Run, Wendy, Run

I knew that running a marathon would be a challenge, but I had no idea it would be so much fun! I was amazed by all the friendly volunteers and the great crowd support. I also felt a lot of camaraderie with my fellow runners and really enjoyed the gorgeous course route for the St. George Marathon. As a first timer, I don't think I could have had a better experience. One thing that really helped me was running most of the race with a pacing group. I finished in 5 hours and 28 minutes, (I had no goal time and had estimated my pace at closer to 6 hours, so I was pretty thrilled with my time.) I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity and thankful for all the support I received from friends and family.

St. George Marathon By the Numbers:

0 Blisters (Smart Wool Socks Oh, how I love thee!)

1 Pre-Race Banana

2 Times listening to "I'm Gonna Be" (500 Miles) by the Pretenders and feeling so happy that I actually started to sing out loud while I ran.

4 Family members that came to cheer me on

5 Hours of sleep the night before

6 New friends (Thank you Deb and Esther)

7 Thousand runners in the race

11 Mile mark when I wished I was a man so I wouldn't have to wait in line for the port-a-potty

15-17 My favorite miles of the race with breathtaking scenery of Snow Canyon- I can hardly describe my elation

22 "The Wall" - My 2 mile stretch of nausea and fatigue



24 Family greets me and some angel hands me a bag of crushed ice (Pictured above at mile 24, the finish line is so close I can almost taste it!)

26.2 Miles completed!