2nd Annual Zooma Amelia Island-Jan 18, 2014




 
 
This was my 2nd time participating in a Zooma event (1st being in Cape Cod last year) and I must admit I am pretty impressed. Yes, the fee is on the high side when it comes to race registration, but sometimes it may just be worth it.
 
Zooma Florida was held in the Fernandina/Amelia Island part of Northern Florida. It was an A to B course starting city center of Historic Fernandina which is a cute little shopping/dining area on the intracoastal, through Fort Clinch State Park, and finishing oceanfront of the luxurious Ritz Carlton of Amelia Island.


Shuttle service was provided for the guest of the hotel to the race start, and for every that drove in, there was a shuttle back to their cars. The course spends the first half in the beautiful Fort Clinch State Park and the 2nd half along A1A with glimpses of the ocean between beach houses!
  
Zooma Florida has a very small amount of runners…only about 500 this year…which also means there are not many spectators/cheer leaders (I think I saw 5) but this makes it almost better because it keeps the course peaceful and at moments you feel it is only you, nature, and the open road.
  
This winter Northern Florida has been impacted with the below normal freezing temps and this weekend was not any different. We woke up to about 30 degrees and 10 mph winds. I think it may have reached about 38 once the sun came out. We were lucky inside the park because the winds were blocked by the trees and dunes. On A1A, sunglasses helped keep the eyes from tearing from the cold winds.  
  
The five star Ritz Carlton provided a runners discount, however, living just an hour away, I decided to be cost efficient and drive in race morning. Doing so, however, limited me on the extra perks that Zooma provides…such as the Expo and 80s themed ‘mocktail’ party the day before.
  
I woke about 5a and left the house about 6. I had my oatmeal, banana, and coffee on the drive in. However, still being an hour early for the 8am start, I needed more, so stopped at the gas station for a Cliff bar. This is probably the most I have ever eaten before a race, but my stomach was talking!  
 
The free parking was about a mile away from start, which I was not aware of until I actually started walking looking for it.  I had sat in my car as long as possible to avoid the freezing temps. Ear warmers and gloves were necessities for this race! As well as a warm fleece jacket to keep on before the start! By the time I arrived to the start area, I had very minimal time to hit the porta potty, drop off my bag at the gear truck (well, SUV. Yes, SUV was a first!) before the gun went off!  I didn’t even realize there were Pacers until the half way mark (when there was a turn around and we got to run by the faster runners)
  
My goal was to take it easy as I was planning another 10mile when I got back home (for a total of 23 miles in training for 26.2 with Donna). I was doing the run/walk of 3/1. I felt super good in the beginning.  Almost too good. It IS a race after all, my mind kept telling me. So I after 6miles, I changed up the pace and did 3/:45 and then 3/:30. I felt awesome the entire time. I even felt I could do more, but didn’t want to exert myself, not knowing how I would feel for the next 10 later that day. I crossed the Finish Line 4 minutes slower than my PR. I totally could have had it, if I didn’t hold myself back the first 6miles. But that’s okay. Because you know what? I still felt Awesome on the next 10 miles I did at home! I broke through 23 miles without ever hitting a wall!
  
The entire race course was open to traffic. There was either cones up to allow single file running (in the neighborhood towards the park), or signs up encouraging runners to stay to the right, single file (Fort Clinch State Park), or we were running in the bike lane (on A1A). All of which, a good portion of runners did not listen or pay attention to. Because the small amount of runners, this worked fine regardless. However, if the amount of runners ever got larger, I would hope the directors would take this into consideration, as no one wants to run single file when trying to PR!
 
 

 There are a ton of Perks when running with Zooma, which has several locations across the country. These of course are focusing on the Florida race.
  • -free group training run a few weeks ahead of race day, with a reusable goodie bag full of samples of GU, body glide, and Muscle Milk
  • -discount at host hotel with shuttle and spa treatment discounts
  • -80s themed mocktail party the night before with speakers
  • -reusable goodie bag with super soft race shirt, running hat, a pair of Feetsures socks
  • - yoga at finish line
  • -massage at finish line
  • -endless wine/champagne from Barefoot
  • -nonalcoholic drinks available as well, Honest Tea, Hint, Muscle Milk 
  • -Expo/shopping at finish line as well as the day before race
  • -real meal at finish line included chicken salad sandwich (or veggie hummus) with pasta and cookie
  • -band at finish line
  • -cute medal with detachable charm


The only downfall I saw for this race was the Finish. I loved that it finishes at the beach…you cant ask for a more scenic view. However, the sand is incredibly soft at Amelia Island. I think they did the best they could with this. They made sure to advertise it repeatedly that it was a sand finish. They also picked an area between the sand dunes and hotel (not the water side but you could still see the water), where the soft sand was a little more compact in areas…and there was also a very narrow wood plank boardwalk you could utilize for some of it. However, there still was no way to ‘sprint’ across the finish line like most races.

I met up with Marcia with 26.2 with Donna at the Finish Line party. It was freezing cold in the wind, but the sun was warm. After a quick change of clothes and meal, I headed over to Moon River, where I still had a gift certificate I won from the 2012 Fernandina Reindeer Run for a free pizza pie! I took that home for my reward after my next 10 miles.
 
I had planned to run the Winter Run 10miler on Jax Beach after Zooma, however, I just couldn’t come up with the $30. I live across the street anyways, so just took it as a little motivation to see all the runners. I ran the street a half hour before they started on the beach. At my turn around, I ran on the beach towards the racers. It was pretty cool to see all the runners staying active despite the freezing cold!
 
All in all, Zooma Florida is a great quick weekend getaway to celebrate health and womanhood. (yes, men are still allowed to race). I would highly recommend this race. It was a great day and I walked away feeling the strongest I have all season!
 
 HM #34
13.1-2:22