ST. GEORGE – This Saturday Jordan Bracken will run the St. George Marathon for more than a T-shirt or a time. Bracken, a Dixie State University Senior, will make the grueling slog from Central to St. George in memory of his grandfather, Bob Horlacher who passed away last fall.
Bracken said that his family wanted to honor their fallen member, and they chose running because his grandfather played a pivotal role in starting the St. George Marathon. Along with running the marathon Bracken’s family will be present on Friday when Horlacher is inducted into the St. George Marathon “Road of Fame.”
Horlacher supported the marathon since its conception and as a former coach for Dixie State College he ran the race a number of times.
“The marathon was really supportive,” Bracken said, “They opened up spots for my family to run in the race.” Throughout the process the St. George Marathon has worked to honor one of its founding members and former competitors.
Bracken will run alongside 30 of his family members on Saturday, and “it’s not about time,” he said, “everybody just wants to finish.”
Bracken has previous running experience and has competed in several half marathons and 5Ks, but this race will be his longest event to date. While training for the marathon, Bracken tried not to lose sight of what he was running for.
“When I hit the wall and wanted to quit,” he said “I would just remember why I was running.”
He pushed through long and grueling training runs and the searing heat of the St. George summer. Bracken also said that throughout training his family has been really supportive of each other.
After months of training Bracken believes that he is ready for the race on Saturday.
“My grandpa used to say, ‘if you can run twenty miles you can run a marathon,’” Bracken said, “and I have already run 20 miles for training.”
For Bracken the marathon will be a powerful experience and he is looking forward to the moment when he crosses the finish line. He described the whole process as pretty emotional. Even though he is little bit nervous for race day, he is optimistic and he will be surrounded by his family, all striving towards the same goal.
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Coach Horlacher was my track coach and physical ed teacher at Delta High School. He was one of the greatest men I’ve known. Good luck, and easy running St George Marathon Horlacher family.