Gasparilla Half Marathon
Tampa, Florida
Sunday, February 27, 2011

I race walked the Gasparilla Half Marathon in Tampa, Florida on Sunday, February 27, 2011. The temperature ranged from 62 to 75 degrees with almost no wind and sunny skies, which made it somewhat warm by the end of the race. The event is spread out over two days with a 15K and 5K on Saturday and a half marathon and 8K on Sunday. The event no longer offers a marathon. The event is extremely well organized and attracted about 21000 participants. The course is almost flat featuring 5 miles on upscale Davis Island and the rest along Tampa Bay on Bayshore Blvd. The first mile is very crowded as a single lane bridge to Davis Island is used. Water/Gatorade stations are located approximately every 1.5 miles and are manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. There are plenty of police and medical personal to ensure the safety of the participants. Spectators were numerous especially along Bayshore Blvd and cheered everyone enthusiastically. There was a prerace dinner that featured Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Dave McGillivray, and Bart Yasso; however, the cost was $100 per person and was way out of my price range, so I did not attend. Bill Rodgers and Joan Benoit Samuelson ran the 15K on Saturday and Joan finished first in the women 50-54 and Bill finished eighth in the men 60-64. I enjoyed myself as usual even though my left knee hurt quite a lot.