Gasparilla.....aahhhh....the fun filled pirate event held in Tampa that I oh so loved attending when I lived there years ago.... and lo and behold, they have a Half Marathon and Challenge Weekend to accompany it! Ugh, but unfortunately, it is ALWAYS right around The Donna Marathon. Every year, I have watched this race go by, wishing I was able to participate. But there was NO WAY I would NOT do The Donna. Well, lets go back to last April when I was lucky to be asked to help man The Donna booth at the Expo of the Boston Marathon. Well, right across from us was the Gasparilla Distance Classic group! We were completely floored when we were generously offered comp entries to participate in their race! Well, OF COURSE we had to say YES then!
In previous years, after The Donna, I usually waited weeks, before I did any kind of long distance run. I just....Didn't....Feel....Like....It.... But this year was going to be different. I went into Gasparilla seven days after running the full marathon at The Donna a little hesitant, but feeling good because we had planned to just take it easy with a slow Galloway 2:1 pace. (run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute)
So, what exactly is Gasparilla Distance Classic? It is one of the infamous Challenge Weekend events that are gaining such attention all over the country. There are lots of races of various distances... add them up, and you have created a 'challenge' and earned yourself an extra medal! There is a 5k and 15k on Saturday, then a half and 8k on Sunday. I believe there is also a fun run for kids sometime.
The Ultra Challenge-15k, 5k on Saturday, then half marathon and 8k on Sunday=30.4 miles in 2 days
The Amber Challenge- 15k, 5k, half marathon=25.5 miles in 2 days
The Lime Challenge-15k on Saturday, 8k on Sunday=14.2 miles in 2 days
COMMUNICATIONS
Leading up to race day, you are not short on communication from the race director! There are plenty of emails as well as Facebook posts with the weekends event information. Their website is also fully stocked and loaded and there is a thick Event Program printed as well. If you don't have the information you need, its not the races fault..... although it may be because you are a little overwhelmed with how much information there actually is! But then again, there are 4 races and 2 challenges that make it a bit confusing if you are not used to navigating all the lingo.
DAY BEFORE
The Donna Girls drove in from Jax Saturday morning, arriving to the Expo at the Tampa Convention Center right before noon. (hint for free parking.... park at Publix). It was a gorgeous warm sunny day, so we soaked up some rays at the outside bar to unwind from the 3 1/2 hour drive. It was still an active scene as the 5k and 15k were wrapping up.
EXPO
The Expo was of a great size and nice and spread out, not too crowded. We did get to snap a pic with Gaspar the Pirate, and received a comp Gasparilla sweat towel as well as a good quality reusable grocery bag. However, we were a bit disappointed on the actual merchandise. The only thing I walked away with was a 13.1 pink visor that wasn't even race specific. I was really disappointed there wasn't more pirate gear. And even the event merchandise itself wasn't very pirate-y.
There was a huge Gasparilla sign with everyone names listed on it, so it was fun to go through the scavenger hunt to find your name.
The Jose Gaspar ship was located right outside the Expo was a cool photo op.
After the Expo we headed to Victorias for some local Cuban sandwiches, then spent the afternoon bar hopping in Ybor (I told you we werent going to take this race easy! Hey, we were still in celebration mode from The Donna Marathon!). We had happy hour at Columbia's (a local must) with sangria, and then headed to the Spaghetti Warehouse for our carbo loading. It was a fun day, but boy were we pooped at 9p when we got back home. I was passed out shortly after lights out.
RACE MORNING
We stayed just a few miles down the street from the Start at a friends family's house. We set the clock to make it a very tight schedule in the morning, and I have to admit, I was a little nervous, but we were able to wake, dress, leave the house, stop at Starbucks for breakfast, find street parking, walk half a mile to start, use the porta potty, and be in line just a couple minutes behind the start gun....all under an hour!!
PARKING
Since the race starts downtown, parking is basically anywhere you can find it, fees vary. HINT- you can park for free on the street in the neighborhood along Bayshore Blvd and walk to start, which is what we did.
Because we basically arrived just minutes before actually running, I can not comment much on the Starting area. I do know the bag drop/gear check was located inside the convention center, which we found a little inconvenient, so we planned to keep our stuff in the car. There were Pacers set up and you could basically place yourself wherever, as we realized we were in the 8minute pace group, but it was too crowded to make our way further back.
COURSE
The course is A to A, starting in the same area as the Expo (Convention Center). It runs over to Davis Island to do a loop, and then back over to Bayshore Blvd which is basically an out and back.
Bayshore Blvd is one of the most scenic areas of the Tampa Bay.
The race starts at 6am, which is about 45 minutes before sunrise. Running in the dark during that time was a bit stressful. There were limited street lights and it was very crowded. I was surprised more people were not carrying hand lights. I definitely would have brought mine, if I had realized. There were some cobblestone areas, potholes, and very tight bridge. Just about all of the Davis Island portion of the race was crowded and because of our poor lining up and our 2x1 pace, we were being passed for the first half of the race. The pace groups were large and took over the entire street when they came through and weren't too fond of our walking periods. In fact, there weren't a lot of run/walkers at all. We even had someone question what we were doing, which is always fun to explain.
The temps started in the upper 50s, but it was very humid. The heat continued to climb after the sun rose and there was very limited shade. They actually had a section with some sprinklers out, which was nice.
Some runners dressed as pirates and a couple were in full on elaborate costumes on the sidelines cheering us on. There was a flame thrower and also a Caribbean man on a mic singing, shouting out motivational words, and giving hi fives! But the best part was a the Huge group of young kids lining the street and throwing up high fives for you, as the Gasparilla Distance Classic supports youth organizations and running programs in Tampa.
Once we got to Bayshore Blvd, the street was wide and we finally spaced out. There are beautiful mansions along this stretch of road and is the same road that the Gasparilla parade takes place.
I surprisingly felt awesome doing the 2x1. I even felt like I wanted to do more, run further or faster, but that was our plan being this was our first time doing a race after a marathon. However, I have officially decided to never do a full minute walk again. 30-45 seconds is plenty of time for recovery.
PHOTOS
Photographers were everywhere you looked (and didn't). You definitely have plenty of opportunities to get that perfect pic.
PORTA POTTYS
Plentiful and often
HYDRATION STATIONS
I never felt dehydrated. There were plenty of hydration tables. Unfortunately they were only on one side of the street, and with the street being so wide on the second half of the course, you had to keep cutting over.
FINISH LINE
The biggest upset of the entire event is the city law of no alcohol served before 11a on Sundays. Yep, I guess this includes races as well. The race starts at 6am, so even if you did the half and 8k, you are still awaiting around for the 'after party'. I'd say to start the race later, but we are in Florida, and temps get hot quickly.
Once you cross the Finish Line, you are handed your medal and get a photo opp with the official Gasparilla Pirate Crew (yes, its a real thing) and they even officially congratulate you!
Once you make your way over to the After Party area, you are given a bag to stock with all kinds of goodies! (Suja juice, bananas, Special K bars, fruit bowls, sodas, Fruit Buddies.) I would have liked to have seen something with salt, like chips, but still an awesome assortment. It is a long line of item after item and then you end at the yumminess of Columbia Restaurant official race meal. Unfortunately some runners (well a lot) would cut the line for the real food. They really need to put up ropes of some sort to prevent this from happening, because we were in line for over an hour waiti
It was definitely worth the wait though!.... paella, salads, rice and beans, bread! YUM! We all wanted seconds!!
SHIRT
The long sleeve, gender specific Race shirt is very thin, almost see through. I was a little confused on why they would make the 'Half Marathon' letters so large, and not the actual name of the race.
MEDAL
Everybody wants the Gasparilla medal. It is a good one.
AFTERWARDS
We did not wait around for the Official After Party with Michelob and the Awards. Instead we had Mimosa waiting for us at home! Brunch was had at Datz (a Tampa MUST!). It was a long wait, so we ordered coffee and a sweet at Datz Dough. Which left me entirely too full for brunch, but the menu looked scrumptious! And to top that off, there were Girl Scouts selling cookies! SCORE! Perfect timing!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This is definitely one of those family and/or friends filled weekends.... as there is a distance for everyone. The additional challenges makes it unique and brings out your competitive spirit to see how far you can push your limits.
Tampa is an action packed city and being so close to Clearwater and St Pete beaches, you can easily extend the weekend to make it a fun vacation.
Before we even finished the half marathon, we were already discussing signing up for a Challenge in 2016! I will still be doing the Donna Marathon the week before, but then taking on the Ultra Challenge, to make it a total of 56.6 miles in 2 weeks, which honestly, I was doing over 30 miles a week for training anyways so..... easy peasy, lol.... we will see! :)
HM#47
13.1- 2:30
I am running a half marathon a month while I complete my goal of running a half marathon in all 50 states, all to raise breast cancer awareness and promote a healthy lifestyle through running and walking. 100% of donations raised goes towards 26.2 with Donna (70% Mayo Clinic and 30% Donna Foundation). Please show your support by making a donation today! www.donate.breastcancermarathon.com/2016-marathon/melissajohnson
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