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With a Super Bowl tie-in and good weather, participation may soar to 1,500.
By PETE YOUNG
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 19, 2001
Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl. Everything in the area is caught up in the swirl of the Super Bowl.
Even a marathon.
Sunday's second Gulf Beaches Marathon, which starts and finishes in Clearwater, is the first Super Bowl sanctioned and themed marathon.
It also has gotten a lot bigger.
The inaugural Gulf Beaches Marathon, without the benefit of prize money or heavy marketing, had 635 competitors. More than twice that total, an estimated 1,500, are expected Sunday, a significant boost despite competition from the Hops Marathon, which debuted Dec. 10 in Tampa with 3,152 participants.
"I think we're on to something because of three words: Florida in January," said race director Chris Lauber, who estimates 50 percent of the competitors will be from out of the area. "We happen to be in a place that people want to come to."
Though there isn't prize money and there are no plans to offer a purse in the future, Lauber marketed the race much more aggressively, and he got the tie-in with that big NFL game Jan. 28 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. At least 44 states and 13 countries will be represented.
"We were everywhere in running circles (marketing the race)," Lauber said. "I also think good word of mouth has helped."
There are a few minor changes to the event. The start has been moved slightly to accommodate a concert featuring Charlie Daniels at nearby Coachman Park that begins at 1 p.m., six hours after the start of the race.
"The downtown area should be really hopping," Lauber said. "The whole (bay) area is going to be jamming. We're hoping to capture some of that."
Parts of the course have been tweaked, though it's virtually identical to last year, with most of the first part of the race heading south on Gulf Boulevard and the second half north on the Pinellas Trail. Also, a five-person relay has been added to the marathon and half-marathon.
"The number who can do a half-marathon obviously is a greater slice of the population (than can do a marathon), and if you take that a step further we can get even more people involved," Lauber said.
Favorable weather projections could further raise participation.
"This year, with what happened at (the) Hops (Marathon, where the temperature was unseasonably warm), people are keeping an eyeball on the weather station," Lauber said.
Lauber and staff have learned from a few minor glitches or near glitches during their first attempt at hosting the marathon. Nearly four hours into the race, the scaffolding at the finish line caught a gust of wind and toppled.
"Not a week goes by that it doesn't get brought up," Lauber said, chuckling. Year 2 means organizers have a better grasp of the logistics of the race, which cuts through eight towns, takes the slower runners as long as seven hours and involves such tedium as laying out and then picking up 3,600 bright orange cones.
As long as the event is well-organized, Lauber is convinced it will thrive because of its No. 1 asset: a beachfront location.
"Our goal is to be a highly visible community event with the best attributes of a destination event," Lauber said. "I think we're on our way."
Competition doubles for marathoners (January 18, 2001)
No one hurt when scaffolding falls (January 24, 2000)
Miami man holds on for victory (January 24, 2000)