Except for a few low‑key
running club races, this was the most casually organized race I’ve ever run. How casual was it? Here are some clues:
There was no pre‑race
promotion....just an item in a local race list publication, so there were few, if any, pre‑registered participants.....and
darned few who showed to run. They were just setting up for race day registration when I arrived 45 minutes before the race.
There were no porta-potties nor had arrangements been made to use the rest rooms at the Phillies spring training baseball
field in Clearwater,
FL, where the race was held. Runners improvised their own open air facilities
behind a couple of dumpsters....a “his” and a “hers”, that were surrounded on three sides by fences.
The race start was delayed 30 minutes until a guy showed up with the finish line clock. With the help of the husband of one
of the runners, a “race official” put down a couple of strips of duct tape across the road to mark the start line
as runners milled about. The start was further delayed while a cop with a Polaroid camera said she wanted to take three photos
to capture the field of runners....but she ran out of film after two shots. The four water stations on the course (that’s
right, four for a 5k race!) each consisted of a single person passing out capped 16 oz bottles of water. At one of them, the
“water attendant” was busy talking with a nearby cop, but runners could stop and pick up a bottle of water from
a case on the ground, if they wanted one. There were no splits or mile markers on the course. Cop cars kept hop‑scotching
past runners to block intersections to traffic, but half the field was always ahead of them. So, the race was run with partial
traffic control. Finishing order and times were recorded by a person with a clipboard as finishers passed alongside the clock.....there
was no marked “finish line” or chute. Everyone took all these “rough
edges” in stride, stayed relaxed and enjoyed themselves.
It was also the smallest
race I’ve ever been part of. How small was it? Here are some indicators:
30 participants. There
were literally more volunteers than participants. Heck, there were a third as many cop cars (10) for traffic control as there
were participants, plus a cop on a “patrol bike”....that’s 11 cops for 30 runners! I started on the front
line and didn’t feel a bit guilty about it. The overall winner was a woman. (More about her later.) The race organizers
had stacks of T‑shirts, obviously expecting at least a couple of hundred runners, and only used a fraction of them.
At least they don’t have the race date on them, so they can save them for next year. Yes, they said there will be another
race and promised to do a better job next time.
The race was for a good
cause. It was sponsored by a local community action program and the Clearwater,
Florida Police Dept. to draw attention to their activities to combat drug use,
although increased promotion of the event would attract a lot more attention to their cause.
Like many others, I warmed
up twice. First for the scheduled start time and again for the delayed start. I finished in 26:14 (8:33/mile pace), which
is 27 sec slower than a 5k two weeks ago and a pace that’s 19 sec/mile slower than a 4‑mile race a week ago. With
no mile markers, it was difficult to run a pace plan and, with the small field very strung out, the opportunity to race others
was limited. After last Sunday’s Gulf Beaches Marathon, my legs didn’t have much “spring” to them
and I tired a little in the last mile. And, I have no idea how accurate the course was, although I suspect it was probably
measured by a cop using his car’s odometer. All things considered, however, I was “OK” with my race. At
least I got a good speed workout.
Amidst all the “lightness”
of this low‑key and often “lite” event, there was at least one quality element. Maria Ghizzoni....the overall
winner in a time of 17:43, which I learned is slow for her.....her PR is 16:42. After I finished, I chatted with her husband
while she was doing a cooldown run and then met her when she was finished with it. Maria was previously the Swedish national
3000 meters champion. Up until 2 years ago when two injuries that required surgery struck, she was an internationally ranked
miler and has been ranked as high as the top 25 with a mile PR of 4:45. She is on the comeback trail now with the 2004 Olympics
as a goal. She currently runs for the Houston (Texas) Harriers,
but they are moving to the Tampa Bay
area. Meeting them was a highlight of my race morning.
All in all, this was
a race with good intentions and enthusiastic race organizers and volunteers. They just need to learn a lot about race promotion
and management.....or enlist the assistance of an experienced race director. I liked the course, except for all the turns....14
of them in 3.1 miles.
Jim2
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