Larry Jewell

Right. Thanks. I love it. It's beautiful. Every time it reminds me how nice it is. So this is the third straight year you've won this on the women's side. Yeah, but I don't think I broke my record from last year. We had you a minute 15 seconds short. Oh really? A minute and 15. You were that close. 148 minutes and 15 seconds is what we had as your official time. And last year you hit 1:47 even, I believe. Yeah, that's correct. So I know I thought it would be a little faster because I didn't brake on any of the downhill. I felt real safe, got a new chair and you know, I let it go, but I guess on some of the other parts it took a little time off. Maybe it's the fact you're using four wheels again this year. That's true. Now two years ago you ended up on three wheels most of the race. Uh huh. And today I was nice because one of the guys had a flat and so I got a push with someone more than halfway through the course. Now as you pass Rondo. When did you pass Rondo Poole? Rondo was running third. I ran with him from about the 17, well actually the 13 mile mark. I caught up with him and then we pushed together and he passed me on the downhill because he's a little heavier. And then we were together right here and he was a little bit ahead of me and I pulled away, just not even the last quarter mile. So that's when you passed him right there. Uh huh. Right here. That must have been fun. It was great. I love it. I remember as you were coming in the last few yards here, looking over your shoulder briefly to see if he's still back there, I thought he was right on me. He was, he was close. But no, I caught him, stayed away. So another good performance by Sharon Fernet. Congratulations. Thank you. Where do you go from here? I'm going to do the Phoenix 10K and actually I'm taking two months off to go train in Newport Beach. Not bad. I don't know if I should say. Okay, Newport beach, not too bad. Are you planning any international races? I just previously got home from Switzerland and took a fourth place in the Swiss Marathon with a 2 hours and 18 minute marathon which is 10 minutes better than any previous. But no, I'm not planning any international competition right this time. I was talking with Vance Anderson, the men's champion here and he's talking about Japan and Switzerland. It's amazing what you can do with the marathon. The Places you can see. Yeah, it is. It's really nice. It's been a great experience. I wouldn't give it up for anything. How long, how much longer do you plan on racing marathon? Well, for two months I took off and I thought I was going to retire, but I think I'm going to give it one more shot and make sure that I've done everything I can to better myself before I do. You're going to try it again next year in St. George? Yeah, definitely. I love it. Sharon Fernet, the women's champion on the wheelchair division. Congratulations on the victory. Thank you. And best of luck next year on breaking your record again. Okay, thanks. Sharon Fenette. Once again, Joanna Anderson has just passed that 17 and a half mile mark and we're going to have to double check. We have the Vernon Worthen park with Larry Jewell. Mike, I've just had one thing handed to me. Lake Powell is going to be having a marathon and a 10K coming up on March 4th. And they're over here. Observe. Number two man is Bruce Ellis from Wiscasset, Maine. But we have Tracy Fifield's wife. Come on out here for just a minute. Tracy has been leading from the outset and he's about a block and a half away. Tracy has been training hard for this one then? Yes, very hard. And your first name? My name's Kathy. Kathy, how long has Tracy been running? He's been running for a long time. He ran for Weber State College for their cross country team and graduated in June. He ran for them for five years. We're looking right now. Tracy, I think, is within about a block and a half. We're looking for the first sight of Tracy Fifield, our leader for the St. George Marathon. Looking for Tracy Fifield to be showing up here. And Tracy, this is. How long has he been running? Marathon. This is his first marathon. Absolutely. The first. The very first marathon. What's the longest stretch that he's run previously? He's run a half marathon before, but that's as long as it's been. I noticed that he was projecting as close to a record time. He was hoping to match the record. At least that was what was projected here. Yes, he was trying, you know, but it's his first marathon, so we didn't know what he'd do. I think he's doing really well. We're really excited, confident to project that fast anyway. But yes, he was. Now, have you been running marathons, too, or are you into her? No. So you just send him off and wait until he comes home. Yes. Moral support. Is there a history of racers in the family? No, none now. We'll catch him right now. We'll see how close he's getting. We now have our number seven racer. We've gone about six deep now. Number two is Bruce Ellis. Number three is Brad Hardy. Number four is Richard Spence. And number five now is Bruce Erickson. Our number seven runner is Mark Holland. So Mark has fallen back into the pack a little bit. Here we have Tracy Fifield. Now we're at 2 hours 21 minutes. That's just off the record. That's off the record by about six. Six. Kathy, can I get you over here for just a minute Your reaction. Here comes your husband. I'm excited. I'm thrill a half block away now. And you can hear Kathy Fifield in the background. Here comes Tracy Fifield, our champion and there's quite a cheering section. The former cross country runner for Weber State College. Let's see if we can catch a catch a time. Here comes Tracy Fifield. Listen. Is going to cross the finish line. It looks like 2.22.11. That looks unofficially. 2:22:11. That's about six minutes off the record, Kathy, but not bad for a first marathon. Not mad. Your reaction, your feeling. I don't know what to feel. I'm just excited. I'm really thrilled. I noticed you were jumping up and down. It looked like you had quite a few other family members. Yes, my mom's here. His mom and dad and a couple of my sisters are here. Let's get the whole family over here. Come on over. Come on over. Well, this is the first. I think this is the first for us. Okay. Okay. Introduce yourselves. Lois Fifield, you are. Tracy's okay. And you're excited. And you, you are. I'm his dad, Paul Fifield. And very excited. Officially it's 2:22:11. Not too bad. That's just a hair under six minutes off the record. Not bad for a first marathon. We're excited. Can I say. Okay, we have people behind over here. And your name is? I'm Cass Gibson. I'm his mother in law. And you are? His sister in law. And your name? Becky Gibson. Okay. And his sister in law. Stacy Gibson. Stacey Gibson. Okay, is everybody excited or is it just thrilled? Okay, Tracy Fifield. We'll wait till he gets his. Catches his breath just a little bit. 2:22:11. Tracy Fifield, his first marathon ever. And the former Weber State cross country runner is our Winner today. We'll get Tracy over here in just a moment. We talked to his wife, to two sisters in law, his mother in law, his mother and his father, Tracy Fifield, our winner of the 1988St. George Marathon. Back to you, Mike. Alright, thank you very much, Larry. We'll be checking back with Larry in just a couple of moments as we continue our live coverage of the 12th running of the St. George Marathon. More after these words from our sponsors. Deer hunters, it's time to get your vehicle serviced for the big hunt at Jean's oak. 2:26:08. We'll get the official time unofficially. 2:26:08. Bruce Ellis from Wiscasset, Maine. Bruce Ellis is our number two runner. Just finishing now. Tracy Fifield, our champion. We're hoping to get Tracy over here in just a minute. Bruce Ellis, Darrell Allred has been helping us here at the, at the finish line. The official time will be 2:26:04 for Bruce Ellis, the young man from Maine who is our number two runner, our number two finisher. So it's Tracy Fifield number one and Bruce Ellis number two. Mike will turn it back and was she excited. Congratulations. Come on, step a little bit closer. First marathon? Yeah, it is. What led you to decide you're going to try a marathon just like a mountain? I guess sometimes they're there and hopefully there'll be some money in it in the future. And I've got some good friends. Paul Pilkington has had some good successes out and he always says, boy, you just need to go out and make some money with me running these marathons. So if it's crazy or whatever or if I succeed, I think I owe a lot to him and then my, to my wife and my family and then my coaches and that, that's helped push me through college. Actually probably your first notoriety came as a cross country runner, right? No, I don't know where they got cross country in the newspaper here, but actually it was in 10,000 on the track. I haven't had much big success in cross country except up to the Reebok Classic. What's going on this week, this morning again. But last year when we ran it, our team won it and I was the top runner on that and ended up about 40 seconds back from Pat Porter, which has been the national cross country champion and done some good there. So that was one of my best races then. But as on a college level in an important race like the NCAS or the championships, I haven't done the best. You were just there. Now, when did you first begin distance running? Just for the fun of it? I haven't started really doing it just for the fun of it. Yeah, you're doing it for the challenge. Now, when did you first discover that you wanted to run, period? It was in high school. In high school, Coach Conley was my first coach that coached me and really showed me what my talent was and helped me understand exactly what I could probably do and taught me the mechanics of it and pacing myself. And that's what got me going in the right direction with the right motivation. I keep looking over my shoulder. We're looking for the first woman to come through. Let's talk about the course. This is your first marathon. What's your impressions of the St. George Marathon Course? Well, they say it's a lot of downhill, but sometimes you wonder. It's good, though. It's not constantly all downhill, so the rolling hills keep it a lot more interesting. We're getting close. Diane Beckstead, I guess, has made the turn and is into the stretch right now. What were your thoughts when you were coming up on the finish line? You weren't at the record, but you're not very far off the record for only less than seven minutes off the record for your first marathon, right? I don't know. I was just excited. It was kind of neat. They had the two policemen on the motorcycles blaring their sirens in my ears and I could hardly even hear the crowd because the sirens are going. It's experience I've never experienced before. One I'd like to experience again, though. Is this the best experience you've had in running? I don't think so. I think when I won the conference 10,000 was probably about the most exciting. And then in cross country a lot, because when you're in a team sport, there's a lot more going for you and it seems like you're helping more of a team effort rather than just yourself. Where do you go from here, Tracy? Hopefully we'll get a sponsorship with a shoe company and then we'll decide after that. Your feet are going to carry you a long way, it looks like. Yeah, we hope so. Kathy, you're still excited? I'm still excited, yes. It's not everybody that can get wife, mother in law, mom and dad and two sisters and a lot of cheer. Yep. There's a couple of them at home that had to work, too. So it's been fun. It's been exciting. Tracy Fifield, congratulations. Our winner of the 12th annual St. George Marathon. Well, thanks much, Larry. We're off the record by about 10 minutes. Gayle Ladige Scott last year set the women's record, had the fastest women's time. Let's check our number and see if it is Oyet. It is Olya. Joan Oliott in front and not Diane Beckstead. Joan Oliett of San Francisco at 2:47 39. Unofficially, Joan Uliett, our winner as Joan Uliett, our first woman through. Joan Oyet. U, L, L, Y, O, T. And we'll make sure on the pronunciation of that. Joan coming through about 10 minutes off the record. Let's see if we have Diane Beckstead. Beckstead led for a while. Joan Ohyet came back to take, took the lead late. Joan Oyot is our winner. Young lady from San Francisco, California, our women's division leader. And we're still just before we get to Russell, we discovered that the family is the Astel family. They're all trying to break three hours and 30 minutes this time and their five brothers from West Valley City up in the Salt Lake area that are all trying to break three hours and 30 minutes. So we'll be looking for them also. Cameron Linford, our first of the little guys coming through. But Russell Bennett, Russ Lindsey Merrill set the early face among the local runners. You passed him. Well, I knew he hadn't been trained very hard, so I knew it was just a matter of time before I caught him. I climbed 14 miles. This is this your best time in the St. George Marathon? Personally, no, it's not. Last year was my best time when I ran 2:34,41. I was about three minutes off that time this year. Not a bad time, though. No. It's probably my third best time overall over the last 10 years. Are you getting used to this now? I don't think so. I'm hurting today pretty good. Is it the age catching up with you? That's what I think. Get above 22, you get old, Right? Right. Russell, let's talk a little bit. St. George Marathon. You've been in most of these, right? This is my eighth one. Does it get any easier at all? You said today you're hurting. Well, last year was easier than this year. And I don't know, every year is different. It's a different story. I thought I trained very hard, but I came down with mono last year after the marathon, and I think that's taken a little bit out of me. And all year long I've been just a little bit slower than Last year. Do you still enjoy running? Yeah, I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. This is my favorite race the whole year anyway, so I really look forward to coming down here. Between last marathon and this one, how many other races have you run? Well, I've run 10 marathons, 10 half marathons. Probably in my career. I've probably run about 60 or 70 races. That's amazing. And you're still alive and kicking? That's right. Do you recommend it? Yes, you bet. Some people say racers, especially distance runners, are born, not made. Is that possible? The really great ones are born, but you put a lot of time and effort into it. And if you got a little bit of speed, you can really do some great things. You don't have to have a lot of speed. You just have to have a lot of endurance. And endurance can be built into a person by hard training. We've been talking about a little bit of the pain. Outside of that, is there something special about this race this year as opposed to the others? Oh, not every year. Every year's special. I don't know if this one's more special than other races. I just personally enjoy this race. It's the best race in the state, best race I've ever been in. And so I just enjoy coming down to it every year. Is there a favorite section that you enjoy? Well, first part and finishing. Just when you get started, huh? Yeah. Then just when you finish, you say, hey, that's it. Yep. Yep. What's the special feeling of accomplishment that comes to a marathon racer? Well, it's not a lot of people can do it, and I take a lot of pride in Velvet being able to do it well. And of course, it's always fun to be the first local runner, too. Anytime you do anything well, you get a special feeling. And this is something I found that I can do well, and I derive a lot of pleasure from that. You're going to try it again next year? Make it nine. Yeah, I want to get in. I want to be in that club where everybody's run 10. Next race from the St. George Marathon. Now, where do you go next? Well, start hitting the weights hard and start training all over again for next year. And then the St. George Marathon will be your next race, or will you plan to do 10 more between now and then? Well, I'll probably run in probably 10 more races. I won't run in 10 more marathons, obviously, but I'll probably try a little bit of everything. Everything from maybe the quarter mile on up. To the marathon. My next, probably the next race is the 50 mile series in Salt Lake. Russell Bennett, the first of the St. George area runners. Congratulations on a good finish. Scant. You're the organizer. It's an outstanding race. It's not a fast race. It's not one of those high visibility races, but it's terrific. Look at the crowds and the volunteers and the runners that love it. They just love it. A lot of people close to the records, but nobody really breaking records right now, breaking any records. Except in the categories we have in the older age groups. We've got a couple of excellent, excellent records. Maybe even close to national records. We'll know that a little later on. I noticed one of the organizers from the Lake Powell Marathon shooting for March, beginning on that one over here, to take note. That's right. He's over here kind of watchdogging everybody to see if he can learn everything he can so he can pull something off in March. I think it is one of the things. Southern Utah runners finishing higher every year. Russell Bennett, another good time. Diane Beckstead, number two among the women. That is really one of the goals we like to see, you know, is to see have great races. But one of those periphery goals is to see our local runners really shine. And they're starting to. They're doing it. John Galearski finished really high too, I noticed. So it's some good things coming out of this 12th edition of the St. George Marathon. Beautiful weather too, huh? Tremendous. Did you plan that? Yeah, we worked on it. Thank you. Ken, congratulations. Thank you very much. Patience. Joan, Great race. Thank you very much. I loved it. Is this your best personal best? It is, by three and a half minutes. Let's talk a little bit about the race itself. You were trailing there for quite a while and then passed Diane Beckstead. Yes. I wasn't really concerned as to where my position was. I was trying to hold back for the first half. And in fact I ran the second half five minutes faster than the first half. So I'm not sure if the other women slowed down or if I just caught them by going faster. The challenge of the St. George Marathon, is there a special challenge to it? I think it's a difficult race in a way to train for because you have to specifically train to run fast downhills. If you don't do that, it has a tendency to wreck your legs. And that can be an advantage to have the downhills. If you're like me, a relaxed downhill runner who trains for them. But otherwise I think it would hurt A lot of people. Is this your first St. George Marathon? It is, is it? Yes, it is. Have you ever run the downhill course any place else like this? No. I'd say it reminds me a bit of the Boston Marathon, which has a downhill. And also the California International Marathon in Sacramento. The downhill is never quite as much as this. Of course, I have run Pikes Peak. The first half there is uphill 7,000ft, and the second half is downhill, 7,000ft. But that hardly counts as a marathon. It's more of an endurance test. As you run marathons, obviously you've been around the country on that. This has been quite a blessing for you to get a chance to visit different parts of the country. Yes, not only the country, but I've been around the world running marathons. I've been in Japan and in New Zealand, Australia, Norway, all kinds of places. Where do you go from here? I think my next marathon will probably be the Cal International in Sacramento in December. But this one I was really looking forward to because I was determined to set a personal best here, which I did. Is there something special about this marathon that makes it more enjoyable than some of the others? Well, if you're a downhill runner, of course, that's nice also, I must say, it's well organized and the people are very, very friendly. We have a nice warm feeling here, and I think that's a big help. I mean, all the local enthusiasm really helps. Everywhere we go, the, you know, the restaurants and so forth, everybody's real encouraging and nice. I really like that in a race, and it's a fairly small town, you don't get lost in the big city. It's a nice course, you know, it's pretty. I didn't spend much time looking at it, but it is very nice. So anyway, I like it very much. From San Francisco, California. This is a different atmosphere all the way around. As far as dry and warm. Yes. I will say, if there's one way you can improve the marathon is make sure it's overcast every year and a little bit cooler. Fortunately, I finished in time to not really feel the heat, but I prefer it a little bit colder. You're going to try it again next year here? I hope so. We'll see. Joan Elliott, our women's champion. Congratulations. One more thing I should say, to encourage other women. I'm 48 years old. You don't look. You don't look it. Marathons have been good for you. Thank you very much. Congratulations, Joan Elliott. Bye bye. Okay. Joan Elliott, our women's champion. And our little guy, Cameron Linford, is at the 25 mile mark. Mike, we'll try to give you an update on that a little bit later, but once again,