It seems like I’ve been planning this race forever (since February 2022, I believe).

In fact, I registered for the 2023 race and I was meeting up with fellow blogger Jenny and her hubby.  But several days before the race, I fell and broke my foot.

So I did not run and signed up again in 2024.

I badly sprained my ankle at the end of of 2023 and although I was running again by race day, I was not trained for 13.1 miles and deferred my entry.

I ran a 5k instead that trip.

This year, I did sign up to run the 2025 Publix A1A Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon for these reasons:

• A warmer weather race-cation opportunity
• I had enough miles for a free flight.
• I had already paid $40 to defer and would not have to pay to run it this year.
• It was held on Presidents Day weekend (one less day to take off from work)
• It was advertised as a scenic course with ocean views.
• I had four friends that lived nearby (for the winter.)
• A redo from the sweaty 2021 race and DNS of the 2023 and 2024 races.
• Blogger Jenny (and her hubby) had promised to sign up too.

Half Marathon Training:

If you follow my posts, you also know that I am not strict about following a training plan.  I ran my last half marathon in October and then I ran a full marathon in November.

As with all my half marathon training, I do not really care about my week day runs. They were usually an easy 3 miles.

However, I do try to do longer runs on the weekend. Even when not training, I try to run 6-8 miles.

Despite the frigid winter weather in the NE, I did run 2 double digit runs but unfortunately, the 12 miler turned into only 9 miles. I hate when that happens but it is what it is. And my taper 10 miler also was only a 9 miler.

Though I did feel somewhat prepared to run 13.1 miles, my goal for this half marathon was still to just finish and to ENJOY RUNNING A LONG SCENIC RACE!!!

I mean, I trained in temps below freezing and this race was in Florida.  There no way that I’d be acclimated to the warmer temps and humidity and I didn’t want to wind up in a medical tent and spoil the rest of my vacation.

Pre-Race Activities and Preparations:

Although the half marathon was scheduled for Sunday morning, I arrived (with no flight drama) in West Palm Beach the Tuesday afternoon before. I rented a car there and spent the next six days staying with two different friends.

I got to hang out with them (and a few others) while visiting the beaches, bird sanctuaries, tennis tournaments and restaurants. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

Previously I had picked up my race bib/shirt on Saturday, stayed in a nearby hotel and purchased VIP parking for race day.

With Jenny (not her hubby who hurt his foot) running the race as well and that she lives in the town where I was staying, I was able to catch a ride with her. She even picked up my shirt

and bib the day before.

They had also changed the course and so there would be a shuttle bus because the start and finish were in now different locations.

looks flat enough…

Race Day:

I got up at an ungodly hour and had my oatmeal and coffee that I had brought from home with me.

They had recommended that you arrive by 4:30 am and the race started at 5:50 am.

I had decided to buy the VIP parking pass so that hopefully things would be smoother in the morning.

And Jenny even picked me up. She’s the best!

We arrived and found VIP parking (at a nearby hotel) easily. We even had time to use the hotel restrooms.

We walked aimlessly (lol) to the shuttle buses and boarded. Jenny, who was going to run some miles before the race, decided to do them near the start.

The marathon had already started and the half was only about 15 minutes from starting. I was surprised at how many were running it. About 3500.

I just squeezed into the crowd. I saw 3:00 pacer nearby. That seemed about right.

Why? The weather. Hot and humid. No need for those throwaways that I had brought. lol.

There was the national anthem and soon we all moved forward together to start.

I’ll do my best to recap the race below. (Warning: it’ll be long… and the photos are often inserted randomly)

My plan, as usual, was to stop and walk briefly at every water stop (so I wouldn’t get dehydrated) and to stop and walk longer to eat a GU around every 3-4 miles.  I also planned to walk whenever necessary and NOT RACE it.

I will also try to put a positive spin on my recap. Honestly, it felt harder than it should have.

Not necessarily the hot weather as I knew how that would affect me but my FEET.

My neuroma bared its ugly head for the first time in 5 years. Then a blister formed on the other foot. When things were going from bad to worse, the last 3 miles or so were running into crazy wind gusts.

Positives. I enjoyed the course, its views and it was for the most part flat. And I loved sharing the excitement before and after the race with Jenny!!!

We started running in town heading east toward the ocean. I recognized the landmarks from my visit the day before.

We ran over a bridge (or walked over as I did) for the only hill on the course.

We didn’t get to route 1A until around mile 3 where we viewed the sunrise.

At first we ran south and then turned around and headed north until around mile 9.5. At least the wind was at our backs though it really didn’t help.

As always, I felt more energetic during the beginning miles.

I stopped at each water stop as planned. They were at about every 1 1/2 miles which normally would be frequent enough but not when it is almost 80 degrees and humid.

Miles 4-6

We continued running north along the water.  I was desperately trying to focus on the beautiful views and not on how warm/sunny it was. Instead of a Gu, I took a salt chew. Blech.

I continued slogging along, running until a water stop.  But my running felt like a crawl. I used my watch to see what mile we were on. The mile markers were non-existent – most likely because there were two different courses. A Half and a Full Marathon.

Though I had downloaded the course map (above), I never looked at it.

So I was pleasantly surprised when we entered a park around mile 5 and looped around it for several miles. A welcome diversion from the ocean but SHADE! That was the good news. Stifling because well, no breeze.

Miles 7-10:

Eventually we exited the park (where I found out Jenny had gotten married 25 years ago) and turned left and ran north again.

I just continued putting one step in front of another. I was determined to finish even if it meant walking the rest of the race.

Around mile 8, we continued north but not directly on the water. It was a nice change in scenery.

The turn around which seemed like a marathon away finally arrived around mile 9.5.

Then a mile later or so, we returned onto 1A heading back south along the water.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many runners around me were doing run/walk intervals and how many runners were walking the whole course.

Around this time, I ate another salt chew (still blech) and started drinking more water and walking longer at the stops.

Miles 10-13.1:

By this point, I was struggling big time. Not sure why. The course was flat!

Too much activity on previous days? Not enough sleep?  The heat?  The humidity?

Whatever the reason, I knew that it would NOT prevent me from finishing.  I kept thinking that there were marathon runners completing the course TWICE!!!!!!  I certainly can do it once.

Then all of a sudden around mile 11, Jenny ran up beside me. She looked fresh as a daisy. I wish I could have joined her through finish line. But I was spent and told her to go ahead.

One last GU and I was able to re-energize and limp/ sprint toward the finish line.

I crossed around 2:40. 

A PW and even slower than 3 years ago  No matter what the time, but I was thrilled to have finished and have finally “run” this RACE again.

Post Race Activities:

I was immediately handed a bottle of water and the HEAVY finisher medal.

It took me a while to get up enough energy to move from sitting on that wall.  I first headed to get some chocolate milk and then sat again and chatted with a few runners (all happy but very very hot and sweaty.)

There were ice bath which were tempting but no

and many photos ops.

I even scanned my bib to see if I won an age group award. Nope (not today!)

Jenny had already finished and gone to her car to change. She was nice enough to bring my bag with my Oofos. Ahhh!

Then I decided that I needed to eat. Nothing really appealed to me though there was quite a variety but my stomach felt too queasy for hotdogs, tacos, burritos, refried beans…

I opted for an ice pop which was just what I needed and a banana.

Can’t believe I passed up muffins, bagels, and cookies plus free beer.

Eventually, we headed back to Jenny’s car in order to get back to Boca where I was staying with my college roommate for the next two nights.

After a long shower, I vegged out at the beach and soaked my aching feet in the ocean.

Additional Race Reflections:

The Good:

• A good number of booths and food/drink samples at the expo.
• Excellent communication about every aspect of the race before, during and after the race.
• Easy packet pick-up
• VIP parking available and city lots and public lots
• Sufficient number of port-a-potties at start/finish and along the course
• Water stops 1.2-1.5 miles apart
• Volunteers/police directing traffic.
• Pacers.
• 6.5 hour time limit for the race (since it included a marathon)
• Lots of crowd support,
• Awesome selection of post race food.
• Music (Band) in the finish area
• Custom Sand Castle,
• Lots of photographers on the course,
• Shuttle before and after, as needed.
• Sunny weather,
• Less congestion with different start and finish areas.
• Beautiful course. Water views throughout.
• Addition of the park loop in the course.
• Friendly staff, participants, volunteers, residents.
• A large variety of post race food (tacos, burritos, hot dogs, fruit, ice pops, cookies, beer, chocolate milk, cold brew, etc.)
• Ocean near the finish area (to go wading/swimming)
• Ice bath tubs
• Massages
• Age groups awards.
• Live tracking and immediate results
• Bag check.
• Multiple distances. 26.2, 13.1 and 6k (5k the day before)
• Jenny running this race.

The Bad:

• Early 5:50 am start time (but probably necessary due to warm temps)
• $50 for VIP parking (yet it sold out quickly)
• Cooler and less humid temps and cloud cover would have been nicer.
• Expensive photos.
• My foot pain!!!!

The Ugly:

• Nothing 🙂 or my pace.

Would I recommend this race?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

It was super well-organized. Special attention was paid to EVERY detail.  The course was scenic.

Final Stats:

I am so proud that my body can run even when the conditions are not optimal.

Yup, pain is temporary. I quickly forgot the next day how much it had hurt.

A far cry from my 2:06:52 PR in 2017 and 2:12:24 finish time in 2022.

This old broad will just have to be content finishing upright from now on, I guess. 🙂

Next Up:

Happy Running! Have you ever been to Fort Lauderdale? Ever run this race? Any big races planned for 2025? Please share.