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Running

Gulf Beaches Marathon has national appeal

Mitzi Daugherty and Celeste Harjehausen were in the market for a place to run.

Training in their home state of Alaska during the winter was one thing (two words: ice cleats), but the friends knew they would have to get out of Anchorage to complete their first official marathon.

Traveling 3,800 miles was not necessary, yet that is how far the women have come by air to complete 26.2 miles on foot.

Of all the possible places they could run, Daugherty and Harjehausen picked Clearwater's Gulf Beaches Marathon. They are not alone.

Gulf Beaches, in its fourth year, is not only surviving in a crowded marathon marketplace but is thriving as a venue for out-of-town runners. Last year's event drew 1,593 participants from 46 states and 16 countries, and Sunday's event will have a similarly diverse representation.

"Our whole goal is to be a destination marathon," race director Chris Lauber said. "What could be finer than a vacation in the sunshine wrapped around a marathon?"

It may sound like a sales pitch, but a lot of runners are buying it, from seasoned marathon veterans to first-timers. Word is spreading, as Daugherty and Harjehausen discovered.

They visited marathonguide.com, where runners share comments about hundreds of events. They found that Gulf Beaches Marathon earned the respect of many in Florida and outside the state, receiving 41/2 out of five stars for course and organization through the combined ratings of 29 runners. A runner from Orlando called it "beautiful and well-run." A first-time marathon walker from Minnesota "loved the course." A 17-time marathoner from California said, "I have run the big ones and the small ones, and this one rates as one of the best."

In the running community, even unsigned comments like these can carry weight. They did for the Alaskans.

"It impressed us both that a lot of the comments were from first-time marathoners," said Daugherty, 41. "It was so positive."

Of course, to many runners who brave long winters, the attraction to a race on a flat course with a beachfront setting and mild temperatures is obvious.

Marty Schaivone, a Bridgeport, Conn., race organizer and 33-time marathon finisher, traveled to New Orleans the past four years for his annual winter race.

But he heard rave reviews from another Connecticut runner who finished in the top five at last year's Gulf Beaches Marathon and preferred an event smaller than the 15,000-plus field at the Disney Marathon, held in January.

"This is a no-brainer," said Schaivone, 49. "It's like real estate: location, location, location."

To lure such runners, Lauber's motto could be "information, information, information." He has an e-mail list of more than 4,500 names from around the world, people he contacts regularly with race news.

The legwork appears to be paying off.

"My goal for this is to be a community-wide event, one that's supported by local runners," Lauber said. "But also with a very keen interest in the guy in Ohio who has to get on an airplane."

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