Bay-to-Bay footrace down First Ave. S could return
Runners want to rekindle a love-hate relationship with the popular race.
By JON WILSON
Published May 26, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - The Bay-to-Bay footrace, a city tradition for nearly a quarter-century before expenses and organizer burnout ended it in 1997, is fighting its way back.
The 7.5-mile trek down First Avenue S could return as early as next year if a race management team's plans come together.
"We are looking for a title sponsor to bring it back. We're actively working on it," said Wendy Johnson, president of Motion Sports Management, which in February put on the inaugural, and well-received, St. Pete Beach Classic 10-kilometer race.
Several potential sponsors have expressed interest, Johnson said. She declined to name them, but she said a partnership for the race has been formed with the Police Athletic League and that Mayor Rick Baker is aware of plans.
Started in 1973 before the nation's running boom hit its zenith, Bay-to-Bay was run on Memorial Day weekend. It was a must on most local runners' calendars and always drew a strong field that frequently included national-class athletes. The 1995 race was filmed for ESPN by former Olympian Marty Liquori.
"What we're going to do is to move it into late March or early April because it's cooler and fits better with with racing schedules," Johnson said. Organizers want the first comeback race in 2005.
Plans call for the course to follow the traditional route: from Sunset Park on Boca Ciega Bay across the city to Tampa Bay. The finish line varied at three places through the years: Vinoy Park, Bayfront Center and the Pier.
The crosstown format helped build the race's appeal, old-timers say. It regularly drew more than 1,000 runners, making it one of the Tampa Bay area's biggest running events.
As popular as the race was, it was traditional among participants to gripe about some of its characteristics: the humidity. Running into the rising sun, sure to be higher and hotter after the 7:15 a.m. start. The straight-chute grind down First Avenue S, watching the downtown towers inch closer.
"It was a race everybody loved to hate," said Al Johnson, Wendy Johnson's husband and a Bay-to-Bay veteran. "It was pretty unique counting down those streets, driving you nuts."
Such is the race's allure that every year after its demise, two or three dozen runners have gathered at the starting line on the Sunday nearest Memorial Day to run the old route. Pals carrying water coolers drive ahead of the pack, offering drinks to the runners at several spots along the way.
They'll be there as usual this Sunday, starting at 6:30 or 6:45 a.m. or, for the purists, 7:15 on the dot.
Mike Stone ran the old Bay-to-Bay several times. He said it was the first race he ever ran - and the first wearing shoes, a pair of Waffle Trainers, one of Nike's early lines.
"I lived on Sunset Beach and would run down to John's Pass barefoot," Stone said.
He plans to run the route Sunday, as usual. Last year, he ran it five weeks after undergoing surgery for cancer. This year, he finished a round of chemotherapy in February.
"It's humbling. I've been in pretty good shape all my life," said Stone, 51. "Two or three weeks after the chemo finish, I'd go out and jog down to end of the block and I couldn't breathe. I said, "This is going to be interesting.'
"I was in Tallahassee the latter part of March, and ran for 20 minutes in the hills up there. I was amazed. After that I started building up. On Snell Isle last Sunday, I ran for 80 minutes."
Thinking about the run, training with Allan Katz, another veteran runner, and getting ready to challenge the traditional route have been elements of recovery.
"I don't know how big a story it is, but it has kept me going," Stone said.
