Run Together, Right Now

BY MARCIA BIGGS

Every morning at the crack of dawn, countless people blink the sleep from their eyes, lace up a pair of running shoes and head out into the fresh morning air. Later in the day, others swap work clothes for running clothes and set out on an evening jaunt. On most weekends, an organized run of one kind or another can usually be found in the Tampa Bay area, from 5k fun runs to trail runs, marathons and triathlons.

Indeed, St. Pete is a runners city from the scenic waterfront trail parks to the urban Pinellas Trail and everywhere in between. Every Monday and Thursday evening several dozen runners typically gather at St. Pete Running Company for a 5k run on the Pinellas Trail just behind the store. More than just exercise for the body, these free community runs are a time for camaraderie and a chance to run off some stress or detach from a computer.

The runs are part of a mission that owners Cody and Janna Angell established when they opened the walking and running apparel store nine years ago.

Cody and Janna Angell launched St. Pete Running Company 9 years ago.

“We made a 10-year commitment to the city of St. Pete where we are going to do whatever we can to make St. Pete a healthier, more active, more vibrant town,” said Cody. He joined the city’s Healthy Together program, part of the Healthy St. Pete initiative that partners with community “ambassadors” to spread the Word of Fitness. “We believe that running and walking is a real simple solution to a lot of the complicated problems in the world.”

Angell and his staff not only host the bi-weekly runs for all levels of running and walking, they also volunteer to lead monthly trail fun runs at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve and help train youngsters to run, swim and bike for the annual St. Anthony’s Meek & Mighty mini-triathlon.

With an abundance of trails and parks, St. Petersburg encourages outdoor activities, says Angell, and he sees the sport of running on the rise. “More people have taken up walking and running since the pandemic,” he surmises. “People were not able to get to the gym, so we saw a lot of people buying their first pair of running shoes. They had time to invest in their health and we find that a lot of them have stuck with it.”

St. Pete Running Company encourages newbies to lace up and join the weekly runs. “It’s important that we be inclusive and non-intimidating to encourage beginners,” says Angell.

Running the Pier with Running for Brews Club

Social Runs

Across the city at St. Pete Brewing Company, more than 30 runners have converged on a Wednesday to begin their happy hour with a 5k run/walk. The Running for Brews St. Pete club “celebrates love for fitness and craft brews,” according to the web site. “Real Runners. Real Drinkers. Real Friends.”

This social running group meets at various bars around downtown four nights a week and Saturday mornings at Kahwa Coffee. The congenial organizer tonight is Peter Krause, who signs up participants on the waiver and serves as the official greeter and photo-taker. Krause moved to St. Pete in 2016 and eventually found his running groove — and a big posse of friends — with the Running for Brews group.

Group photo before a Wednesday run from St. Pete Brewing Company.

“We have all kinds of runners,” he says. “A lot live downtown, but there are a lot who work downtown and live somewhere else. Some are die-hard athletes and some just want to come walk their dog and push their babies in strollers. They might just walk a mile.

But more than anything this is a social club for people who like to get outside and maybe enjoy a few beers after. Remember, most of the bars offer non-alcoholic beer, so drinking alcohol is not a requirement.”

On this evening in late March, the weather is balmy and delightful as the group sets out on the assigned 5k route which heads east on First Avenue North to the end of The Pier, jogs north along the Vinoy Basin, then returns across North Straub Park and finishes back at the bar. Routes vary according to which bar is the starting point, says Krause, this summer the starting locations are The Ale and the Witch (Monday), Hops 2.0 (Tuesday) St. Pete Brewing Company (Wednesday), Right Around the Corner Arcade Brewery (Thursday); all runs start at 7 pm.

Back at St. Pete Brewing Company, the talk is about upcoming races and who is going where. Numerous dog walkers are returning, with lots of nose sniffing and head scratching ensuing. A quick brew is a refreshing welcome back, but the crowd breaks up shortly to head home. It is, after all, a work night.

A Saturday morning Coffee Run is a relatively new addition to the schedule, says run organizer Jules Cozine, starting at 8:30 am from Kahwa Coffee on Second Street. “We know that not everyone can join the 7 pm runs,” she said. “We’ve been getting a steady turnout on Saturday mornings now. Most people stay after for coffee, too, so it’s a nice social run.”

Organized Runs

With the St. Petersburg population growth and more runners taking to the streets, the number of organized runs also continues to grow. Nearly any weekend one can find a 5k or 10k somewhere in the Tampa Bay area. Some, mostly marathons and triathlons, are designed to be competitive. Others are “fun runs” geared to attract a broader base of participants including families. Most serve as charitable fundraisers and they can be held just about anywhere.

There are runs in parks on dirt and paved trails, runs along city streets, over the Skyway Bridge and on the beach. A recent 5k fun run for United Way Suncoast took over a runway at Tampa International Airport (don’t worry, it was closed to air traffic). There are cancer walks and hero walks, police and firefighter walks, and pet walks.

A number of popular runs locally include the Skyway 10K over the Skyway Bridge, the Fort De Soto Trilogy Triathlon, the annual St. Pete Grand Prix 5k on the downtown waterfront race course, a Pinellas Trail Challenge ultramarathon that runs along 46-miles of the Pinellas Trail, the St. Pete Run Fest (half marathon, 5k and 10k), St. Pete Pier Run on July 4, the Fort De Soto Distance Classic (15k, 10k, 5k), and the St. Pete Beach Half Marathon.

The grandaddy of them all is the St. Anthony’s Triathlon, which marked its 40th year this April. The fourth largest Olympic distance triathlon in the nation, St. Anthony’s features an Olympic Triathlon (10k run, 40k bike and 1.5k swim), a Sprint Triathlon (5k run, 20k bike, 750 meter swim) and a children’s mini-triathlon. Athletes from all 50 states and more than a dozen nations have participated, many returning year after year.

One of those returning athletes is Eric Diner, a St. Petersburg physician for BayCare Medical Group, who participates annually in the St. Anthony’s Triathlon. He figures he runs in 5 to 10 organized races each year, and a few triathlons. His family including wife Beth, and three kids often join him. Why does he run? “For at least half

the year the weather in St. Pete is perfect for running,” he says.

“The beach is a fantastic place to run and blow off steam with the beautiful view, and downtown St. Pete has become an equally beautiful place to run.”

Over The Skyway

The Skyway 10K debuted in 2017 as a fundraiser for the 501 (c)(3) non-profit Armed Forces Families Foundation. When word got out to the running community that this run would take place on the iconic Skyway Bridge between St. Petersburg and Bradenton, registration of 7,500 sold out in five days, said race founder and organizer Niki Austin.

The sixth annual race was held this March, again a sell-out with 8,000 participants. It’s become a favorite for area runners and walkers, with hundreds of runners and volunteers from various branches of the military. But getting the race course over the bridge approved six years ago was an act of sheer determination.

“It took us about a year in meetings with all the governing agencies to get the green flag,” said Austin. “A lot of previous organizers have tried and failed to get approval to shut the bridge down. We had to work with three counties, FDOT, the city of St. Pete police and fire rescue, the fishing pier … it had to go all the way up to the governor.

“Fortunately, due to the fact that 100 percent of registration fees were going to military families across the Southeast, everyone got on board.” The Skyway 10k has since raised $2.6 million for Armed Forces Families Foundation, mainly funding infrastructure projects. ***

Around St. Pete, runners seem to embody the can-do spirit, serving as an example to others that with a modicum of motivation and a pair of running shoes, it’s possible to take those first steps to a healthy lifestyle.

Find St. Petersburg Running Company on Facebook and at stpetersburgrunningco.com. Find Running for Brews St. Pete on Facebook and at runningforbrews.com.

The Diner family enjoys running together.