I don’t think I have ever been this conflicted about writing a post for my blog.
It’s that feeling that no matter how lightly you try to tread, no matter how much you try to sugarcoat, no matter how much of the benefit of the doubt you try to give…it’s still not going to come out well.
Let’s begin by beating this dead horse one more time:
- This is my favorite race.
- It’s Gainesville.
- It’s running through the University of Florida campus and downtown Gainesville.
- I set a PR for a full marathon during this race.
- I’ve participated in this race more than any other.
It’s not the most attractive course, but it’s
MY COURSE. The only thing that could sour me on this race would be if they were to totally changed the course, and move it out west.
That’s exactly what they did.
Mary had signed up for the race, and was excited in participating for the first time. She even convinced Pam to run with us, so I was really stoked. In mid-January, Mary texted me to say
“The one time I decided to run Five Points, they no longer run thru the stadium.” I called her immediately, and said that you just run through the concourse, and not through the actual stadium. What she said next shocked me to the core. The entire course had changed, and they were moving everything out to
Celebration Point (a new destination experience, off Archer Road & west of I-75). Celebration Point? This was nowhere near UF or downtown. I sent an email to the race director Ricky, but really…what could he say? I’ve heard that the university wanted them to change the weekend of the race, and that the sponsorship to move the race out west was too good to pass up, but I don’t want to speculate on any of that. The race would now be totally flat, which was a total disappointment to this South Florida boy. As much as I dreaded some of those colossal hills, it was still part of the charm of this race. The course map did not look particularly exciting, but I would run the race before I passed judgement. On the bright side, I would still get to hang with Jen, Mary, and Pam for the weekend.
I left the “954” around 6am, and drove straight to the UF Bookstore. Jen had some errands to run, so I would meet up with her later. Mary called me, and she sounded awful. She totally lost her voice, and was really sick. She was not going to be able to run with us, but would drive up with Pam for moral support. This was a total bummer. After a few purchases for Glenda and Lindsey (nothing for me), I met Jen at the
Hotel Indigo Gainesville-Celebration Pointe, which was where I was now staying. This hotel opened in October, and I must say…it is beautiful (and very reasonably priced). The expo was located inside the hotel, but it was very small. The race shirt was very nice, as it always is for this race. My only criticism was the shirt was a 60/40 (cotton/polyester) blend, which means I won’t be able to wear it while running. In my opinion, any race shirt for a marathon or half marathon should always be 100% polyester. Save the cotton for a 5K. We grabbed lunch at
Miller’s Ale House (also located in Celebration Pointe), and then off to
VegFest. Gainesville VegFest is presented by North Florida Veg Events, Inc., and is a celebration of a healthy, sustainable and compassionate way of life. VegFest is dedicated to informing and inspiring the community to make healthy food choices. The event took place in
Depot Park, which is very close to where Lindsey used to live. The park was very pretty, with lots of vendors, music, and people with dogs. Still feeling full from lunch, we passed on all of the healthy choices. Jen dropped me back at my hotel, as I got ready for round two…Dinner with Paula and Bill. I hadn’t seen them in quite some time, and it was good to catch up. I was really tired when I got back to the room, and went to sleep around 9:30pm. The race started at 6:15am, and the ladies would be meeting me around 5:30am.
I slept well, but of course I woke up before the alarm. Pam and Mary were right on time, but Mary really looked like death warmed over. I told her to stay in the room and try to sleep while the race took place. She could then meet us at the finish line later on. I didn’t need to tell her twice, as she grabbed her box of tissues and hit the sack. It was 64° as we made our way to the starting line, which was not at the same location as the full marathon. It was obvious where the race started, but not if you were staying in the hotel. In my opinion, a few signs (or volunteers) pointing the way would have helped.
600 runners were entered in this year’s race, which was 82 less than last year. So much for the excitement of this new course and branding campaign. We decided to do intervals (3 x 1), since Pam had not run in quite some time. After exchanging pleasantries with Ruth and Bill G., it was now time to start the race. It was still dark outside, and we had the “pleasure” of running west on Archer Road for the first four miles. With nothing to see anyway, I guess it was better to get this part of the race over with first. Archer Road is only one lane each way, so cars heading west were literally driving in the middle of the road. Although there were cones for the cars, it was still a bit of a concern for the runners. We then turned into Halle Plantation for the next 5.5 miles. Halle Plantation is a very pretty and upscale neighborhood, and my ultimate port of call when I retire. At this point, Pam and I had not seen any other runners for a few miles (a volunteer did shout out "you have nice skin." but we didn't know which one of us she was referring to).. It was very quiet, with literally no crowd support at all. In addition, there was a glaring lack of signage in terms as to were you were supposed to run. It was pretty obvious, but with no life in sight, a first-timer to this area might have been nervous. In addition, the lack of police presence on many of the side streets had a few rogue cars enter the course.
Once out of the community, it was onto Tower Road. We then ran down some weird streets, which was okay with me. Our pace was very slow, but I felt really good as we crossed the finish line. Mary was there to greet us, but she wasn't feeling any better. The after-party was nice, with music and pizza. Mary and Pam went to breakfast, and I got ready for the long drive home.
My final thoughts...Since the medals and shirts are “Gator” themed, I think the course should have taken on the same personality. Where were the student volunteers and cheerleaders? Where was Albert? In fact, if we did not see a building that had the Shands Hospital logo on it, you may not have known you were in Gainesville. I won’t be too harsh on the water stations, but improvement is needed there as well.
In the words of Avril Lavigne…‘Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?”
