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SEPTEMBER 2009
RACE DATES CONFIRMED FOR 2010
PALM100—100 mile, Six Runner Team Relay, Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach and back, will be held on Saturday, March 27. 6:00 AM start on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
KEYS100—Prostate Cancer Benefit Races: 100 and 50 mile Individual Races and 100 mile, Six Runner Team Relay. Race date is May 15, with the 100 mile events continuing until the cut-off at 2:00 PM on May 16. 100 mile races start in Key Largo. 50 mile race starts in Marathon. Finish line is on the Atlantic Ocean at Smathers Beach, Key West.
PALM100 RACE DATE & ADDING INDIVIDUAL EVENTS—Survey Results
Thanks to the many of you who responded to our request for feedback. Over-whelmingly, you voted to leave the PALM100 race date as the last Saturday in March. That date for 2010 is March 27th. Most of you cited conflicts with other events in the very full 1st quarter race calendar as the primary reason for your “vote” to leave that weekend unchanged. We hope that this decision, now set, will encourage greater participation next Spring for the Second Annual PALM100.
There were very few responses from people interested in adding individual races to next year’s PALM100 Team Relay, so next year the race will remain relay format only. 2010 will be the event’s second year. We will remain open-minded about the possibility of adding an individual competition in future years as the race becomes more widely known.
KEYS100 STARTING TIME & PARTY TIME! — Survey Results
We asked KEYS100 Veterans to respond to a suggestion that the 100 mile individual ultramarathon begin at midnight on Friday night, rather than at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning. Again the status quo won out overwhelmingly. Many of you commented that the single biggest challenge of this race is dealing with the heat, and that to alter the starting time would materially affect that for at least some runners. Translated, that means that more hours would be run during cooler, night-time hours. That impact was viewed as a negative; the difficulty of this race was precisely what these runners want to maintain. Opinions were not changed by the fact that an earlier start would mean that all three races would finish closer together to better accommodate the post-race Awards Party. With just a few exceptions, the strong preference was to leave it alone, and so we shall for 2010! The 100 mile individual race will begin at 6:00 AM.
Regarding the Awards Party, there was 100% agreement to move the event to an earlier hour, as close to noon as possible. Even though some runners may not have completed the “100” by the party starting time since the cut-off is at 2:00 PM, the earlier hour would accommodate a much larger number of people who need to leave Key West at a reasonable hour to drive back north. The challenge will be finding a venue large enough for the anticipated size of our group next year that will serve a menu of food and drinks and not cause any major disruption for existing, “regular” Sunday clientele. The effort to solve that riddle has begun anew! Location and the balance of details about the Awards event will be posted on the race website, www.keys100.com, as soon as possible.
RACE REGISTRATION FOR THE 2010 RACES!
Race websites, www.keys100.com and www.palm100.com are being actively updated as this newsletter is being written. A major change for both races will be the move to a new online registration vendor. That conversion is expected to be completed, and online registration open, around November 1st. The option to download and print a manual race entry form will be available in early October for those who prefer it. Notice will be sent to everyone when this process is complete and registration is officially open.
GREAT NEW FALL RACE IN THE KEYS
Jewfish Creek Bridge Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk on November 14th
Candy Basilius and our friends at Key Largo Baptist Church are directing this inaugural race over the new Jewfish Creek Bridge. Replacing the old drawbridge, this major structure spans the Intracoastal Waterway as it makes its way into Florida Bay. Beautiful views and a unique venue guaranteed! Check out the race on November 14, 2010, and the pre-race Health EXPO on November 13, at www.jewfishcreekbridgerun.com. Or contact Candy Basilius directly at: Candy@jewfishcreekbridgerun.com.
INVITATION TO POST NEWS
From time to time we will distribute Newsletters to update everyone about our races and related subjects that I think might be of interest. That includes notice of unique races like the note above. We will do our best to be brief and to the point. If you have a favorite event, or story about an extraordinary adventure or running accomplishment, please let me know. I can’t commit to publishing everything, but promise to give your information every consideration.
SPARTATHLON
Finally, for me it’s off to Greece in a few days to race this historic 150 mile non-stop race on September 25th. The course is from Athens to Sparta, and traces the route of the Athenian messenger, Pheidippides, who ran this distance in 490 BC to save his nation-state. His mission was to notify the Spartans that their Athenian allies needed help to keep the invading Persians from overrunning the Greek peninsula. History and perhaps a little myth recall that Pheidippides made it through, and Greek civilization was saved. With a 36 hour time limit, and a 9.5 hour cut-off for the first 50 miles, it should be an interesting experience; I just hope I can “save” myself! I will be at the starting line. We’ll just have to see about the finish!
Have a great September.
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SANCTIONED EVENT