Anthony Williams, Janel Zick win Deseret News marathon

Anthony Williams, 28, celebrated his first Pioneer Day holiday with a marathon victory in his new hometown.

“I actually just moved to Salt Lake City,” said Williams, who won the race with a time of 2:24:24. “I’m a pediatric resident at (Primary Children’s Hospital), and I found this race. I have the day off and thought I’d come out and run it.”

Williams, who was a collegiate runner at Notre Dame and is an experienced marathon runner, said he didn’t really know what to expect from the course — or himself.

“I didn’t know much about it,” he said. “It’s a really fun course. I love starting in the mountains and (it was) a really nice view of everything.”

He said he was a little surprised he won and said there were “great guys out there pushing the pace.”

As for the course, that can be tricky because it’s such a fast start down the mountain and then a flat, often hot, finish. But Williams said he enjoyed it as much as he’s enjoying his new hometown.

“I thought it was great,” he said. “It wasn’t something I was necessarily training for. I’m more looking to train for trails and ultra marathons. So I was really excited to come out here and just be able to last through the whole thing.”

Bashash Walio, 31, was second in the men’s marathon with a time of 2:29:37, while Joshua Perkins, 34, was third, crossing the finish line in 2:38:21.

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Janel Zick, 32, was testing her body’s ability to recover when she won the women’s marathon race in 2:52:14, edging out Ashley Paulson, 42, who won the race the past three years.

“I was hoping for 2:45-ish, but I did get pretty hot and slowed down quite a bit at the end,” she said. “I did Speedgoat Saturday, so I wanted to see what I could do after a grueling 50K.”

Speedgoat is an ultramarathon that summits Snowbird, Baldy and Hidden Peak. It’s known as one of the hardest ultra races in the world. It has about 11,000 feet of elevation gain in the race — and it’s probably not what most marathon runners are doing in the week leading up to a race.

“I’m pretty good at recovery,” Zick said with a laugh. “I kind of do a little bit of a game, and I wanted to see what I could pull off.”

She said that missing her time goal was a bit disappointing, but learning just how mentally tough she is will help her down the road as much as it helped her earn the win Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t say I was fresh,” she said. “It was a good strength training run.”

Zick said that she learned a lot about herself — and her abilities — to put in her “mind bank … so I can pull it out later when I need it.”

Paulson, who is also an accomplished ultra runner, finished in second place with a time of 2:54:55. Jennifer Smith, 46, earned third place with a time of 2:59:48.