Harold Journal (Cache Valley Paper) Article today- http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2008/08/24/sports/sports03.txt Record set at half marathon By Joey HislopPROVIDENCE
— Favored with overcast skies and chilly temperatures, the Cache Sun
& Snow Running Club Top of Utah Half Marathon kicked off Saturday
morning with a record turnout, beginning in Blacksmith Fork Canyon and
ending at Zollinger Park. With the race up nearly 500 runners
from 2007, race director Kris Siddoway credited the jump in
registration to recent trends and Cache Sun & Snow’s reputation for
putting on good races. “We went from 708 runners last year and
... we know that we had 1,195 runners cross the start line with their
chips (this year),” Siddoway said. “... We try really, really hard to
put on a good race and I think our reputation shows that. “...
But I also think it’s a trend. There’s a trend of people wanting to run
half marathons. ... It partly has to do with time. The commitment to
train for a marathon is a little bit harder. You have to train and be
gone from your family and gone from your responsibilities, job,
whatever. When you do a half marathon, you still have to train, but
it’s not as strenuous as it is to do the whole marathon.” Siddoway
was also impressed by the number of female runners in the field
Saturday. According to Siddoway, female runners made up three-quarters
of this year’s participants. Finishing first among them was
former Logan High great Megan Call with a time of 1 hour, 21 minutes,
2.89 seconds. Call took advantage of the nice weather, large turnout
and speedy fellow runners to turn in a better-than-expected time. “It
was a surprise. I was shooting for a 1:22 today, and ran a 1:21:02, so
I was really pleased with my time,” said Call, who is currently
attending graduate school at the University of Utah. “There were some
really good female runners from Salt Lake, so it was nice to see some
familiar faces and be able to chase after them and stay with them for a
while. “There was a great crowd out today cheering you along, with nice weather.” Teren
Jameson, of Taylorsville, took the top spot for the men overall,
winning the race with a time of 1:06:41.84. Jameson said he was
counting on coming away with the fastest time Saturday, which is no
surprise as he did so by nearly four minutes, crossing the finish line
with the second-place runner nowhere in sight. “I don’t know how
much I won it by, but I was planning on winning,” Jameson said. “I just
went out and ran what I wanted to try and run. “It was nice.
There was a little bit of a headwind is all, but otherwise perfect
weather. A lot of downhill, which makes for a fast race.” That
second-place finisher just happened to be former USU cross country
standout and 2007 WAC cross country Athlete of the Year Seth Wold. Wold
finished the race with a time of 1:10:37.97. According to Wold,
Saturday’s run was more about training and less about competition. “Teren
Jameson and I were running together,” Wold said. “I told him, ‘Hey, I’m
doing a workout today, so I’m not gonna go any faster.’ He wanted to
work out a little bit harder, so he took off. When we hit the bottom of
the canyon, he had about a minute lead right there.” Wold, now
attending the University of Utah, had to end his collegiate running
career when he turned professional. Wold runs professionally for the
St. George running center and fastrunningblog.com. Wold
won the Ogden Marathon in May of this year, setting the course record
with a time of 2:27:43.35. Wold explained that it has always been his
dream to run professionally, but he found out his times in the shorter
distances weren’t fast enough to make that happen. He would have to
move to the longer races to achieve his goals, and so far it has paid
off. “In college, I wasn’t quite fast enough to make it to the
next level,” Wold said. “I decided to move up in distance and the
marathon was the way to do it. “... I’m just trying to live the dream.” Other top local finishers included John Allen of Logan. His 1:11:40 was good enough for fifth overall. Paul
Peterson, also of Logan, came in right behind Allen with a 1:12:14.77.
He was followed by Cody Draper, also of Logan. Draper finished eighth
with a time of 1:15:56.49. Preston’s Nate Burnett finished 11th overall, turning in a time of 1:18:51.82. Not
only was Saturday’s pleasant weather good for the runners, but the
overcast skies were also a huge relief for Siddoway as dehydration was
less likely in such conditions. “It couldn’t have been a more
perfect day,” Siddoway said. “The tailwinds coming out of the canyon
were good. Talking to our elite runners, they said it kept fluctuating
from a headwind to a tailwind. It does that. “The overcast skies
couldn’t have been better, especially for such a big race, when we were
scrambling to the last minute to be ready. But we were ready. It does
help me to not be so worried about people dehydrating.” Cache Sun
& Snow will now get ready for their biggest race of the year on
Sept. 20 when runners will converge again in Cache Valley for the Top
of Utah Marathon. | 