Clearwater Running Festival

All races start at Clearwater’s Sand Key Park, a 95-acre park that overlooks the blue waters of the Clearwater Pass and plays host to Clearwater’s artificial reef program and natural communities. From there, runners follow the loop course first across the beach and almost immediately across two bridges: first the Gulf Boulevard Bridge, then the Clearwater Memorial Bridge, before heading to the mainland and downtown Clearwater, under the shade of palm trees with the rising morning sun on the horizon. The course then takes runners south through nearby Belleair, with sprawling mansions on one side of and the waterfront on the other side for much of this section. Once over the third and final bridge of the course — the Belleair Causeway — runners then follow the course as it winds through the streets of Clearwater Beach Island to the finish line back at Sand Key Park. While most of the course is fast and flat (this is Florida, after all) and is run on paved surfaces, the mainland section probably the most challenging points along the course, and feature the biggest changes in elevation — which last for a good long stretch at over a third of the race. After the mainland and the bridges, the rest of the course is flat. Race organizers say that fitness walkers are encouraged to come out and participate in either the half marathon or the 5K race. There’s no time limit for half marathoners, but full marathon runners must finish the 26.2 miles in 7 hours, 30 minutes. Runners in the 50K must reach mile 15 by 3 hours, 40 minutes.