Sarasota Half Marathon : Official Thread

I'll be there.  It will also be the third time for me.  Did it the first time in 2009, missed 2010 & 2011 due to injury, then made it back last year.  Missed some long runs in my training last year which hurt.  Training has gone well this year.  Feel good and looking forward to the race.  Doing a twelve mile training run this coming Saturday and plan to run most of the course as a dress rehearsal.

Good luck.  Hope to see you there. 

Mark

This will be my 4th time and so far, each time has had a slightly different course.  Looking forward to running all the way into St. Armand's this year.  I'm using this as a tune-up race for the New Orleans 70.3 in April.  

I'll be on the look out for you guys.

I skipped last year.  So far I've done '08, '09 & '11.  The first 2 still had the start & finish at Ringling.  Those were the tough years when the bridge was the turn around point.  I think '08 was the last year they had the full as well.  The good thing is it keeps getting better so it should be around for years to come.

Actually '09 was the last year they held the full.  I remember it because it was the first year I did the half.  I got passed by the full leader and his motorcycle escort just as I was approaching the finish on Ringling grounds.  Thought it was cool for a moment until it struck me that the guy  had run twice as fast as me for twice the distance...

I also didn't like starting on the museum grounds with a 6:30AM start because you had to navigate the winding neighborhood streets in the dark for the few miles.

I like the revised course, getting the bridge out of the way during the first few miles.  It's neat seeing the sunrise when coming back over the bridge from St. Armands.  I also think it helps to have the last three miles through the shaded neighborhood streets.

Mark

I agree with the course, hadn't really thought about the trees lining the neighborhood at the end. The bridge at the beginning is definitely a plus as opposed to the end. 

I'm in, my first.  Haven't run a stand alone half marathon in a long time.

Polly

I ran most of the course on Saturday morning, everything except the bridge itself.  Started at Marina Jack's and headed up 41 to the Ringling Museum and then back through winding bits along the bay front.  Ended up somewhere between 9-10 miles.  Love running through those older neighborhoods.  Getting psyched for the race in couple of weeks.

We've had a lot of homeless folks panhandling on street corners in Sarasota this year.  On the way back I ducked into a Subway to get a bottle of water and got $10 in singles.  Passed them out to homeless folks as I passed by them the rest of the way.  Don't usually do stuff like that, but felt compelled to do so for some reason.  Maybe I was feeling a bit guilty because here I was training for a running race in my $100 running shoes and my Dry-fit gear and these folks were sitting on a street corner with all their possessions in cardboard boxes.

Mark 

I'm sure they were grateful. It is an pretty area, the bayside neighborhoods are really nice, but the trip up to the museum is, um, a bit lower rent. The juxtaposition is interesting, to say the least.

I ran the segment you didn't, 41 to St. Armand's and the thing I noticed was the city has taken out the bus stops that used to be right across from the kissing statue.  I know there were always homeless in that area, but without a place to sit, it seems they've moved.

That section going north on 41 is also slightly uphill, which is another good change to the course, you get that out of the way before mile 8 rather than having it right at the end.

Any recommendations on parking?  I will be coming up 41 from the south.

Thanks,

Polly

Best bet is the Van Wezel parking lot by the start/finish line, but you'll need to plan to get there at least an hour before the start.

Another option is the parking on the bay front at Marina Jack's, but it's about a mile hike to the start from there.

There's also a municipal parking garage on Palm avenue off Main, but I'd look at the other options first.

Mark

There is a few open lots by GWiz (actually on 41), as well as some areas by the Art Center of Sarasota. We have ended up there for the past 2 years.

Thanks for the info.

Have a great race everybody.  Weather should be pretty good........

Great race again, love doing this one.  Hope everybody had a good race and came out healthy.  

Race report is up, looking forward to seeing how every one did.

Good seeing you afterwards Chris, I'll be looking for you at Englewood.

Had a great time at the race too.  Really liked the course. 

Had no trouble with parking, there were lots of places close.  It was a great venue for the start/finish.

Polly