of white bread, the perfect gift in a state whose residents of color make up less than 1%. The winners, by the way, got Nordic Track thingamabobs and trips to Ibigawa, Japan to run the marathon in St. George's sister city. Even Shige Shimada hasn't heard of Ibigawa. Winning guy time: 2:22:23; gal (and her first marathon), 2:42:58.

To sum up, I loved the race and southwestern Utah, despite dental dropouts (now repaired). William Faulkner hated some of his beloved South because he learned that you don't love because, you love despite; not for the virtues, but despite the pain. Same with your loved one, same with them marathons.