Run Eat Drink Podcast
Welcome to the Run Eat Drink Podcast! This is the podcast where we embark on exciting adventures, combining our love for running, delicious food, and tasty beverages. Whether you’re an elite runner aiming for victory or just starting your “Couch to 5K” journey, we’ve got something for you. Let’s dive into the three pillars of our show:
Accomplish (Run): Accomplishment is deeply personal. Are you eyeing a race series win, planning your next “run-cation,” or hoping to set a personal record in your next half-marathon? Each week, we feature fantastic destination races from around the country. Discover scenic courses, learn about the charities they support, and get inspired to lace up those running shoes. And when we’re not on the road, we share interviews, training tips, and insights from our own running journey.
Explore (Eat): Running and traveling go hand in hand. As we explore new places, we also explore local cuisine. We seek out hidden gems—the eateries that locals rave about. Bold flavors, interesting dishes, and passion for food—that’s what we’re after. After each race, join us as we wander the city streets, discovering post-race refueling spots. Whether it’s a gastropub, a food truck, or a cozy café, we’ve got dining options to satisfy your cravings.
Indulge (Drink): When the running is done, it’s time to unwind. We raise our glasses to celebrate our accomplishments. Local breweries, coffee shops, speakeasies, and watering holes—these are our destinations. From craft beers to artisanal cocktails, we explore the beverage scene. Cheers to a well-deserved drink after crossing the finish line!
Join us on this journey of accomplishment, exploration, and indulgence. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a curious foodie, there’s a place for you at the Run Eat Drink Podcast.
Run Eat Drink Podcast
RED Episode 302 Part 2 of The Big Beach Marathon Weekend with Jessie and Eric
Jessie and Eric join the podcast to share part 2 of their experience at the Big Beach Marathon weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. They completed the challenge, one as a long-time runner and the other as a first-time half-marathoner.
Big Beach Marathon Weekend Links
Eric and Jessie referenced our pre-race weekend breakdown in RED Episode 293 with Nikki Popovich from Junction 311 Endurance Sports:https://www.runeatdrink.net/podcast/2024/9/9/red-episode-293-featuring-a-runcation-destination-the-big-beach-marathon-in-gulf-shores-alabama?rq=big%20beach
2026 Big Beach Marathon Weekend
https://www.bigbeachmarathon.com/
The Lodge at Gulf State Park
Doc’s Seafood and Steaks
https://www.docsseafoodandsteak.com\
Rotolos
Flora-Bama
Bad Ass Coffee
https://locations.badasscoffee.com/list/al/orange-beach/
Connect with Jessie
https://www.instagram.com/harleyruningal/
Connect with Eric
https://www.instagram.com/eric.million.223/
THAT’S A WRAP!
Thank you for listening! Because of your support, we are in our eighth year of the podcast! Don’t forget to follow us and tell us where to find you next on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Also, check out our store on the website and get some swag, thanks to Pure Creative Apparel. Thanks to www.PodcastMusic.com for providing the music for this episode, too!
THAT’S A WRAP!
Thank you for listening! Because of your support, we are in our eighth year of the podcast! Don’t forget to follow us and tell us where to find you next on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Also, check out our store on the website and get some swag, thanks to Pure Creative Apparel. Thanks to www.PodcastMusic.com for providing the music for this episode, too!
This is Miss Brooklyn. Hi, brooklyn, it's nice to meet you. My friend Amy, have you ever been on a podcast before? No, no, you are now. Do you want to say welcome Runcation Nation?
Speaker 3:Runcation.
Speaker 2:Nation.
Speaker 1:Welcome Runcation Nation. Welcome to the Run Eat Drink podcast. We feature destination races from across the country and, after the race, we take you on a tour of the best local food and beverage to celebrate. So, whether you are an elite runner or a back of the packer like us, you'll know the best places to accomplish, explore and indulge on your next runcation. Welcome to the Run Eat Drink podcast. We feature destination races from across the country and, after the race, we take you on a tour of the best local food and beverage to celebrate and beverage to celebrate. So, whether you are an elite runner or a back of the packer like us, you'll know the best places to accomplish, explore and indulge on your next runcation.
Speaker 1:Hey, welcome to episode 302 of the Runny Drink Podcast. I'm your host, amy flying without my co-host what can I say? He has a day job, he has an injury, he has important places to be, he's a man about town. Look for him to return and share fabulous food and beverage from his travels, coming to a Run Eat eat drink podcast feed soon, anywhere. You get your podcasts in the meantime. Welcome, welcome, welcome and a shout out to everybody who has been so patient with us over the last couple of months, while we had put the recordings on pause and we're back. What can we say except we are so happy to be back. I am looking forward to accomplishing, exploring and indulging with you all, especially after spending a couple of hours with Jesse and Eric, who are back to recap the Big Beach Marathon Weekend 2025. This is part two of their Runcation Recap. Let me rewind. Before race days what about carb loading options and food options that you partook, that you ate before the race?
Speaker 3:When we first got there, we went to Doc's Seafood and Steak in Orange Beach.
Speaker 2:Doc's Seafood and Steak.
Speaker 3:Yes, and I have the link in that which I'll send you, because I wanted to make sure I had all the good food places that we went to.
Speaker 1:We're all about it.
Speaker 3:I personally had, along with Susie and Dawn the three of us we had their Alabama crab cakes. They were the best crab cakes I have ever had. The meat was plentiful, the breading was limited, it had flavor and you get three really big ones. I ate two. I took one back to the hotel, which I ate the next day cold, and it was yummy.
Speaker 1:You had a refrigerator in your room. Yes, ma'am, we did Great. Did you have the crab cakes too, eric?
Speaker 2:I had fried clams, fish usbuckles and french fries.
Speaker 1:A lot of people will worry about having seafood before races, but it sounds like you all did not worry. No, it's always.
Speaker 3:Generally, my go-to meal for pre-race is grilled salmon with a sweet potato and then either broccoli or green beans.
Speaker 1:Carbs, lean protein, yeah, when I saw crab cakes I was like, oh, they're good if they're done right. And that crab to breading ratio.
Speaker 3:Oh, definitely way more crab little breading and chunks, big chunks of bread.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was delicious and right on the beach A little one-man band.
Speaker 3:There too, this guy was singing some great songs, so it was like fun, open atmosphere.
Speaker 1:Aw, did it have a patio and indoor-outdoor seating? Was it? Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3:But because it was a little nippy, I feel like Ford's Garage has those bay doors, oh, that you can roll up. I had the bay doors closed.
Speaker 1:It's 29 degrees. It wasn't that cold yet.
Speaker 3:We woke up to 29.
Speaker 1:It was probably in the 40s Still for Florida people yeah, probably in the 40s. Still for florida people yeah, so you had seafood pre-race. Was that before the 7k?
Speaker 3:yes, yeah, the first night it was friday night the 7k was on saturday and it was through the park the nice thing about the 7k is you walk out of the hotel and you walk over the little bridge that goes across the main road and and the start is right there.
Speaker 1:Like towards the beach, no, on the opposite side.
Speaker 3:Okay, it's on the opposite side, so you've got beach lodge parking lot and you just walk right over the thing and there's the start, so yeah. So it started in a little park and then part of it went through a small section of the state park. So you've got a little. You got a little, a tiny little preview of what you were going to see for the half but it wasn't just a shorter part of the half, but you got to see some different things than you did on Sunday.
Speaker 3:There's like a little playground type perk like a recreational facility for because I had it, cause I have a little theater, like a little.
Speaker 1:Outdoor amphitheater.
Speaker 3:A small section, because the emcee they had, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:She had.
Speaker 3:So much energy. She was awesome. I mean, she was fan freaking tastic. So there was a couple that had on blow up flamingo costumes For the 7K.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:It was cool. Cool, though, and they got their own special.
Speaker 3:They were so cute and I don't know if they have an award for best costume or if she just made it up. I have a feeling she just made it up, but they were so cute that she called them up at the stage. I'm giving you a $50 gift card or $25 gift card or whatever it was I don't remember the nomination to the hangout she goes, but you guys definitely have best costume.
Speaker 1:Now the hangout is the premier sponsor and partner for the race on the beach.
Speaker 3:Yes, okay, cool place Super cool.
Speaker 1:Place Super cool, very beachy, very laid back.
Speaker 2:She was funny.
Speaker 3:She's like okay, so I have these keys that somebody might need to drive their car and I have this sweater now. If you meant to throw it away, she goes. That's fine, we'll donate it.
Speaker 1:This is the race announcer yeah, the mc, oh cute.
Speaker 3:So on the day of marathon and half marathon, she's up on the table with her microphone all right, who's up here ready to run?
Speaker 1:and she was just like oh oh, that's always good to have that energy at the start of a race oh, so much energy. She definitely was pumping people up oh yeah, so did she pump you up for your first 7k absolutely she was just very high spirited, yeah 100.
Speaker 2:If you walked in feeling not so pumped, she was definitely going to add a little touch to you.
Speaker 3:You were sad when you left that place. You definitely had a problem.
Speaker 2:I didn't see one sad face. Leave that place.
Speaker 1:So that race started about 7 am oh and the longer races were earlier the next day.
Speaker 3:Yes, that was the one thing I didn't write down.
Speaker 1:It stands to reason, because it's not a long distance and nobody was worried about time. It was like a run. Were there strollers, were there dogs? What was the course like?
Speaker 2:Probably a little bit of everything, yeah.
Speaker 3:So for the 7K you went through the park and there were some boardwalk areas and some trail area but paved with the foliage For the half marathon and the marathon. You start out by the hangout behind the hangout beach side you start off, so you got that beautiful sunrise right before the start and then you run along the beach just for a little bit. You come out around the other side of the building and then you run down the main road. They got the main road blocked off.
Speaker 3:Down the main road for I don't know a mile and then you turn off and take the entrance into the state park. Now, when you're in the state park, there are pathways. You know what it looked like to me, amy? It looked like at some point there was a road through there. They chopped up the road in winding fashion to make a pathway, because you could see the yellow markings. So it was cool, it was all paved.
Speaker 1:It was nice and safe and you felt stable. It wasn't like a trail run where you had to worry about tree branches and roots.
Speaker 2:A trail run is definitely a totally different course.
Speaker 3:No, obviously you need to be careful. If you were like, say, your intervals and we put up our hand and we move over, make sure you don't you watch your footing on the edge, because every now and then there might be the itching because the way that the road was cut, okay, but you had open areas, like I said, where I say it was like prairie and maybe marshland, okay, and then the walks where you know you can see the water and you can see the water towers and it's just beautiful surroundings.
Speaker 1:So then you crossed the finish line for the 7k, and what was that after party like?
Speaker 3:that was really just a matter of everybody gathering so you finished, you had the emcee making jokes and announcing people and music and then she went through. You had your general snacks that you would do after a run the oranges and and electrolytes and some cereal bars and such. And then they went through the awards and basically you had your drink tickets that you had on your bib for your two beers. Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:You save the tickets.
Speaker 1:You don't get them.
Speaker 3:You have to come back to the marathon and the half marathon, and that's when you can reveal your tickets.
Speaker 2:We got eight beers on Sunday that we took with us.
Speaker 1:Each participant gets two beers on Sunday for the 7K and two beers for either the half or the full.
Speaker 3:If you've got a bid for whatever race you run, there are two tickets. Each Got it. We had eight.
Speaker 2:We did not drink them all at once.
Speaker 1:That's good. We gifted two to you Because you have to After you have a race. Jeff says get some good carbs and good protein and not necessarily take all the carbs in liquid form. I would imagine his recommendation would be because he's against puking our coach and and after you run, if you haven't eaten anything do you eat anything before a race, when you all run? I do I.
Speaker 3:I have to have something. He doesn't. I need my English muffin with peanut butter and honey, or I need a good, solid protein bar. I need a carb. I need my banana and I need a bread of some sort, whether that be a half a bagel or oatmeal. I like the Kodiak. I have to have peanut butter crackers. I have to have some carbs, with a little bit of sweet, a little bit of protein I don't. Before the race the one thing that he's eaten is the nature valley protein with the caramel on the bottom.
Speaker 1:He'll eat one of those I will eat a banana, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2:No, you, okay, yeah you're good, she's making sure okay, so we've talked about the 7K and Saturday.
Speaker 1:What medal did you get for the 7K?
Speaker 3:So the 7K, because they have their little zoo area. It's cool.
Speaker 1:Because it was like a safari. So everybody who is watching the video out in patron land can see that it's like the big beach safari because that's what they branded the race. And you can see all the different colors like yellow and orange and brown.
Speaker 3:There's a rhinoceros, a lion, an elephant, they actually use sand to make the ground. Where's the sand? Like in the bottom?
Speaker 1:Oh look.
Speaker 2:He's dead.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:You did a really nice job.
Speaker 3:I have a 7K shirt.
Speaker 1:Oh, what's the shirt like yes, that you picked up at the expo? Oh, look at this, it's yellow, and then it's got all of the safari theme and it's got big beach.
Speaker 3:And then on the bottom, there's your beach.
Speaker 1:Oh, and the water lake, and you have wildlife on the back. The back is actually utilized too. It's the sponsors and it's the art.
Speaker 3:It's on top because they have the zoo See the Alabama Gulf Coast.
Speaker 1:why it's safari themed and did you find that they were true to size for people who are signing up and having to pick their sizes when they register?
Speaker 3:Yes, because this one is a medium.
Speaker 1:And that's what you normally do.
Speaker 3:Yes, it was perfect and I like the neckline. It's a V. It's not like a true V, but it's a V, so it's comfortable.
Speaker 1:For the women's, and it's a short sleeve for anybody who's listening and his the men's is typical round, yeah like just the round neck, not the v, and short sleeves. Same design, yeah and it's soft it is soft.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very breathable.
Speaker 3:So comfy, yeah, and breathable.
Speaker 1:Okay, it looks awesome. And then the men's sizes. It fit pretty well. True to size for you.
Speaker 2:I wear large and, yeah, it fit very well.
Speaker 1:So let me then take you chronologically to the pre-race meal. So for the half. Where did you go the night before?
Speaker 3:So for the half, where did you go the night before? But then after the 7K we all rested a little bit, got our showers and we decided to go to the Floribama restaurant. So of course it's at the Florida-Alabama line. Back in the day it was just a package store, and now they've got the package store and gift shop area and then they've got a separate store and gift shop area and then they've got a separate bar and grill area. It's just fun.
Speaker 3:we ate a little bit later and we ate big kind of full definitely indulged heavily so we had indulge very on brand when we went there, I got the Cajun shrimp cowboy.
Speaker 1:Carbs and protein in the form of a sandwich.
Speaker 3:Yes, with french fries.
Speaker 1:Also.
Speaker 3:Then we had some fun drinks.
Speaker 1:Did you have a bushwhacker? You talked about that being a thing in the area and I was like I had a bushwhacker down in Key West oh okay. So you were like yeah, I'm looking for the bourbon drink, you're looking for the. What I was looking for bourbon Amy. Oh, you were looking for bourbon, because you all have recently taken up the hobby of being bourbon connoisseurs.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, his lunch was a lot.
Speaker 1:Was it good, I was looking at a burger. So, it wasn't your typical spaghetti carb loading, pre-race kind of dinner.
Speaker 3:Okay, we did that later because we did it at the hotel.
Speaker 1:Oh, you ate at the hotel.
Speaker 3:Yeah, all right. No, it was a pizza place, it was so so something was delivered to you.
Speaker 1:At the hotel, yeah All right. So here, well, oh, tell us more, okay, because sometimes you want to get to bed early, and so eating dinner at the hotel can be good.
Speaker 3:So yeah, so JoJo was our Uber.
Speaker 2:She was our Uber Eats that night. She was our Uber.
Speaker 3:Eats.
Speaker 1:Did you tip her? Well, is what we want to know.
Speaker 3:Yes, we did Okay. Good, she volunteered and we're like okay Because we needed to tip her in Atlanta.
Speaker 1:She was our driver for all things in Atlanta.
Speaker 3:She's great. So in Floribamba's we had the hickory smoked tuna dip Delicious Because it had a nice amount of smoke to it Love smoked fish dip. It was really yummy and the drink he had his Bloody Mary. I like Bloody.
Speaker 2:Marys, the best one is Sundae's.
Speaker 1:Oh, shout out to Colin and Annie.
Speaker 2:Sundae's Bloody's.
Speaker 3:They are the best Hands down the best Spicy only Spicy is the only way to go for you, Eric, so when the girls were talking about the Bloody Marys, dawn said let me tell you something is the only way to go for you, eric. So when the girls were talking about the bloody marys I don't like v8 and I'm not a fan of bloody marys I have fallen in love, calling an amy dawkins yes they're spicy, however. They blend that freaking jar of goodness right flavor profile is just out of this world they're fabulous flavor there and the spice like you don't need.
Speaker 3:They're like oh, what did you add to it? Nothing, vodka that's it.
Speaker 1:That's all you need, because it's a mix. It doesn't come with that. You add it and then it's a party oh, it is so freaking good, it's a party.
Speaker 3:You had the floribamas and and and their signature bloody mary was good since sundays but it was good. But I had the big easy when the big easy was buffalo trace, bourbon southern comfort, passion, fruit syrup, orange juice, lemon juice and a splash of grenadine citrusy sweet smoky hold back on the sweet like sweet, but I wanted to taste the profile, so the syrup was probably half of what they normally put.
Speaker 1:And it was nicely balanced. What was this restaurant called Floral Bama?
Speaker 3:F-L-O-R-A.
Speaker 1:hyphen Bama, Because you're in the Florida Alabama line and it sounds like they customized the drink to your liking.
Speaker 3:they did because I told him I wasn't crazy about the sweets. I said we could just back off on the syrup a little bit. I said I want the bourbon but but I wanted to try your specialty. So I don't want to take away any of the elements, but just if you could back off the sweet a little bit.
Speaker 3:For me, nice, our server was just fun she was really funer girl and just fun Good, because it looked like all of them, like they all had the old school waitress check pads. They all had the personalized like little notebooks, like hers was like blingy.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's like an oh, have y'all seen office space? Oh, there's a restaurant in there where it's all a riff on TGI Fridays. How much flair can you have? It's like how many buttons and things can you have? If you know about Office Space in the audience, you can say yes, amy, I know what you're talking about. It sounds like you had an amazing pre-race meal there. Was it too far from the hotel and the race location?
Speaker 3:Five miles.
Speaker 2:We could have run there.
Speaker 1:A good pre-race run. Warm up the legs. He is a newbie. He's the kind of newbie that's going to do a warm-up run before the 13 miles.
Speaker 3:When you come on, there's this hook before. You get down like what I call the. You get down like what I call like the strip.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And it's on the strip.
Speaker 3:Okay, it's not that far at all, so it's good it's five minutes. It wasn't that far at all and it was fun. The atmosphere was fun, the food was great, we all had different things and the company was good. And JoJo and Susie or Dawn took dessert back to the hotel. What?
Speaker 1:kind of dessert. Do you remember Cheesecake? Yeah, ooh, that's good.
Speaker 2:JoJo is definitely about the cheesecake.
Speaker 3:Dawn got a little miffed because her honey might have dabbled into her cheesecake a bit.
Speaker 1:Oh, sharing is caring.
Speaker 2:Dawn, it's a cool place though, too. Yeah, Anybody and everybody that has probably ever been to that establishment has also signed the building.
Speaker 1:Signed the building Inside and out Like with a Sharpie on the wall.
Speaker 2:Sharpie pen, whatever you may have on your hands or your person.
Speaker 1:Really the walls are fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the walls are.
Speaker 1:So you all signed the wall somewhere?
Speaker 2:No, we didn't.
Speaker 3:We were too busy just talking and cackling and having a grand old time. And then finally I'm like, oh, I guess we ought to go.
Speaker 1:Oh. So it was one of those meals where you had great food, great beverages, great service and made memories caught up with each other and relaxed.
Speaker 3:So in the part two of the basket that I dropped off a little sticker that is in between that is a bloody mary sticker from floribama.
Speaker 1:Yes, there we go for people who are watching, for our patrons and supporters of the show. Thank you for bringing that back. I figured it was the drink.
Speaker 3:I was looking at all their stickers and I'm like oh, this is a drink one, so we bring that one.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 3:We all have a Sunday sticker, but we had to have a Flo Bama sticker.
Speaker 1:Of course, what we do with all those stickers is we put them on our luggage, so they go with us on all our runcations.
Speaker 3:Mine's on my cooler.
Speaker 1:See, it's perfect.
Speaker 3:When we got back to the hotel Friday, me, Dawn and Eric went to the expo to get our packets. The girls couldn't get theirs until Saturday. They couldn't no, because they got there too late, or no, but I think also that they just they had the 7K. It was a 7K pickup, only 7K, and a challenge.
Speaker 1:Oh, so they did that to manage the traffic and manage the crowds?
Speaker 3:Yes, I see.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's fair and the challenge.
Speaker 3:Oh, so they did that to manage the traffic and manage the crowds. Yes, I see. Okay, that's fair. Saturday afternoon we went back and did the expo again, and that's when the vendor was there. So the vendor wasn't there the first night. They just had the backdrop and the shark or the dolphin or whatever, but the vendor got there Friday late, so that Saturday was fully open for everybody that came because a lot of people were there for the half marathon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or the marathon yeah.
Speaker 3:We went back and did that with them and when we all started we were all, we're not really hungry to go to a restaurant, we are watching our budget a little bit. So they were like what's a pizza place? We saw two, three pizza places on the way and we picked. It was rotellos, which I have to link thing. Okay, tell us r-o-t-o-l-o-s. It was not far from the lodge either and we all gave our we all text our orders to jojo and zelda money and our u Eats girl picked it up.
Speaker 1:She is the planner, organizer and the one who executes all plans. Jojo, you're amazing.
Speaker 3:She was the mother hen of the weekend.
Speaker 1:She took care of everybody.
Speaker 3:She was our mother hen. When you walk into the lodge there's a little coffee shop area. They've got this long wooden table. We we commandeered the table. I had one of their specialty pizzas which had like career cheese and cranberries and arugula and caramelized onions and it was delicious. Jojo and suzy went for the spaghetti and the meatballs. That was their traditional carb loading.
Speaker 1:They're probably like let's not do anything new before vig rates.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to remember what dawn had. We had some crazy calzone. It was a jalapeno popper cup.
Speaker 2:Oh it was good probably like ricotta cream oh, it was ricotta.
Speaker 3:And because I told him like now, honey, this is your first half marathon. I don't know because we do spice all the like. I don't know that you want to do too much spice. It actually was done nicely.
Speaker 2:It wasn't overbearing it was flavored yeah.
Speaker 1:You could still taste the cheese and the bread, and it wasn't just your mouth on fire.
Speaker 3:No, and he was fine, cause we were worried, but it was delicious.
Speaker 2:We always share.
Speaker 3:So that's what we did before the race. So that's good and a nice calm atmosphere in the lodge where we just hung out. And then I got up from the table the little barista was right there and I got my little fun little coffee drink oh, that's so great.
Speaker 1:A lot of carb loading and camaraderie.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we were down there for a long time. You're talking collectively and then you're side conversationing, and then you're switching partners with conversations across.
Speaker 1:Did you go to bed early or late?
Speaker 3:No, yeah, I mean average. I wouldn't say it was early, but I wouldn't say it was late.
Speaker 1:But you didn't have a Disney-esque kind of wake up. It wasn't like a 3 am kind of wake up because you were close to the start and hangouts what? Two miles down the road so did you end up walking there? Were there shuttles? When you got up in the morning, what was that like for the big race day?
Speaker 3:so they had shuttles that they had announced and you, can you book the shuttle to go? Oh you book it. They said, book it. But I think people walked up and just but you all actually booked.
Speaker 1:It, though is what I hear eric saying what was that? I hear you saying that we did what we needed to do and we booked the shuttle.
Speaker 3:Actually, no, because I've been before and I knew where they were gonna drop off and oh you drove, we were gonna have to boogie because we had a 10-hour drive home, because we left right after Actually, no, because I'd been before and I knew where they were going to drop off. Oh, you drove, we were going to have to boogie because we had a 10 hour drive home because we left right after the race, that's right A little bit earlier than the girls and got a prime parking spot.
Speaker 3:Like the last two years, we wiggled our way in Maybe what we shouldn't have been and got a parking spot, but this year they had parking across the street from the hangout. That was free and because we got there super early. We literally were like the third car into the parking lot. I liked that they opened up that area because it made it very convenient for those that did want to drive.
Speaker 1:Your tip is go early If you are driving.
Speaker 2:It didn't take long. Yeah, it started filling up fast.
Speaker 1:And what time did you arrive at the parking lot?
Speaker 3:just to give people a frame of reference 6 30 6, 30 I was up at five I need to get motivated, get moving. Have my coffee he doesn't drink coffee. He makes me coffee I don't drink coffee jojo doesn't drink coffee either.
Speaker 1:Do you do tea? What do you do in the morning then? Do you do tea? What do you do in the morning then? Energy drink and energy drink. Okay, fair enough to each his or her own, correct? Yes? So you got up around 5, 5, 30, got moving, got your beverage of choice because it's what everybody works don't do anything new on race day and. And then you parked. Did the girls take the shuttle? They did and you all had no problem finding each other and heading to the start.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, no, the hangout is just right there. It's not like Disney, where you're trying through the plethora of people to find anybody. We were inside. We text each other. We're like we're inside, we're at a table. They're either in the hangout or they are on the beat at that amazing sunrise.
Speaker 1:Oh that's so good.
Speaker 3:The backdrop for the beginning of the race is just beautiful. We got some cute pictures.
Speaker 1:So you all found each other. You got some great pictures. At the start I'm sure there was a lot of were you excited for your first race there.
Speaker 2:I was excited and she's always you nervous at all. No, I don't get nervous.
Speaker 1:More excitement than anything else.
Speaker 2:I definitely get excited because it was a longer race and the longest run I've ever done. That much more excited. Plus I was doing a challenge before doing the run plus half marathon that was exciting. Plus I get was doing a challenge before doing the run Plus half marathon. That was exciting.
Speaker 3:Plus I get to be with my honey on the beach you get to meet some of my amazing friends.
Speaker 2:Meeting the girls was definitely a pleasure.
Speaker 3:He's talked to them on the phone because when we were at Gasparilla, when I finished the race, I had him on speakerphone. Jojo, Susie and Darlene and Dawn all had heard his voice from Gasparilla, so this was neat for them to get to meet Eric.
Speaker 1:You're the one putting the smile on her face now. You all were there together, and how was it lining up at the start? Did you have you line up by pace, or what was the situation there?
Speaker 3:General running etiquette. If you're fast, go to the front. If you're a little slower, middle to the back of where you feel comfortable, race etiquette front. If you're a little slower, middle to the back where you feel comfortable. It's race etiquette.
Speaker 1:Everybody is so polite and so easy and there were pacers and they were easily spotted in the crowd.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, bright fluorescent yellow shirts, so you couldn't miss them.
Speaker 1:I remember Nikki talking about that on the other episode. What was the start like for you all? You were maybe mid to the back of the. Is that where you?
Speaker 3:yeah, essentially I wasn't sure how he wanted to be and we wanted to stick with the girls in the beginning because we wanted to run that first little bit until we got into the park together so you all stayed together for the first.
Speaker 1:What mile or two? Yeah, I want to say it was about a mile, and how was that all together?
Speaker 3:oh, it was so much fun. I got some great little photos of everybody laughing. I was in front of them, I was in the middle of them. We were just cutting up.
Speaker 1:And, from what I understand, susie had Darlene's bib.
Speaker 3:She did so. She had emailed the race director and explained everything and asked if she could have her bib and if she could pick it up. And she did she and asked if she could have her bib and if she could pick it up, and she did.
Speaker 1:She wrote on the bib and she had it on pinned on her back. So darlene was with you all yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So we took pictures right in the beginning of the race and then, when we finished, we got our bloody marys, which was darlene's favorite post race drink, and we got a picture of the Bloody Marys next to her bib, with the 50 States logo on the back of Susie's tank top.
Speaker 2:Oh, fantastic, and the director that took the call was right behind us in the line while we were taking the pictures of the bib with the Bloody Marys.
Speaker 3:She's like oh, so you're Susie. Yeah, so we got to meet them, which was really nice. And her husband oh, oh my god, what a card.
Speaker 1:He was so funny oh, it was so great five thousand plus people at that race.
Speaker 3:It was a high number. It was a high number and I should have written that down. I'm sorry no, no.
Speaker 1:If people go back and listen to that episode with nikki, they'll know hey, remember that name, I took your call, or? Your email, that's so great.
Speaker 2:And then they had a similar experience of the same thing where they had somebody who had passed and they wore their bid. So that director had the same thing happen the close friend of hers had passed and she was able to run with that person's bid, so she had no problem giving that, you know.
Speaker 1:It's so nice when somebody understands and has that empathy and it's I'm telling you, it's the running community. Such compassion and just informal. Yeah, sweet people.
Speaker 3:Sharing tips and just.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all around, yeah, so you all stayed together for the first part of the race.
Speaker 3:The first mile until we turned off to go into the park.
Speaker 1:And so it was on the road and then you turned off into the park after a couple of miles, about a mile, about a mile, and that was the terrain that the 7K shared with the half. Is that right? No, it was a different portion.
Speaker 3:Because you got to remember, the 7K started right across the street from the lodge. We're a couple of miles down the lodge at the hangout on the beach. So we were on the road. Police had marked it off until we turned into where the state park there was an interest in the state park.
Speaker 1:So it was a different part of the park?
Speaker 2:Yes, it was a tail end park, where we actually came up to a start.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you got into the park that way, and how long were you in the park?
Speaker 3:The 7K. No for the half.
Speaker 1:The whole race yeah.
Speaker 2:It was the remainder of the. It was the remainder of the race.
Speaker 1:The remainder of the race yeah, so 12 miles. So how was it nice shady or sunny shady?
Speaker 3:yes, all the above correct because you had foliage over you in some parts and in some parts where you were on the boardwalk it was fully open, so you had full elements and sun, but it was beautiful because you had the shade when you needed it. You had the sun when you wanted to get warmed up a little bit. There was one little like sidewalk, but it wasn't sidewalk, it was asphalt. When I say sidewalk, I meant like width wise, alongside a street that you're on for just a short period of time how are the water and nutrition stops?
Speaker 3:there was only.
Speaker 1:I think you saw three, but we didn't use it. You carried your stuff.
Speaker 3:Right, and that's probably why I don't remember exactly where they were, because one of them was a mile 10.
Speaker 2:Okay, it was five, and the last one was just before we exited that RV park.
Speaker 3:There is one area where you come off the boardwalk and it goes into this RV camping area. So the RVs are in the little cul-de-sac areas. They're drinking their coffee.
Speaker 2:They're cheering us on.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's good Like at the Donna yeah.
Speaker 2:Hey, we get to see people running.
Speaker 3:It's just water and Gatorade electrolyte kind of thing. On the website there are maps that they show exactly for which race where water stops are, and for the marathon if it's a medic or whatever. So there are very nice maps out there that tell you exactly where all those stops are. I carry everything with me detailed.
Speaker 1:I understand that different people have different routines for races and you develop it over.
Speaker 3:I imagine that, since you all were together that eric, your routine for this race mimicked what jesse did yeah, in terms of carrying on our first training run, when I had nutrition, I would have half and then share half with him so he could see how it felt and what his body felt like. So for the half marathon I was like, okay. So general rule of thumb is either every 30 minutes or every three miles, depending on how your body is. You got to listen to your body. I says. One thing that I've learned is you can't get it back, can't play catch up, you can't catch up, and so you don't want to get in that situation. I mapped it out. For every three miles I said here are your packets. You take them when you feel you need them. Sure, you only need two. You know, maybe you only need one.
Speaker 2:Because I know my body and it will speak.
Speaker 1:They do Our bodies talk to us?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was taking mine before his.
Speaker 2:I was probably about every three miles.
Speaker 1:So you all pretty well had timed out your nutrition, your hydration, and you were pretty much responsible for that. But if you want to listen to what Nikki had to say about the water and nutrition on the course, if you want to, if you're the kind of person that like, yeah, I'm just going to go out and I'm not going to carry anything with me and I'm just going to rely on the water steps, then you'll know what to expect there.
Speaker 3:But yeah, you described that very well and it is mapped out very well. From when I did my marathon, I was very much a part of where are they? Because I I want I carry my water with me, because I want to drink my water when I want it. It was important for me during the marathon because I knew when it was coming. I'd unscrew my cap so when I got there I would pour in my bottle so I could keep going and then, when I wanted to, so for longer race.
Speaker 3:For me that's really important for a half marathon and under. I don't pay that much attention to it because I'm self-supporting. There's a lot of elite runners and other runners that don't want to carry. That information is helpful and she was very informative. In the podcast she did with you it's all written out, and what they post on the website too, they're very thorough.
Speaker 1:Big Beach is a race that is well planned, executed and you could definitely run for a PR. Or if you're trying to run for a proof of time for a different race, like one of the bigger races, or trying to get a proof of time for a corral placement in other races, it might be a good opportunity, would you say. That's true.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would, because whether you're in the front or you're in the middle of the pack, once you start out, then you start thinning a little bit. There's plenty of room to then pick up your pace. Every race there's a lot going on when you first start, then it starts spreading out. People settle into their groove and with their groups and you felt the paths are wide enough that you can pass and go how you wish, how you can. Okay, certain areas. There's only certain areas that are narrow.
Speaker 1:Where you have congestion.
Speaker 3:No, where you're actually running through, there's a couple areas that are a little narrow, a couple of people, but they're short, okay, so you wanted to gain or pick off people. That person, they're in a pink tank. That's my goal to catch that person or stay with them Space to do that. Good, you set a goal, you can absolutely accomplish it.
Speaker 1:So let me ask you about the finish and what that was like for you. You reached your goal of a half marathon, Eric. What was going through your mind as you were finishing?
Speaker 2:Can't believe I actually did it.
Speaker 1:You had doubts.
Speaker 2:No, I'm not really doubting myself. I always told myself I could do it. But then to actually do it and going across the finish line, yeah, no, I've done it, it's been accomplished, not being an avid runner for only a year, five days and 110k you come off the main road, so out of the park, and you go back over one of them walking bridges like a little overpass, but it's a walking bridge.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, okay, so that incline at the end you're like oh good God, is it going to do me in? You get over the bridge and it lets you off, literally. When you're coming off that last bridge, the lodge is right here, great. So then you're running down to the hangout. They've blocked off part of the road. You're on the road, the sidewalk, wherever you want to be, down to the hangout. Just before the hangout you're veering around the beach boardwalk.
Speaker 3:you're around that corner and you start hearing everybody's chain and you hear just that crowd and they're yelling your name and your number and everything and that's when you get that little boost and they got the most perfect picture of us crossing the finish line. It was just absolutely amazing and you cross the finish line and they're giving you your medal and then they're like you've got the challenge because your bibs are different. Just walk over to the table and she gives you the little hanging thing that goes in the bottom of your medal.
Speaker 1:Oh, just show us, yeah, show us so we can describe it, yeah.
Speaker 3:You're going to have to tell me about the, so here's the top part.
Speaker 1:Okay, so it says 10.
Speaker 3:Because, this year was the 10th year anniversary of Big Beach.
Speaker 1:So it's 10 and it's got stained glass and palm trees and it says the Big Beach Half Marathon and it's gorgeous.
Speaker 3:It's really pretty and it's bigger than my previous medals, but it is really. And again, it has the sand around it and, like you said, it's got the little stained glass in it, so it's pretty in the sun, and then the dolphin challenge hangs off the bottom of it and it's got the dolphin.
Speaker 1:So you have the extra metal that attaches to your half marathon metal.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then the 7K. It could all hang together. Look at this trio of metals here. Who wouldn't want to go for that? And what is the half marathon Now? What were you grabbing there to show us?
Speaker 3:So this was 2022's metal Stained glass.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can see. Yeah, that's gorgeous.
Speaker 3:And then this was 2023. Again, it's got the sand and a little bit of the stained.
Speaker 1:Ah so.
Speaker 3:It was a 10-year anniversary, so they went big on the medals.
Speaker 1:Oh it was gorgeous. I love that.
Speaker 3:But all three medals for all three years that I went are beautiful.
Speaker 1:The beautiful, the stained glass, the sand elements those are awesome. The fact that the challenge medal connects to your bigger race medal I thought that was really cool, super cool.
Speaker 3:See on the bottom of this one.
Speaker 1:You have to do the challenge. You can't leave those rings absent anymore. Now I know why. I know what I need to do.
Speaker 2:Turn to a fourth year and we'll do the shark challenge. Ooh.
Speaker 1:Did you hear him Wait a minute now? Did you hear him Wait a minute now, did you hear?
Speaker 2:him commit.
Speaker 1:Did you, Eric? I have it on recording. Anyway, let's talk about the shirt, Jess.
Speaker 3:It's beautiful. I love the fact that I got the shoe print Like if you're stepping in the sand.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's so cool.
Speaker 3:And then it's got the beautiful sky, blue colors and then the yellow the yellow, the sun and sand palm trees, the sun, and then the same. It wraps around the back just as the but the palm trees, and that it's very artsy.
Speaker 1:It reminds me of the art fest in fort myers. Yeah, it reminds me of the art fest 5k and also the key west ones that are so colorful in a beach town-esque type way.
Speaker 3:It's pure to size and so soft.
Speaker 1:Long sleeve. This was long sleeve, whereas the others were short.
Speaker 3:And the reason why they said they do that is so that you feel like you're not getting the same shirt if you're doing multiple races during the week, the weekend, so if you're doing two races, they wanted to give you two different types, sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you got one for the half and one for the 7k. Did you all get a bonus shirt like a challenge shirt, or no?
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:No, what was the medal? The 2022s For the half marathon and marathon, which is all yellow, very mimicky of the metal, with the sun and the ocean.
Speaker 3:And then 2023.
Speaker 1:Oh, look at this 2023. What is that? Like a green, like a seafoam green.
Speaker 3:In itself, it's the lighting. It's actually like a grayish blue.
Speaker 1:Oh, like a grayish blue, and then the artwork is that Like a big wave coming up, like an ocean color blue, and then big beach in yellow, nice.
Speaker 3:It's nice that each year the shirts mimic part of the pattern of the medal.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's how they're connected. That's great. Did you all wear your medals to your post-race meal celebration?
Speaker 3:Let's talk about that. In previous years we finished the race and we got a very nice boxed meal that had a gourmet sandwich, a gourmet cookie and some chips, and then we got a bowl of hot seafood. Gumbo, oh gumbo. It was delicious.
Speaker 1:This was all provided at the race finish.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:In the past years.
Speaker 3:This year it was different. I don't know what they did, but this year they had a hot plate, so they had pasta.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:Whether you wanted red or white.
Speaker 2:Sauce.
Speaker 3:Pasta with red sauce or Alfredo sauce. Alfredo.
Speaker 2:You could have chicken.
Speaker 3:So you had a meat sauce with your noodles, or you had the Alfredo sauce with the chicken, and then it was a cookie, a breadstick A hot breadstick and then a grandma's cookie, like two in a pack.
Speaker 3:And then, of course, because we had our two beer tickets from the 7K and our two tickets, but we didn't open any of the beers because we I had eric, we because we finished first and I sent him up to the bar to get the bloody marys so that when don and jojo and suzy finished we had our bloody marys to toast. Darlene and I took a picture of the bloody mary with the metal out by the beach, but when they came through, so we were drinking those and then I brought so I have one of those bags that that folds up. I knew we were getting all the beer.
Speaker 1:So wait a minute.
Speaker 3:So the beer it wasn't from the tap, it was in can't and they didn't open it smart beneficial for us because most races they'll open it up and you got to drink it there. You don't want to take it off property. They didn't open up any of our cans, so we got three.
Speaker 3:They had four different kinds and we ended up with three because they ran out we put them all in my little bag that I had stuffed in my pocket and put them in the car and the cooler so that we could consume them when we got home. I believe I put in your basket the carnival one and the pineapple wheat.
Speaker 2:And the pineapple is delicious.
Speaker 1:The pineapple is good too. They're both very delicious. Okay, it's the Lysmack IPA. That's the pineapple one.
Speaker 3:Oh no, I take that back. It was Little Shack. I'm sorry I didn't give her a pineapple one. No, pineapple.
Speaker 1:Now I'm upset, no.
Speaker 3:I'm kidding, I'm upset. No, I'm kidding.
Speaker 1:I'm kidding, I'm totally kidding. So this is the Little Smack IPA You're trying to convert me.
Speaker 3:We're open to that, so it's fine. The other one was geared towards Mardi Gras that was coming up, carnival Cake Ale, and that one was delicious, also Wait it's wrong yeah. There you go. You've got the King Cake on the front, fat, so wait, it's wrong.
Speaker 1:yeah, there you go you got the king cake on the front that tuesday was coming up.
Speaker 3:Yay, so those are two of the beers that we got at the race.
Speaker 1:Thank you for bringing them back. I'm not gonna open them until dana gets home from his work trip, which is why he couldn't be a part of our runcation recap. But how did you enjoy the post-race party? It was good.
Speaker 3:We were a little sad that we had to right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Because, knowing that also we had the late checkout that we might've stretched just a little bit.
Speaker 1:Hilton is very good about that, though.
Speaker 3:What's nice, too, about Hilton is they text you. That was your stay, so I got the text about the checkout. I'm like we literally just finished the race. We're gonna get there as quickly as we can. They were like let us know when you're walking out. I text them when we were walking out to load the stuff up in the car. So they were very accommodatable, although they might have wanted us out a little bit earlier.
Speaker 1:But oh, it's all they have to. I know they have to get the room, they have to turn over the rooms and get them clean and ready, and that's but and I understand that they're very accommodating like they're good
Speaker 2:it was good, so you know.
Speaker 3:So, yes, so post meal was great with and the camaraderie was great. We did a little pictures with darlene and everything. The way they had it set up, they had on a line flowed very fluidly. They had multiple areas where you could get the beer. That was very well planned out there. The hangout is a super cool hangout. It's super, super cool. I had a band playing like cool stuff out that cool artwork. It just was just really I would love to be like be there and been able to hang out like more and maybe next year we can plan that we just have literally hang out more is that the thing I can't do, I don't know I can't do the sim surfs up surfs up, dude surf surfs up, wait, okay, no, it's super super cool place.
Speaker 3:If live there, I could totally see where you could just hang out and just have a blast. Yeah, it's cool.
Speaker 1:I love that you described so well the laid back atmosphere. It doesn't sound like there was any pressure on the course. Sounds like it was well manned, organized and very secure and safe. It sounds like the packet pickup was a breeze the party, the shirts, the medals. It sounds like you would recommend doing it. Obviously, you've done it multiple times, eric. Would you do it again?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, speaking of racing again. What's next on the horizon for this Runcation Nation Cup? We have the Cape Coral Donut Dash coming up at the end of March. Yes, I sent you the link.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:It'd be really nice if you and Dana could maybe be able to do a local event. I know your schedules are tight.
Speaker 1:He's still recovering from his injury, but I'll see if I can get him to come out and cheer us on That'd be awesome, and it does benefit the Cape Coral Police Department, so that's where you can get them. I think it was. What did you say? That was what I read is the Police Athletic League? Yes, ma'am, and their chief, Tony Sizemore, is just an advocate for the Police Athletic League and what it does for the community, that's a great local race.
Speaker 3:It's something that I support. That's where I reside. Good cause, and the donuts are going to be protein packed believe it or not.
Speaker 1:Donuts, on course, donuts after and with protein. We'll see how many of Dana's brethren in blue will partake.
Speaker 3:Brooklyn is going to come with us and do that race with us also.
Speaker 2:Yay.
Speaker 3:I have my donut compression socks ready.
Speaker 1:I saw pictures Donut compression socks. I believe Dana might have donut socks to cheer us on, but I will consult with him.
Speaker 3:The other thing we have. I'm old school.
Speaker 1:You have a list. You have a written list. I have a calendar that I write on A written calendar. You got to have it, you got to have it. I'm old school, you got to have it, so you're organized. Everybody is different, like with training plans and whatnot.
Speaker 3:March we have the Donut Dash and then in April my favorite race events, which is another outfit that I just love their races.
Speaker 1:That's the name of the organization.
Speaker 3:My favorite race events. The packet pickup is a breeze. Everything is in a nice closed envelope or a nice closed bag with your name on it.
Speaker 1:You're in, you're out and fun.
Speaker 3:They just have the energy in all of their races. So much fun. I have not done one of theirs in Bradenton yet. They have a half marathon called Running for the Fishes.
Speaker 1:If you're going to be in Bradenton. If you haven't been to Motorworks Brewing, you should definitely visit. Just a tip for the Bradenton area Other than that we really don't look at a whole lot.
Speaker 3:No, to be honest with you, there's probably a couple little local 5Ks here and there that we'll jump on.
Speaker 1:I hear things happening in the future August.
Speaker 3:August is my Ridge of Gods and it's also a 10 year anniversary. It's up in Cascade.
Speaker 1:Oregon.
Speaker 3:Joe and Susie did that race and I was supposed to go. It was my birth Cause. Every birthday I do something out of my comfort zone, hence the triathlon one year and due to some personal things you couldn't go just like me with big beach.
Speaker 1:I'm a firm believer everything happens for a reason.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I certain race directors and events. You can defer some, you can't some right there's discretion. So I sought out. The director wrote a nice letter, explained my situation. They allowed me to defer and gave me a credit code. Once that race was over and they posted the new race, I could sign up for it again with the credit code. Then I was registered for this yeah so.
Speaker 3:But again, everything happens for a reason. It's now going to be an anniversary race. When there's an anniversary race, when there's an anniversary race, it's usually a little more grander, a little more.
Speaker 1:They're trying to pull out all the stops.
Speaker 2:Make it great. When she first signed up for that, I wasn't running at that point.
Speaker 3:He's going to go with me. It'll be our first flight out of town vacation. And we decided that race. Also, we're going to make it a scenic race. It's not going to be a crazy because you run over this iconic steel bridge. That it's just gorgeous. If you google the bridge of god, the half marathon race, the scenery pictures are just absolutely gorgeous. Okay, but my understanding from the girls in the middle of the race. There's some steps. You have to conquer part of the mountain.
Speaker 1:Like a hill.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So we've decided that we're going to do a big beach and we're just going to enjoy our race. And if we want to run, we're going to run. When we want to walk, we're going to walk. We're just going to enjoy the elements around us with that gorgeous scenery they provide up there.
Speaker 1:Make it a true runcation.
Speaker 3:But I'm thinking maybe the Bradenton one we might see what we got in the tank. Yeah, Tell them to have our own races and see.
Speaker 1:That's what we did for Fort Lauderdale for the A1A back in January of 2020. It was a PR for Dana and I was so proud of him and he got to have Irish whiskey in his kilt. You never know what the bridge of the gods will have for you. We would love for you to come back and recap that on the show after you experience it, if you will. In the meantime, how can the Runcation Nation get in touch or connect with you all Meantime?
Speaker 3:how can the Runcation Nation get in touch or connect with you all? We're on the Runcation Nation Facebook page. I haven't posted pictures in a little bit so I need to get back in a regular. I got to be like Rob. I miss Rob's pictures.
Speaker 1:Oh, Rob Nadeau. Og member of the Runcation Nation that took beautiful photographs.
Speaker 3:He was an OTR driver and wherever he would stop on his travels of his job.
Speaker 1:Long haul trucking.
Speaker 3:Go for a run and take all these beautiful pictures and post them and then get back in his truck. He was amazing. He was but yeah, Eric is Eric Million on his Instagram and millionfloorslc.
Speaker 1:We will link to all of that in the show notes and all of the links that you have mentioned that you will pass on to me so I can post those for everybody to learn more about the big beach marathon weekend and maybe they can join us for our makeup race in 2026. I really can't wait to accomplish, explore and indulge with you all really soon.
Speaker 3:That would be absolutely fabulous.
