This weekend marks the 42nd annual St. George Marathon. With nearly 6,000 runners expected to participate, road closures for the route have been announced for the areas affected by the route.
The following areas will have restricted traffic flow Saturday, Oct. 6 from 5:45 a.m. until approximately 2 p.m.
Photo courtesy of the St. George City Police Department
Photo courtesy of the St. George City Police Department
- State Route 18 will have one lane open in each direction from Red Hills Parkway to the Ledges.
- Bluff Street Traffic will be open for southbound traffic only.
- Red Hills Parkway will be open for traffic flowing east and west. Northbound traffic will only be allowed to turn onto SR-18.
- North Bound traffic on Bluff street must turn west onto Sunset Blvd.
The following areas will be closed from 5:45 a.m. until approximately 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of the St. George City Police Department
- Diagonal Street to Bluff Street
- Diagonal Street to 300 West
- 300 West to Tabernacle Street
- Tabernacle Street to Main Street
- Main Street to 300 South
- Main Street to 400 East
Any travel along the course will be by escort only.
With the closures and traffic restrictions in place, local authorities encourage those who will not be watching the marathon to look for activities outside of the closure areas or to relax indoors until closures and restrictions are lifted. For residents who live with in the areas of the course, it is recommended that they park outside of the closures as there will be little to no access during the closure times.
Road reopening will begin up in Central, where the marathon began, and will continue to open south behind the race, and should be opened up to Veyo by approximately 8:30 a.m.. Roads should be opened through Snow Canyon State Park after 11 a.m., and SR-18 will remain open to two-way local traffic from the Ledges down to Snow Canyon Parkway during the event, but should full open again between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. as runners must finish the race by 1 p.m.
History of the St. George Marathon
Part of the Boston Marathon Qualification races, the St. George Marathon has grown to the 16th largest marathon in the country, which is impressive when you consider it’s humble beginnings. The St. George Marathon started back in 1977 with a total of 57 participants. Each year since then the number of participants has continued to grow exponentially.
The course of the St. George Marathon has been rated by Runner’s World, one of four marathons to build a vacation around as well as one of the world’s 10 most scenic and fastest marathons. The unique course here in Southern Utah starts runners up in the beautiful surroundings of the Pine Valley Mountains and takes them through the town to the finish line at the iconic Vernon Worthen Park.
This year it is anticipated that 6,000 runners will be in attendance, in comparison to last years 4,750 runners. Last year a new course record was set by the overall finisher Aaron Fletcher, who finished the course in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 44 seconds.
According to this year’s marathon organizers, runners in the 42nd annual St. George Marathon will be coming from 47 states within the U.S. and 17 foreign countries, with 55% of runners being male, and 45% of runners female ranging from 14 years old to over 80 years in age.
Race Time and Course Specifics
This year’s race will kick off at 6:45 a.m. Saturday morning, giving those participants in wheelchairs and handcycles a 5 minute head start from the rest of the runners. Participants running the marathon will be shuttled to the starting line from Vernon Worthen Park between the hours of 3:45 a.m. and 5:20 a.m.
Spectators are welcome to cheer on participants. Viewing locations have been specified by the event organizers and can be found on the St. George Marathon website. The chart and location map will have additional information on viewing locations as well as estimated time of when runners will be passing by.
Those wishing to cheer on at the finish line can find limited bleacher style seating at the park, and can also view runners along the last 3 miles of the race from 300 South to 400 East. Parking near the end of the marathon is limited.