The very first run that I’ve ever done was the Lady Tutu 5K in Ohio and so I was excited that a tutu run was coming to Florida. There’s just something about putting on a tutu that I truly enjoy and I thought “YES! This is my chance!”
This was the first year for The Tutu Run in the Tampa Bay area, though I believe they have hosted other runs throughout the state.
Packet Pickup was fine. It was at a local mall in the Athleta store. Athleta doesn’t have the biggest store in the mall, so the folks for the Tutu Run were in this tight space by the changing rooms, but I was able to get in and get out with no issues.
Parking was plentiful as well- Downtown Tampa has so many parking lots with flat rate fees for parking.
The course was beautiful! We ran along Tampa’s new River Walk, which is right alongside the Hillsborough River- you run by University of Tampa with the downtown Tampa skyline in your view- the PROBLEM was that the course was not 3.1 miles. It was something like 2.34, which was disappointing. I wish that they accurately measured it out before hosting the race.
The medal Was not anything to write home about. It was a lightweight, kind of flimsy medal, but I guess that is one way to keep costs down.
The T-Shirt was cute, but it was a cotton shirt. I always want dri fit shirts just because we’re being active and wearing cotton when drenched in sweat is never comfortable because the shirt feels like a weight on your body.
The aid stations were SO horrible. This race lacked volunteers. There was only water maybe once near the beginning of the race and the poor guy had the smallest water cooler I’d ever seen with even smaller cups (think: itty bitty Dixie cups). It was the same at the finish line. Instead of having water bottles available, they had one tiny red cooler with tiny cups of water to give out. I’m trying to figure out what the costs of the race went towards. It wasn’t for water. This is Florida and it is hot, so water is essential.
I would only recommend this race because running in your tutu is fun and the scenery is awesome and I’m hoping they learn from their mistakes for next year. They really should’ve tried to get more volunteers out there, which I know can be out of a race director’s control.
Distance: 2.35 miles
Finish Time: 29:14
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