ING Miami Half Marathon
Miami, Florida
Sunday, January 30, 2011

I race walked the ING Miami Half Marathon in Miami, Florida on Sunday, January 30, 2011. The temperature varied from the mid 50’s to the mid 60’s with sunny skies and a gentle breeze, perfect conditions for the race. The course was mostly flat except on Mac Arthur Causeway where there were two bridges that made the participants go up and down to cross. Water/Gatorade stations were located every 1 to 2 miles and were manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers that were able to supply the approximately 21000 participants in the half and full marathons with the necessary liquids. Police and other volunteers controlled the roads and intersections to ensure the safety of the participants. Spectators were everywhere along the course cheering and encouraging everyone. The whole event was very well organized and fun to do. I have done this event in each of its nine years of existence, 7 marathons and 2 half marathons. My friend and fellow Maniac, Dane Rauschenberg, was one of the featured speakers at the exposition on both Friday and Saturday. It seems to me that this year’s event was the maximum capacity that the course can handle as the course was crowed the entire 13.1 miles. Despite this fact I still enjoyed myself and am looking forward to doing the 10th edition of the event in 2012.