13.1 MIAMI BEACH

I never knew! I honestly didn’t! I never realized just how many party goers, or half drunken roisterers if you will, loiter in the streets of South Miami Beach in the early morning hours until I had to go to that area for a recent half marathon. I am not joshing you. There were literally throngs of loud-mouthed males shuffling along the sidewalks and in the streets, and countless females outwardly enticing the males with their tight skirts pulled half way up their asses. I tell you, it was a scene to behold. Quite frankly, I found the drunken, boisterous crowd to be rather annoying.

It was also annoying as hell not being able to find an appropriate place to park.

When I finally did find a place to park, or so I thought, the master meter refused to take my money or credit card. Never have I witnessed a South Florida master meter that didn’t ravenously gobble up my money. The meter had to of been dead.

Flustered and dispirited by the hassle of driving amongst drunks, and not being able to find a suitable parking spot, I seriously thought of jumping back on the northbound expressway towards home and sanity.

It was then that I learned of the whereabouts of an official Miami Beach parking garage – located within a stone’s throw of where my frustration level had peaked.

When my truck was finally parked, body properly hydrated and bowels and bladder emptied, I was ready to rock my little world by running and walking the 13.1 Miami Beach Half Marathon. The distance wasn’t new to me, for I’ve run many a half marathon in the past twenty years. It was the newness of the actual event that spiked my enthusiasm.

After hanging out with two lovely friends of ours for a short while, I skedaddled towards the rear starting line corral to join my fellow back-of-the-pack runners and walkers. The rear corral held quite a diverse group of people, some large, some small, some fast, some slow, some young and some old. I fit the latter.

In the dark of the morning right around 6:20 AM, the race was on. Interestingly, the starting line was right in front of Gianni Versace’s South Miami Beach mansion. If you recall, the 50 year old Italian Fashion Designer was murdered on the steps of the mansion in 1997.

Anyway, off to the races we went, into the wild blue yonder of South Miami Beach, McArthur Causeway, downtown Miami, back towards the beach via the Julia Tuttle Causeway, and then across the finish line where our Sunday morning journey began.

My finishing time was 2:42:48, not too bad for someone who mostly walks. I placed fourth in my age group.

As far as races and running courses go, in my opinion this is one of the better ones. Where else can you run or walk while enjoying the splendor of Miami and Miami Beach’s awesome skylines, not to mention the multiple fleets of expensive sail boats and yachts scattered throughout the progression.

The four tall causeway bridges were not a factor in my quest to run and walk the 13.1 mile distance in a respectable time. Instead, I looked at them as tall viewing platforms that enhanced the awesome 360 degree view from atop.

It doesn’t get much better than the 13.1 Miami Beach Half Marathon for fabulous views, interesting human diversity, textbook sub-tropical weather, and the delight of having chocolate milk handed to me after crossing the finish line. That alone was a nice touch.

I plan on doing this event again next year. But next year, I hope to have my soul mate and running partner, my lovely wife, running and walking by my side. Regrettably, she had to work that Sunday.

I missed her intensely the morning of March 6th, 2011.