Penny Parrish takes home 13th title at annual Pocatello Marathon

POCATELLO — Sprinters, joggers, speed walkers and endurance runners descended upon the Gate City this past Labor Day weekend for the annual Pocatello Marathon, showcasing how the iconic East Idaho event continues to draw crowds and has become an integral part of the community.

Approximately 900 entrants participated in the Pocatello Marathon’s various races, which included the full marathon, half marathon, 10-kilometer, 5-kilometer and kid’s races this year.

Pocatello’s own Penny Parrish finished first in the women’s full marathon, achieving her 13th title in the category. She finished 11th overall of all racers, further cementing her as one of the perennial contenders of the race.

“This is a great marathon, first of all, I just have to say that they run it really well,” Parrish said. “The volunteers are excellent, the staff is excellent, lots of good people. Every year I think, ‘this is the last year, someone’s going to beat me this year,’ and it just hasn’t happened yet, but I know (they) will and that will be fine, too. But it’s really awesome to have won 13 times.”

Parrish continued, “This year, I think what helped a lot was that I started running with the Pocatello Running Club. I really think that has been a big part of keeping me motivated this year, because it’s been a little harder to stay motivated because I am running a bit slower than I have in the past, and so that’s been really helpful. That has helped me stay motivated, because there’s people who are helping you push yourself. Interestingly enough, I ran this race faster this year than I did last year, even though I feel like I’ve been running slower in training.”

Part of Parrish’s motivation comes from the support she receives from her family that attend the races. She has a sister who runs the half marathon, two brothers that ran the 5K this year, a brother-in-law who ran the 10k along with two nephews who ran the 5k and one mile race.

“The other thing is running keeps me sane and healthy,” Parrish said. “I keep doing it and it’s easier to be motivated to run if you have a goal. My goal is that I’m going to run the Pocatello Marathon, so therefore I train for it. It keeps me healthy, it keeps me sane and there’s an end goal to help me actually get out of bed.”

Additional victors of the Pocatello Marathon included Mitchell Kusick of Colorado, who finished first overall and first in the men’s category but was followed by young Gate City native Ammon Barton, who at the age of 17 finished second within the same two categories.

Branson Fonnesbeck and Maddie Empey, both of Pocatello, finished in first and second place, respectively, in the half marathon.

Other winners included 15-year-old Skyler White, of Utah, who finished first overall in the 10k run, Chantz Lund of Kimberly finishing first in the 5K with young Nate Jensen finishing first in the 1 mile.

This year also marks the end of the line for Pocatello Marathon race director Mike Calley, who co-directed this year’s event with his daughter Mary and will be passing the torch to her for the foreseeable future.

Calley has been part of the Pocatello Marathon since its inaugural year in 2000 and was formally invited to the race committee a year later by former race director Larry Bell, who was acquainted with Calley through the Pocatello Fun Run and other marathon events. By 2005, Bell had stepped down and for the next 19 years Calley would be the Pocatello Marathon director and enshrine himself as an integral part of the local racing scene.

“That’s one of the pieces that I strive for every year is that big town race, but with a small-town flair,” Calley said. “We can transport runners in a coach bus out to their start line and they don’t have to sit there for several hours waiting ahead. They can get up there within the hour of their official start time and get races underway. Initially, it started off with just a marathon and a half marathon category and the goal was to bring 1,000 people into Pocatello for Labor Day weekend.”

Calley would go on to add a 10k and 5k along with the children’s races, adding yet another layer to the event and continuing to add opportunity for racers of all varieties and skill levels.

“The thing that I really love is it’s not only those that come back every single year to do our race, but it’s also the people that have only been here once,” Calley said. “You form a friendship with them, and just (appreciate) the comments that they give about our race about how well organized it is and that, for the most part, a lot of things go off without a hitch, and it’s very organized and efficient. Just meeting the different people over the years has been what I really enjoy.”

Calley continued, “Once I get all of the races underway, we get to be in the finish line area and walk around and talk to the runners and hear their stories about what brought them to Pocatello to do our race. The other piece of it is not only the participants, but it’s also our community. Our community comes out and volunteers. They come out and they really help support the 15 aid stations out on course and the finish line and the starting lines. A lot of activities happen throughout the day and it not only takes the participants coming in, but it takes our volunteers and it also takes our community to make this event really function and flourish.”