By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The inagural St. Joseph marathon came and went this past Saturday, and city officials were very pleased with how things went.
Director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission and director of the event, Brett Esely, says 527 people participated in all, with 94 in the full marathon and 170 in the half marathon.
"Everyone tells me, who follows races like this, especially on an inaugural basis for a community our size, that those numbers are very, very good," Esely told KFEQ Radio.
The race started at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning with the last runner crossing the finish line just after 1 p.m. Esely says roughly 350 volunteers showed up to help out with the event.
"I'm not sure there's anything we would have changed," Esely said on the leadup and prep for the race. "Things went according to plan, which is good. We can't thank our volunteers and our colleagues from the city and county and local law enforcement for really going all in and making this event what it was."
There was also a 10K, 5K and a relay event on Saturday as well.
Esely says it was a great day for the city as the event drew dozens of people in from about 25 different states.
"By all accounts, it was a very proud day for St. Joseph," he said. "Every time we have the chance to host a major event, St. Joseph does hospitality as good or better than any location in the country and we totally believe that."
The city is looking to run the marathon again next year in the third week of September. Esely says that date will be finalized fairly soon.
Photos courtesy of the St. Joseph Sports Commission
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