By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

 I was really looking forward to last Saturday (October 31st). For the first time since March, seven months ago, I was going to participate in a real race. None of the virtual stuff. A race where everybody was going to be in the same place, running the same distance, on the same course, at the same time. On one side, I was excited for this opportunity, on the other, I was not sure how comfortable I was going to feel given what is going on with the second surge of the Covid pandemic.

All masked up as we waited in line for our turn on the staggered starting line

But this 5K was on one of the runways of the Miami International Airport, a place where I may never, ever, have the opportunity to run, again, unless I am deplaning on an emergency landing. A tough race to pass, especially when I had been registered since January. The race was originally scheduled for April, but with everything going on, it was postponed. 

A few weeks ago, participants got an email with the updated date, time and rules. Being in an active airport and in the middle of a pandemic, the instructions were strict and written in a straight, harsh tone. Somebody I know said he’d rather not participate because this felt like the “Gestapo 5K”.

The start was set in four waves, so participants could keep their distance. You were given a specific window of 30 minutes to come into the hangar, pick up your bib and get running. Organizers did not want too many people hanging out while waiting to start. The use of a mask covering your nose and mouth was mandatory except for when you were actually racing.

From there, you had to get in a loooong line to enter the runway. Once at the start, there were three lines of 10 cones separated by the appropriate socially distant space. Each runner had to stand by a cone. Once the front three were gone, you were asked to walk to the cone in front of you and about 5 seconds later, you could start the race. I totally understand the reason for this, but it was weird and uncomfortable.

Running on the runway of an active airport (even though this was a taxi way not a landing one), was absolutely amazing. While I was running, I saw four passenger planes taking off maybe 100 feet from where I was, and two landing. We were on the other end of the passenger terminal. Surreal, worthwhile experience.

After crossing the finish line, you were given a medal, a bottle of water or Gatorade, picked up a race shirt and kicked out of there. There was no hanging out, checking for results or award ceremony. Once again, totally understandable but not what a post-race is supposed to feel like.

Because of the stacked start, all runners were timed individually, and the results compiled based on chip time. Fast, middle-of-the-pack, slow runners and walkers all mixed throughout the course. Good it was in an airport runway so there was plenty of space to pass without having to wave around people.

With the Miami International Airport 5K done, my conclusion is that I am happy I participated. I am not a big fan of the 5K distance, but this was a hard to pass course. But this did not feel like a race. For the third time, I understand the reasons why it had to be this way and there was no other way to pull this off safely, but still, it did not feel like a race. If I had been the Race Director, I would have done exactly the same. But the get-in-run-get-out approach was not conducive to a welcoming event. It did not have the right atmosphere; it was not encouraging to sharing the experience with your running buddies and it left my returning to racing expectations, unfulfilled. None of this is the fault of the organizers, it is just the way it is in 2020.

While most races round the world are cancelled for the 2020-21 season, there are still a handful in South Florida that got the necessary city permits and are moving forward. I sincerely hope they can pull it off and that no one gets sick, so these events can continue and runners, hopefully including me, will learn to adjust. But I am not sure when I will participate again, though. This new race style is not worth the risk, at least for me, at least at this time. My goal race is on February 14th, 2021. I will have to reassess by then if virtual or in-person is the way to go.