Take a 5k race Run it at night along Beach and Ocean…read more Add Glow Stick, Lots of neon - Men and Women in Tutu and Flashing Spiked Mohawks All Pumped up along the route with sounds that I am usually trying escape from during Ultra Music Festival ( Skrillex may have been running next to me at one point ) On Stage entertainment that was a Mix of The Donkey Show, The Pussy Cats Dolls show and The It's Raining Men Video And you have the Glow Run - I am going to say it was a great event for a first time on Miami Beach and good activity for first time runners and families because kids like shinny glowing things !!! The one thing they could have done better is actually have lights and a computer at the the packet pick up " It's 2012 and paper is dead " said Cecelia - she was right. We had to use our iPhone lights to help the staff. The other is to have the Medals table fully staffed for the whole event - I was in the last wave and had to go fish my own medal out of a box and many people did not get them because the staff already left - probably at Wet Willies. I will be doing this event again next year - I suggest you check it out. I am thinking UYE Sports event !!

Let's begin with saying...I earned a finisher medal ....AND it GLOWS!!!! Second, great turnout -…read morefun - and festive. Third, this did not earn five stars because they did not plan well for the packet pick ups; they were disorganized and unprepared for the large crowd. A friend of mine picked up my packet the day before, so I had to wait a long time for my team-members to pick up theirs. I finally got annoyed enough to force my volunteerism...yep..I went behind the table and helped them disseminate the packets. They struggled with finding names on a list, because...wait for it...no one thought to have lights at the tent for a night time event. Beside the above debacle ...this was so fun..and I actually improved in my time- even with a cold. I met lots of fun people and the music was great. I will recommend this for teams and veterans...first timers may feel a bit overwhelmed with running on the sand and the lack of cheerleaders on the path.

The Miami Beach Halloween Freaky Four Miler was my most recent 5K, and I cut my time from my last…read moreevent by 2 minutes. #yeahme! As the name implies, it was a Halloween themed event and I went dressed up as #thatguy who didn't rock a costume. The race had both a 5K and Half Marathon component; I did the 5K and will comment on that. Originally - up to two weeks before - the race was supposed to start from Parrot Jungle and run across the causeway ending up at Nikki Beach. However, about 3 days after registering I was advised it was changing , supposedly over construction on the causeways (which I didn't notice any on this particular day). Still and all, the race organizers did a pretty good job with keeping me informed. Unlike the previous 5k, they required packet pick up in advance (most likely to get you to spend money at one of the sponsor stores #tinfoil). The course wasn't too bad; we started running along South Pointe Park to the access walkway of the marina, eventually thru Ocean Drive and back through the park. Signage was actually pretty clear and there were water & Gatorade stations at about third points of the course. The food spread after the run wasn't too bad. Besides the usual bananas and orange slices, they had blueberry pancakes and a tasty scrambled eggs with onions and red peppers. I wish they would have also had chair massage stations to help runners stretch like they used to have back in the earlier editions of the run.

The 2011 Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon was my first road race ever. I had a really great time…read moreand it was a blast to run in a costume. People seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves and the organizers and volunteers did a wonderful job of making sure that everything went smoothly. The route was fun and offered many beautiful views of Miami along the way. The finisher medal is super cute and makes me smile every time I look at it. Really, I have no complaints at all and recommend it to serious and novice runners alike. This was a laid-back race experience in a beautiful setting and I can't wait to run it again next year. Five stars all around.

In 2023 I ran the Miami marathon for the very first time. I spent months leading up to the race…read moretraining and building my stamina. The race was so much fun (and harder than I expected). But the scenery was beautiful, the crowd cheering was motivational, and the volunteers passing out water were helpful. Twenty- six miles later and I made it to the finish line filled with a feeling of accomplishment. I would absolutely run another marathon! Something to check off the bucket list!

1/29/2017 - First time running this race, 6th half marathon and 1st this year. This is a race you…read morewant to do at least once. It is the fastest growing race, and it brings runners from all over the world. The City of Miami did a great job coordinating the race with the police department. The traffic ran very smoothly throughout. It was a bit chilly but I dressed for the weather so I was fine. I got into my corral, letter H at 5:45am. You are placed in the corral based on your half marathon time. My best was 2:27 in 2016. The race was scheduled to start at 6am. Well, the race started and it was by corral at every 5 minutes. We were standing packed like sardines in the corral for 30 minutes. At least, we kept each other warm. It wasn't until we were called to the front that the rain started to pour and did not stop throughout the entire race. It was a cold, windy and rainy race. The views are absolutely spectacular whether it rains or not. The course takes you through the McArthur Causeway where you can see the cruise ships, the beautiful Miami skyline, inside South Beach and the Venetian bridge. The race finishes at Bayfront Park where they set up a huge party with vendors and a big stage with music. Once you cross the finish line, you go through the complimentary food area. They had bananas, individually wrapped bagels, oatmeal cookies, pretzels, power bars, waters and Gatorade. Then you collect your gorgeous medal and take pictures. This year was their 15th year of the Miami Marathon/Half Marathon and they gave a commemorative medal. Even with the 4 bridges, rain, cold and wind, I ended up beating my best time by 9 minutes. My official time was 2:18:24!!! Very happy with that. THANK YOU MIAMI!

Absolutely LOVED this run!…read more The parking and getting to the starting line was a bit of a mess, but besides that, all was great! There was entertainment along almost every single nook and cranny of the run- singers, dancers, DJs, bands, etc and a fringe benefit to running up and down 8st was that I got to see/find a lot of the restaurants I'd been reading about on here, but had yet to go to like Le Baguette and a Mexican taco place! The fact that the night was cool and crisp paired with the fact that there was beer at the finish line made me run faster than ever. There was paella at the finish line too, but really....all I cared about was the beer. This has been my favorite race to date. I can't wait to do the hooker run...i mean...calle ocho run...again next year!

Sadly as someone who knows Raven for decades I have no sympathy for someone who is so compulsive…read morethat they forsake friendships over running. His running style has ruined his body and he was and is so compulsive that he could not visit a person on a significant day because he had to run at 4:00. I can't honor someone who never worked, run his body into the ground and is now doing a fund me. Others go out and work. He lives in the apartment that his mother worked hard to buy.

Robert Kraft aka the Raven has run 8 miles every day for the last 35 years on South Beach since…read more1975 for a total of over 100,000 miles. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4169717 He invites anyone and everyone to run along with him. I decided to try and do it myself a week ago in efforts to start training for upcoming Boston Marathon and St. Anthony's Triathlon. He is really fun to run with and everyone gets a nickname and he has a photographic memory. He remembers everyone's name and birthday !!! I heard some walk up that ran 8 years ago from Germany - ask Raven " Do you remember me ? " He did after he told him his name, Raven told him his nickname and birthday !! Incredible !! If you are a first time runner he waits for you to finish no matter how long it takes and gives you your nickname - if you run with him he full of fun stories and history of Miami Beach. Two people who have met on the run even go married on the run !!! Running in the sand was no joke and but I did finish and there in the dark was the Raven waiting. By the way my nickname is Stair Climber why ? because I do this : http://skyrisechicago.com/

AMAZING! Incredible experience!!!!…read more So, this was my first 5k ever and it was AWESOME! I decided to walk it as I didn't really know what to expect. I quickly realized that that was not enough of a challenge for me. I didn't take my camera and really regretted it because that was an event to capture on film. SOOO many people. I don't think I've seen so many people gather for one event in my life AND for such a charitable event at that! There were dogs walking alongside their owners and drag queens walking in their huge platforms. I gotta hand it to those drag queens man! Full makeup and platforms in the heat...PHEW!! That was only part of the entertainment. They had a Y100 stand blasting tunes. Along the way they had several vehicles blasting tunes. WATER GALORE!!! So many people there to assist you, give you water, you name it! All the people standing along the side of the road yelling and keeping us motivated was awesome. Also when you were reaching the finish line they were screaming people's names as they arrived. It was an emotional moment. Just knowing you were amongst cancer survivors. MY GOD!! Honestly, one of the BEST experiences of my life!

The Susan G. Komen is an enormously successful 5k run that raises awareness for breast cancer. The…read more5k has approximately 20,000 participants, and possibly more. There are people of all ages that volunteer to help with the event. And there are also many survivors in attendance which really sheds light on how many affected by breast cancer. The event also has booths set up for many local business, organizations, and a variety of other vendors. There's also food and some cool free stuff offered! Definitely a neat event to participate in and an energetic crowd!

The inaugural 2012 Key Biscayne Half Marathon took place under pretty awful running…read moreconditions--high winds and blowing rain--but the organizers managed to keep it together. The aid station volunteers were encouraging and on top of things and the aid stations themselves were well maintained and spaced out nicely along the course. Despite the discouraging weather, there was a good turnout and I was pleased to see so many spectators stoically waiting and cheering under umbrellas and ponchos along the way and at the finish line. The decision to add the Powell bridge to the middle of the course was an interesting one, to me--I found it manageable because I run that bridge almost every day, but I'm sure people who are unused to it might have been a little overwhelmed. Unlike the Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon, I doubt this will ever be a PR-setting course for many runners simply because of the vertical challenge, but the views are great and meandering through Crandon was fun. Four stars because the tech shirt was a little bare (they didn't even print the year on it!) and the medal was cool, but the ribbon was generic and chintzy. It's not a huge deal but I have to withhold that elusive fifth star because it seems like they kind of cheaped out there. Still, I'll definitely be running this race next year if it's on.

I really enjoyed this race, despite the truly atrocious weather! The one positive to all that rain…read moreand wind was that it kept the heat at bay! The positives: It's great to have a half marathon so late in the "season"! Many races in South Florida are all bunched up in November - February, so it's really nice to have one last one before the summer sets in. The course was fantastic! We don't have enough hills in South Florida, so being able to hit the bridge twice was a GREAT workout! It was definitely NOT too crowded. At every other race I've done this year, the crowding at the start was bordering on dangerous, but not at this one. Perfect amount of people Race day packet pickup! I did not avail myself of it, but it's really nice to have that option Friendly organizers. I finished 3rd in my age group and since they skipped the awards ceremony due to the weather, they mailed me my award promptly and followed up with an email to make sure I got it! The negatives: There was conflicting information about packet pickup times and locations. The emails all mentioned purchasing a parking pass ahead of time, but didn't give a lot of information about it. It turns out that Crandon was charging for parking and if you pre-paid, you could skip the line. I waited in that line for close to 30 minutes! Had I known, I would have just purchased the parking pass. SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR - just add the parking onto the race entry as probably 99% of participants are going to drive there. Food area - I finished pretty early and had no problem zipping through and getting something to eat; however, I saw that it was VERY crowded as more people were finishing the race. Leaving the parking lot took almost as long as entering it. I do think that all of the negatives were due to it being an inaugural race and that the organizers will work out the kinks for next year. All things considered, it went off EXTREMELY well given the weather and the big turnout. I will definitely be running it next year!

This event is pretty bad, both for the athletes and spectators. (You can have a event that is good…read morefor one group but not the other, and sadly this fails for both.) This event has been around for over 10 years, and is notorious for being poorly organized. Boats and equipment are badly maintained, buoys and course inadequately laid out (you cannot fault a boat for colliding into another as there was not enough markers along the course) and the schedule, every year, unfailingly, is delayed for hours (a race supposedly to start at 9 am may not begin till noon). This race used to be bigger and there were out-of-town, even out-of-country teams, but now it's just local teams who come because it's the only race in Miami, where the paddlers do not have to travel to compete (getting a group of 22 people to travel together is not easy nor cheap.) Really sad as the races in Tampa and other Florida cities, not to mention New York, Toronto etc. are all much better organized than this. At those places, people do actually come out and watch the races, have fun, take picture, enjoy the performance, the food etc. and enjoy a fun weekend. Unfortunately, in Miami, as the number of teams and spectators dwindles, so does the vendor participation.

Searching through hte web for fun events I came across this one. Cool I thought ..something…read moredifferent and fun to go watch a display of Asian culture, food and talent added to a challenge of cool boat design boat paddeling race by the water. We got there around 12;30 $6 parking fee got in and walked around. My first impresion .......... location was good but venue was not up to the hype I thought it would be. A lot of tents at the entrance, Vendors of sorts, there was a boat race about to start and we went to the watch. it took them about 5min to call everyone to get in their boat for the race. This was race # 14 !!!!! say what?? 100 mtr dash, then a few min later 500 mtr. as it was lunch time we went to grab a bite. Only a handful of food vendors. I had a chicken Terriyaki was nice cooked, not dry good flavor. We walked a bit more and were ready to head out. To me this seemed more of a paddlers community gathering that come together once a year for a main event., there were quite a few tents wit the boaters insignia, each had their own color outfit. there was a schedule posted with the event and time for race. This event is more of a community of paddlers getting together, and inviting the public to come watch. I would go again only if I was planning a day by the water to have a picnic and relax, not expecting more. Even the boats were dissapointing, although they were decorated with the dragon head they were a LOT smaller than shown, one fell off while at the docking area and they removed all of them from the six boats about to race. I thought that was suppose to be the main attractiona and display, if you remove it it's just a regular boat and it loses it's charm and purpose we came to see.