The annual 305 Half Marathon returned to Miami and Miami Beach on Sunday, welcoming approximately 4,000 participants to the sold out race, organizers said.
Formerly the 13.1 Miami Beach event, this year's 305 Half Marathon & 5K took runners along Ocean Drive, the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur Causeways, and back down NE 2nd Avenue.
"The 305 Half Marathon is a beach party after you run," Chief Running Officer Frankie Ruiz said. "[It's an] ultra localized event, with a chancleta toss, with a pots-and-pans PR station, you know, everything that makes the 305 a pretty special place."
Sandro Ezeta Chaves, from Costa Rica, finished first for the men with a time of 1:14:58. Caroline LeFrak, from Miami Beach, place first on the women's side with a time of 1:24:42.
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"They hit the Julia Tuttle, they hit the MacArthur Causeway, which, in the [Life Time Miami] marathon, you wouldn't hit both those causeways, so that's quite a few bridges there," Ruiz said. "You have an on-ramp off the Biscayne Boulevard, and then you run alongside the water, [which] can get a little windy. So, it's definitely a tougher course."
Despite the challenges of the race, participants flooded the Finish Festival at Lummus Park, complete with music, a beer garden and race recovery activities.
"I am tired, but the energy has been awesome," runner Michelle Marmalejos said. "The organization has been really, really good."
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Sunday's half marathon was also an opportunity for runners to earn a special pineapple medal through Baptist Health. Those who completed the Pineapple Race Series -- the November 2023 Baptist Health Turkey Trot Miami 5K/10K, the January 2024 Life Time Miami Marathon & Half, and Sunday's Baptist Health 305 Half Marathon & 5K -- earned their bonus finisher medal.
"The energy's pretty high, and to see people after going over 13.1 miles of our city streets, tired, yet when they finish, they've got the local music, they've got the DJ playing a lot of our local hits, and still dancing and smiling," Ruiz said. "It makes me pretty darn happy to see everyone bringing that Miami energy, even after they finish the half marathon."
