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By Tamber Mickelson
Marathoners Nathan and Christine Hult round a corner Saturday in Providence about five miles from the finish line of the Top of Utah. / Photo by Nancy Williams RIVER HEIGHTS -- Saturday morning a dozen volunteers lined the street on 600 East between 400 and 500 South in River Heights to welcome hundreds of runners with music, bananas, orange wedges, water, and purple, red and orange Gatorade. Many runners were gracious and appreciative of the support offered by the volunteers. They extended words of thanks and received words of encouragement in return. But most runners were doing their best just to hold their own and keep their feet moving. Family members and friends of runners showed up to cheer them on with posters and shouts of praise and admiration. This was the scene at mile marker number 23 in the fifth annual Top of Utah Marathon. This year 1,730 runners from around the world registered to pace this exhausting 26.2 mile endeavor. Although not all 1,730 crossed the finish line, at least two River Heights residents did. Resident Amy Lowe trained for 18 weeks before lacing up her running shoes yesterday. She was one of the many first-time runners to attempt this physically and emotionally challenging hurtle. Her goal was simple: to finish the race. And finish she did. At 4 hours and 47 minutes Lowe was the 965th person to cross the finish line. Her motivation was merely to make her past four months of dedication and effort pay off. Jeremy White received his payoff after coming in 23rd place in the men's 25-29 age division. White trained for four and a half months before crossing the finish line for the second year in a row. "After last year I said I was done," said White, "but there's something about the grueling challenge that keeps you coming back." Last year White's time was 3 hours and 37 minutes. This year his goal was to "have a good time, make it a pleasant experience, and beat last year's time." At 3 hours and 29 minutes White achieved his goal. He said that reaching his personal best is "extremely rewarding." Some one else who finds his work rewarding is River Heights' volunteer station advisor, Chris Himmel. Each year Himmel oversees the volunteer support station at mile marker 23. His job is to recruit volunteers to come and set up tables and prepare provisions for the runners. This year he recruited a dozen happy helpers from River Heights and put them to work making Gatorade, filling hundreds of plastic cups with it and handing it out to runners as they raced by. As payment for their service volunteers received official "Top of Utah Marathon" T-shirts, Tommie's donuts and the leftover Gatorade. Some volunteers walked away with more than these in-hand items: they walked away with something often referred to as the spirit of service. Volunteer Julia Goepel is perhaps one of those people. After filling several hundred cups she said with a smile, "This is fun. I'm glad I came." Goepel is just one of the thousands who put this event together each year. Race director Bob Henke estimated that nearly 2,400 people were involved with this year's event. New this year were free posters for each participant, more GU Energy Gel, and better traffic control on small streets. Those streets started in Blacksmith Fork Canyon at Hardware Ranch at 6:55 a.m. for wheelchair participants and 7 a.m. for runners, and ended at Logan's Central Park as the final runner crossed the finish line. Provo's Alexander Pachev was first to reach the park with an ending time of 2 hours and 27 minutes. He was closely followed by Logan's Paul Petersen at 2 hours and 35 minutes. Ogden's Jeremy Tolman can in third with 2 hours and 37 minutes. In the women's division Salt Lake City's Zuzana Sarikova took first with 2 hours and 47 minutes. Tracy Stewart of Colorado Springs, Colo. received second place with an ending time of 2 hours and 48 minutes. Providences' Carol Rowe placed third at 2 hours and 58 minutes. The two first-place winners received $1,000 and a treadmill. Second place winners received $500 and third place winners received $250. In the wheelchair division Geoffrey Erickson of Wilmington, Calif., rode away with $250 for crossing the finish line first after one hour and 56 minutes. Fifty dollars was awarded to each winner of the 22 age divisions, and Moose Finishers medals were given to everyone who finished by 1 p.m.
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