Runners brave cold at half marathon

By JASON BLASCO

Lake County Leader

The Polson Running Club’s fourth annual Sorry ‘Bout That Half Marathon and Team Relay experienced its highest number of registrations and participants in spite of blustery weather conditions Saturday morning at the Mission Valley Aquatics Center.

“This was the worst weather and best turnout we’ve ever had,” Vice President of Polson Running Lauren Arnold said. “We even had people come all the way from Seattle to participate in this event.”

Arnold said running in near zero degree temperatures requires more preparation than usual.

“It’s hard mentally to run in these conditions,” Arnold said. “To have as many people get out there and run is a big deal. It really helps bring joy to running in more people in Polson and it really keeps young runners in the community and runners in general motivated.”

A portion of the proceeds made during this event go to various organizations.

Austin Allen, the male winner of the 14 mile race, said running in these conditions isn’t difficult if you are properly prepared.

“You just have to layer up and go for it,” Allen said. “It doesn’t hurt to have the type of volunteers that they have here, they are awesome. You just have to stay out of the ice and stay into the dry roads and keep a positive attitude.”

Allen, who arbitrarily runs 10 races a year, said he is “satisfied,” with his victory and time.

“I am always happy when I finish first,” the Moiese resident said. “I stayed pretty steady out of the ice and into the dry roads and I just kept a positive attitude (throughout the race).”

The female winner Jordan Ives won her second-consecutive Sorry ‘Bout That Half Marathon.

“The conditions were a lot colder than last year,” Ives said. “You just have to dress for the weather and everything is fine.”

Ives said the back-to-back victory was a “good feeling.”

“I hadn’t been training much for this and I thought it would not go very well,” Ives said. “I want to win it again and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it because I have not done a lot of running in this type of weather, I would rather ski.”