Tomoka Half Marathon

Ormond Beach, Florida

Saturday, March 23, 2019

On Saturday, March 23, 2019 I race walked the Tomoka Half Marathon in Ormond Beach, Florida.  It was a nice day for the event as the skies were completely sunny with little breeze and the temperature varying from 48 to 63 degrees.  The course was a mostly out and back journey and relatively flat except two crossings of a high level bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.  The first was between miles 1 and 2 and the second was between miles 12 and 13.  The course had 11 miles on paved roadways with a dedicated lane for the participants and 2 miles of a dirt and sand road which was well maintained and had solid footing.  Police controlled the few intersections and patrolled the route on motorcycles.  Water/Gatorade stations were located every 1 to 1.5 miles and had plenty on friendly volunteers.  At most stations the volunteers were efficient and helpful; however, a few of the stations had volunteers that were socializing with each other instead of meeting the needs of the participants.  The marathon had 368 finishers, the half marathon had 821 finishers, and the 5K had 407 finishers.  This was the first time that I had done this event.  The event was enjoyable but could use a few improvements.  The packet pick-up was in an area where there was very little parking and the first mile of the course was on a narrow one lane road that was extremely dark and crowded,

 Packet Pick-Up

Prerace

Post Race

Robert Stepp

Chester "Southernmost" Walker