This was my second year participating in the GSWCF Thin Mint Sprint & Tagalong Trot. My daughter is a Girl Scout, so this is a cool event that she and I can do together.

Packet pickup was great. There were multiple locations throughout the Bay Area to pickup your packet, so I was able to pickup at a location close to my home. Pickup included your bib number and tee (which was purple this year). I do wish that they would switch over to dri-fit or tri-blend or some sort of absorbent material for their shirts as it is really hard to run in cotton. BUT I understand that these shirts are more expensive, so it is what it is.

Parking in Safety Harbor is always tricky. There is not a lot of it and you are driving all over trying to find somewhere to park that's not SO far and that you won't get towed from. We were lucky enough to snag a spot in the mud this year that no one seemed to want (thank God for a 4x4). Lots of "no parking" rules in Safety Harbor and never enough spots for racers unless you drive in 1-2 hours early.

They had just enough potties and there is also a city-run restroom.

The start line was in a great spot- right on the water.

Both the 5K and the 1-mile courses are beautiful and mostly flat. You do go up a little hill right out of the gate as you wrap around the spa to get on your way, so be ready for that. For the 5K you run alongside some gorgeous homes right on the water. There are some shaded areas, but for the most part it is nice and hot out there. Be sure to apply sunscreen and wear a hat or visor. The humidity was so thick this year and there were points where I truly could not catch my breath and found myself wondering "why is this so HARD? I run 5Ks all of the time!" It's hot y'all. HOT.

The aid stations were plentiful stocked up with drinks and plenty of volunteers.

The photographers were only at the finish line I believe. If they were on the course, I didn't see them at all. I got a photo with my husband at the end and I didn't see it on the photographer's website, so that was a bummer.

Upon crossing the finish line, runners received their medal and the finish line festival/race expo area was small with some light snacks: fruit, Girl Scout cookies (of course!), water, and some other light refreshments.

They did make some upgrades from last year:

- The race was chip timed this year, which was nice as last year it was a self-report system.
- They offered a Samoa Challenge (run the 5K & the 1-mile course)
- What I found interesting about this was that you received the same medal for running both races this year. Last year there were 2 different medals for the 1-miler and the 5K. So you would have two of the same medal.
- Each registered Girl Scout that ran this race got a patch this year. That sure made my daughter's little heart happy.

This is a great race that benefits a great cause that I am always happy to support. I look forward to being out there next year with the Girl Scouts.

The Fit Foodie Run is an entire race weekend experience that benefits the American Diabetes Association. With the focus being on healthy eating and fitness.

The weekend began with the "Party With a Purpose" at the Fly Bar downtown on Friday. There was food, there were drinks, there were editors from both Cooking Light and Health magazines, and pretty great prize giveaways.

Race Day (Saturday) was perfect. There is no greater place (in my opinion) to have a run in Tampa than by the waterfront- Bayshore is always stunning and Mother Nature never disappoints. Fit Foodie offers a 5K and a 15K route for this race.

On Sunday, they offered a Sweat Session, which I was not able to attend. Their website states that "this circuit kicks your cardio into high gear with an intense workout routine that features exercises scientifically proven to strengthen and shape your glutes, while also engaging your core and legs. This Sweat Session is designed to suit all levels of athletic ability from first timers to professional athletes." There was also food and drink available on this day as well.

Packet Pickup was fine. I did it the morning of because they only had 1 other day and time to pickup and it didn't work for me.

Swag Bag was good. There were some edible goodies, a Fit Foodie Run sticker, and food coupons.

Parking was fine. Downtown Tampa has a wealth of parking options from parking lots to parking garages. Be prepared to pay, though, so make sure you have your debit card on hand for the parking machines.

Bling was pretty. I loved the shade of green they chose for it.
T-Shirts- There was no t-shirt included with your fee, which I gave feedback to race directors on because for $55 ($65 for the 15K) maybe there should be? I'm not sure, though, because they do kind of make it up with all of the food you get. There were, however t-shirts, tanks, and long-sleeved shirts available for purchase.

The course was beautiful! You run along the bay on Bayshore first thing in the morning. You can't beat that! They didn't give the medals away at the finish line, but instead on your walk from the finish line to the John Hancock Vitality Village.

Photographs- The photographers weren’t very visible to me during the race. I only mention this for those who enjoy getting their race photos taken and they did not offer the option to purchase race photos after.

John Hancock Vitality Village (aka Finish Line Festival/Post-Race Expo) - This. Was. Everything. If you come for nothing else but to eat-- this is it for you. There were alcohol vendors, food vendors, live cooking demonstrations, EVERYTHING. I enjoyed this so much. Tasting different foods and beverages, they gave out free copies of magazines, and there were just tons of items up for grabs. I honestly can't sing their praises enough. There was so much food!!

Would I do this race again? Absolutely. Beautiful course. Delicious food. There's no reason not to.

This is my second year participating in an Iron Girl event here in Clearwater. Last year I did the half, this year the 5K. I enjoyed it tremendously.

Packet Pickup was fine- it was at a running store at a local mall. The lines were long and the space was hot and tight, but I was able to get out in about 20 minutes. I think if I was running the half, my wait would have been longer (there were two separate lines based on distance).

Parking was okay- race directors sent out a City of Clearwater parking map beforehand letting people know where they could park. I knew that the parking closest to the event would fill up the fastest, but still managed to luck out and snag the last parking spot just steps away from the start line.

Bling- was adorable. With images of sea turtles, bridges, dolphins, palm trees and a removable charm that you could add to a necklace or bracelet- what's not to love?

T-Shirt- Was perfect this year! Last year, there was a dreadful maroon colored v-neck shirt and I think people let them know how much they hated it. They gave out racerback tanks this year (and for the 5K the option of a white tee) and they were awesome. They held a vote allowing runners to choose what image and saying would go on the tank. "We Run This Bridge" won (runners go over the bridges in Clearwater) and I love it. This is the first time I've ever gotten a tank from a race.

The course- was beautiful! You run along the bay when you go over the bridge with the Clearwater skyline in your view. Be prepared for that incline as you run up, up, up on the bridge. Trust me, you'll feel stronger for having conquered them.

Aid Stations- Gatorade and water were available at the aid stations. I will say, though, that the water was warm this year and I think it caught some people off guard. I didn't mind. Water is water.

Photographs- The photographers weren't very visible to me during the race. I only mention this for those who enjoy getting their race photos taken. I saw one photographer on the course and the one at the finish line.

Finish Line- This year, Outback Steakhouse was the sponsor. Outback also owns Carrabba's and Bonefish Grill, so I'm sure the food was to die for. I wasn't too keen on eating a full on meal at 7:40 am, so I passed on that. There were volunteers handing out water, plenty of vendors, and free 5 minute massages on site, which was nice.

I love being a part of a women's only race. Since this was where I ran my first half, it was bittersweet to come back to the start. I look forward to running with them next year if I can.

This was my first Disney Race. For $200 I was expecting unicorns flying over a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end- just sayin'.

The start line: Definitely over-the-top and everything I expected. Fireworks. Star Wars clips on big screens and trivia.
Also? Crowded corrals, about 3-5 minutes in between corral start times, tons of bathrooms, though.

Packet Pickup: They held packet pickup at ESPN Wide World of Sports. You had to get your bib in one building and walk to an entirely different building to get your race shirt. That was kind of annoying and I get that they wanted me to shop at the vendor tables, but really? I had my two kids in tow cause- #MomLife and my 3-year-old wasn’t necessarily cooperating with the plan. The room with the vendors was crowded (cause 18,000+ runners, so- duh) and hot. By evening 2/ day 3 some vendors that I wanted to shop with were out of things. The more popular vendors had LONG lines that I couldn't necessarily wait for. Disney goods were in their own sectioned off area that was a lot more spacious than the main area. Lots of shirts, magnets and other goodies.

Parking: Parking was fine. You were to park in Epcot, which has plenty of parking spaces of course, and walk about 20 minutes to your corral (I knew this beforehand, though, so I was prepared for that).

Potties: The line for the bathrooms in the Epcot parking lot was insane. I remember reading in the race manual that you needed to start walking out to your corral at 4:30 and I thought 😂 that’s not gonna happen. I wish I had known, though, that just past the sign that read Runners Only Beyond This Point that the heavens opened up and there were SO MANY MORE potties AND I wish I had known that there were potties all along the corral area. So. This is me telling you if you do a Disney Race- do not fear. Do not wait on that ridiculous line. More potties are just over yonder. Even if you can’t see them.

The course: We started in the Epcot parking lot ended at ESPN Wide World of Sports. You get to run in the parks in the dark before the parks are open which (depending on the park) is cool. I was too busy trying to make sure I didn’t trip over any other runners to truly enjoy a lot of it. There was so. much. bottlenecking due to narrow areas to run through. There were times when you came to a complete halt or turtle's pace walk because that's really all that you could manage to do. There were long stretches of running on open Disney roads in between parks with absolutely nothing to look at but road, although at some intervals they had screen set up showing clips from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There was one big hill that you had to cross twice (coming and going) on that long stretch of open road, so plan for that. There were moments when we were running on dirt/gravel roads in the back areas of parks (which seemed dangerous) and I’d heard of people falling in holes along the course. So... yeah. Maybe not the best route through the parks?

Lots of employees out at certain points cheering you on and when you ran through Disney Boardwalk there were a bunch of hotel patrons out watching and cheering.

Characters: Chewbacca was out twice, Darth Vader, Storm Troopers with Kylo Ren on stage (no close up pics, selfies only), among others were available for photo opps. They also had little areas staged with props and backdrops from the movie that you could take photos with. Expect that when you run a Disney race that there will be lines to get character photos along the course, some longer than others, but lines nonetheless. Depending on where you are in your race journey, you may or may not be able to stop for photos. The Disney cast members will tell you how long the wait is (15+ minutes) and whether or not you'll be able to make it to finish the race on time.

Photographs: They used their Disney Pass photographers to photograph the race. If you already have a Disney account, you just needed to plug in the code they gave you to find your photos. I believe the photos start at $14.99 each.

Finish Line, Goodies, etc.: There was plenty of ice for your aching body parts, fluids, a banana, and a boxed snack for food. There was a bag of tortilla chips, a small container of cheese, an Oreo cookie or two and a GoGo Squeez in the box (yes. squeeze applesauce…). The race shirt was nice, the medal was UH-MAY-ZING.

Since the race began in Epcot and ended at Wide World of Sports, everyone who parked at Epcot had to be shuttled back to their car. What a nightmare. A 1 1/2 hour nightmare to be exact. That’s how long it took us to get back to our car after standing on line in the hot Wide World of Sports parking lot and waiting to get on a bus (which we also stood on) and taking a (maybe) 10 minute ride back to our car.

I know people absolutely loved the race. For me, it was okay. Would I do it again? I’m not sure. That $200 price tag was something else. That’s the most I’ve ever spent on a race (because, you know- kids, bills, priorities, adulting and such) and I expected more. More thought put into the course to avoid severe crowding and bottlenecking. More characters. More effort put into what they had out on those long, open stretches of road where we looked at nothingness. Some beer at the finish, maybe?

I LOVE THIS RACE! I can't even say it enough.

Last year was my first year running it and it was my first "big" race. I had run one other race before- a smaller, local 5K in Ohio, so to run Gasparilla with thousands of people was stepping into the big leagues for me. I got so emotional as I walked towards the starting line this year, because for me, this is where it all started.

Packet pickup was the same as last year. You have to find a parking garage to park at downtown and the get through the crowds to the convention center. The only mistake that I made this year was that I went on Saturday instead of Friday- well there were races going on most of Saturday morning, so a bunch of the roads were already blocked off. That was dumb. Note to self: Go after work next year, don't be lazy. They did run a shuttle this year on Friday to help people with packet pickup so people wouldn't have to fight Tampa traffic, but either way you have to pay to park, so- meh.

Parking in downtown Tampa is fine. There are lots of parking garages and just for you, the hike the rates from their normal hourly rates to $10 for the day. It's lots of fun because when you are leaving and you put your little pay card in the machine, it shows you what you SHOULD HAVE paid for parking (usually less than $10 depending on how long you were there) and you get to leave knowing you gave the city some money. Whatevs.

Potties were plentiful and unlike last year, I didn't encounter massive lines. I was pretty shocked. They have those bad boys spread out around the convention center, in front of the Publix by the water and lined up along the race route. So you should feel content knowing that you can pee and poo to your heart's desire.

The start line was a bit congested. I kind of wanted to get up by the 11:00 minute mile pacer to see if I could keep up, but that was a no-go. I don't really like lining up WAY early and then just standing around by myself- I usually kick back and wait until the time gets closer. If you want to run with a pacer at Gasparilla, that's not a good move. Get yourself to the starting line as soon as you can so that you can line up with your pace group.

Once we set off, I found myself weaving in and out of some folks right at the beginning. It took a while to not feel like I was cramped up next to people. I'd also like to take this time to remind peeps that if you are going to stop to walk (which- I do, so no shame in your game) if you could raise your hand to let people know- that'd be great. JUST BECAUSE someone running, say... 8 mph could plow right into you, so... ya.

The course is reason enough to show up for Gasparilla every single time. Beautiful. Running along Bayshore Blvd. with the bay on one side and the beautiful houses of Bayshore on the other? Yes, please. It was HOT as all getout (the 8K started at 9:30 this year) but not as hot as last year because we had some clouds in the sky. Doesn't matter. Still loved the course. I should've put on sunscreen knowing that it would be hot, but I forgot and I have the tank top tan line to prove it. Click here to see the course map.

The aid stations were there with water and gatorade for runners. I also saw EMT workers and officers along the course, which was actually great because I saw someone get carted off with an oxygen mask on. What I did miss this year was the water mister. Last year, near one of the aid stations, there was a water mister setup that you could run through (and let me tell you, I needed it). That was a small, but nice thing to have.

Upon crossing the finish line, runners received their medal, water, and a piece of paper towel... it was weird. Last year they had wet washcloths- I'm assuming they ran out or that just wasn't in the budget for this year. I still wish that there was a better way to get your free beer and banana. The line to get into the finisher's area was extremely long and not worth it. Wait in line to get a free beer and a banana in the hot sun with my 3 and 7 year old in tow isn't worth it to me. I could've had my husband bring me a cold one and a clear cup, but we opted to go to brunch as a family (like we did last year) instead. So, this is the second year in a row I didn't get any food from the race, but it's all good. That's not why I do it.

I'll be there again next year. Maybe I'll branch out and do a different race as well, but the 8K has my heart... I just love it. Great day. Great race.