The Story Behind the Bryce Canyon 5K

So we had a family reunion at Panguitch Lake to go to this last weekend, and our good friends, Tyler and Nicole, were running a 5K and 1/2 Marathon in Bryce Canyon with some of their other friends but staying in Panguitch for the night. Since it was so close, we decided we would go run with them.

So someone reserved a place to stay with two beds for $100 a night, so we thought it would have a pool and be all sorts of nice. We got there and the place looked like Barbie's house, and what's worse is that it wasn't much bigger than Barbie's house too. There was no pool or anything nice about the place, and only one bed. So there was this big ordeal, and the managers, although they knew we didn't, said we reserved a room with one bed. Then they said we would all be fine because a king size bed is like two beds anyway. We debated whether to stay there but it was late so we thought we might as well since we had to get up before the break of dawn. As we brushed our teeth that night, we also found out that the sink leaked all over your feet when it was on. Fun. So needless to say...all four of us huddled onto that bed, and by morning Gary had ended up on the floor. We hardly got any sleep but when 4:50 AM rolled along, we were all up and getting ready to go.

The race was pretty fun. Nicole did the 1/2 Marathon, and the rest of us did the 5K. Gary's time card got back and it said he ran the Women's 5K, but that he got 2nd place! After they got his card fixed, I got bumped up to 2nd place and got a little silver medal. It was exciting; I'll just ignore the fact that all the other girls my age were running the 1/2 Marathon...and that there were only two girls in my age group running the 5K (that is what I figure anyway). Tyler got a bronze medal for his age group. Basically, I feel that we were all winners. Especially Nicole. 13 miles...wow. Gary once said he wanted to run a Marathon and after this 5K he said never mind. I admire those who do, but don't exactly want to be them.

P.S. After the race, we went back to the Barbie house to shower. Nicole and I were outside for a minute and some people walked by and asked us how our room was. They then proceeded to tell us that they used to work where we had stayed, and that they quit because the place got bed bugs and the sheets never got washed. Good to know the day after we slept in an infested bed. 

• Registration for 5K or 1/2 Marathon and a sweet T-shirt: $25
• Barbie house lookalike in similar size for one night: $100
• Gas to get to Panguitch: $50
• Food during the trip: $30
• Sleeping in a bug infested bed with three other people the night before the Bryce Canyon Races: priceless