By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

 The biggest and most important event in the South Florida racing calendar is the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon. In 2022 it ran its 20th edition. A must for all local runners and a destination run for international runners, especially from Latin America. Even though the field was reduced to “just” 15,000 due to Covid restrictions, it was nevertheless, a great race.

Free race pictures are a staple of the Miami Marathon. At least I got a good one to cap the sufferfest

As the name states, the race has both marathon and half marathon distances ran simultaneously. They separate around mile 12.5. I cannot say much a about the marathon because I have never run it. As for the half, 2022 was my 11th consecutive participation in the event.

The expo took place in the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. The bib pick up was quick and easy. The expo was packed with vendors of every kind, with diverse samples of drinks, foods, gels, food services and electrolyte concoctions. You could also find shoes, shorts, socks and the newest gadgets. Stands for many international races were present. Even a coaching service where you could talk with an actual Olympic marathoner. For the first time, I saw free haircuts. Go figure!

In general, the race ran smoothly. Gear check was impeccable, signage was good and there were plenty of porta-pots. No urinals around, though. I still can’t figure out the logic behind the opening of Corral H. While the race started at 6:00, the gate to corral, inconveniently located in front of a row of porta-pots, remained closed past 6:15, as thousands of runners congregated in front of an empty corral. Other than to annoy runners on purpose, I can’t figure out any other reason for this to happen.

The half marathon course is always a delight, running by the cruise ships as the sunrise bathes the runners with sunlight while they enter the world-famous South Beach. Then through Miami Beach, followed by the spectacular views of the city on the way back to Downtown and the finish line.

A nice medal to commemorate the 20th edition of the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon.

The sour note was the screw up at the water stations. How can a race of this caliber and in its 20th edition, f-up the water stops so badly? When I stopped for water the first time, I picked the left side of the road, only to learn that it was the “Gatorade side”. This meant that if I wanted water, I had to cross the street while I had thousands of runners coming at me. And this happened more than once. At Mile 6, the water stop was abandoned and after that, a handful of stops did not have enough cups readily poured. This on a day with 93% humidity.

MY RACE

 On the personal side, my race was terrible. Despite the fact this was my 11th time running the half, and my 43rd half marathon, I made many mistakes, many of them rookie blunders, which guaranteed me a forgettable sufferfest.

It started when I woke up at home and went to eat a bagel, only to realize my wife served me the last one for breakfast, the day before. It was my mistake not to ensure there was one available, and I assumed it. I didn’t bother to check the weather and the humidity caught me by surprise. Then it was the issue with the corrals, which got me in a bad mood just before the race.

Because I had ran the Houston Marathon three weeks earlier, I thought that half was a done deal, and didn’t even bother mentally preparing for the task at hand. I found myself at the starting line not even sure what I wanted to do with the race. I knew I wasn’t going to push and that I just wanted to have fun, but never bothered to review what that really meant or how get it accomplished. By the time I found no water at Mile 6, I had already bonked mentally. I didn’t go fast nor was I tired. I just didn’t feel like I wanted to run another 7 miles.

All that is on me. They were my mistakes. I can’t blame anyone else. I was cocky, overconfident and acted like a teenager who thinks he knows better than anyone. I paid for it.

As I tell the athletes I train, bad days, mistakes, failure and poor races are important to experience because they will give you invaluable experience that can only make you a better runner. I learned my lesson: never underestimate any distance, regardless of how many times you’ve ran it.

One of the remarkable things about the Miami Marathon is that it includes free photos for all the runners. I got was an amazing image from the culmination of my sufferfest. Final time was 2:33:27, by far my worst running half.

Did you run in Miami on February 6? Please share your experiences with the readers by leaving a comment.

A nice medal to commemorate the 20th edition of the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon.