The OUC Half Marathon (Orlando, FL) was run Sat. Dec. 6. Temperature in the low 40s at race time,
with 10-15 mph winds. Sunny, and it turned nice later in the a.m.
For those who haven't run it, the course is very fast, only one hill. The race starts in downtown
Orlando ("the city beautiful"😉 at Lake Eola park. It runs along the park and through the artist
gallery district for the first mile, then heads into residential neighborhoods. From mile 3 to
about 7, the race runs through an industrial kind of district, not very nice to look at, then
curves back into nice neighborhoods, taking some turns around various lakes as the course heads
back to the artist district and a return lap around Lake Eola to the finish line. In the last
miles, the course covers some very crowned, uneven brick streets. Many runners jumped to a concret
sidewalk to avoid tripping.
Race was won at about 1:10 or so, not sure of exact time. A couple nice touches are the live bands
along the route, the live rock band at the finish line, the abundant free food (not just bagels and
bananas, but real, restaurant pasta dishes and more) and, get this, the free beer garden, at the
end. Sweet. Free beer. Crowds along the course are sparse, but the finishing 1/10th of a mile is
lined with spectators and earlier finishers, all cheering.
Also, very nice finishers medals that aren't all junked up with sponsorship logos, and awards plenty
deep. For a race with 1,800 runners, it's surprisingly low key. They do use timing chips, so you get
an exact measurement, and the results are posted alomst live, with complete breakdowns by about 1
p.m. the same day on the Internet. But for all the professional aspects, it's still very casual.
Packet pickup and even registration is available at the start. Parking is easy and free along side
streets if you get there about 45 minutes early. After that, you may end up paying $5 in a garage,
but still, that's not too bad.
If you live in Florida, you need to run this race next year. If you're planning a visit, it's a very
nice addition to an Orlando/Disney/Universal Studios trip, in fact they give you the option of
buying a heavily discounted Universal ticket when you sign up.
Anyway, worth adding to the calendar.
Cheers.
The Dieshooter.
"Reckless Abandon."