ING Miami Tropical Half Marathon
Miami, Florida
Sunday, January 29, 2012

I race walked the ING Miami Tropical Half Marathon on Sunday, January 29, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The temperature was in the lower 70’s with cloudy skies and a slight breeze. It got a little warm during the last half of the event. Starting at mile 3 water/Gatorade stations were located every mile and were manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers who tended to the needs of the nearly 25000 participants in the half and full marathon. One to four police officers were located at every intersection and kept the course completely closed to traffic. Most of the course was relatively flat with two bridges that became hills, one nearly 75 feet tall and the other around 30 feet tall. Some of the course roadways were only one lane wide and became somewhat crowded due to the large number of participants. Overall the participants had enough space most of the time. The event was extremely well organized and fun as always. This was the tenth year for the event and I have done it every year. There were 203 participants like me who have participated every year and we all received a very nice warm-up jacket worth over $100. I really appreciated the special recognition and present. The Exposition before the event featured Olympic marathoner, Ryan Hall, who spoke and signed autographs. My friend and fellow Marathon Maniac, Dane Rauschenberg, was also at the Exposition selling his book. This event will be the last event I do before my left knee replacement surgery on February 20, 2012. If all goes well, my surgeon says that I will probably be able to continue my race walking after my recovery. I hope so!!!!