Remembering a racer
Monument built for Kent Hodges

Bill McCarthy digs a hole where he will soon put a sign up for Kent Hodges up among a bench and a monument on the High Desert Trail System on Satuday. Hodges collapsed and died at the spot on the trail during last years run for the Squash Blossom Classic. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Every year at the Squash Blossom Classic, tears are shed by many runners as they finish the challenging course. But they won’t be the only ones shedding tears this year.

Many of the tears this year will be shed for the late Kent Hodges, who during last year’s event suffered a massive heart attack and died.

As part of this year’s event, to be held Sept. 28 on Gallup’s High Desert Trail system, the one-half marathon has been renamed in his honor and a memorial will be dedicated on race day at the site where he died.

Hodges came to Gallup in 1995 from Ottawa, Kan., to work as a field coordinator for the Southwest Indian Foundation. He became director of the SWIF’s operation at the Gallup Cultural Center a year later.

Bill McCarthy, SWIF’s executive director, said Hodge’s death came as a shock to everyone since there was no indication that one of the arteries to his heart was clogged with plaque.

“He had just had a physical and the doctor said he had the body of a 30-year-old,” McCarthy said.

He had shown no sign of any distress until he collapsed about a mile from the finish line, said McCarthy, who was waiting at the finish line for him. The two had been running together, said McCarthy, until Hodges had gone off the trail.

“He had actually run enough to do a half marathon but because he had run off the trail, he still had about a mile to go,” McCarthy said, adding that people along the route reported Hodges being happy and whistling a tune until shortly before he collapsed.

The runner right behind Hodges was an emergency room nurse, and when he collapsed, she immediately began CPR. But there was nothing anyone could do.

“He was dead before he hit the ground,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy also pointed out that the spot where Hodges collapsed was at the high point near the finish line. The final mile was all downhill.

McCarthy was at the finish line with some of Hodges’ family, and he said people started coming down to the finish line, saying that someone had collapsed on the trail. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when someone came to the finish line that they were told that the person who had collapsed was Hodges.

He died at a spot that provided a panoramic view of the wilderness area with glimpses of Gamerco on the left and Gallup on the right. To honor him, SWIF has erected a memorial at the site, which includes a plaque with his name on it and a bench on a concrete slab so people who are running or walking on the trail can take a few minutes to rest and look at the mementos that have been left there to honor him.

The Kent Hodges Memorial half marathon is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28. About 100 runners participated in the event last year, but McCarthy said he expects more will show up this year because the event will also be open to three-member relay teams, with one member running two miles, another seven and the final person running four miles.

There will also be a memorial walk that will begin at 8:15 a.m. during which participants will walk up that final mile to where Hodges died and participate in a prayer ceremony and the official unveiling of the plaque honoring him. Walkers will be allowed to bring flowers or tokens to the site to leave as a remembrance.

The half marathon is only one of three major events that will be held during the two days of the Classic. There will also be a mountain bike race and a 5K run.

Information: www.squashblossomclassic.com or call (505) 409-9160.

While the memorial walk is free, there are registration fees for the 5K and the 1/2 marathon. From now until September 27, the fee is $25. That goes up to $30 on race day. The registration fee for the three-person relay is $15 for each runner.

The race packet can be picked up from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. September 28 at the beginning line of the High Desert Trail.