Top of Utah Marathon

There was a strong field at the Top of Utah Marathon this year. Allie Moore, who has won the race the past 2 years and was planning to run sub 2:50, was running. Stephanie Talley, who has won both the Ogden and St. George Marathons, was there. Janae Richardson, a former WSU runner, was there and was shooting for sub 2:50.

My goal for this race was to run 6:20 pace per mile. I ran 6:24s at the Ogden Marathon a few months ago, and I felt great. I thought I could easily shave off 4 seconds per mile and still feel good.

The first half of the race coming down the canyon felt really good. I was running with a group of guys and once we hit mile 12, they started picking it up. I debated on whether it was better to run with them and go quicker than I planned, or let them go and run by myself. I decided to run with them and try to hang on, but a couple of miles later we ran a 5:55 mile and I decided to let them go. I was a little over half way through the marathon and knew I couldn't keep running that pace and finish well. I'm so glad I let them go when I did because at mile 19, I was done! My legs felt like lead, and I couldn't make them go any faster. I kept thinking to myself, "This is what people are talking about when they say they hit the wall."  The last 7 miles were such a battle and drug on. A guy ran by me and said, "It's all mental from here. You got it!"  I kept repeating those words over and over in my head. A policeman escorted  me from mile 24 and he really helped push me along.  I was so happy to cross the finish line. I was completely exhausted. I think the quick miles in the middle of the race really hurt me, but I still came in  first! Jeff, Will, Xav, my mom, Lis, Richie and Dallin came to cheer me on. It was so nice to have their support.

 

My good friend, Janae

Me, Janae Richardson, Allie Moore, Stephanie Talley and Rachelle Wardle

 

Here are my splits for each mile: 6:13, 6:19, 6:14, 6:11, 6:22, 6:14, 6:18, 6:11, 6:13, 6:15, 6:14, 6:04, 6:04, 5:55, 5:58, 6:06, 6:07, 6:15, 6:29, 6:32, 6:26, 6:42, 6:44, 6:42, 6:43, 6:49, 1:18. My total time was 2:45:51, with an average of 6:19.9 per mile! Exactly what I wanted to run!