Athleta Iron Girl Half Marathon
Location: Clearwater/Clearwater Beach, Florida
Date: Sunday, April 22nd, 2012
Participants: Women’s Only Event – 1,481
Getting Right Down To It
While the weather was unpredictable this year, overall it was a good event that I would recommend and participate in it again myself. Challenging half marathon course (for a Floridian), beautiful venue, well organized, good security and volunteer support, nice shirts and medals, unique food box. Note that a 5K course is also offered by Iron Girl on this day.
Packet Pick Up
Several nights through the week you could pick up your packet (bib and shirt) at various bay area running/sports stores, or on Saturday during the Expo at Pier 60. Know your bib number which is sent about a week before via e-mail. The expo was also held on Sunday at the pier, but there is no race-day pickup. My plan was to attend the expo after the race, but Mother Nature had a different idea! By the way, the bibs are beachy and girly and are personalized with your name - a nice touch!
Race Start
Plan even more time than suggested to accommodate for parking and restroom lines. The parking lot connected to Coachman Park is used for the event, so you’re left with fighting for spots in smaller lots in surrounding blocks. It’s not impossible, but did take up more time than anticipated.
What every running wants to know – how was the port-o-potty situation? Actually, there were a decent amount of port-o-potties available. However, the lines were still running about 15 minutes long as both last minute half marathoners and early 5Kers (about 2500 additional women) converge at the same time. Again, probably less of an issue if I had made it there sooner. As it was, I was standing in line as they were making “last call” announcements to line up.
It’s a single start and the corral is narrow and winding, making for a slow start if you’re towards the back. I wanted to be just after the 2:00 pacer, but was only able to get halfway between the 2:30 and 2:45 pacers (and that was cutting line). But don’t fret. With just under 1,500 women, it thins out quickly once you get through the start line.
The Course
Starting in Clearwater’s Coachman Park and ending at Pier 60 on beautiful Clearwater Beach, the Iron Girl Half Marathon first winds towards the south through neighborhoods lining the Clearwater Harbor, then crosses the Bellair Beach Causeway and then heads back north to end at Pier 60. Beautiful views to be sure!
Although being in Florida, and Clearwater Beach no less, some elevation is built into this course not only due to two bridges, but also there were some “hills” to be found in the neighborhoods as well. Heck, you even start out running up hill! Garmin data showed 305 ft of elevation gain over the course. If you never run hills, I would advise doing so before this event, or be prepared to power walk up them. And remember to save some steam for the bridge just after mile 11!
One down side to this course is the amount of turns in the first half. These cause bottle necks and cause slowdowns. I felt like we barely made it an eighth mile before we were turning again.
The course is well marked and police officers and volunteers were a regular site. Water stops are frequent and well stocked/well manned. Both GU and Girl Scout cookies were on route as well.
Unfortunately, the starting line blew away before I got there so it lacked some of the fanfare. But according to my husband (and the picture he snapped), it was the right call to remove the finish balloon and the flags because they became a safety hazard.
The Goods
I always say, “Will Run For Bling”, and this event has the bling! The medal is heavy-weight and gold-colored with a beach theme (glittery sandcastle with palm trees and ocean) and thick teal ribbon printed with the event name and date. I peeked at the 5K medal, which was just as nice!
During packet pickup, you receive your shirt which is the same for 5K and half marathon and not event- or date-specific. The material is soft and comfortable. The fit is a little more “soccer mom” than “sporty”, but certainly 100% better than the basic cotton man tee. I felt sizing ran a little large. You do pre-order size, but I was able to switch mine out with no problems.
Loving the approach to food! All the samples are contained in an easy-to-carry box and include gluten free and organic foods that you might not expect. Apparently there was also a free breakfast offered to runners, but due to the downpour I didn’t stick around for it.
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