Flatlander's long run may not end

Preliminary discussions are taking place to revive the annual 10K event in a new location near Spring Lake.

By BRANT JAMES

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 2, 2000

BROOKSVILLE -- The Flatlander's Challenge, which supposedly was run for the 21st and final time last February, may be back for another installment, but in the Spring Lake suburb of Brooksville.

The plan to revive the annual 10-kilometer competitive race and 2-mile fun run is just getting to the starting line, however, and race coordinator Chuck Boldt hesitates to consider his labor of love saved.

"Right now we're just feeling this out, checking into it," Boldt said. "It's a well-planned, cautious approach. Step by step."

Step 1 was taken when Boldt requested and received a packet to apply for a special-events permit from Hernando County officials. He said he will meet Hernando County Sheriff's Department Lt. Joe Paez to discuss the proposed project on Monday. The sheriff's department will ultimately approve the running of the race.

Boldt said too many issues remain unsolved to consider the race on for 2001. Logistics could scuttle the endeavor long before government officials make a decision whether to allow the race to be held in the bucolic southeastern corner of the county.

Boldt said his "feasibility study" will need to be complete by Labor Day to allow enough time to plan and stage the race.

The Flatlander's Challenge, created and overseen by the Red Mule Runners Club, had apparently worn out its welcome after 21 years in Brooksville. Thirty-six residents of some north Brooksville neighborhoods the race traverses had signed petitions last year asking that the event be stopped or redirected. Members of the Brooksville police community also had grown increasingly impatient with the event, citing a strain on manpower and mounting traffic snarl.

Brooksville Police Department Capt. Terry Chapman told the Times in February: "I think it's in the best interests of the city not to do it anymore. ... I think the city would not approve to do it again."

Boldt was encouraged to consider the move to less than 10 miles away by Red Mule members who live in the Spring Lake area.

"Some of the members in the club said, "Hey, you should come out into this area if you want a tough course,' " Boldt said. "We could have been in pancake land and laid a course there, but that's not the Flatlander's Challenge. Our idea is to do something out of the ordinary -- a challenge."

The Flatlander's Challenge signature has been picturesque scenery and tough hills, and the Spring Lake site offers both in lung-busting abundance, as Boldt learned first-hand. He designed a proposed course and has run it with club member and Spring Lake resident Teresa Clarke.

"Flatlander's was never a normal 10K because of the hills, and this is even more difficult," Boldt said. "I ran it and ... my goodness."

The course would touch parts of U.S. 41, Old Spring Lake, Baseball Pond, and Hickory Hill roads.

"It would be perfect," Clarke said. "It's very pretty back there, and it's tough with the hills. I love the trees that overlap the course like a canopy."

Acquiring permits will be just one of the initial obstacles to restarting the race. Boldt cited competition from the numerous running events that occur around the Flatlander's as a reason why participation has sagged in recent years.

The loss of key sponsors also made staging the event more costly. Red Mule Runners annually needed $6,000 to $7,000 to stage the event, about $1,400 of which paid the Brooksville Police Department to make its force available for course control.

Issues including parking need to be addressed.

There are possible benefits, however. The rustic relocation would help alleviate the race's impact on traffic and make it more accessible to participants from around Tampa Bay.

"I think once people find out where it is on the map, they'll realize it's much easier to get to because it's right off Route 50," Boldt said.

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