Tampa Bay 100
On November 4, I participated in the inaugural Tampa Bay 100, an urban ultra through Tampa, Clearwater, St. Pete, and other areas along the way. Among the people I know, I’m one of the few that enjoys road ultras and then you add sightseeing and navigation? SOLD! My friend Tiffany also signed up (you can read her race report here), so we were set for adventure!
Snags
As can happen with any inaugural event, there were some issues. I’m a paper navigator. At HOTS this year I had to be a slave to navigating by my phone and it was fine since there were long stretches without turns, but this run was different. There were an insane amount of turns in the race and the directions didn’t always match up with what the map and route had. There were several times that the map said left and the paper directions said right. If I had solely been navigating with the paper directions, I would have gotten hopelessly lost and added so many extra miles. Luckily, Tiffany put the route on her watch and it would notify her when we got off course, so that helped. We would verify on the CalTopo map and only ended up with a little extra mileage.
Also, I think the turn-by-turn issues may have been a bit of karma because when I put on the Painted Horse Urban Ultra in 2021, I had a right when it should have been a left and a buddy of mine got some extra miles because of my typo.
Another issue was the placement of supply caches and location of the aid stations. When I first signed up, I planned to do it without any crew or pacers because that is what I prefer so I wasn’t counting on any aid stations/supply caches at all. The supply caches may have had food in them at the beginning of the race, but we were in the back of the pack so there was only water and sometimes coke, which was pretty hot because of the temps during the day. I hope no runners were counting on them. I didn’t mind that the aid stations were far apart, but it boggled my mind that there were two so close together. The aid stations were at miles: 27, 50, 55, and 80. From talking with the RD, this will change next year. There are a lot of improvements to be made for sure, but overall, it is a good idea/event.
Pre-Race
I reserved an Airbnb for my crew/pacers to sleep in and have somewhere to chill between places they would meet us. Susan and Kevin volunteered to crew/pace (though they really had no idea what they got themselves into, sorry guys!). Susan recruited her husband Mark to help and he would arrive later in the day. We stayed in the Airbnb the night before and it was shockingly small, BUT it was 15 minutes from anywhere on the course after the 35ish mile mark, so that was the selling point for me; well, that and it wasn’t a million bazillion dollars like all of the other options.
Packet pickup was at 3 Daughters Brewing in St. Pete. Good location. Their food offerings weren’t really what I wanted, so we had a drink and then had to decide on food. I was hangry at that point and could NOT decide what I wanted. I think everyone hated me, lol. We ended up going to a local place and I had some of the best pizza ever. So good and perfect for a pre-race dinner. We headed back to the Airbnb for a restless night. I woke up every single hour to check the time and then forced myself to go back to sleep.
Start to Mile 27
The start was at Misfits Microsanctuary, a chicken and other small animal rescue in Ybor. It was a bit chilly (60s!) so I was wearing my long sleeve rabbit sun shirt, which I would wear for the entirety of the race. With a “go!” we were off into the maze of Ybor. As we ran down one street and went through an intersection, other groups were crossing the other way through it. This was part of the crisscrossing weird turn adventure we were on. The point of the run is to see all sorts of historical places. The caltopo map had an insanely long history and we were going past historical sites every 5 minutes in some places, especially the downtown areas.
In the first miles we met Rebecca and Monica and would run with them for many, many miles. Rebecca’s daughter was crewing her, so my crew shared what stops they would be at based on my spreadsheet (yellow are aid stations & supply caches, green are where I wanted crew to meet us). So Kevin, Susan, and Mark got to hang out with her daughter a lot.
After getting through Ybor City, we got into downtown Tampa where there were more turns and we ran into a couple people who were lost and another going the wrong way, so we all helped each other. We missed a turn because a street name didn’t have a sign on it, but again, Tiffany’s watch and Caltopo helped us find the way. We stopped at a convenience store since everyone in our group needed a toilet and people got some things to munch on.
As the sun rose, we met our crew for the first time at mile 9(ish). We filled up on snacks and headed out. The first supply cache was at mile 16ish and was a disappointment. I had created my crew book based on the fact that we wouldn’t need crew because there were supply caches in certain spots so it wouldn’t be necessary. I’m not sure if they had food in them previously, but when we got there it was only water. There wasn’t food in any of the four caches. Again, not a problem for us since we had crew, but going solo would have been rough in spots during the night where services were few and far between. Though I’m used to carrying lots of supplies just fine, I talked to several runners who chose this as their very first hundred mile due to the long cutoff time and I thought of them when the supplies were sparse. This also caused extra strain on the crew who were not expecting to meet with us as much.
At mile 20 we got to Raymond James Stadium where a 5k was happening. We got to dance around and have fun to the music that was playing for that event. This is one thing I’ve experienced in several urban ultras – sometimes you get to be part of another race - raceception! It has happened both times I’ve done the Great Southern Endurance Run and most recently at Tick Tock Ultra.
For a super short time, we linked up with a few other runners
Our next meeting spot with the crew was shortly after this at a McDonalds. Tiffany ordered a breakfast sandwich and I got some nuggs and fries. Salty, greasy perfection. Kevin also blasted Tiffany’s butt.
Mile 27 to Mile 60
We got to the first aid station at mile 27, which was the start of the Courtney Campbell Causeway. We checked in, grabbed some food things, and hit the toilets. Monica dropped off, her crew finally found her, so she stopped for aid from them. This pedestrian bridge is approx. 8 miles and was in full ass sun. This is basically when we stopped running. Tiffany is from Illinois and could not get properly heat acclimated prior to the race, so there was quite a bit of struggle in there. I ended up with a pretty rough sunburn on the back of my legs at the capris line and it hurt for the entirety of the race. I think I put either trail toes or desitin on it at one point to try to help the issue; I know better and should have thrown sunscreen back there in the first place.
At the end of the causeway, mile 35, our crew was waiting for us (there was a supply cache, but we didn’t trust it to have anything we needed). Tiffany filled up on ice and we ate some good snacks before heading off again. The view was really nice going up Bayshore Blvd. I believe at this point we put in our Taco Bell order to our crew, who would be meeting us there at mile 42. Unbeknownst to me, Tiffany had started contemplating a DNF. She had some hot spots and blisters going already; heat can cause major swelling and when you add that to sweaty feet, it is a recipe for disaster.
Our next stop was the Dunedin aid station at mile 50, which was hosted by Jeff Iosa, an awesome ultrarunner. His house was off the chain. Lights, hot food, chairs. Tonya Olson, co-author of Fixing Your Feet, was there helping to tape and fix up the runners. We spent about an hour at the aid station. Tonya was doing major surgery on Tiffany’s feet. She had several blisters popped, taping in all sorts of places, and was gifted a new pair of socks because Tonya didn’t want to put Tiff’s wet xotoes back on her.
I can’t remember if it was before the aid station or after, but we went along the Pinellas Trail through a really cute downtown area in Dunedin. Definitely my favorite part of the race! The spookiest part of the race was after Dunedin – downtown Clearwater. Holy crap, it was weird.
For those who don’t know, scientologists have basically bought up most of downtown Clearwater for their own use. Most of the businesses are owned by the cult, so when we went through it was ridiculously quiet and clean. In a downtown area you expect to see trash, partying, and various goings-on, especially on a Saturday night, but no. The cameras on all of the buildings were watching us and I felt a chill go down my spine as we passed Flag. If you’ve read anything about scientology, you know how scary this group is.
We crossed yet another bridge on our way to Clearwater Beach and I saw the hooters dolphin! Many cities and areas have painted animals, Ocala has horses, Nashville has guitars, New Glarus and the surrounding towns in Wisconsin have cows, etc. Clearwater and St Pete have dolphins. The boobed dolphin is one of the most hilarious things on the planet, so I had to get my picture with it!
We got to Clearwater Beach and Pier 60, but I believe the pier was closed at that point. Another runner tried to go on it for the view, but they were shooed away by the police. So weird quirk here – our buddy James was running an aid station from a parking lot, but it was at mile 55, just 5 miles after the last aid station. I’m not sure why the RD put him there and not further down the course because the next aid station wouldn’t be until mile 82ish. Considering James was running the aid station with a table and his vehicle, there’s not much of a reason to have it there rather than anywhere else, imo.
Mile 60 to Mile 80
Our next meetup with the crew was at mile 60 in the parking lot of a closed convenience store. I requested a cup noodle, made with room temp water, so it was crunchy but just fine for calories. This is when Tiffany was really starting to feel the pain. She decided it was time to break out the ibuprofen and even though we weren’t going to have our first pacer until almost mile 70, we needed one asap. She wanted to stop and I was at such a mental low that I almost agreed to pack it in.
Mark and Susan went to the Airbnb to pick up Kevin who brought some much-needed energy as we slogged through the fancy areas of Belleair Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, and Indian Shores. There were so many insanely big houses along the road. Multimillion-dollar mansions blocking the view to the ocean, boooo.
We met Mark and Susan again at, I think?, a 7-Eleven where we went in to go to the bathroom and look at snacks. Tiffany purchased some peanut butter M&Ms and for about a mile, she alternated eating them and throwing them at Kevin because he was in such a great mood and she was hurting. She also called him a mother fucker, or said “fuck you” many, many times. I told him that it is like The Princess Bride. When Wesley was telling Buttercup, “As you wish,” it meant that he loved her. So when Tiffany said mean things to Kevin, it was her way of telling him thank you for helping us and you are awesome, lol. I have a lot of trouble being the bad cop when it comes to my friends. I’ve been able to do it a couple times, but I was lucky that Kevin took on the role of bad cop during the nighttime hours and made us run as well as got me to do my daily challenge exercises once midnight hit.
Around this time we saw the most incredible sight - chicken church! It is apparently a well-known landmark. The Church by the Sea is a church that looks like a chicken and we absolutely lost our minds. More info on Atlas Obscura
Oh, and I would be doing everyone a disservice by not telling you all of the places where I pooped. In the night my gi tract was working overtime processing all the food I was putting in and I had to go to the bathroom so many times. I pooped in some very nice areas. I am sorry people of fancy areas, I shat in the bushes, but I did bury it under leaves! I stopped at least three or four times between miles 64ish and 75ish. And every single time there was a portapotty about half a mile away. I DID make it to one portapotty, but the rest were little sneaky spots in empty lots and overgrown bushes along the way.
At mile 76ish we would be meeting our crew at Dunkin Donuts. There were already three TB100 runners resting there as well while I enjoyed sitting in a nice comfy chair eating a sammich and drinking a mocha. Tiffany was sitting outside and I was told she was crying, but I was ordered to stay inside while the crew handled it. No one knew this, but I had a plan if she tried to get in the vehicle or quit outright. I was going to tell the crew to pack up and drive to the next stop. No sympathy for either of us, just put the stuff back in the vehicle and leave. I am happy to report that did not happen!
I can’t quite recall where/when, but we lost Rebecca since she had a pacer for the last 20-25ish miles. The last picture I have with her was around dawn and then none after that. She kicked so much butt, especially considering it was her first hundred. She definitely could have been faster; she waited with Tiffany and me the entire hour we were at the 50mi aid station when she could have easily gone ahead.
Mile 80 to Finish
As we got into the Gulfport aid station at 80ish, the sun was starting to rise. Tiffany needed a bit of a break, so I decided I would try and take a little snooze. I asked the aid station if they had a spare/empty trash bag and cardboard, but they didn’t. My local running friends find this tidbit especially hilarious. I will gladly sleep on cardboard with a trashbag blanket, they don’t know how good it is, lol.
The aid station did have a towel, so I laid myself on a concrete border type thing, put the towel over my head, and slept for who knows how long. Kevin woke me up because Tiffany was heading down the road. The sun was up and we had less than 20 miles to go! Joy cometh in the morning!
We went down a road and there was a playground with a slide!! You damn well know I went down that sucker! It was fantastic! All of our moods were up because we were no longer in the dark. It felt magical! We were just a few short miles away from the next crew stop at Starbucks where Susan would take over.
Susan joined us and we started what I feel like was the worst part of the whole event. The final 15 miles were painful. Not physically painful, but mentally painful. Similar to the Ybor section we did in the morning, we were getting a lot of miles in a small area. It was agonizing to be one block away from the finish and still have 10 miles to go. Also, there were three streets that ran parallel to each other where you went east then west and then east again after a brief sojourn into a small historic neighborhood. There wasn’t much extra that we saw in that back and forth area; we saw the same intersection from 5+ miles ago and it was so disheartening.
I had planned for the crew to meet us in a Publix parking lot at mile 95, but for some reason I made a mistake and it wasn’t 100% on the route or at least inconvenient for us to meet the crew. A pin got dropped for a parking lot on route where Mark and Kevin would be meeting us. Coming up to them the chairs were set out and I was offered a pub sub. I cried. Legit tears. A beautiful pub sub at mile 95.
We ate and then needed to get back to finish this mother effer. Susan was eager to get us going and back on the path to the finish. Tiffany’s feet were trashed. She was having a lot of trouble walking, but she was still going forward, that’s the only thing that mattered. A few miles later we were rounding the curve around the Dali Museum and someone else’s crew was cheering us on telling us that we only had about 5k to go! Hell yeah!
It’s funny that we were in that area because a month or so before Susan, Stephanie, and I had done the PB&J 10k/5k there. I started dreading running over the uneven brick roads, but then realized that we would be on the sidewalk, not the roads, and I was so relieved!
We got to the St. Pete Pier and hit the bathroom. Someone’s crew/pacer that finished a few hours ago cheered us on. We went down allllllll the way to the end of the long pier before turning around and heading back. Again, Susan and I had just been there wandering a few months prior, but somehow the city had added at least 10 miles to the pier, or at least that’s how it felt.
I was very tempted to stop at one of the shops/carts and get a popsicle or drink, but we kept on moving forward. Susan was doing her best to get us to move faster or even interact with her, but we were tough customers and just not having it at all, lol. Getting back to the start of the pier meant that we had less than one mile to go before we hit the finish!
We saw Kevin waiting at the end of the pier, he was going to guide us in. The finish was supposed to be at Vinoy Park, but some type of music festival was going on, so we had to be rerouted and finish on the 11th Ave Pier instead. I’m so glad we got the lead in, because this section was very frustrating and I know Susan, Tiffany, and I would have been confused and angry, lol.
All of a sudden, the finish was in sight! We went down some stairs, through the sand, onto a small pier and we were DONE. Joe F. gave us our belt buckles and we were finishers of the inaugural Tampa Bay 100!
We could not have done this without our amazing crew. Huge thanks to Mark, Susan, and Kevin for sacrificing their weekend for us. I am endlessly grateful for you guys, especially when we were grumpy and tired and pooping and whining and crying.
