Runners descend on Tusayan for Grand Canyon Half Marathon

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — On Nov. 4, Tusayan hosted their annual Grand Canyon Half Marathon/5K.

The event was successful with more than 400 runners entering the race and runners from as far as the Czech Republic participating.

The event started with a half marathon at 8 a.m. followed by a 5K at 9 a.m. Kimmy Kim Si from Grand Canyon Village won the 5K event with a time of 23:45. Second place was Nina Johnson from Tucson, with a time of 27:24, and third place overall was Kegan Wadsworth from Phoenix, with a time of 27:25.

The half marathon had its first finishers shortly after the first 5K finishers. The overall winner of the half marathon was Spencer Busby from Flagstaff. Busby won with a time of 1:25:22, beating out the second place winner by over a minute. Second place was Jose Delgado from Tucson, with a time of 1:26:44. Third place was taken home by Steven Bishay from La Habra, California with a time of 1:33:03. Another notable contestant that participated in the Grand Canyon Half Marathon was 15-year-old Amelia Walls, who attends school at Grand Canyon. She had a time of 2:04:06, placing her at 27th overall and third in her age group.

This was Amelia’s first half marathon. In the past, she has competed in distance running for the Grand Canyon Track Team. She has the school record for the 3,200 meters and looks to have a bright future ahead of her in the field of distance running.