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Clearwater Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Clearwater Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 3.8 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 170 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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A Runner from Dallas, Texas, USA
(2/19/2002)
 "Great First Time Marathon" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I chose this as my first marathon because it didn't have a huge field (a thousand) the course seemed to be flat (it was!) and I had never been to Clearwater before. You can read all of the rest, but the bottom line is, I'm going back in 2003. All I wanted to do was finish the race and I did! Flat as a board course with a couple of pedestrian bridges, but otherwise the whole run is absolutely flat. The first half goes through some urban seashore areas and was kind of pretty. The second half was mostly along the Pinellas Trail which is an abandoned railroad pathway. I'll take city streets any day, but everyone has their preferences. This part of the race seemed rather boring because there were no twists or turns?.just miles and miles of more of the same straight as an arrow path. It was nice though to have the locals out for a Sunday jog along the path?.made for some friendly conversation. The weather was almost my undoing. It started at a beautiful 50 degrees with fog and heavy sea mist. Then the sun burned it off and the temps soared to the 70's with 100% humidity?a greenhouse. If you do this race, make sure you eat the banana in the morning and get plenty of liquids along the course BEFORE you run low! The course was well marked, very large mile markers, police at every possible crossing, plenty of Gatorade and water. Spectators were kind of sparse, but one or two people clapping here and there is all it takes anyway. Don't know if the bagpiper at mile 8 was planned or not, but he gave a nice touch to things. Could have used him at the Finish line playing 'Amazing Grace'. Great after race food and drink. Award ceremony needs some tweaking, namely no one seemed to be taking any pictures of the awardees. If you are out-of-town as I was, stay at the Bellevue Biltmore?it's over 100 years old?has a heck of a history (take the tour!) and is a kick to stay in. Also has plenty of truly stunning areas to run. Great race. | |
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A Runner from Valrico, Florida
(2/18/2002)
 "Great Race - Fast course and very well organized" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Really enjoyed running this race. My forth marathon and the first one where I could position myself within a few feet of the starting line and didn't have to worry about getting stuck in traffic. The race was very well organized and supported with plenty of volunteers. Two thumbs up for the race organizers for an outstanding job. | |
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A Runner from Long Beach, California
(1/30/2002)
"Thumps up, Way up!!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Chris Lauber and his team are to be commended for an outstanding job. This was my 17th Marathon. I have run the big ones and the small ones, and this one rates as one of the best. Whether you are a first time marathoner or a veteran, I recommend you put Florida Gulf Beaches Marathon in Clearwater on your TO DO list. Great course, well organized, superb volunteers, etc. etc. | |
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A Runner from Minnesota... January's land of snow & ice
(1/28/2002)
 "Race organization couldn't be better" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 All the little things are well done here. Easy parking, start & finish close together, Good Food!, aid stations well done, easy course, chip timing, and Florida in the winter can't be beat. 2002 was hot & humid, so us Northerns will be sweating it out. I'd recommend if possible getting to town a few days ahead to acclimitize and be well hydrated. I'd agree with what others have said, this one is a nice size and has great potential. | |
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A Runner from ATlanta Ga
(1/26/2002)
 "Humidity : 100+, sun appeared midway...support :o)" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I got my sister through her first mary. The finishers medal is the BIGGEST medal I have ever seen for a mary. The running starfish...been wanting one ever since they started the event. Support is unbelievable. Every half mile there was someone on the side of the road to insure people were ok. Couldn't tell you how many boyscouts I saw. Clearwater's finest (cops) well, they were very funny and into the race. The start of the race takes you over a bridge down to the beach. It starts out in the early dawn time, and you can feel the humidity like fog rolling in...only wet. Made for incredible half-way photos. Also made for slippery crossing on the metal bridges (cops at the top of the metal bridges for safety). First time in a mary where I had only one near miss from a tourist coming off the beach onto the road without looking. Other than that....traffic was very well maintained. Post-race food was UPSTAIRS. That was fun to watch people limp...non-runners must have planned that one. Awesome post race food.. Ben and Jerrys/pasta, columbian rest/Uncle Bens? very well stocked. I have ran a ton of marys...this one was in my old backyard, so I knew what I was in for. Once the heat came out, my salt tabs disintegrated (time to switch back to succeed). I returned to ATL with an awesome post-race tan. Water stops were very well stocked and efficient! Lots of thought has definitly gone into this race. What an awesome experience for my sisters first. About killed me to wait for her...I was setting a PR...but you only have one first, and this race is a beautiful safe setting! | |
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A Runner from Atlanta, GA
(1/23/2002)
"beauty in the sun" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 With such a flat course, even us Power walkers clocked a PR and the scenery was great. The fog in the AM hindered a lot of the sightseeing, but you could SMELL the water and beauty, and the fog eventually burned off (a plus to the walking times). A bit more 'fuel' for the slower crowd would have been SO helpful, but otherwise a great race...well organized and personal. The crowds were few and far between, mostly early morning walkers themselves, but those that showed were very enthusiastic. A great time had by all on this one, I think (who could ask for anything more??). | |
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Bob from Dallas TX
(1/23/2002)
"Unbelievable organization" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my second marathon, so I'm working off of limited experience... 1) The group that organized this is phenominal. Literally hundreds of volunteers along the course, miles of pylons, etc. The local ham radio club supplied communications to the volunteers so there were no surprises anywhere. Lots of waterstops, all with Gatorade, friendly, friendly volunteers. 2) The course was...flat.. and straight. In some ways, I think I would have preferred a couple of corners here and there just so I wasn't looking at miles of people ahead of me. Police had every possible road crossing monitored and traffice blocked for us. Mileage markers were large and very visible. Literally miles long stretches of traffic cones to mark off running lanes. All top notch. 3) Crowd support was somewhat sparse. The folks that were there were very supportive, just that there weren't that many of them. Bonus marks to the organizers for providing a spectator map with driving directions so your cheering crew could easily move around the course. 4) Maybe the coolest marathon finisher's medal...ever Things I'd like to see changed: 1) Weather (not that anyone can do anything about this). The 100% humidity was wretched to run in (maybe Floridians are used to it...). All the moisture caused my feet to blister out in a truly horrible fashion... 2)Different colored bibs for first timers. Just so the crowd can give them some extra support... All in all, I was amazed at how well run this race was. Definitely a top notch event. | |
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A Runner from Dallas, Texas, USA
(1/23/2002)
"I'm ready to sign up for the next one!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I finished it, so I'm happy. This is a 'just right' size marathon...just enough to make it interesting, but not so many so you feel like just a number. This is a mostly flat course and can be scenic in most places. It has a long straight as an arrow former railroad for several miles and I found that boring. Weather is the big variable with this race, and I got hit with the heat in the last half. It started in heavy fog and mist at 60 degrees, and finsihed in a semi-sunny greenhouse at well over 70 degrees. I ran low on potassium, so my last couple of miles were not pretty, but I made it across the finish line. Lesson for me is to eat a bagel in the morning and carry a banana next time. Nice eats and party after the race. | |
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A Runner from Singapore
(1/23/2002)
"Good race." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The start of the race was surprisingly patriotic with the national anthem being played at the start. The weather was mercifully cool in the morning but turned quite hot in the afternoon. It was rather touching to see everyone cheering you at the finish line. I am from Singapore and I hope to run more marathons in the US. | |
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A Runner from Burlington, Ontario
(1/23/2002)
"Fun, flat, fast and hot!!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The day dawned warm and humid with a merciful thick, cool fog. Maybe it's just me, but why is it that most races seem to have inaudible pre-race instructions, prayers, etc.? Turn up the volume!! The race starts at the waterfront in Clearwater and proceeds immediately across the causeway towards Clearwater Beach and what seemed like tons of very enthusiastic fans for 7:15! Down the main beach road for 10 miles or so with sparse but enthusiastic fans until a turn inland and the half-way point where the second-half relay runners adding a nice jolt of energy. The run then turns north up the Pinellas trail, an abondoned railway right-of-way that has been converted to a lovely (and incredibly long) walking, biking and running trail. It was nice to share the run with walkers, bikers and other joggers who didn't get in the way and offered their support. For those of us who appreciate the option of running on grass, the trail offered a relatively smooth grass 'median'. A surprising treat and huge mental boost came around mile 19 where the course takes a 2 mile detour around a lovely lake. Following that, it was an easy 5 miles or so back to downtown Clearwater with the last two miles run to the cheers of spectators. The course was very well marked with easy to read mile markers. Volunteers were, as usual, exceptional. A fun race which I plan to do again! |
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