Race Report: Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon

This past weekend I ran the Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon.  The GDC (or more formally the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic PGDC), consists of four races throughout the weekend.   There is a 15k and a 5k on Saturday followed by the Half Marathon and an 8k on Sunday.  The GDC has attracted some top talent in the past (Bill Rodgers won the 15k back in the days) and these are some of the largest road races in the Tampa Bay Area.  With all of the race options, there are a few challenges that mix up combinations of race distances, including the Ultra challenge that includes all four races.  Start times are staggered so that most participants can complete the early race and make the start of the later race.  This year 32,000 participants took part in the weekend.  

I only did the half marathon, although friends of ours did the challenges.  This was a tune up race for 70.3 Florida and my training program had a 2 hour run for this weekend.  So the half marathon fit well into my training plan.  It is also something that nearly everyone does in the Tampa area.  If you aren't running or volunteering at this event, you better have a good excuse.  I volunteered my time on Saturday with the medical staff from Tampa General Hospital. I spent most of my day catching runners at the finish and transporting up to the medical treatment area away from the finish line.  It was great to be out there volunteering, including being able to talk with race VIPs Olympians Shalane Flannigan and Meb Keflezighi.  They were handing out medals and congratulating people at the finish.  But Sunday was my day to run. 

Race Day

Race day I met up with a friend around 5am.  He needed an extra 3 miles beyond the half for his marathon training plan so I picked up some stuff from him and off he went.  We would meet back up at the start line and run the half together.   It worked quite well as it is very easy to get around the start of this race even with its size.  Traffic was minimal and I found a parking spot on the street (free on Sunday until 1pm).  Princess parking for us.  We met up with more friends at the convention center for bag check and to be able to use the real bathrooms there.  It was very nice to have the indoor space with plenty of restrooms available not more than a quarter mile from the start line.  

Race 

We started out running just ahead of the 1:45 pace group.   Technically we were in corral 2 as seeded athletes (those with times under 1:30 who would be competing for the elite/prize purse) started just ahead of the first mass group.  The first half mile of the race had a few turns and went through narrow streets to get out of downtown. It was difficult to get moving at pace because of the volume of people but we waited and just kept going, knowing that things would thin out.   The course crosses over a Florida hill (aka bridge) to Davis Island and things thinned out on this portion.   The Davis Island section is simply a loop around the island.  It is about four or five miles on the island through residential neighborhoods so it was a bit dark to run.  Street lighting was all we had and I would assume the race organizers were not permitted to bring in portable lighting because people actually live here.  There were a few places where there were tricky pot holes or curbs but again, this is a residential area.  The aid stations were lit pretty well and staffed with a lot of volunteers.  

The course headed back off of the island and then down Bayshore Boulevard.  Bayshore is a four lane (two each way) street next to the bay.  It has large medians and side areas as well as one of the longest continuous and uninterrupted sidewalks in the Western Hemisphere.  This is one of the most popular running routes in the area.  It then turns back up the other side of Bayshore and back to downtown for the finish.  For me, it is a familiar run since I frequently run both Davis Island and the long sidewalk down Bayshore.   

The temperature for the duration of the race was perfect.  With a 6am start, temps were relatively low in the mid 50s and would not climb to 60 until after my finish.  The sun rose near the last few miles and I could feel it warming up.  Still, it was very comfortable running weather for a majority of the time.  The race can be either cool (race temps in the 40s) or hot (lows in the high 60s) depending on the weather for this time in February.  We hit probably the middle of the road with this weekend.  

Me at mile 12.5. Still alive and well with my obvious triathlete tan. 

Photo from Coach Leo Briceno. 

Overall, I set a new personal record at this distance (1:42:50) and more importantly finished my first stand alone half marathon in nearly three years.   I always forget about the half marathon and how much I like that distance.   I realized that I had as many marathons as halfs on my resume and that I should focus on doing more half marathons either as races or nice training runs for other events.  I have another half marathon coming up next month in Sarasota.  I am actually looking forward to running it.  

I would highly recommend the Gasparilla Distance Classic to anyone looking for either a challenge, a good half, or a hard to find 15k.  The races are well run, well supported, and have a great deal of community involvement as well.  There were some pretty large crowds along Bayshore.  The races are also not priced too high that it becomes cost-prohibitive (I'm looking at you runDisney).  Plus, everything including the medals are pirate themed.  I typically am not one to even look at a medal and I usually just throw them in a box.  However, look at this pirate medal.  It has a movable jaw.  Game. Set. Match.