After Hiatus, BYU Student Wins St. George Marathon

He used to attend it to cheer on his father.

Jon Kotter is not one to frequent Utah’s St. George Marathon. In fact, the Brigham Young University law student rarely runs the 26.2-mile race–every six to eight years to be exact.

This past weekend, Kotter managed to win the race in 2 hours 24 minutes and 43 seconds.

Kotter, 26, was an all-conference runner for his alma mater last year. His first St. George Marathon was when he was 12. In the intervening years, he attended the race to cheer on his father.

“I saw my dad do it and wanted to do it myself,” he said.

Despite his win, Kotter encountered gastro-intestinal issues along the way. “I had some stomach issues about halfway through,” he recalled. “I made an unplanned stop. Fortunately I caught up and held on until the end.”

Kotter admitted that he had been training with Iain Hunter, a BYU professor who had won the race two years ago.

“I think the heat was definitely affecting everyone,” said Kotter. “I think the times were a little slow across the board.”

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