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SALT LAKE CITY — If you were near LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo just before noon March 29, you may have seen Spanish Fork resident Zack Hawkins speeding to a halt and sprinting out of his car toward the life-sized cougar statue.
While this is not normal behavior for the Utah resident, considering what he was sprinting toward, it was justified: a free entry and VIP pass to the St. George Marathon to be held Oct. 1.
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the St. George Marathon is dropping 40 bags with an entry to the race, a charter bus ride to the start line that will remain at the start until the race begins, as well as VIP passes for the VIP tent at the finish line. The 40 bag finders will also be entered into a drawing for the “ultimate bag” that includes a hotel room for the weekend of the event, pasta dinner tickets, free shoes and much more.
Hawkins was the first to pick up a bag, and he said he is so excited to run the race.
“I have run five marathons, and the St. George Marathon is by far my favorite,” he said. "Nothing beats the views of the red rocks and the cheers from the locals all along the race course.”
That same sentiment was echoed by Aaron Metler, recreation coordinator at St. George city and three-time winner of the St. George Marathon.
“The St. George Marathon is like no other marathon, and we wanted to celebrate our 40th anniversary by giving 40 people around the nation the chance to run it,” he said. "What makes it like no other, is that it is a big race with a small town feel, and we wanted to give people a chance to experience it in an unforgettable way. It has been fun to see the passion of people who want to run it.”
But it isn’t just Utahns who are benefitting from the VIP bags, says Kami Ellsworth, race operations manager of the St. George Marathon.
“We are dropping bags around the nation in major cities where a lot of our past participants are located to help kick off registration for the 2016 event,” she said. “We have dropped bags in Utah County, Las Vegas, Southern Calif, Cedar City and St. George as of now. We will be heading to Vancouver, Canada, next week, Ogden (and) a few locations in Arizona and Idaho. We are still looking at various other cities around the nation. We will be doing this through registration which ends May 11.
“Our hope is to get the runners excited now about the 40th anniversary, to spread the word to their friends, attract new runners and make this year the best of 40.”
If you want to have a chance at experiencing the St. George Marathon the way the VIPs do, go to the marathon’s Facebook or Instagram page for more information.
