By Callie Taggart

Twenty-degree icy mornings, cars that almost hit him, swollen and pained knees and asthma don't slow him down.

"The whole time I'm running I'm thinking of what my goal is, and every time I finish running I feel like I'm one step closer. That's what keeps me going," USU student Nick Barton said.

Twenty-one-year-old Barton was preparing last summer for the 34th annual Deseret News 24th of July Marathon. It is the oldest marathon in the Intermountain West and believed to be the second oldest in the West.

According to a Deseret News article written about the race, "It has lasted through six Presidents, from Nixon to Bush. It has lasted through hippies and yuppies, leisure suits and bell bottoms, and several changes in the width of ties. It also has survived a series of misadventuresócheating, wrong-way turns, traffic jams, mass barfing and all sorts of other weirdness."

Barton's roommates were amazed he was taking on such an exhausting task.
Barton says he decided to run his first marathon as part of a New Year's Resolution to lose weight.

"Plus everybody's been telling me I couldn't do it, so that's another reason," Barton said.

Barton's roommate, Stephen Phung, 23, says he is a hard worker that follows through when he puts his mind to something.

"When he does things, he puts his whole heart into it. And if he runs into a problem, he'll still figure out a way to do it. He doesn't just shoot from the hip all the time."

Barton trained for the grueling race all on his own, doing one long and four short runs per week. He started at two miles for his short runs and four for the long, and then bumped those distances up a mile every two weeks.

As he sits on his bed in his gray sweats and white Tommy Sports jersey tank top, relaxing after a long day of running, classes and an intramural basketball game, Barton oozes confidence.

"When I hit 18 miles in my long run, it gets easier. So first you build up endurance, and then speed," Barton said about his marathon training.

At 8:30 a.m., most students sitting next to him in his business law class probably wouldn't guess that Nicholas Barton has been up since 6 a.m. and has already run six miles for the day. And lately, he has been running 10 miles at least once a week.

" It's been really good to get out and see Logan, and just run right to the mountains," he said.

Barton laughed as he described the dangers of running outside in the bruise-black winter mornings in Logan.

"The biggest thing I hate are the cars here--I've almost gotten hit three times running on the shoulder [of the road]. People almost never look before making their right turns--they just about hit me with their side view mirrors every time! So now I'm being extremely cautious," he said.

Another problem Barton has run into recently is the toll all his running has taken on his knees. Barton said the doctor is not exactly sure how to diagnose it, but believes he doesn't have enough flex in his ankles and hips, so when Barton runs, his knees take all the impact. Because of this, the cartilage in his knees has gotten very thin.

"Then my knees get all swollen," he said.

To try to remedy this, he has tried swimming and running on softer surfaces.
Even asthma doesn't seem to faze Barton or affect his preparation for the marathon. In fact, he planned on finishing the race in less than four hours."Oprah did. Yeah, Oprah freakin' Winfrey! If I run a four-hour-and-one-minute marathon, I'll be so mad!" Barton said.

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