• Clearwater Beach,
    Florida,
    United States
  • December
  • 3 miles/5K
  • Trail Race
  • Event Website

Angie Maske-Berka

Iowa, United States
177 212
2017
"Excellent way to end the year"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Angie Maske-Berka's thoughts:

The even took place on Dec 31, 2016 at 10 am. It was sunny and around 65-70 degrees. It was run on the beach (it's why it's marked as a trail race)

Registration: Available online for around $25. Had to register before a certain date to get the race sweatshirt. Included was chip timing, bib a beer and wings. If you finished you got a medal.

Expo/Packet pickup: There was no expo. Packet pickup was before the race near the start at the pavilion. Just needed to tell a volunteer your name and they got you a bib and your beer and wing coupons. There was parking nearby in pay lots.

Pre-Race: There was a one mile swim held before the 5k. Participants were lined up for the start and could watch the swimmers. There were no pace corrals, but for the most part self seeding worked out fine. There were announcements and music over the loud speaker. The National Anthem was sung live. The toilets were open in a bath house for the beach.

Race/Course: The course was out and back on the sand at Clearwater Beach.
-Scenery - it doesn't get any better running along the water
-Terrain - the sand was all packed, but it was banked in spots and the finish was in the dry, loose sand
-Elevation - FLAT!
-Spectators - There were quite a few, but mostly because there were many people just out for their walk along the beach
-Aid Stations - one water only stop at the turnaround, with plastic cups. The Turnaround guy was holding a trash bag for the cups.
-Course markings- miles marked with signs in the sand
-No photographers
-Volunteers - everyone was so friendly, no need for many on the course, but the RD and all involved made you feel at home

Finish: The RD was greeting runners to the finish line, a volunteer gave you a medal, a bottle of water, and if you were the top 25 (male and female) finisher you received a card.

Post Race: The event was sponsored by Hooters, which was just across the street from the beach. It opened at 10:30 on the 3rd floor. This is where you redeemed your free beer (Michelob Ultra) and boneless wings. The RD gave out the top 25 finisher awards, and in handing out each one she did a small interview. While the wings and beer weren't the best, it was a fun event.

My race: I hadn't ran a 5k in forever, and my last race was a 50k at the beginning of the month. I just wanted to finish sub 30. I really like running on the packed beach, so I gave it my best, it was hard to run on the banked portions, but I finished in 29:14 and claimed a top 25 finisher award.

Overall: This is a great event. It's low cost, laid back and fun.....plus you get to run on the beach the last day of the year. I hope I get to do this again.

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