First-Time Winners Top St. George Marathon's 50th Edition

The 50th St. George Marathon crowned two first-time champions and set a participation record with roughly 12,000 runners across all events.

The 50th edition of the St. George Marathon produced two first-time champions on October 3, 2026. Eric Nelson of Nibley, Utah, overtook two-time past champion Jj Santana near the end of the race to win the men's title in 2:15:23, while Santana finished second in 2:16:09 and Ibigawa, Japan's Hajime Sakai took third in 2:17:08. In the women's race, Riverton's Morgan Nokes ran her first competitive marathon anywhere and won in 2:30:01, leading from the front, with Grace Clements second at 2:32:38 and Morgan Jensen third at 2:33:56. According to St. George News, both winners collected $10,000 checks along with medals and trophies.

Nelson, per St. George News, said he was dropped by a lead group around mile eight or nine, 30 seconds or more behind, before patiently reeling the leaders in from 30K and catching Santana with roughly three or four miles to go. Nokes, meanwhile, chose St. George as her first-ever competitive marathon, telling the publication she went in without a place or time goal. St. George News reports that in her shock after the line she described still feeling 'a little delirious' — an understated debut for a 2:30:01 clocking.

St. George News reports that counting all events — the full and half marathons, Mayor's Walk, 5K and 1K, fun runs and walks — organizers estimated about 12,000 participants, with roughly 7,000 from Utah, setting a new participation record for the golden jubilee. In the half marathon, which starts in Diamond Valley and finishes at Vernon Worthen Park, Santiago Gaitan won the men's race in 1:05:27 and Paige Nelson took the women's title in 1:11:25. St. George is known among runners as a fast, Boston-qualifying course, and St. George News notes last year's men's and women's course records were both broken.

The men's race turned on a pacing reversal. St. George News reports that Nelson, training for the Olympic marathon, said last year he pushed hard from miles 13 to 20 and that effort 'cooked' him for the final 10K. This year he let the breakaway go, played the long game, and picked off runners one by one through the closing miles. He told the publication he was not overflowing with confidence after disappointing summer races and was targeting the podium, not the win. Two-time champion Santana, from Las Vegas, still praised the depth of competition and called it an honor to be part of the event.

George's reputation as a welcoming, scenic, fast qualifier keeps feeding that. The momentum is regional: MPR News reports Grandma's Marathon's 2027 edition sold out its marathon in just under three hours — a new record — after this summer's 50th anniversary race drew a record 24,000 runners. St. George Mayor Jimmie Hughes, who hosted the first Mayor's Walk this year with about 100 people, told St. George News that growing up in the city, the marathon was always part of life, and he marveled at what the event has become.

Nelson's Olympic marathon training continues, and he said the patient-racing lesson from St. George is one he plans to carry forward into a faster field. For Nokes, a recent Utah Valley University graduate who ran track and cross country for the Wolverines, the debut win came after marathon training with a group of top women runners who motivated her to jump in — suggesting more competitive marathon appearances ahead. For the broader running crowd lining up at events like Sunday's Maine Marathon, which WMTW reports expects close to a record 5,500 entries, Runner's World's coach guidance suggests waiting at least eight to 12 weeks before a hard follow-up marathon and about 16 weeks to race two well.