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| At the Packet Pickup |
Placement: 34th out of 56, 964 out of 2135
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: upper 30's at start, low 50's at end, breeze from the south
Course Map / Garmin Route: Here
Previous Years: [2023] [2019]
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:02 | Right where I want to be. Just warming up |
| 2 | 9:01 | Consistency! |
| 3 | 8:37 | Starting to descend into Snow Canyon. Still right where I want to be. |
| 4 | 8:23 | Now the fun and the real scenery begins. Still holding solid |
| 5 | 8:16 | |
| 6 | 8:23 | Definitely feeling it -- the downhills is slowing up and I have get back to running easy |
| 7 | 8:44 | Pretty sure I took a pottie break here. |
| 8 | 9:38 | Pretty much done with the canyon at this point. |
| 9 | 9:06 | Feeling better than I did last year. So long as I hold sub 9:10, I am happy. |
| 10 | 9:18 | Some of the hills slowed me up, but still on target but definitely running on fumes |
| 11 | 10:16 | I was suffering here. Into a subdivision. Lots of little climbs that my legs didn't have the fitness for. |
| 12 | 10:13 | More of the same |
| 13 | 9:51 | Finally a slight downhill to the finish. Felt like I was running faster here. |
| 13.07 | 0:36 | Gave whatever I had left. |
| Total Miles: 13.07 - 1:59:29 | ||
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| Pending rain at the packet pickup on Friday |
Introduction
One race that always is on my fall agenda is the Snow Canyon Half Marathon in St George. It is put on by the same folks that have the legendary marathon in October: the St George Marathon. It is a well organized and well-attended race and offers one of the last chances of the year to get in a half marathon before the Thanksgiving holidays. Also, you get to experience running down the service road of the fabled Snow Canyon State Park, which is the highlight of the course.
It is also a nice weekend getaway for me: I usually get to spend the successive days that I am on my long weekend hanging out in one of my happy places Mesquite, Nevada. Over the years, I've made a lot of fond memories of attending their races.
I was a late signup for the race. I was waiting for a good deal on the hotels, which have been outrageously expensive of late. Finally, I got a good deal on the local hotel I like to stay at and paid the much higher than normal registration fee.
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| Chilly Start and waiting for the race |
The Race
I arrived at the race packet pickup on Friday night after a 4 hour drive from Salt Lake City. They had the expo at The Black Desert Resort. It is an up and coming golf resort that is still under construction. There was a bit of chaos there with getting parking but overall it was easy to get my bib, checkout the wares of some of the vendors and head on out.
I was on the 6:45 AM bus the following morning and I managed to get a fitful (at best) sleep the night before. I was well tapered and rested, having done a fairly low-key week in terms of mileage and intensity.
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| At the starting line |
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| At the starting line |
The bus ride was organized well and I managed to get to the trail head, where I'd have to wait until about 9:00 AM for the race start. Fortunately, the threatening rain from the night before never really materialized, and while it was cold I was prepared with enough warm clothing to be fairly comfortable. The time actually went by fairly quickly and I wound up seeing people I knew and making a few acquaintances along the way.
The race started off at 9 AM on the button and off we went down the highway back into town.
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| Heading into Snow Canyon |
I'll be honest, I haven't been super well trained at the half marathon distance since the start of the year. I had done about 4 long runs of 10 - 13 miles since the last one I had done (Cedar City) but I didn't feel like I had done enough. And most of my workouts had been more geared to 5K / 10K races. I had three goals for the race:
- Don't crash and burn like last year
- Finish in under 2 hours.
- Try to have fun.
With that in mind, I knew I had to stay under 9:09 minute miles and given the downhill nature of the course (at least for the first 8 or so miles) I knew that was going to be a breeze.
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| More Snow Canyon |
The first 3 - 4 miles are on the highway. I feel sorry for the morning commuters as they are relegated to a marshalled one-lane road and not before too long, they had a long wait to before they could get going.
While the race was crowded, I was never hemmed in or couldn't run my own race. We basically had one and a half lanes of the freeway. We were surrounded by desert scenery and the air was comfortable and crisp. Almost immediately I noticed I had to go to the bathroom, despite going minutes before the race's start.
I went out in my Thanksgiving themed shorts, a short-sleeved shirt and thin gloves. I wound up pocketing the gloves within the first 5K though. At first, I was worried about being chilled, but I quickly warmed up. I was racing in my Saucony Endorphin Pro 2s.
The first 4 miles went by in a blink of an eye and I was nailing my paces. I felt comfortable and I wasn't breathing hard. I was tailing behind the 2-hour pacer. I remembered last year blazing out and running pretty close to 5K pace -- this year my pace was way more conservative. Would it pay off?
We finally came to the entrance of the park. What an epic view! The red rocks, and towering canyon walls, the rock formations. It all came into view and what a glorious site.
The next 4 miles would be downhill. Not as bad as some other races I've done, but I knew I'd be running somewhere around 10K pace effortlessly. It was at this time I also passed the 2 hour pacer. I was a bit hesitant on doing that but I certainly wasn't going to use my braking muscles to slow down too much.
The first aid station is also at this point and I'll be honest, it should be a bit sooner. I had preemptively started a Gu and was nursing it down the entire canyon.
Again, the next 4 miles passed by quickly and I managed to jump into the bathroom at the final aid station, just at the exit of the park. It wound up costing me about 30 seconds, but the peace of mind of having an empty bladder was helpful. I had banked enough time to cover the loss.
When I exited the bathroom, I saw the 2-hour pacer had regained his lead. I knew he had banked some time as well, so I wasn't too nervous and I had started a good minute behind him. This is also where the race becomes more difficult.
We soon jumped onto a bike trail and while this race is quite large and the bike trail is fairly typical (about 8 to 10 feet in width) there was still ample room to run and pass. We were also greeted with a cheering crowd at various sections which helped a lot.
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| Finish line area |
Knowing I was in much better shape than last year (having not blasted down the canyon) I knew I had more or less accomplished goal #1. I was fatigued but I was still holding a solid pace, passing people and felt like I could hold the pace I had for the duration of the race.
The race turns into a sidewalk / bike trail run for a few miles and the aid stations get more frequent. It was also growing warmer, but not to the point where I was worried about it. I was dressed appropriately compared to some of my peers, who kept their winter apparel on.
Finally the race dumps you into a subdivision and this is where the race got real. Gone where the mostly flat bike trails and now I had to content with a good mile or mile and a half rolling hills. I remembered walking last year because I was so spent. This year, I was spent but not nearly as bad. I managed to shuffle up the hills, work on some sort of rebound and make up a bit of time. The scenery was kind of dull here but the houses were pretty cool and definitely new and unique. A few solitary residents threw us some cheers as I waddled by.
The final mile is a gentle downhill and I tried to give it everything I had. The 2-hour pacer was a solid 200 meters in front of me and I began to wonder if I'd be able to crack 2 hours and accomplish goal #2. Part of me didn't care but I still stood a chance and glancing at my watch, I figured if I just got a few solid spurts in I could get it done.
I recalled races earlier in the year where I shocked myself and pulled off a final fast mile. I also recalled all the training I had done, particularly the last half a dozen 30 second strides after speed sessions. Finally, I could hear the din of the crowd from the Snow Canyon High School. In the distance, I could make out the grandstand of the high school's track. So close. I probably looked ridiculous, but I dug deep and gave it whatever I had left -- must break two hours.
And I sped under the finish line!
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| Finish line photo! |
Conclusion
So, I did finish in under 2 hours. Mission accomplished. A solid 30 seconds under it. It is a far cry from last year's race, but given all that I've been through in 2024, I was willing to take my win where I could. While the last 2 miles were a slog, I felt like I hadn't blown up nearly as bad as last year and for the most part, I had fun. There were times I was thinking "I really need to quit running half marathons" but once I hit the finish line, I was tempted to sign up for next year's event.
I grabbed a medal and some refreshments and hung around in the finish chute for a bit until I knew I wasn't going to be sick. I was just tired and a bit dehydrated. I was also incredibly sore from the downhill sections of the race. I was already stiffening up.
They had typical post race offerings: sports drink, Sunny D, fruit, and a few assorted prepackaged snacks. To be honest, I was a little disappointed and was hoping to find either chocolate milk and some sort of protein drink.
I managed to find a spot on the artificial turf of the football field and just basked in the warm sunshine and interacted with a few other runners. I had managed to grab my gear bag (pro tip: use a different colored bag than the one they give you to more easily find your bag). I had extra sports drink in there and a few snacks.
The medal was pretty cool and has a movable part in it. The shirt -- what a piece of work! This shirt will likely win my "shirt of the year" award. I thought it was a sin to see half a dozen discarded shirts along the race course. It has a V-neck, zipper front, long sleeved and just a beautiful design to it.
Overall this race is a must-do if you live in Utah or southern Nevada. The course is absolutely stunning and the race well organized. It is very competitive though, and the race is well supported for the tourist runner and the competitor.
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| Awesome shirt + medal |
My only gripe, really, is the long wait at the start. I had told myself before the race that if it was pouring rain, I was going to skip the race. There is just no way I want to sit in a muddy, shelterless field for 90 minutes waiting for a race to start. My pro tip is definitely bring equipment to survive the long wait to the race -- you definitely don't want to go expected a warm area to hang out in.
I enjoy this race and if the budget and my training permits, I'll be here again!
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| Posing in the awesome shirt. |
Upcoming Races
02/23: 2025 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
04/26: 2025 Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed)
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