2018 St. Pete Run Fest Expo and Finish Line

Last year, I ran the Inaugural St Pete Run Fest half marathon. I loved it. The race was shiny and new, but the race directors were experienced pros. 

After running the inaugural St. Pete Run Fest half marathon in 2017. (Photo: ThisOldRunner)

The race was minutes from my house. The course took runners all around town, including a loop through Tropicana Field. It was one of the best inaugural anythings I've run.

For 2018 I decided to sign up to volunteer at the finish line on Sunday morning. It was the first time I handed out medals at a race. I was looking forward to it.

Before Sunday, I joined the crew at the Best Damn Race booth on Saturday morning for the expo.

The Best Damn Race Booth at the Expo

I kinda love a good expo as much as a good race. It's fun to talk to runners. We compare notes and talk about their race goals. I got to show them all the great medals for the 2019 Best Damn Race Series.

It's fun to meet people in real life that I know from online or racing. Plus, at the Expo there are discount codes and extra goodies when you register there. The music, people, and excitement all takes place in beautiful downtown St. Pete on the waterfront. It's a fun weekend from start to finish line.

Nick setting up online registration at the expo. Medals for the 2019 Best Damn Race series were revealed at the St Pete Run Fest Expo. (Photo: ThisOldRunner)

Save $5 on Any Best Damn Race with Code

If you weren't at the expo you can still SAVE $5 on any Best Damn Race in the 2019 series. Just enter my code THISOLDRUNNER at registration. Share the discount with your running friends so they save money, too!

I'll do another post that showcases each medal and city in the series in 2019. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

The expo was on the lawn between the Dali Museum and Mahaffey Theater across from Albert Whitted Park. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

There were tons of vendors and lots of St Pete Run Fest merchandise available at the expo. There were lots of local races, too. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

I watched some of the 5K finishers on Saturday morning. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

Finish line medals and water bottles for the 5K finishers. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

Sunday's Finish Line Fun

I was back at the starting line at 5:30 Sunday morning. Our first task was to fill all the Tervis tumblers with water.

Sunday morning well before the race began. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

Filling Tervis Tumblers and watching the sun rise. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

The Wells Fargo group working on their water table. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

A quick hello with fellow BibRave Pro, Kim. (Photo credit: Kim)

10K and Half finishers scored a custom Tervis Tumbler. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

Sunday was warm, but there was good cloud cover. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

Medal for the Trop 10K race featured a cut-out skyline. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

Half marathon finisher medal. Yep, the wing moves. (Photo credit: ThisOldRunner)

Finish Line Fun

I loved this reverse finish line experience. Perhaps being a runner made it extra special. I worked the half marathon side of the finish line. ​It was fun to greet and congratulate the runners. 

Some of the people who volunteered were squeamish about getting transfer sweat on them. That made me laugh. At the end, one volunteer asked everyone if they were hugged by a sweaty runner. Turns out everyone was. 

Finish lines are emotional. I gave a hug to every runner who wanted or needed one. There were some tearful moments with runners I didn't know. I laughed, clapped, shouted, and cheered for everyone who crossed that line.

​Here are my favorite things in no particular order:

• Answering random questions before the race
• Meeting and chatting with other volunteers
• Watching the first place male and female finishers come in
• Giving Nick his finisher medal
• Seeing a lady who paced me in a half marathon
• Helping a woman who hyperventilated after she crossed the finish
• Pushing the stop button on a runner's watch because her fingers were swollen
• Catching people so they didn't fall
• Congratulating people who arrived very late due to a traffic jam, but still ran
• Telling people, "Hello! We've been expecting you."
• Giving my former coworker, Vicky her medal
• Seeing Theresa bring her pace group in exactly on time
• Hanging that medal around so many necks
• Congratulating local runners I know by sight
• All the high-fives and grins
• Being there when the last runner finished. She was awesome!

If you get a chance, give back to your favorite race by volunteering. As I runner, I can tell you we love seeing a cheerful, encouraging face on course and at the finish line.

Kudos to everyone at St. Pete Run Fest for another successful race weekend!