Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon
Jacksonville, Florida
Sunday, December 18, 2011

The temperature was cold as it ranged from 40 to 46 degrees as I race walked the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday, December 18, 2011. The wind ranged from 5 to 10 miles per hour and the skies were sunny. The course is nearly flat with water/Gatorade stations located every 2 miles and being manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. Spectators were sparsely spread along the entire route which utilized the roads in some upscale neighborhoods. The police controlled the traffic which shared the roads with the participants who were given designated corridors marked with traffic cones. As in the past with this event the police moved the cones to squeeze the participants into smaller parts of the roadway as the event progressed making me feel once again that my participation in the event was of lesser importance than the traffic’s movement. That is truly a shame as every other aspect of this event is exceptionally well handled. I have participated in this event every year starting in 2003 and have always enjoyed myself.