Aid Station Competition Winners


For the 3rd year in a row the Youth Garden Project is the winner of the “Most Zealous Aid Station” Competition sponsored by Zeal Optics. All crew members received a pair of Zeal sunglasses and will retain the competition trophy for another year.

“Congratulations Youth Garden Project Aid Station Team-you made our race that much better with the good music and awesome support. We appreciate it!” — Wink Jackson, owner of Zeal and 2009 Moab Half Marathon finisher.

19-Year-Old Course Record Broken at 34th Annual Canyonlands Half Marathon

Near-perfect weather, a record-breaking participant turnout, and a new course record made the 2009 Canyonlands Half Marathon and Five Mile Run an event for the record books. Nicholas Kipruto a freshman at Dine College in Shiprock, NM broke the existing five mile record in a time of 23:55, bettering the old mark set by Allen Russell in 1990 by 34 seconds. Kipruto, a Kenyan native, ran a blistering 4:47 per mile pace and bested his nearest competitor and teammate Tony Perez by over two minutes.

3,284 participants finished the Half Marathon and 786 participants finished the 5-Mile Run for a total of 4,070 finishers. Race Director Ranna Bieschke attributes the numbers to the weather and the high number of half marathon registrants. “We usually see a higher turnout from half marathon registrants than from the five mile registrants,” said Bieschke.

In the Half Marathon Ewen North of Boulder, CO retained his crown in a winning time of 1:11:02. The first female to cross the finish line was Emily Bates of Salt Lake City in a time of 1:22:07. Wheelchair winner John Brewer won his third consecutive title in a time of 58:46. Katie Lott of Logan was the first female finisher in the 5 Mile in a time of 31:41.

Finishers ranged in age from 7 (Brennan Cecil of Orem) to 81 (Thomas Gregory of Salt Lake City). There were 107 Moab finishers, 53 in the Half and 54 in the 5-Mile. “We were pleased to see representation from Moab in almost every age category in both races,” said Bieschke. Michelle Kelley was the first female Moab finisher with a time of 1:27:41 (6:41 per mile); Jim Lewis was the first male Moab finisher with a time of 1:28:55 (6:48 per mile). Jacob Francis was the first male Moab finisher in the 5-Mile with a time of 32:39 (6:31 per mile); Kate Cannon was the first female Moab finisher in the 5-Mile with a time of 43:03 (8:36 per mile).

Bieschke expressed her appreciation to the participants, volunteers, and sponsors for helping make the event a success once again. “Moab Half Marathon is appreciative of our local sponsors Moab Adventure Center, Eastern Utah Community Credit Union and Sore No More for their race day support.