St. George Marathon posts lottery results

ST. GEORGE — Thousands of anxious runners are logging on to the St. George Marathon's Web site to find out if they won a coveted spot along the starting line in this year's race.

The marathon is the fifth-largest in the nation and is also USA Track and Field certified and sanctioned, making it a qualifier for the Boston Marathon and Olympic Trials

"We closed registration on May 1st and posted results of the lottery on our Web site Monday," said John Bradley, St. George Marathon operations manager. "We had a lot of people contact us right away to see if they were in."

The popular marathon, which is scheduled for Oct. 7, is limited to 6,700 runners. The race typically draws more than 8,500 entrants from throughout the nation and nearly a dozen foreign countries. Organizers estimate the marathon contributes $1.5 million to the local economy over a three-day period.

"It's tough when you have to turn down a couple thousand runners," said Bradley. "We had hundreds of e-mails and phone calls yesterday from people wanting to know if there was another way to get in the race."

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the St. George Marathon, which Bradley said would be celebrated in an unusual way, with an idea that includes runners from throughout the state. Winners of 30 other races, from Tremonton to Kanab, will get a free entrance to the marathon. Races like the Kanab 10K on Saturday, the Homestead Golden 5K and 15K in Midway on May 27, and the Family Fun Run 5K in Springville on June 3 are included in the program.

"The 30/30 program is a great way for us to thank those runners in the state of Utah," Bradley said. "It is also a great opportunity for the more rural areas in Utah to be aware of the St. George Marathon. We want to promote healthy lifestyles, and running is a great way to do this."

A complete list of state races participating in the marathon's 30/30 Program is posted on the Web at: www.stgeorgemarathon.com.

The number of race entries is capped each year because of two factors, Bradley said. One is the lack of adequate room rentals for the thousands of runners and family members who attend the event, and the other involves transporting runners to the starting line.

"We use every school bus in the district to take runners to the start of the race," Bradley said.

Runners seem to be pleased with a change in the last two miles of the St. George Marathon route, he said. The race now finishes on tree-lined residential streets that flow through the historic district of St. George, rather than running parallel to traffic-heavy Bluff Street.

With the route change, race organizers also retired 29 years of marathon records.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com