Time is flying by quickly now and things are coming together great for your marathon! Today we received word that the last permit we were waiting on, from the State of Florida, was put in the mail. This was about 7 months after starting the process and we really appreciate them working through all the changes that were required to the course over that time. You can view an interactive map of the final course here.

On that map you will find the details of what to expect at each aid station. At the aid stations with water and Nuun, expect water first then Nunn. At the stations with gels and water, expect the gels first and then water.  There will be 32' of water station on each side of the road, at each station, so there is plenty for everyone.  Please only use the water station to your right. The water station on the other side of the road is for the returning runners. 

The only time and place to get your race bib and shirt is at the Expo on Saturday from 11am-7pm.  In addition to getting all your required race stuff, we will have Destin Marathon merch, several vendor booths and a Kill Cliff Lounge in the middle where you can kick back- test some flavors of Kill Cliff and catch up with your friends. BTW, great job on choosing the bibs! The ones that you all voted for look great and will be something you will be proud to hang onto. 

Once you get your results, if you are 1st or 2nd in your age group, you are going to get something pretty awesome to sip your post-party beverages out of! We will be giving our overall and age group winners YETI Rambler cups engraved with the Destin Marathon logo. Yes, those awesome cups that you have always wanted, but couldn't afford. 

Ok, back to the not-so-fun part of race directing- paying all the vendors and making sure that you all have everything when you needed it/where you need it on race day! More updates soon.

What a great time of year this is on the Gulf Coast! I don't think any runner would complain if the clear skies and pleasant temps stuck around all year. Lucky for you, this is very similar to the weather we usually see in April.  So what have we been up to in the Kill Cliff Destin Marathon world?

COURSE
On Friday the Florida Traffic Engineer traffic management plan was sent out to all the local, regional and state authorities. If you could see the detail required in this book of papers, to meet Florida Dept of Transportation guidelines, it would make more sense why it was such a costly and time consuming product. (I'm so happy this is a one time thing!). After spending several days reviewing it, I am confident that it will both ensure the smooth flow of traffic and a safe course for the runners. The review process by all the authorities could take up to a few months. We will keep you updated with any news.

EXPO
Our expo coordinator has been working to ensure the best experience for you picking up your packet and enjoying the booths of our sponsors. It is a priority of mine, that your packet pickup process is smooth and easy and that you have an expo that you want to spend some time at- rather than just get back to the hotel as quickly as possible. To this end, we are working to provide a runners lounge, where you can kick back with a drink with your fellow runners and enjoy meeting the folks you will be running with the next day. If you, or someone you know, is interested in having a booth, please contact MaryEdith at [email protected]. We have set our booth prices as low as possible to allow our local businesses and other races a chance to meet our runners.

POST RACE
Although the best part of your race might be crossing the finish line, we want to ensure what happens next is just as enjoyable. Our staff is working hard with Destin Commons and other sponsors to put together a great post-party for you. We are not quite ready to share the exact details yet, but here is an overview of what we are working on: A very special food and drink experience for our Indiegogo Campaign Plank Owners. Those folks took a big risk on us, so we look forward to rewarding them with something special. A little larger, but also great, culinary and drinking experience for our VIP party ticket holders. You can purchase these VIP tickets, for you and your guests, with your race entry. But do not worry if you are not a plank owner or cannot afford VIP tickets, we will ensure everyone gets something to quench their race thirst and put a dent in your hunger once you catch your breath. Finally, we have been in discussions with some national acts (bands) for the post-party. Hopefully we can put together a compensation package for them that they are happy with and meets our budget requirement. 

Sorry for such a short post. We hope to be making some big announcements and firming up a lot of details over the next few months. Subscribe to this blog to always receive our updates. Enjoy this fall weather and start thinking about your Kill Cliff Destin Marathon training plan!

We are very lucky to have ResortQuest by Wyndham as our Expo Sponsor and Official Lodging Sponsor. This not only allows us the opportunity to put on a great runner's expo at the Emerald Coast Convention Center, it also allows the runners the opportunity to get great deals on all ResortQuest's awesome beach condos and houses! 

Over the next few weeks we have calls with some a few other major companies in a variety of industries. Sponsors are the backbone of any event, especially first year events that have the high start-up costs of course mapping, course certification, certified traffic management plan, initial advertising, and a variety of others. With any luck I will be reporting back with some other major sponsor announcements and our official charity partner.  With the response from our logo contest and sponsor support are comfortable moving ahead with our crowdfunding phase. 

We have chosen Indiegogo as our crowdfunding platform because it allows us to do an all or nothing campaign at a very fair cost and has a relatively high rate of success.  The aim is to kick off this campaign with a band in the first week of May.  Don't worry, you are going to hear a lot more details about this over the next month! Keep spreading the word about the Destin Marathon and we will keep you updated.