Runners from around the country will descend on the region this weekend for the third annual St. Joseph Marathon.
The event, hosted by the St. Joseph, Missouri Sports Commission, will bring in athletes from 21 states, ranging from Alaska to New York.
"We've got some historical sites here in St. Joseph," Brett Esely, director of the sports commission, said. "When you have runners coming to your community, you want those folks running in areas of town that you want them to see. That was the other big key in developing our race route."
The race is branded as a marathon, but actually features 5 different distances, including half marathon, 10K, 5K and a marathon relay. The marathon committee emphasized the need for opportunities for all participants, from avid runners to beginners, when the event was created.
"When we designed this event, we wanted to make sure that we didn't deter anybody from participating at any and all skill levels," Esely said. "It's a lot of management with essentially five different races, but we really encourage participation and wanted to make sure there was literally something for everyone. We've been fortunate that we've had a lot of runners take part in a lot of different race segments."
The St. Joseph Marathon is set for Saturday morning beginning and finishing at Civic Center Park. The marathon and half marathon get underway at 7am. The 10K and 5K start at 7:30am. Registration is open through Friday at StJoMoSports.com.
Full audio from our conversation with Brett Esely is available above.
