Share: 
RUNNING

Sunny Tampa preps for the Gasparilla Distance Classic

February 19, 2016

I spent this past weekend in Tampa, where my son Jake is attending Hillsborough Community College. The runners, walkers and bikers were out and enjoying the 70-degree sunny Florida weather. The city is prepping for one of the most popular road races in the country, as the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic will take place along the water in Tampa.  There are plenty of distances to choose from, as a 5K, 15K, half-marathon and 8K are held, and over 30,000 people will take part.

The Gasparilla Distance Classic Association, established in 1978, is dedicated specifically to raising funds for charitable youth organizations and running programs in the Tampa Bay area. Its mission is carried out through the administration of the annual Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Weekend and Junior Gasparilla Distance Classic. The Gasparilla Distance Classic Association takes great pride in its mission. Since the first running of the Gasparilla Distance Classic in February 1978, $4.4 million has been donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa, Girls Inc. of Pinellas, The Friends of Tampa Parks & Recreation and youth running-related programs. Since 1978, 635,000 runners have crossed the finish line in Tampa.

To kick off the exciting weekend of running, health and fitness, Olympic track and field medalists Meb Keflezighi and Shalane Flanagan will be appearing at a news conference Friday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. in the Tampa Convention Center’s East Hall.

Keflezighi and Flanagan are the top seeds and defending champions in the men’s and women’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, which were held Saturday, Feb. 13, in Los Angeles. If they can perform as expected, these two world-class runners will be arriving in Tampa as 2016 Olympians preparing for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“How can I appropriately convey how thrilled we are to share Meb and Shalane with Gasparilla’s participants and the Tampa Bay community? We're thrilled!” said Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Director Susan Harmeling. “Already, they’re three-time Olympians and wonderful and talented human beings that, while in Tampa, will touch so many lives.”

Race note - Results of a very hot Olympic Marathon saw Galen Rupp dominate the men’s race, winning in 2:11:12, while Keflezighi was second in 2:12:20. Jared Ward was third. Amy Cragg won the women’s race in 2:28:20, followed by Desiree Linden in 2:28:54 and Flanagan third in 2:29:19.

Fla. Blue Kids Running Program

A huge attraction to the event in Tampa this weekend is the involvement of the Florida Blue Kids Running Program. The program's slogan is Get Kids Moving and Give Them the Means To Do It!

Obesity in children and adolescents is a serious issue, with many health and social consequences that often continue into adulthood.

Children’s lives can be impacted in a fun and enjoyable way by teaching the development of life skills that will result in their living a more healthy, safe and balanced life.

In 2015, 353 elementary and middle school kids from inner-city and economically challenged neighborhoods throughout the Tampa Bay community participated in the Florida Blue Kids Running Program. For six weeks, the kids participated in Tampa Parks and Recreation Department-staffed fitness drills and life goals training. Through these drills, the kids were introduced to running as a lifestyle activity and to the concept that being fit can be fun.

The goal for the kids from the beginning, their carrot, if they attended all of the training sessions, attended school on a daily basis (no absences), had a good attitude, were polite, respectful and helpful, and worked as a team, was that on Sunday morning, Feb. 22, they and their coaches, chaperones and volunteers would be transported to Bayshore Boulevard to run the final two miles of the 2015 Publix Gasparilla Half Marathon.

Upon arrival on Bayshore, they would work several of the half marathon aid stations to provide cheering and motivation for those half marathon participants who were on their way to the finish line, and then as a group, they would run the final two miles and cross the half marathon finish line to receive their own Florida Blue Kids Running Program Finisher’s Medal and Florida Blue Kids Running Program Finisher’s Certificate.

Valentine’s rescheduled 5K

The Valentine’s 5K, originally scheduled for last weekend in freezing temperatures, will be held this Sunday, Feb. 21, at Cape Henlopen State Park, beginning at the fishing pier. Race-day registration for $25 will begin at 8:30 a.m. with the 5K starting at 10 a.m. Temps are expected to be in the 60s, so break out your pink Valentines running gear, and we’ll see you on the warm starting line.

 

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter