By May Hunter, For Iron County Today
Called one of the fastest marathon courses in the whole country, the Cedar City Half Marathon starts near the Cedar Breaks National Monument-over 8,000 feet above sea level-and loses more than 2,300 feet over the entire course of the race’s 13.1 miles to the finish line at the Bicentennial Park Soccer Fields in Cedar City, Ut. The finish like was complete with a huge celebration including live music and lots of food!
Average running time for the men’s half marathon is 01:43:33 while the females is 02:00:12. First Male Overall-Layron Sonerholm, Cedar City, with a time of 1:14:08. Female Overall-Diana Mitchell, Cedar City, with a time of 1:17:30.
The Boston Marathon began on 19 April 1897 and was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics. It is the world’s oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world’s most prestigious road racing events.
The concept of the half-marathon emerged in the 1960’s. The first half was the Route de Vin Half Marathon founded in 1961. Although the race was technically not the official current distance until it was standardized in 1995.
“The Cedar Half has always been one of my favorite races with its speedy downhill course and spectacular views; but over the past few years the event has gotten bigger and better, and this year was exception. With over 800 runners and over 100 volunteers, our 15th year was our bigger year yet, and the process has been even smoother than I expected thanks to all the help from the community and our sponsors” -Brandon Burk, Cedar City Events Director.