Logan, UT--Top of Utah Marathon

I arrived in Logan on Friday late afternoon. I stayed at the University Inn on the campus of Utah State University and woke up around 4 a.m. to get ready for the marathon.

I waited for the bus that was going between motels to take runners to Merlin Olson park where the buses were going up the canyon to the starting point, but it got to be 5:30 a.m. and the last buses were to leave at 5:45 to go up the canyon so I got worried and took off in my Tahoe. The roads in Logan are somewhat strange, and I could not find Merlin Olsen park where the buses were leaving to go up the canyon. I parked by the Logan tabernacle and ran to the park. I made it in plenty of time, but was sure worried because they close the canyon off to traffic and there would have been no way to get to the start.

The first 15 were a nice downhill in the canyon. There were then 2 miles on "Hollow Road" which were OK but not great. I think miles 15-17 are my worst in marathons for some reason. Then we went through some neighborhoods and into downtown Logan and wound around the city a bit and ended up at Merlin Olson park.

When I was at mile 13, my time was equivalent to where I should have been at mile 11.75 if I was pacing myself to run each mile a little over 9 minutes per (which I needed to be at to meet my goal of under 4 hours total) so the descent helped me quite a bit. I was about 12 minutes ahead of schedule at that point.

That time really helped me, because my goal was to break the 4 hour mark for the first time ever. In my previous 3 marathons, I came in at 4 hours and 8 mins. as my personal best, so I was hoping to make up some time in the downhill portion. I seem to fall apart at the end of the marathon, and as I only had only a little over a minute to spare at the end, the canyon section definitely helped.

Overall, it was a good run. At mile 22-23, you always wonder why you decided to do this again as you legs are ready to buckle underneath you. However, the feeling of accomplishment when you meet a goal you set for yourself more than compensates for the discomfort you feel when you are in the heat of the run. All the time spent training, preparing, and sacrificing to see the personal goal come to fruition are nothing compared to the payoff.

---

Results:
http://results.milliseconds.com/ResultsIndividual.php?varParticipantRecID=358&varRaceID=987

Overall Place
463 (almost 2,000 total runners)
Name
John DYE
Home Town
MURRAY UT USA
Age
37
Net Time
03:58:28.45
Pace
00:09:07.3

Video of course:


Top of Utah Marathon Course from dyejo on Vimeo.