Produced by the Miami Runners Club, the Miami Marathon during the early 90's zig-zagged from Tropical Park to Metrozoo and back. Even in January and February, and even with the 5:00 walkers' start and the full start at 6:00, subtropical temperatures made for sweaty miles. This event faded away in the mid-90's. In February 2002 new race producers inaugurated the Miami Tropical Marathon on a more scenic course.
At 7:00 on a sultry, sweaty August evening, I began 15.5 laps on a two-mile circuit in Miami's Larry and Penny Thompson Park. I finished at 3:42 a.m. This resulted in blisters so bad—literally the entire end of my stump—that I had to take off the final week of summer school to heal. |
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(above) Ted Bridis, Vietnam vet and triple amputee, has competed at the world level. |
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Found out about this marathon three days in advance. I drove to Tallahassee after work Friday and got maybe four hours' poor sleep in a cheap noisy motel. Set out early on a lovely rural course from a park several miles east of Tallahassee, out and back, nice rolling hills in the middle. As I made the final looong straight stretch, the tall Australian pines at the park entrance never seemed to get closer. Three weeks after my first marathon, Then I had an eight-hour drive |
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Five of us had an official early start from Jacksonville's Bolles School at 6:30 a.m. The course runs out and back along San Jose Boulevard, Scott Mill Road, and Mandarin Road. Beautiful, shady, mostly residential course, but too much auto traffic. Working hard I maintained constant (albeit minimal) negative splits. Sig Kurz cruised in well ahead of me anyhow.
Chuck's 50 & DC Marathons Starting Line UCSC/ACSC | YIA | AHS Class of 1974 Camp Wiregrass | Coral Gables Congregational Church Concerts | Is There Anybody Out There? | Presidential Election 2004 all images and text © chuck bryant
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