This race was over before it even began. Literally!
Just before Lindsey and I left the house to make the four-hour drive to Clearwater on Saturday morning, we did a last-minute check on the weather. We had received notices from the race that thunderstorms were in the forecast, and that they would be monitoring the situation. As we made our last check on our Weather Channel app, it didn’t appear as if the “heavy stuff” would be coming down until our race was over. Driving to Clearwater, the conditions were absolutely perfect. About three hours into the drive, Jen sent me a text letting me know the race had be cancelled. This did not make any sense to me, as the forecast had not changed at all. In a post on Facebook, the Clearwater Race Director said:
****CANCELLED****
The Clearwater Distance Classic has been cancelled by a consensus of several public safety officials due to a weather forecast of SEVERE Thunderstorm arriving on Sunday morning!
All pre-registered athletes will be converted to virtual entries. Please pick up your bib, shirt, and finisher’s medal, if possible, from 1-5 pm today at Coachman Park and complete your mileage on your own, at your convenience.
Additional pick-up times will be announced.
We are truly sorry about this turn of events, but it is completely out of our control.
Please keep an eye out for emails Facebook Posts and visit our website for additional updates, announcements and information.
Please share with your friends.
Chris Lauber, Race Director
We had reserved a hotel room for the night, and immediately called to see if we could cancel. We were prepared to stay if necessary, but did not want to take the chance of driving home in poor weather conditions on Sunday. We arrived at Coachman Park around 2pm, and picked up our race packets. The medals were outstanding, and the shirts were nice as well (I didn’t notice until I got home that the volunteer handed me a woman’s extra-large). We met up with Jen, Marlo, Mary, Amy, and the rest of the Turtles. Everyone was stunned with the early cancellation, but something didn’t seem right. I had put on a 5K many years ago, and know just how much work is involved. I just couldn’t understand why they would jump the gun so quickly. Why not have all the participants who signed up for the 50K and the full marathon just jump into the half marathon? At the very least, wait until midnight to make a final decision.
We decided to visit Hogan’s Beach Shop, owned by the immortal Hulk Hogan. I have been a huge wrestling fan since the age of 14, and the Hulkster is on my personal Mount Rushmore. The place was smaller than I would have thought, but it didn’t stop Lindsey and me from finding a shirt to buy. The Hulkster wasn’t around, but I did get to meet former manager Jimmy “The Mouth of the South” Hart, which totally made my day. We drove home after that, and pulled into Coral Springs around 10:30. I checked the weather in Clearwater, but still no changes.
Lindsey and I went out around 6am on Sunday morning to do our virtual run. Lindsey had only signed up to do the five-mile race in Clearwater, but this would be her final dress rehearsal for Miami. Her LCL started hurting around 11 miles in, so she walked the final two miles. Jen and most of the other Turtles stayed the night in Clearwater (only a two-hour drive home for them), and did their virtual runs as well. Jen said the weather was still very nice, but very windy. It didn’t start to rain until later that night, adding more mystery to the early cancellation. Finally, the truth came out:
CANCELLATION: CLEARWATER DISTANCE CLASSIC
Rya and I are completely devastated, disappointed, and frustrated by the hasty decision made by public safety officials to completely cancel our 18th Annual Clearwater Distance Classic 20 hours before this race was scheduled to start.
While we understand these officials had the best of intentions in their concern for the safety of our athletes, volunteers, and other supporters, this decision was made prematurely, as evidenced by today's weather.
As you can see from this screenshot, this dangerous weather system finally hit Clearwater 12 hours after our race was scheduled to start at 7:05am.
To be 100% clear:
1) This was NOT our decision - it was made by public safety officials, despite our input throughout the week to delay a final decision until it was absolutely necessary.
2) When informed of the complete cancellation on Saturday at 11:15 am, I appealed this decision, pointing out that the National Weather Service forecast was significantly different than our local news stations. I stated that it still remained possible for us to safely stage our races, and that this cancellation was being made too quickly.
3) Just as our registered athletes had prepared for this race for a long period of time, we have been working diligently since last year to stage a great race that all would come to enjoy.
This unprecedented and unexpected turn of events has created a number of issues which we must sort out in the coming days.
We will keep you apprised as we move forward.
Thank you for your patience!
There were more posts from Chris, but it’s obvious the decision was out of their hands. I still maintain that this is one of the most scenic races I’ve ever done, and I will definitely register for next year. As they say” “Don’t hate the player…hate the game.”
Now on to Miami.
KEEP TRACK OF MY RUNNING ON
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