I got ready and left the house at about 6 am to start my drive up to St George. I had done this drive a few times before so I knew that it wasn't too bad especially when broken up into small chunks for pitstops at charging stations.
Normally, I would try to go to the charging station with the cheapest rates. However, they were all pretty much the same. Some were cheaper by 1 cent. My first stop had me out at the Tesla Supercharger station in Barstow after about 1.5 hours of driving. It was the original smaller one in Barstow just off of the Lenwood exit.
Tesla Supercharger, Barstow, Lenwood
After plugging the car in for a charge, I walked over to the nearby Starbucks to use their restroom and to get my usual breakfast. Instead of the usual tall flat white, I ordered a double smoked bacon cheddar & egg sandwich and a grande flat white to spend at least $12 for 15 bonus stars.
Double smoked bacon cheddar & egg sandwich, grande flat white
The next stretch had me out to the Tesla Supercharger station in Jean, NV which took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to cover. They had the newer chargers. After plugging in, I walked into the Terrible's Road House to use their restroom. I also wanted to finally check the place out as it was hyped to rivaled Buc-ee's. Indeed it was quite impressive! The only thing that they were missing was a cute mascot. Even when I drove gas powered cars, I never once stopped here to fill up the gas tank as I would just wait until I was in Las Vegas.
Tesla Supercharger, Jean, NV
Zoltar!
Very large and clean restroom!
Sasquatch!
Alien Outpost
ET phone home!
I covered the next stretch into St George in just under 2 hours. I rolled into the Tesla Supercharger station along Pioneer Rd at about 1 pm local mountain time. It was located off to the side, just north of the Smith's supermarket. After plugging in the car for a charge, I opted to wait in my car until it was done charging.
Tesla Supercharger, St George, Pioneer Rd
Before heading over to the race expo, I stopped in at the nearby In-n-Out to get some lunch. Per the usual with any In-n-Out location, the place was packed! I ordered my usual, 2 Double-Doubles, both with raw onions added. Once my food was ready, I found a small vacant table to enjoy my burgers. I used their restroom before heading out.
Double Double with raw onion x2
Next I hopped in the car and drove up to the Dixie Convention Center for the race expo. The parking lots were pretty packed, but thankfully, I was able to locate a vacant spot without having to drive around too much. As to be expected with this year being the 50th year, the whole packet pick-up process was very well streamlined. After I picked up my bib and a nice long sleeve race shirt, I went through the rest of the expo. I then met up with my friend, Mitch, in the room where they were showing a little short film on the history of the race.
Race expo at Dixie Convention Center
Expo bag
50th commemorative coin
Back drop
Shirt pick-up
Long sleeve race shirt
Participants name wall
Found my name
Artwork poster
Ibigawa & St George
History of the St George Marathon
Legacy club
Mitch
St George Marathon history
St George map
After we caught up a bit and went over our race plans, we went our separate ways. I drove over to the nearby McDonald's to pick up dinner. I cashed in 7000 pts for a free Quarter Pounder with Cheese. For $1.99, I added a McDouble to my order. I used the drive-thru to pick up my food.
McDonald's drive-thru
QPC and McDouble
QPC
With my dinner in hand, I then drove over to the WorldMark St George property to check-in. The guy at the front desk informed me that they were out of 1 bedroom units, so he put me up in a 3 bedroom unit at the neighboring WorldMark Estancia property. Not bad for using only 780 credits as they had a 40% off deal including a $100 eReward gift card if I was among the first 100 owners to use the disocunt code! I had to travel within 45 days of booking so I would assume that overall across all properties, they had extra inventory on their hands. I ended up being able to cancel my original Days Inn booking out in Hurricane. Thank goodness, I didn't have to spar with the concierge concerning attending an owner "update" at this property as I was only staying the one night. The older female owner that was checking in around the same time wanted to make sure that her account was flagged so that no one at any property were to try and sell her more credits. Man, that will be me one day!
Property map
Discounts
WorldMark Estancia
Room 1
Room 2 kids' bedroom
Room 3 master bedroom
Patio and grill
"Rouge" AI
St George Marathon in the news
Boy, this unit was way more than what I needed as a solo traveler! It was adequate for 2 families! After finishing off my dinner, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. I then took a shower and started winding down for the evening.
Flat runner
Saturday 10/3
I don't recall if I had chosen or was assigned the 4 am bus time. I don't like dealing with the race before the race stress, so regardless of the reason, I didn't mind getting to the start early. I packed up and checked out of the unit at just before 3:30 am to head over to the bus loading area. I had decided on parking in the lot north of the LDS Temple. Since I was there pretty early, I was able to get an end spot along 300 E St.
Parking and bus loading map
Parked at the north lot of the LDS temple
Once I ate my pre-race CLIF bar and got my stuff in order, I started walking over to Vernon Worthen Park where the designated bus loading was taking place along 400 E St. The queue for the buses were quite long, so it took a while before I reached the end of the line. My friend Stacy had arrived not too far ahead of me, so we ended up riding to the start together.
Preview of the finish line
Took a school bus ride out to the start in Central
Pre-race with Mitch and Stacy
Pre-race drone show
Course map
Course elevation profile
I started the race with the mindset of running roughly a 9:09 min/mile pace effort for about the first 8 miles. Everything was going pretty well until I reached that climb starting at mile 8. The climbing went on through mile 11 which really broke me mentally. Not sure if it was due to so much traveling and racing every weekend, but I felt really fatigued and demoralized.
1: 9:07
2: 9:25
3: 9:03
4: 8:59
5: 9:16
6: 8:54
7: 9:09
8: 11:40
9: 10:52
10: 10:40
11: 12:06
12: 12:18
13: 11:47
Mile 8
Coming into the race, I knew that most of the downhill was in the second half. I just couldn't get the legs to move faster. It also didn't help that the longer that I was out there, the warmer it was getting. I continued to take walk breaks as I reached a new mile marker and at the aid station to drink and wet my cap. It was such a grind just to sneak in under 5 hours.
14: 12:49
15: 11:29
16: 11:07
17: 12:10
18: 12:22
19: 13:32
20: 12:05
21: 10:59
22: 12:56
23: 12:50
24: 13:06
25: 12:39
26: 12:33
26.2: 2:12
Approaching mile 15
Mile 15
Mile 15.6
Mile 19: Marlboro?!
Perhaps he was doing some heat training!
Mile 23.7: Don't be a weenie!
Finish: 4:56:05
Click here for my Garmin data.
Not quite sure what was going on with my voice for most of the race, but it was quite hoarse as if I had lost it from too much shouting. It could've been from the campfire smoke that we were breathing in while waiting for the start. Whatever it was, it eventually cleared up by the end of the race.
After crossing the finish line, I took a quick selfie before continuing down the finisher chute to receive my finisher medal. That was followed by tables of snacks and drinks. Thankfully, I always bring my own bag to carry everything. Near the end was the trailer that was dispensing the dirty soda. I skipped that queue as I don't drink soda. Finally, I grabbed a Creamie before heading out. As with most races, the exit was crowded by friends and family waiting for their runner to come through.
Marathon finish line #300!
Finisher medal
Close-up of medal
Post race snacks
Dirty soda
Creamies
Finish area map
Eventually, I found a vacant spot in the shade near the final stretch to eat my Creamie and to cheer on my fellow runners. While there, I chatted with a fellow Dodgers fan concerning our team's chances in the playoffs. We were both hoping to be playing against the Phillies for the NLDS as the Braves had outplayed us during the regular season. In any case, I just didn't see the Dodgers getting past the Brewers if we can get past the Braves. I stayed until my friend Mitch came through.
Mitch
There goes Mitch
After that I started heading back to my car. Before heading home, I decided to get some lunch at the Honolulu Grill primarily because it was participating in the AAdvantage Dining program. I ordered their Hawaiian combo plate. It came with kalua pork, BBQ chicken, and lomi salad. I got it with white rice and macaroni salad. The portions were pretty hefty, but it wasn't close to being as good as the well established Hawaiian chain restaurants such as Zippy's, Ono Hawaiian BBQ, or L&L. Next time I will just have to wait until I get into Las Vegas if I'm craving some post race Hawaiian food. After all, Las Vegas is known as Hawaii's 9th island.
Honolulu Grill
POG
Hawaiian Combo
After finishing my sub-par Hawaiian food, I used their restroom before hopping in the car for the drive home. The first stretch took just a little over 2 hours for me to reach the Tesla Supercharger station in Jean, NV. After plugging the car in for a charge, I went inside the Terrible's Road House to use their restroom. Before heading back to my car, I bought a bottle of unsweetened iced tea as I needed to be on top of my post race rehydration. While sitting in my car, I noticed that there were a few people in the parking lot that stood out. Unfortunately, they were your stereotypical people that would be driving an expensive Rivian bought with drug money.
Tesla Supercharger, Jean, NV
Terrible's Road House
Restroom
Unsweetened iced tea
Once the car was done charging, I started heading out. After about 1 hour and 45 minutes of driving, I pulled into the same small Tesla Supercharger station in Barstow. As I was pulling up to the parking lot, a huge pickup truck nearly drove out right in front of me as if I was invisible to him. Try looking next time before you turn! Per the usual routine, I plugged in and walked over to the Starbucks to use their restroom and to get another drink. I cashed in 200 stars for a Venti banana bread latte. I only charged the car enough so that I would get home with about 15% charge left.
Venti banana bread latte
