Weeki Wachee Springs Mermaid Race
Spring Hill, FL
- Half Marathon, 5K, 1 Miler
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Set in the unforgettable Weeki Wachee Springs State Park comes the inaugural Weeki Wachee Springs Mermaid Race! You can choose to run or walk along the cool urban trail route that incorporates sidewalks and urban trails. This open road course starts and finishes at the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 23):
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | |
| H (°F) | 91 | 90 | 89 | 85 | 79 |
| L (°F) | 73 | 74 | 70 | 70 | 73 |
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I think the timing chip was wrong
I love Weeki Wachee. They had nothing to do with this race beyond getting suckered in by this fraudulent company that was just out to make a buck. I hope … MORE
I love Weeki Wachee. They had nothing to do with this race beyond getting suckered in by this fraudulent company that was just out to make a buck. I hope they will have another race but hosted by a local company. I drove 14 hours to get to the crappy one- I’d drive it again for a good one.
This debut was full of many lows!
Many things went wrong with this race from no first aid stations, lack of water, and poor communication. Read my full race review at https://casual-runner.com/2017-09-26-big-splash-challenge/ MORE
Many things went wrong with this race from no first aid stations, lack of water, and poor communication. Read my full race review at https://casual-runner.com/2017-09-26-big-splash-challenge/
Scenic Trail of fresh cut grass
Complete disorganization. No directions, no mile markers, no water at water stops, no idea where the finish line was, no lights at 6 am at venue, race started 1.5 hours … MORE
Complete disorganization. No directions, no mile markers, no water at water stops, no idea where the finish line was, no lights at 6 am at venue, race started 1.5 hours late. No food at finish line for runner. Read the other reviews – they tell all.
In a Nutshell
Stay away from this one! Very expensive for poor running conditions, no hydration, no food, late start time, traffic stops (yes...during your run!), HAZARD conditional course, wave time joke, late … MORE
Stay away from this one! Very expensive for poor running conditions, no hydration, no food, late start time, traffic stops (yes…during your run!), HAZARD conditional course, wave time joke, late start, a car was driving down the finish line!, delayed race results, and no National Anthem! Worst run ever! I did the Splash and completed all three races. Not one drop of food except a small water bottle at the end. No thank you!
Most Unorganized Race I Have Ever Run
if you go to Landmark Races website, in the About section they say they have run numerous races and feel that the finish line is one of their most important … MORE
if you go to Landmark Races website, in the About section they say they have run numerous races and feel that the finish line is one of their most important components. If the experience I had at their Weeki Wachee Mermaid race held on 9/23/2017 is put on by people who have run numerous races and is indicative of what they consider a good experience as runners, I am in total shock. I personally found it to be exactly the opposite. I was thinking that who ever organized this race could not possibly be a runner, because it seemed like the runners’ experiences and safety were the absolute last things that were considered and planned for this event.
I signed up for this race because I like to support local races and local businesses. I knew it was an inaugural event, so I expected hiccups, and plus we had a hurricane come through the area just 2 weeks before . The things that were wrong were way beyond hiccups though – I felt as if Landmark Races just took people’s money and then said “Welp! Our job’s done!” and that was it.
Let’s go through the laundry list:
1. No clear communication about the race course or water stops until the day before the race. It was difficult to find any information really – I had to sift through Facebook posts to find things. The race course for both the half marathon and the 5K ran along busy highways, with no traffic support from local police – we had to wait for the lights. The course link needs to be available at registration. If I had known I was paying to run along an unsupported highway with no water stops, I would have never signed up for this event.
2. It took 1 1/2 hours to pick up my packet because at first they had only 1 person handing out packets. They started at 4 pm on 9/22/2017. I got there at 5:45 pm. I think at 6:30 pm they finally got more volunteers to hand out packets and t shirts and divided up the lines between the Half and 5K, but it was still 1 1/2 hours for me. The packet pickup was disorganized – not enough volunteers and not divided by number range or name or anything. It also seemed to be a very manual process for the volunteers – no automation and no quick systemic way of handling. This is not fair to people handing out packets or to people who have to wait to pick them up. Packets should be divided by distance, and then either by last name or bib number (if the participant knows it). You should have at least 3 people for each section. One person calls out the name, another gets the bib – once the bib is found the person getting the name marks it off the list, while another gets the shirt or hat or whatever, gives it to the person with the bib, who and puts it all in a bag and hands to the participant while the person getting the name calls for the next person, for example.
3. There was no water on the 5K course, (even though Landmark said there would be one at around mile 1.5) no signage and no volunteers on the 5K course, but luckily I studied the map carefully when it finally became available so I knew where to turn around, and I was also familiar with the area. There were a lot of people who did not know where to go though. There needs to be at a minimum 1 water stop on a 5K course and at minimum signs pointing runners in the right directions.
4. The 5K distance wasn’t even correct – it said 3.22 on the Facebook site but was actually 3.65 on mine and others’ Garmins. Not a huge deal, but still – if you’re going to have a 5K race it needs to be 3.1 miles or as close as possible to that distance.
5. I heard that the half marathon was just as bad with no water and no direction or support. I can’t comment from personal experience on that but I was thanking God I didn’t sign up for the half marathon. This lack of organization and complete disregard for runners actually put runners’ health and well being in danger due to the increased risk for heat related illnesses. Florida heat and humidity is no joke, especially for people who came here from up north and ran this race and are not used to it. Sure, they had EMTs at the finish area, but with no volunteers on the course itself and no water, you as a runner had to depend on the other runners to help you, and thank God they did, because I did hear of runners on the half marathon course having heat illness. I also heard that at least one person fell on the 5K course, but luckily was able to finish and thankfully didn’t need any support, because it would not have been available.
6. There was no food available at the finish – not even a banana. If you are not going to have food available, you need to state that very clearly, in multiple places (Facebook, emails, etc), and you certainly should not be charging people $40 for a 5K and $95 for a half marathon and have no food or water.
7. The half marathon did not start on time, and the staggered waves, while a good idea were just…weird. If was nice that people had the option of starting later, because not everyone is a early bird, but you had people starting and finishing in the exact same place. The finish chute was not clearly marked and with all the people standing around the start line (where you were finishing), it was hard to know where to go. The start and finish should be two distinct areas in general, but especially so if you are going to have waves.
8. The address to park offsite was wrong. People got lost. The address to any offsite parking needs to be correct and verified before you tell people they need to park there.
All in all, the volunteers did the best job they could under very bad conditions. They did not have enough help, they did not appear to have a streamlined process for handling issues, and seemed to have very little direction – it was like they were just left to deal with everything on their own.
The medal IS awesome, I do have to say, and while it was a good idea to keep the medals in the plastic, a lot of people were not sure where to get them – you had to backtrack through the finish chute after you crossed the finish line. The medal pick up should be after the finish line.
The volunteers handing out water at the finish were good with handing the finishers water bottles right away; however, there should have been recycling bins for the plastic bottles. Southwest Florida Water Management District staff and other vendors there were scrambling to come up with bags to put the plastic bottles in.
The lady handing out the medals at the medal tent was very friendly. She was in the sun and sweaty already at 8:30 am. I felt bad for her that she would be there for hours with no fan.
The Weeki Wachee mermaids were very gracious and friendly with letting us take pictures with them.
I think Landmark Races needs to take these issues under serious consideration before they ever put on another event. I personally will not sign up for any of their events until I am convinced that they can put on a race that is safe and organized.