Packet pickup was easy peasy. I like that they offered several locations on both sides of the bay (both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties) for people to pickup their packets. Pickup included your bib number, tee, and I got some sort of nutrition bar and coupon- nothing glamorous in regards to goodie bags. The shirt was plain Jane and pales in comparison to the bling. Very "meh."

Parking in Clearwater is never my favorite thing. You have to come early in order to find a parking spot close to the start/finish line- otherwise you'll be driving around trying to find a spot and walking around once you park trying to find the start line. It is what it is. There's parking, it is free on the weekends and that's that.

Potties were plentiful, but boy were the lines long. I'm not certain if it was because the race start was delayed (more on that later) and so people were pulling in at the last minute needing to go or what, but it was crazy. People started coming out shouting "no toilet paper!" or "yes, there's toilet paper!" and I was just crossing my fingers that I didn't miss my start time. Madness at the potties, I tell you.

The start line was a bit congested. You are trying to run off in this very narrow path and everyone- regardless of distance- is starting together. You are so busy trying to get around slower runners or walkers while staying out of the way of elite runners and it is a bit chaotic until the road opens up more. I think that maybe they should consider staggering the start based on distance, but I'm no race director so I don't know what else could've made it better.

The course is beautiful. You go over the Clearwater Memorial Bridge, run into Clearwater Beach- get a few peeks at the beach and the water- and then head back.

As a sidenote, the day before there were forecasts for rain, which isn't anything to be afraid of in Florida, except that there was talk of lightning and tornadoes. There was a bit of confusion waiting to hear if the race would be delayed or not, but the race director did finally let everyone know that the race would be delayed by one-hour because according to forecasts the rain and tornado warning would all be gone by 8 am. The rain passed, the tornado warnings were lifted, but the winds remained unforgiving. It was like nothing that I have ever run in!

The aid stations with the brave volunteers standing out there in the cold and wind were great. Water and gatorade for all! There were also ambulances visible throughout, just in case.

Upon crossing the finish line, runners received their beautiful medal (which is designed each time by the race director's wife) and holy Batman so much food! I've never run in a race that had such a good spread, and I'm all about my food! They had water, chocolate milk, beer, yogurt, brownies, other pastries, bananas and most importantly- PASTA. (Also of note- runners receive free race photos)

For my first race with Florida Road Races, I was highly impressed. The race director had some tough decisions to make due to the weather and he handled them with humility and grace. It is clear that he cares for his runners (the ultra and marathon had to be cancelled due to flooding) and wants to give them the best experience possible. I would definitely run with them again in the future.

This was my first time running with Florida 10 and I would definitely do it again. This was their second year in Lakeland.

Registration is awesome. They do a registration blitz where prices for the 5 miler starts at $5 and slowly goes up depending on what number you are in line to register, so I got into this race for $5! Register in the first week and you get a free hat or visor, which is also pretty sweet! The shirts were dri-fit, which I love, although I did hear some others complaining because they weren't very "fancy" design-wise, I was fine with them, though (see photo).

There wasn't an expo and honestly, I don't think the race needs one. It had a nice, local feel and I loved it. The only thing I wish was that they offered more than one packet pickup at one of the other FitNiche stores in the Tampa Bay area for those of us that don't live in Lakeland.

Parking was a free-for all. People just parked alongside the road and ended up driving up onto the medians to park, but really- there's not an actual "place" to park since we (again) were in the middle of nowhere.

Scenery-wise, there's nothing to look at. The race takes place on the outskirts of a new school (Florida Polytechnic) and the school is in the middle of nowhere. Basically the entire run you are looking at other runners, road, and shrubbery on the sides of the road.

The course was pretty flat and easy to run. It was a 5-mile loop and those that did the 10-miler ran it twice. Since it is in the middle of shrubs, the mosquitoes were plentiful and I'd advise anyone who runs this to bring bug spray as well as sunscreen. No trees and no buildings means no shade and in this Florida heat, you'll need the protection.

At the end of the race they do a raffle for money- 5 runners of the 5 miler can win $50, and 10 runners of the 10 miler can win $100. During the kids' run they can win as well.

Speaking of the kids' run, this year, it was delayed and the poor babies had to run 1-mile at 10:30 when the sun was BLAZING. I'm not sure what would've been best- to do the kids' run first, BUT if they did it that way then the 5 & 10 mile runs would've been pushed back and we would've been in the heat, so I'm not sure if there's a "good" fix.

The medals were amazing with a wonderful inscription on the back explaining the significance of swans in the Lakeland area.

Post-race food was bananas, muffins, and McDonald's breakfast burritos. Plenty of water and Gatorade along the route for the race, although I didn't notice an aid station. They had tables set out for people to sit at after the race, though with the sun it would've been awesome if they had tents to put the tables under. They also had netbooks out for people to check their official times on, which was pretty cool.

All in all it was an awesome race. I had a great time and would definitely run with them again.

This was the first year for this run in the Tampa Bay area, though I believe they have hosted other runs throughout the state.

Packet Pickup was fine- it was at a local mall.

Parking was plentiful as well- Downtown Tampa has so many parking lots with flat rate fees for parking.

Bling- Was not anything to write home about. (See photo below)

T-Shirt- Was an okay cotton shirt. I always want dri fit shirts just because we're being active and cotton when drenched in sweat is never comfortable.

The course- was beautiful! We ran along Tampa's new River Walk, which is right alongside the Hillsborough River- you run by University of Tampa with the downtown Tampa skyline in your view- the PROBLEM was that the course was not 3.1 miles. It was something like 2.34, which was disappointing. I wish that they accurately measured it out before hosting the race.

Aid Stations- SO horrible. This race lacked volunteers. There was only water maybe once near the beginning of the race and the poor guy had the smallest water cooler I'd ever seen with even smaller cups. Same at the finish line. Instead of having water bottles available, they had one tiny red cooler with tiny cups of water to give out. I'm trying to figure out what the costs of the race went towards. It wasn't for water.

This is Florida and it is hot, so water is essential.

I would only recommend this race because running in your tutu is fun and the scenery is awesome and I'm hoping they learn from their mistakes for next year. They really should've tried to get more volunteers out there.