The Scenic Route Society

April 10, 2022

I’m going back into the dark archives of my running memory for this one and I’m going to try and not sound too whiny, but the butthurt is strong with this one.

I did this race in the Spring of 2022. My friend and I signed up for it because the medal was cool. Solid reason to sign up for anything, and if anyone ever says different, send them a glitter bomb.  We signed up for the 10k. We had recently finished a half marathon, so we thought we’d be in good shape for this one.

LOL lol L-O-L

Now, I will take the blame for being underprepared for this race. It was held at Celery Fields in Sarasota. We do not live in the area so were not familiar with the race route and did not research beforehand. We showed up to the park and saw grass. Lots and lots of grass. There’s nothing wrong with grass. I like grass and now primarily train in a field. But at the time, it was a surprise and not something we had been training for. Oh well, “We’re here now!”.

Since we drove in for the race, we picked up our packets and stuff there. That process was painless and we had time to get our bibs, put the other swag back in the car, and hang out and warm up. Celery Fields is next to a big cat sanctuary, and it was really cool hearing them yawn and roar early in the morning.

Off we go! The race was starting. I will reiterate here, I am not a fast runner. I am not a good runner. I was a runner NOT prepared for a cross-country meet. We stayed with the pack as best we could but they lost us pretty quickly, although the pack was still visible to us, until they weren’t.

The course was very much grassy trail and there was a hill which the course wound up and around. This is where we really lost people, but I’m convinced it was not solely due to pace. At several points we weren’t sure where to go, and we weren’t the only ones. We saw runners taking different routes, whether intentionally or because they were confused. That made an already challenging course even more frustrating.

We were at the race for enjoyment. Being a small local race, one would assume it wasn’t that serious. Because let’s face it, usually, races are not that serious. We were there for fun and “the vibes”. However, the vibes were so condescending. Unfortunately, the atmosphere didn’t feel welcoming. When we were confused about the turnaround point, the race director openly joked about it instead of helping us, and after we finished, we overheard comments about runners (us) “making everyone wait around.” It was the only race where I’ve ever felt judged for my pace. To this day, I have never had ANYONE at any race, including a World Major, comment on my pace and make me feel less than. This whole race felt very cliquey- like it was for their run club only.

The Kraken race site makes it seem like such a fun and welcoming event. It even says “Meet the Race Director: Come say hi and be part of a growing, awesome race community!” which, assuming it’s the same director, I would advise against if you’re anything remotely close to or below average.

Would I run this race again? Probably not. The course itself wasn’t the problem—I actually enjoy trail running now; but the way slower runners were treated left a lasting impression. Hopefully things have improved over the last few years because the location has a lot of potential.