Monday, October 27, 2014

#33--Salt Lake City Marathon

Salt Lake City, Utah
April 21, 2012
4:47:21

I didn't realize it until I read the paper the day after the marathon, but this race almost didn't happen.  Evidently this race has suffered from falling participation and financial distress, and until very recently didn't even have an organizer.  Well, they did a great job of putting on an event at the last minute.

Salt Lake City is a beautiful, vibrant city.  As the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics, the city is used to putting on big events.  Once again, this race was dominated by runners doing the half.  There were just under 1,000 runners doing the full.  The race started at the University of Utah and wound through the neighborhoods and parks of greater Salt Lake City.  I've never seen so many police at a race.  Traffic control was great.  There were plenty of aid stations and volunteers.  A highlight was at mile 9 where a man had set up a soft-serve ice cream machine.  I didn't mine that he didn't have any toppings.  I made myself a cone, walked a few minutes, and enjoyed the break.

My legs felt tired pretty much the whole race, but I didn't have any major aches or pains to deal with.  The weather was a little warm at the end, but not as hot as race organizers had feared.  I finished just over 4:47.  I was happy to see my wife and two sons near the finish line.  They don't always get to come to the race, so that was a real treat--even better than the ice cream cone at mile 9!

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