Scenes from the ING Miami Marathon: the runners cross Belle Isle

Runners in high spirits crossing Belle Isle

They wore running gear and wedding gowns, kooky headgear and Kinesio tape, their own names (Go, Charles!) and the names of honored loved ones on their shirts and hats and shorts.

And on their faces, the 25,000 or so runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes who crossed Belle Isle in Sunday’s ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon wore the look of pride you get from working hard and achieving  a personal goal.

Wheelchair athletes started before runners.

The first wheelchair competitor crossed the island at 6:34 a.m. (after a 6:05 a.m. start). Our first runner crossed at 6:58 a.m., following a Nissan Leaf pace car. And the rest of the field streamed over bridge from Sunset Harbour headed west across Rivo Alto, DiLido, San Marino, San Marco and Biscayne islands on their way to the mainland.

First runner to Belle Isle

They were cheered on by a smattering of family, friends and Belle Isle residents,  along with the water-and-Gatorade crew from Baptist Health, If you were running in Sunday’s ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon, you might have wished it was a little cooler. But the overcast skies kept the heat down as the sun rose in the early morning.

The volunteer crew from Baptist Health (station G) filled paper cups in the darkness before 6 a.m. By 7:30, they were awash in Gatorade and up to their ankles in crushed cups.

But the story of the day was the runners — fast, slow, elite athlete and weekend warrior. Here’s a look at the rest of the runners (click on any photo to enlarge and get a better view. Maybe you are in there!)

Dennis “Coatman” Marsala

Half-marathon Sunday promises some barricades and delays on South Beach

The Miami Beach Half-Marathon happens Sunday morning, crossing the MacArthur and Julia Tuttle causeways and promising some traffic tie-ups between the two causeways along Alton Road.

The race starts at 6:15 a.m. Runners should be clear by 10 a.m.

The run starts at on Ocean Drive at 11 Street. The course goes south on Ocean, west on 5^thStreet across the MacArthur (single outer lane only), back on the Tuttle  (single outer lane only), south on Alton Road (single inner lane only), east on Dade Boulevard, north on Meridian Avenue, east on 29 Street, south on Prairie Avenue east on Dade Boulevard, south on Washington Avenue, east on 14 Street, south on the serpentine sidewalk where it ends at 11 Street.

The northbound Alton ramp from I-195 will be closed. Drivers accessing the hospital should take the first left after the bridge from 41 street.

If you are running, don’t go out too fast, drinking plenty of water, and be safe.

If you are driving, be patient.

Get ready! The ING Marathon is heading for the Venetian islands

We begin the one-week countdown to the ING Miami Marathon.

A week from now, thousands of runners — as many as 25,000 based on the record number of registrants — will be crossing Belle Isle on Venetian Way on Mile 8 of their 13.1 or 26.2 mile journey.

It’s a great event that showcases our islands.

The event brings money and visitors to the community, and the group that runs it works hard to ensure it isn’t too disruptive on Sunday morning.

Whitney Murphy, the event manager, made a point of attending last week’s Belle Isle Residents Association meeting to hear from residents and assure them the island will be cleaned up and cleared as quickly as possible. She also said noise — which was a problem a couple of marathons back — will be kept to a minimum.

Belle Isle Blog thinks the good from the marathon vastly outweighs the hassle, and offers these tips to prepare for Sunday morning, Jan. 29:

– Get out and cheer the runners. The leaders will pass our island around 6:30 a.m., and we’ll see people who have trained for months crossing until 9:30 or 10 a.m. They range from elite athletes to average folks who committed to goal and are on their way to achieving it. Your cheers will help lift them to success.

– Plan your morning around the race. From about 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., you’ll only be able to go east on Venetian Way by car, and quite slowly. If you want to go to breakfast, you might want to walk. That way, you can cheer the runners as you go along. IF you HAVE to go to the mainland in the morning, plan to ease your way east on Venetian Way, then south on West Avenue, and east on the MacArthur Causeway, where westbound lanes will be open.

There are several key water stations on the Venetian Causeway leg of the route, one on Belle Isle (mile 8),  San Marco Island (mile 9) and Biscayne Island (Mile 10)

Enjoy the race . Belle Isle Blog will be taking photos of the runners from our island, and promises to post them on the site as early as possible Sunday morning.

Watch out for half-marathon traffic early Sunday

Miami Beach hosts the Dodge Latin Music Half Marathon on Sunday morning, and the fringes of it will impact traffic near Belle Isle and the east end of the Venetian Causeway.

If you have plans to go anywhere from South Beach to 41st Street on Sunday, this will affect your drive.

Here is a list of the road closures and times from the city of Miami Beach:

Sunday, December 11, 2011

ROAD CLOSURES

Ocean Drive:  5 Street - 14 Street   – 2 a.m. – 9 a.m.

14 Street:   Washington Ave - Ocean Dr — 6 – 8 a.m.

Washington Avenue: Northbound, 14 Street – Dade Boulevard

6 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Dade Boulevard:  Westbound, Washington – Michigan Ave – 6 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Michigan Avenue:   Northbound, Dade Blvd – Alton Rd – 6 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Alton Road:               Northbound, Michigan Ave – I-195 – 6 a.m. – 9 a.m.           (Southbound access for local traffic)

Northbound traffic detoured to North Bay Road

I-195 (Julia Tuttle):   2 Westbond lanes, Alton Rd – NE 38 St

One westbound lane remains open, Eastbound open – 5 a.m. – 10 a.m.

On-ramps closed from Alton Road to Julia Tuttle Causeway

7 a.m. – Noon