Wickham Park Marathonand 50, 100, and 200 Mile Fun Runs The last official race was in 2015. If you wish to run the course on your own, you can send me a fastest known time. Rules for listing your Fastest Known TimesYou may submit a time for 26.2, 50, 100, or 200 miles beginning June 1, 2016 or later (course record or not). I will post your name, age, home town, finish time, and the year (but not the date) of your run. I will also post a link to your run report, photos, and GPS track (Garmin, Strava, SPOT, etc) if you have them. I highly recommend documenting your run with GPS if you are going for a record. Runs will be ranked by finish time for men and women at each distance. The marathon course is 7 repeats of a 3.75 mile loop on this map (Google) or this map (Garmin). The 50 mile is 13 loops plus 0.62 miles out to the left turn near the SE corner of the soccer field and return. The start and finish line is at the utility pole at the SE corner of the parking lot. The 100 and 200 mile courses repeat the 50 mile course on 2 or 4 consecutive days. The course will not be marked. If you go off course, you must return to the point where you left the course. Any distance travelled off course does not count. Any loop not fully completed does not count. If any part of the course is not open to the public, then you may go around it as long as it does not shorten the distance. In particular, if the north camping area is rented out, then you may bypass it on the firebreak on the north side. If the ridge north of the soccerfield is closed (as it was this year), then bypass it on the north side. Each 50 mile run must be completed while the park is open (normally 7:00 AM to sunset) and within 12 hours and 30 minutes or it does not count. The 100 and 200 mile courses must be run 50 miles per day on consecutive days. You cannot carry over extra distance or make up missed miles on the next day. You cannot skip days. Your 100 or 200 mile time is the sum of your 50 mile times. The clock does not stop between the start and finish of any of your 50 mile runs. Distances other than 26.2, 50, 100, or 200 miles will not count. Runs started before the Saturday before Memorial day or after Labor Day will be marked with an asterisk because you ran in cooler weather. Crews and pacers are allowed. Please obey all park rules. No littering. Send your name, age, sex, home town, distance ran, date, finish time, 50 mile splits, and links to your report, blog, photos, GPS track, etc. to Matt Mahoney at mattmahoneyfl at gmail.com or message me on facebook. I will award a fake rock to anyone who sets a new 200 mile record (without an asterisk) for men or women. If you are on pace to do this, let me know by day 4. Course Records200 miles, menJoe Ninke, 42, Sebastian FL, 42:14:09, 2011. 2021 200 miles, womenStephanie Miller, 52, Clearwater FL, 44:06:16, 2014. 100 miles, menMarc Burget, 17:21:55, 2022. 2020 2021 2022 100 miles, womenEllen Cottom, 38, Portsmouth England, 19:25:51, 2012. 2023 50 miles, menEmiliano Lemus, 42, Honduras, 7:22:10, 2010. 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 50 miles, womenEllen Cottom, 38, Portsmouth England, 9:35:28, 2012. 2017 2023 26.2 miles, menMike Aldrink, 30, Durham NC, 3:20:52, 2007. 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 26.2 miles, womenHelen Cox, 43, New Smyrna Beach FL, 4:09:56, 2007. 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Past results |
Interesting Facts About Florida Wildlife
Alligators grow throughout their lifetime, reaching up to 12 feet in length. Their jaws clamp shut with 3000 pounds of force. They kill their victims by carrying them underwater until they drown. Once endangered, Florida now has millions of alligators, enough that the fall hunting season was recently expanded. During their mating season (late March through early June), the males wander from their watery habitat in search of mates, and can turn up anywhere. WARNING: Do not swallow a live alligator.
There are four kinds of poisonous snakes in the U.S., rattlesnakes (above), water moccasins, copperheads, and coral snakes. Florida is the only state that has all four. All of these snakes except the coral snake are pit vipers, and can be identified by the pupils of their eyes, which are slitted like a cat's eye, rather than round like a human. Their venom is a hemotoxin which dissolves blood vessels causing their victims to bleed to death internally.
Unlike pit vipers, the venom of the coral snake is a neurotoxin which kills by paralyzing its victims. Its bite is almost painless, compared to the extremely painful bite of a rattlesnake, yet its venom is also the deadliest. Coral snakes are often confused with the non-poisonous king snake, which is also red, yellow, and black, but with the colors in a different order. There is a saying to help you distinguish them, red on yellow, kill a fella. The easier way to remember, however, is that there are no king snakes in the area. |
-- Matt Mahoney, mattmahoneyfl at gmail dot com