St. George officials preparing for unprecedented heat as marathon approaches

Preparations are underway for Saturday's Saint George Marathon. There's something else people need to prepare for, the heat.

“This may be one of our hottest marathons that we've ever had,” said St. George City Marketing and Communications Director David Cordero. “We hope everyone is just really focused on their own safety out there, that they're hydrated, that they've got enough food in their system and all that stuff.”

Cordero is talking about unprecedented October heat in St. George as marathon weekend approaches.

The 101-degree high Wednesday in St. George was the first time that anywhere in the state was triple-digits in October. And the triple-digits are expected to last right through marathon Saturday. But Cordero says the marathon is prepared.

“Every year we do so much to prepare for anything that could happen,” Cordero said. “We've got physicians here, we've got a lot of nursing support. Our aid stations are always very well stocked, filled with very enthusiastic volunteers that are kind of our partners in this race.”

Temperatures during the early morning hours after the 7 a.m. start are expected to stick to the 60s and 70s. But the top finishers will likely be done by 9 a.m.

“For the elite runners, they'll be done before it gets too, too hot,” Cordero said. “The ones that are four or five hours, that's the ones where the heat's gonna be a factor. And so we're ready to handle anything in that regard.”

Runners will be removed from the course if they haven't finished after 1:00 p.m.

Cordero says locals have also gotten better at dealing with big events like the marathon with the traffic closures and the longer restaurant waits.

“These events that we have, such an economic boon to our city,” he said. “It allows us to not have to charge so much for property tax. People save, I think the last count was something like $1,200 a year on property tax because of the money that comes in from tourists”

For a long time, the St. George Marathon was the biggest athletic event in town. But now national and international Ironman triathlons as well as the Huntsman Senior Games have made big events normal here. And next week, the pros come to the area with the first PGA Tour event in nearby Ivins.

“We've been through the fire. We know exactly what to expect,” Cordero said. “We've learned lessons along the way.”

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