Space Coast Half Marathon
Cocoa, Florida
Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sunday, November 29, 2009 was a wonderful day to race walk the Space Coast Half Marathon in Cocoa, Florida. The sky was mostly cloudy, the temperature varied from 47 to 55 degrees, and there was only a slight breeze. The out and back, relatively flat course is beginning to get a little crowded as this race has grown from an event of about 300 to an event with about 2500 entrants traveling along a narrow two lane road along the Indian River. Fortunately this road was closed to traffic and intersections were controlled by police and citizen’s patrol volunteers. In the past the road has remained opened to traffic. Water/Gatorade stations were located every mile and were manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. There were quite a few spectators at the closed side roads.
The Space Coast Half and Full Marathon is a very well organized event. The pre-race pasta dinner featured Jeff Galloway and former Astronaut Michael McCulley; however, unlike previous years when the dinner was included in the entry fee, participants were charged $20 to attend the meal. The race starts with a big screen viewing of a space shuttle launch. When the shuttle blasts off, the runners start. The post race celebration featured a pancake breakfast and pizza. I have always enjoyed this event and this year was my seventh consecutive year of participating, 6 marathons and 1 half marathon.