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Gasparilla Distance Classic Runner Comments
Back to Gasparilla Distance Classic Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 182 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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m. m. from Tampa, FL
(3/6/2009)
"The best half you will find" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Gasparilla Distance Classics
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I've run the marathon once and this was my fourth straight half. Once again the expo was great. It was very easy to get my number and shirt. The expo itself had the usual selections, which never interest me much anyway except for the Sports Authority, which has some very cool looking event shirts. The start was organized, there were plenty of port-a-potties, and the convention center was open. The start was on time and the water stations were plentiful and well manned. You will be hard-pressed to find a better half-marathon course. That said, I will never run the marathon with its current layout. I was one of the faster half runners, so heading toward the finish I saw the congestion that the marathoners had to endure as the merged with the half runners around their 11-mile mark. They would also rejoin the really slow half runners at the 23-mile mark. This race is really geared toward the half runners and will never be considered much of a marathon until they change the course. And what's with the group prayer before the start? This guy went on for over a minute. Maybe the organizers can keep their personal beliefs personal. | |
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E. F. from Melbourne, FL
(3/6/2009)
"Good course, my favorite medal yet" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I thought this was a nice race and I was only about 2 minutes off my best marathon time despite the bad weather. The course looked like it would've been really beautiful along the water if it had been sunny out. Completely flat. The expo was good, but I really only go to pick up my number. I liked the pirate theme and loved the medal; it's my favorite yet. Really easy start to get to and not very crowded, compared to some other races. I just hopped right in around where my time would be, and was off. I loved the huge group of volunteers out on the course with about 4 or 2 miles to go. Can't remember exactly where now, but they were great. The marathon got a little lonely, and although I finished at a pretty good time for women, I felt like the marathon had the feel that it was closing down towards the end even though there would've still been people finishing for a few hours. Thank you to the man in the 3:30 pace group who gave me his Gatorade when I missed it and could only get water! That was so nice of him. The pace group leader was really nice and encouraging. It was hard weaving through miles 11 to 14 or so, with the tail end of the half marathoners on the course. Real nice marathon and I'm sure my impression would've been a lot better if it was better weather. Can't control everything, though - at least it wasn't raining at the start! | |
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Scott Curtis from Columbus, OH
(3/6/2009)
"Brutal Weather/Nice Event" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I was looking forward to running in warm weather after training in the cold. Oh well, that was shot after 13 miles with rain, rain, rain and lots of high winds. I had read previous years' comments about merging with the half marathon at mile 11 and didn't think it would be a problem, but it actually was a bit annoying. Also, why not run through downtown while it's dark and then enjoy Davis Island in the daylight? I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of support considering the weather and the "Let Me Play" kids were fantastic! Water was unevenly spaced, but there were so many stations that it didn't matter. Gels and oranges were also offered quite frequently. Course was scenic and interesting most of the way. Very flat... I don't even remember a hill! Medal was great (but I love pirates). Post-race food was the best ever - Spanish rice and black beans. Free beer was nowhere to be found. | |
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D. S. from USA
(3/6/2009)
"There's nothing special about the Gasparilla Half." (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The expo was a REAL disappointment. The merchandise was expensive and very cheap-looking. They were out of shirts when we got there, even though we had preregistered months ago. ALSO they ran out of medals!!! No crowds along the way. Water stops unorganized. Start too crowded. NO BEER!!! | |
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D. I. from Gainesville, FL
(3/4/2009)
"Well done... well done... well done!!!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first Gasparilla Marathon even though I am from Florida. I am so pleased to have finally done it! I really enjoyed the event. The weather was rainy and windy, but the views of the water were incredible. The course was very well marked and supported. No chance of getting lost! I have to congratulate the organization for a job well done! I am a walker and finished in over 6 hours, but I had support throughout the entire experience. The police were GREAT... the volunteers were GREAT... the medal was GREAT!!! Thank you, Tampa, for a great marathon experience! I'll be back!!! | |
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M. M. from Michigan
(3/3/2009)
"Windy" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Gasparilla Distance Classic
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was a decent race, just on a very windy day. Putting the weather aside, I liked the race. Aid stations were oddly spaced, but they were very frequent, so no problems there. The early start was a little weird, as I am not used to racing in the dark, but is probably a life-saver on hot days. Overall, the course was decent - very flat and running by the bay was cool. You don't see much at the start because it is dark for the first 45 minutes. My biggest complaint with the course is that the marathon breaks off from the half at mile 7 or so, but then rejoins the half marathon at mile 11 or so, which is about mile 8 for the half-marathon. It was very tiring having to rejoin the group and weave through a large pack of half-marathon runners for 2-3 miles. This and the wind, which I assume is an issue most years (price of running next to the bay) slow down what otherwise could be a decent PR course. Medal was HUGE. | |
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J. O. from Tampa
(3/3/2009)
"GREAT FLORIDA MARATHON" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Gasparilla Distance Classics
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my second Gasparilla and I loved it even more!! Organization is great, course is flat, and weather was good (rainy, but at least it wasn't hot). Great marathon!! You've got to run it at least once!! | |
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J. S. from Colorado Springs, CO
(3/3/2009)
"Well organized, flat, winter marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Gasparilla Distance Classic
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The rainy, windy day made for a challenging race this year. But, the weather aside, this is a very nice course. It is flat and has interesting scenery the entire way. The first half of the marathon does a couple of loops and the second half is an out-and-back. The volunteers are fantastic. I was happy with the cooler weather since I was running, but those volunteers had to be cold. Despite all of this, they were cheerful and encouraging. And, just before mile 24 there was a large group kids along the course cheering us on. I don't know what organization they were with or how many there were - it seemed like a couple of hundred. But at that point in the race, their cheering drove me to my second fastest mile of the day! I'm used to running marathons with only a couple of hundred runners, so I thought there were plenty of spectators along the route yelling encouragement. Someone used to big-city marathons may have a different perspective. My only complaint is that the half is run with the marathon for the first 6 miles. For the first half-mile of the race people were bunched up like a large marathon. When we joined back up with the half runners at mile 11, I was worried, but at that point they were strung out and it was slower people at the back, so it wasn't that big of a problem. There were no hitches in this race. The expo is well run, and large enough to be interesting. There were no problems with the race itself. There were volunteers outside of the finish area with water so those of us waiting for friends to finish didn't have to walk all of the way to the food tables. It's just too bad that it was raining and cold so that I didn't want to hang out around the food afterward. But, no one can help the weather. | |
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G. R. from Atlanta, GA
(3/2/2009)
"Good but needs fine-tuning..." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Gasparilla Distance Classic
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The good: * Excellent volunteers... enthusiastic and genuine about wanting to be out there helping the runners * Nice, long-sleeve, technical tee * Nice medal * Great post-race food... loved the rice and beans! * Plenty of fluids and gels throughout the course * The course itself... flat as they come * Oh my - pictures everywhere, so keep smiling The bad: * Did not care for the praying at the start line - keep religion out, please! * The steel grids on the bridge get slippery when wet - some carpeting would have been nice The ugly (real ugly and almost criminal): * Full and half marathoners merge between miles 9-10 and then you wind up running the next 3-4 miles with the slowest half-marathon runners (over 2+ hours). A lot of dodging and weaving - it was criminal, in my opinion Overall, it was a good race. But it's bad enough to mix the start of full and half runners; they really need to fix the course so that full and half marathoners don't merge so early in the run. | |
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David Meier from Weston, FL (USA)
(3/2/2009)
"Well organized event with great volunteers" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Gasparilla Distance Classic
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The terrible 2009 weather notwithstanding, this is a nice event - small enough to be manageable, but large enough to feel like a real race. The aid stations were numerous and the volunteers were terrific. I think the finisher medal is one of the best I've received. On the downside, there are few spectators and the route loops itself so you see many houses and landmarks more than once. The track is flat, but unless you're starting in the front, expect major delays during the first mile or two, as 5,000 people cram their way onto a narrow two=lane bridge, which takes you to Davis Island (major flaw in the route). It's likely you'll lose a couple of minutes or more in this mess as you're nearly halted to walking pace for about .25 of a mile. But, all that said, it's a friendly town with lots to do at that time of year - including spring training games, if baseball's your thing. |
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