Footfalls, crushed cups and cheers for marathon runners crossing Belle Isle

The Belle Isle water station included a bathroom stop for 21,000 runners.

The 2011 ING Miami Marathon made good on its promise Sunday morning: The water station crews were quiet, the runners were happy and the cleanup happened with amazing swiftness — a great event and great morning on Belle Isle.

The first three men crossed just after 7 a.m.

There were runners (and wheelchair athletes) of every speed, shape and size — from the three front-runners who crossed our island just after 7 a.m. to the walkers working their way along two hours later.

Belle Isle residents cheered, held signs, kids and pets. Your Belle Isle Blog got out early to document the moment — and here are lots of photos to share.

Belle Isle residents and pets cheered the runners.

When the race started at 6:20 a.m., there were 21,400 registered runners for the 13.1 mile half marathon and and the 26.2-mile marathon, a record for the race.

Workers dispensed an amazing amount of water and Gatorade.

By 10:30, almost all the crushed cups were gone — and amazing cleanup by a well-organized crew that spent hours dispensing water and Gatorade to the thousands of runners.

Then they took up rakes to clean up the cups, while trucks moved in to pick up and remove the mess — from the Venetian Causeway and the dozen Port-O-Lets set up in front of The Standard.

The cleanup went quickly.

Here is gallery of images from Belle Isle.[

The Belle Isle water station included a bathroom stop for 21,000 runners.

The first three men crossed just after 7 a.m.

Belle Isle residents and pets cheered the runners.

Workers dispensed an amazing amount of water and Gatorade.

The cleanup went quickly.

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Marathon promise: no early bullhorns, and a quick clean-up

Runners and volunteers on Belle Isle during the 2010 marathon.

The ING Miami Marathon happens Sunday, Jan. 30, and organizers promise this year’s event won’t repeat the mistakes of 2010.

That’s when volunteers at the Belle Isle water stop used bullhorns to cheer and guide runners crossing the island, waking up some island residents as early as 5:30 a.m. The announcements continued through the morning.

In the aftermath of that race, Venetian Causeway Neighborhood Alliance vice president Barbara K. Bisno and Belle Isle Residents Association President Scott Diffenderfer complained to race organizers that Belle Isle and causeway residents support the event, but the noise was not acceptable.

The mistake won’t be repeated, marathon representative Whitney Murphy promised residents at a meeting last week. Murphy, one of two ING Miami emissaries who attended the Belle Isle Residents Association meeting, said special care will be taken to make sure the race is a better experience on the islands.

Some 22,000 runners for the marathon and half marathon will cross the Venetian Causeway. There will be a water station and Port-O-Lets, once again, on Belle Isle, which is just past the 8-mile mark in the race, Murphy said.

The race course includes two other water stations/bathroom stops on the causeway, one one between San Marino and San Marco islands, and one near the toll booth on Biscayne Island.

The Venetian Causeway will be closed from 6 to 9 a.m. for the race, so residents should plan their Sunday morning schedules around that.

Murphy promised a quick cleanup of water cups and debris from the runners once the last competitor crosses the island around 9:20 a.m. Residents association vice president Josh Fisher complimented the organization for the fast cleanup last year.