Boston Marathon: race of a lifetime for local teacher

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

It was the chance of a lifetime for local runner Kristy Guymon. She recently returned from running in the Boston Marathon. She always knew she could run a marathon, but never really thought much about actually doing it.
Last fall she ran in the Big Cottonwood marathon and had a qualifying time to enter the Boston Marathon. Her friend encouraged her to enter and so she did.
Guymon is an Emery County native, the daughter of Bruce and TedAnn Funk of Clawson. She is a teacher at Emery High, teaching pre-calculus and AP calculus.
“I was in junior high when I found out I had a talent for running. My goal was to win the 400 meters and to set a new record at the junior high. I focused on that. Then I moved onto high school and focused on setting records there. I ran the 200, 400, 800 and the mile. I still hold the record in the 400. I was running sprints in high school and Coach Darrell Gardner told me I should not be running the sprints, but the 400. So I added the 400 and the 800 and the mile. He also told me I needed to do cross country. Each year I added more distance. He said I had a talent for it and he made me realize I could do this and go to college on a track scholarship. So I did, I attended Utah State on a track scholarship and ran all four years there. I mainly did the 800 and cross country and the 1500. That’s what they run in college. I went on a mission and then when I got back I mainly focused on the 800.
“I didn’t set a college record, but I was second on the all-time fastest 800 list at the school for awhile. I finished second at the conference. Back then, it was the Big West conference.
“My husband Brett and I went to high school together, but we didn’t date or anything. We knew each other, because we both ran track. Funny thing, one day in high school we were running stairs in the auditorium and Coach Gardner said to us, ‘you two should hook up, you’d have really fast kids.’ It was an awkward moment.
“Brett went to Utah State as well and we used to car pool home and became friends on our long drives home. We didn’t date our first year of college, but started dating towards the end. We both went on missions and then I was only home from my mission for one week, when we got engaged. We’ve been married for 16 years now. Brett was really good at track. He went to the NCAA several times and to the Olympic trials. But he suffered an injury.
“I have kept running over the years to stay in shape and I love it. I have friends who do marathons, but I just thought, why? that would be painful. My friends kept telling me I needed to do it, just to say that I’d run a marathon. So I signed up for the Big Cottonwood in September 2014. To qualify for the Boston Marathon, you have to run a marathon in three hours and 40 minutes.
“My goal for the Big Cottonwood was three hours and 30 minutes and I did it in three hours and 20 minutes. At the end of that race I thought, I don’t care if I ever do Boston. It hurt, the last six miles were torture.
“But, we had qualified for Boston, so we decided to put in. We decided if we get in, we’re going.
I have three friends that I run with and we all ran at Utah State. There’s Kristen Guymon and Kristi Schouman. We all trained on our own. I did a three day a week running plan. One day I did intervals of running at different speeds and one day was up to tempo at race pace. On Saturdays was my long run, I would go 13 miles and 20 miles. It’s a 16 week training cycle. I would go up Rock Canyon and sometimes Brett would drop me off in Straight Canyon and I would run down. I would go to the Moore Cut-off road and run.
“It was really exciting to be in Boston. The people all along the race were cheering and yelling. I had my music on, but the people were so loud, I couldn’t hear my music. Our names were on our bibs, so people would yell our names and encourage us. People along the way would hand out oranges to the runners and little kids would come up and give us high-fives. One sign I read said free power, tap here. It was really cute. There’s also a girls college there and all the girls would line up with signs that said, kiss me. There was a girl that had a sign that said run fast and I’ll drop the sign. It was a really big sign.
“There’s the Heartbreak Hill that’s like 20 miles in and one of my goals was to conquer Heartbreak Hill. But, by the time I got there, my legs were done, but there were people there encouraging us. I made it through and didn’t walk up the hill.
“Usually at races, you catch-up to people and pass them, but there people are all seeded together and it seemed like we all stayed together, 20,000 people all running together and you just keep moving.
“I really just eat normally, I think I could do more with my diet, but I don’t, I do increase my intake, because you’re burning a lot. Before the race I had a waffle and a banana. I had chews, bee stings and blocks along the way and I ate the oranges people gave out. There are water stations every mile. I like to take nuts along too, but I haven’t really figured out the diet part.
“It was rainy and cold the day of the race. I threw my gloves off along the way, but I should have kept them because after it started raining it got really cold. The rain came about four miles in and it wasn’t a cold rain, but there were gusts of wind. There was a 45 degree chill factor that day. We were given a cape at the end, but we had to walk about a half mile after the race to get to our clothes and that was hard. Everything was just soaked.
“The professionals get paid to win these races, but people like me, we just run to beat our own time.
“The Boston Marathon is flat with some rolling hills. I figured I could do better than I did, but a couple of weeks before the race, I got really sick and could only run nine miles on the weekend before. So, towards the end of the race, my legs were really heavy, but I finished the race and I knew I had a lot of people back home cheering for me. I won’t do any more marathons this year, but maybe a half marathon.
“I know I haven’t run my fastest marathon yet. My time at Boston was three hours and 29 minutes. I don’t know if I’ll go back to Boston. I might try the St. George marathon. When I get to the time I’m happy with then I’ll be done. The fastest man in Boston was two hours and nine minutes and the fastest woman was two hours and 24 minutes.
“On Saturday, in Boston we did some exploring. We went to Harvard University and to the Natural History Museum. We did a lot of walking that day. Sunday we went to the check-in and got our gear and to the expo then to dinner. We tried to relax. I slept pretty good Sunday night and then Monday was the race. I was kind of nervous. Just wondering what my body would do because I had been sick. The first 13 miles I felt pretty good.
“I would like for my daughters to pick up running, but I don’t push them. My oldest daughter is really into dance. Sometimes they will follow me along on the side-by-side. Ashlynn is the oldest and she will be going into seventh grade, Addyson is going into second grade and Skylee into first grade. The younger two have an interest in running. Ashlynn said she would like to do a 5k this summer, so I told her she has to train for it. My dream is to run with my girls. I haven’t done a half marathon yet. I jumped right to the full marathon.
“Running is such a stress reliever for me. I think there would be less problems in the world, if everyone took up running. It’s such a great outlet for stress. There would be less depression and anxiety.
“When I’m not training for a marathon, I run three times a week for four or five miles and I teach the Ignite workout classes on Mondays and Wednesday nights at the rec. center in Castle Dale.
“I do enjoy running, it’s my escape.
“I tell my students to take up running, it’s a cheap exercise and it helps with weight control.
“Coach Gardner was really an inspiration to me. When I came back here, he wanted me to help coach the cross country. Then I was hired to coach cross country and track. Coach Gardner instilled a love of running in me. My goal is to do that for the kids I teach today,” said Guymon.
On the Boston Marathon, Guymon said, “It was an experience for sure.”