ST. GEORGE – More than 7,200 runners participated in the St. George Marathon, but the Southern Utah weather was not fair to the competitors.

The 34th annual St. George Marathon began at 6:45 a.m. with temperatures in the high 50s, but by afternoon, many participants suffered from heat exhaustion and did not finish the race.

Crystal Buckner is a first-time St. George Marathon competitor who traveled from Lyman, Wyo., with some of her family to compete in this year’s race.  She said enjoyed competing in the race with the exception of the heat.

“[The race] was hot and tough,” she said.  “I think it would have been fine if it wasn’t so hot, but it’s just grueling after a certain point.”

Buckner said she did appreciate that the marathon trail was mostly downhill and not as difficult as a marathon she competed in earlier this year.

The winner of this year’s race is Aaron Metler from St. George and his time was approximately 2:22:08. Utah was respectfully represented in this year’s results – many of the top competition winners are from Utah. The first woman to finish the race was Stephanie Tally from Layton. Her finish time was 2:45:15.

For results of the race, visit www.stgeorgemarathon.com.