SGRFebruaryNewsletter

Thismonth'sSt.GeorgeRacesNewsletterfeaturesarecapof

theSt.GeorgeHalfMarathon,5kandKidsEvents;aquickhighlightoftwoofourupcomingevents;therunnerspotlightpiece,honoringthelateDavidScott;ahiddenoasisasthe

Town'sTreasure;andalistofourupcomingevents.Fordetailsaboutourscheduleofracesandotherevents,pleasevisitourwebsite:www.sgcity.org/races.Ifyouhavequestionsandcan'tfindtheanswersonoursite,emailusat

races@sgcity.org.

St.GeorgeHalfMarathon,

5kandKidsEventRecap

TheSt.GeorgeHalf-Marathon,5KandKidsRaceswentoffperfectlyonSaturday,January13.Intotal,nearly1,200peopleregisteredforthehalfand5K,whichbeganandendedattheDixieConventionCenter.ThemajorityoftheathleteshailedfromlocalesoutsideofWashingtonCounty,butafull15percentofthisyear’sfieldcamefromoutofthestateofUtah–andfromalloverthecountry–toexperienceoneofthebestracessouthernUtahhastooffer.Wethankallofthosewhoparticipated,andhopeyouhadagreattime!

Checkoutthisvideothatoneofoursponsors,TheBestofSt.George,createdtohighlightthe2018St.GeorgeHalf-

Marathon—tagyourselfandyourfriendsifyou’reinit!

PicturedAbove:Runnersprepareatthestartinglineforthe36thSt.

GeorgeHalfMarathon

UpcomingEventsHighlight-

RoadRageandtheLaketoLake

RoadRageDuathlon-Saturday,February24th,2018:Putyourrunningandbikingskillstothetestwiththisrunning/bikingduathlon.Formoreinformationonthisevent,pleasevisitourwebsitebyclickinghere.

LaketoLake-Saturday,March3rd,2018:Pushyourlimitswiththis50+milecoursestretchingfromGunlockStateParktoSandHollowStatePark.DoityourselfasanUltraorgrabafewfriendsandmakeateam.Formoreinformationonthisevent,plesaevisitourwebsitebyclickinghere.

RunnerSpotlight-DavidScott

Ineachnewsletter,wehighlightandcelebrateonespecialmemberofthesouthernUtahrunningcommunity.Thismonth,wearehonoringthememoryofoneofthosemembers.DavidScott,67,wasanactive,belovedmemberof

ourlocalrunningcommunity,afixtureatSt.GeorgeRacesevents,andanexpertwoodworker(moreonthatshortly).AresidentofCedarCity,DavidpassedawayonNovember17,2016afterabattlewithlivercancer,andwasburiednexttohisparentsinBountiful.

DavidspentthemajorityofhislifeintheSaltLake/Ogdenarea.Hedidn’tstarthislifeasarunner,butbecameoneafteryearsofbikeriding.Foranormalafternooncruise,itwasn’tunusualforDavidtohopaboardhisoldtouringbikeinwhatever“dayclothes”hewaswearing,andpedal60+miles.

OnceDavidmovedtotheCedarCityarea,hispassionforrunningexploded.It’shardtogaugeexactlyhowmanymilesheraninhislifetime.Butina2015lettertooneofhisdearfriends,Davidmentionedthatheran56milesthatweek,includinga19.6-milelongrunonSaturday.Inthatsameletter,hementionedthathehadalreadyruntwo10Ksaswellasahalf-marathon,andhewasplanningtodofourmorehalf-marathonsandtheSt.GeorgeMarathon.Atthat2015St.GeorgeMarathon–whichwasjustafewmonthsbeforehepassedaway--66-year-oldDavidposteda5:16:21time,beatinghis2013finishbyafull12minutes.

AnotherfriendnotesthatDavidtypicallyranbetween10to20milesaday,fivetosixdaysaweek.HehadmappedoutarouteintheCedarCity/Enocharea,andfaithfullyranitnearlyeverymorning.ItwaseasytotellwhoDavidwaswhenheran:Hewasthefamiliartall,slendermanwiththelonggreybeard.OnefriendrecallshischildrencallingDavid“Gandolph,”fromtheLordoftheRingsmovies,sinceDavidboreastrikingresemblancetothecharacter.

ItwasthatloveofrunningthatledDavidaveryuniquegoal:runthedistanceofacoasttocoasttrip.HistripwouldstartinSanFranciscoandendinNewYork,stretchingnearly3,000miles.Thiscross-countrytrekwasnotaliteralone;Daviddidn’tactuallystartinSanFranciscoandrunacrossthenorthernNevadadesert.Instead,itwasametaphoricalone:LoggingthemilesheraneachdayintheCedarCityarea,Davidthenusedthemtocalculatehowfaronhismetaphoricalcross-countryjourneyhe’dprogressed.Justafewweeksbeforehispassing,DavidhadcoveredtheequivalentdistanceofrunningfromSanFranciscothroughSaltLakeCityandnearlytotheColoradoborder;atotalof

approximately800miles.

WhenDavidwasn’trunning,hewasbusyvolunteeringatlocalraces,learningnewthingsandteachingothers.Heenjoyedreadingwhateverbookshecouldgethishandson,especiallyscienceandchemistry.Hewasveryknowledgeableaboutnutrition,andhappilyhelpedotherstobegineatingmorehealthily.Davidalsoenjoyedspendingtimewithhisbeloveddogsandhisfriends;judgingbythemanystoriessharedwithus,hisfriendswerehisfamily.Herememberedspecificdetailsabouttheirlives,andalwaysstayedengagedwitheachone.Forallofhisfriends,andforstrangersheencountered,hehadaperennialsmileonhisface,agenuinehandshaketoshare,andakindwordtosay.

Davidhadanothertalentthatisespeciallyworthyofmention:woodcarving.Goingintothewoods,Davidwouldfindtheperfecttree,thencutitdowntocarveitintosomethingspectacular.Theselife-sizedcreationsoftentookyearstocomplete.Oneofhismostincrediblepieceswasofafive-foot-tallrunner.

Wedon’tknowtheexact,finalpointonDavid’scoast-to-coastrun,orhowmanymoremileslayaheadofhimbeforehemadeittoNewYork.Butwedoknowitwashisgoal.Sothenexttimeyougoforarun,thinkofDavidandrunanextramileforhimtohelphimreachthatfinalfinish-line.

WeatSt.GeorgeRacesareincrediblygratefultoDavid’sfriendswhosharedhisstorywithus.WeareequallygratefultoDavidforvolunteeringatcountlessSGREventsovertheyears,andforgrowingclosetosomanyonourstaff.Heleftalastingimpactonthepeoplewhoseliveshetouched,andheisgreatlymissed.

TopPhoto:David(left)withoneofhisfriendsonahike

BottomPhoto:AwoodcarvingofarunnerthatDavidspentyearscreating.

Town'sTreasure-SpringsPark

Whenyoutakeadrivedown1450SouthinSt.George,throughtheSpringsEstatedevelopment,youprobablywouldn’texpecttofindaparkthere.Butnestledinthebackoftheneighborhoodliesawallofshrubs,andamongthoseshrubsisanentrywayintoatrueoasis.HuggingtheVirginRiver,SpringsParkoffersanescapefromthehustleandbustleofthetrafficnearby.

SpringsParkboastsabeautifulpondsurroundedbyathirdofamile-long,pavedtrail,withbencheswhereyoucansitandgazeintothewater.Placardsalsolinethetrail,informingvisitorsaboutthedifferenttypesofbirdswhomaketheparktheirhome.Aplayground,pavilion,halfbasketballcourtandopenfieldroundouttheamenitiesatSpringsPark.EnjoyviewsofPineValleyMountainasyoulistentotheriverwaterflowandthebirdschirp.Peaceandtranquilityarejustashortdriveaway!

PicturedAbove:PhotosofSpringsPark

UpcomingEvents

RoadRageDuathlon-February24,2018

RoadRageputsparticipants'runningandbikingskillstothetest.RunandBikethroughSantaClara,Ivins,andKayenta.BothSprintandOlympicdistancesavailable.

Formoreinformation,pleaseclickhere.Toregister,pleaseclickhere.

LaketoLake-March3,2018

Grabacoupleofyourfriends(ordoityourself,ifyou'refeelingextraadventurous)andrun52miles.LaketoLakeRelaytakesparticipantsfromGunlockReservoirtoSandHollowReservoir.Runalongbeautifulroads,trails,andsitesasyoucompeteinteamsof2,5orindividually.Formoreinformation,pleaseclickhere.

Toregister,pleaseclickhere.

ShamROCKYourSocksOff10k-March17,2018KickoffyourSt.Patrick'sDayCelebrationwiththeShamROCK10K.Thisawesome10ktakesrunners

throughSnowCanyonStateParkbeforefinishingatIvinsCityPark.

Formoreinformation,pleaseclickhere.Toregister,pleaseclickhere.

SHACTriathlon-April7,2018

Everwanttodoatriathlon?Wellifso,thisistheoneforyou.Putyourrunning,bikingandswimmingskillstothetestwiththisfunevent.

Formoreinformation,pleaseclickhere.Toregister,pleaseclickhere.

IronmanKids-May4,2018

InconjunctionwiththeIronman70.3St.George,IronmanKidsRunofferskidsthechancetofinishatthesamespotastheIronmanFinishers.Thereare800meterand1-

mileoptions.

Formoreinformationand/ortoregister,pleaseclickhere.Pleasenote,registrationisdoneontheIronmanWebsiteanddiscountscan

notbeapplied.

MoonlightFirehoseFrenzy5k-June1,2018

Oneofthefunniest5ksintown,theMoonlightFirehoseFrenzy5ktakesrunnersthroughthestreetsofDowntownSt.George.

Formoreinformation,pleaseclickhere.Toregister,pleaseclickhere.

UncleSam4k-July4,2018

JoinSt.GeorgeRacesandtheCityofSt.GeorgefortheIndependenceDayCelebration.StartyourdayofindependencecelebrationoffwiththeUncleSam4k.

Formoreinformation,pleaseclickhere.Toregister,pleaseclickhere.

SAVETHEDATE!

The42stSt.GeorgeMarathonwillbeonSaturday,October

6th,2018.Formoreinformationonthemarathon,pleaseclickhere.

Hereisthe2018RaceCalendar.

Savethedateforalltheseawesomeevents!