St. Pete Beach plans 10K race in February

ST. PETE BEACH - A footrace organizers hope will rival some of the biggest in the Tampa Bay area appears headed for Gulf Boulevard in February.

The St. Pete Beach Classic, a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile race) set for Feb. 8, still must win approval from the City Commission. The board is expected to consider the idea on Nov. 4, City Manager Mike Bonfield said.

"We're still working with (organizers) on the details," Bonfield said. "It seems like we'll be able to work through some of the issues.

"The main thing for us is the cost and how we're going to deal with traffic."

The 10K race would be the centerpiece of a two-day running festival, which would include a fitness exposition at TradeWinds Island Resort, said Wendy Johnson, who is managing the event.

Also on the bill are supporting races of 5 kilometers and 1 mile, and a beach party.

Johnson said she hopes the inaugural races, which will have a $65,000 to $75,000 budget, will draw 2,000 to 3,000 runners. The race so far lacks a title sponsor, she said.

Organizers hope the race eventually will grow to more than 5,000 runners, which would make it one of the region's bigger events. By comparison, the Times Turkey Trot drew more than 11,000 last year; Tampa's Gasparilla Distance Classic 15K and 5K races drew about 10,000 in January.

The 10K is scheduled to start at 7:30 at Dolphin Village shopping center. The tentative route calls for runners to race north on Gulf Boulevard, then use portions of Gulf Winds Drive, Corey Avenue and Blind Pass Road.

They would return on Gulf Boulevard's residential strip, pass Upham Beach, rejoin Gulf Boulevard's commercial strip and finish in the park across Gulf Boulevard from Dolphin Village.

At no time will the race close all four lanes of Gulf Boulevard or Blind Pass Road, Johnson said.

The race's purpose is to draw attention to St. Pete Beach as a tourist destination and to provide a quality event for fitness enthusiasts, Johnson said. Some of the proceeds will benefit local charities.

"We wanted to promote the race from a business standpoint, and on the other hand, we are very interested in whatever we do benefiting the wider community," Johnson said.

Steve Meckfessel, veteran St. Anthony's Triathlon race director, has taken on the same job for the St. Pete Beach Classic.

"Our participation goal is pretty aggressive, but Wendy and her network are pretty well entrenched in the running community," Meckfessel said.

Johnson, with her husband, Al, own Motion Sports Management. The year-old company is a race management and triathlon coaching organization.

Wendy Johnson most recently was development director for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a heavily attended 5K event held the past few years on the St. Petersburg waterfront.

The St. Pete Beach race won't pursue nationally regarded runners in its first year, Wendy Johnson said.

"We'll probably focus this year on regionally known runners. We just don't feel like we have the money to spend this year to bring in (name runners)," she said.

"We plan to do that in the future. We just feel like this year, one of the things we want to do is build the race from the ground up."

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