Race Description

The Florida Track Club hosts our annual Tom Walker Memorial Half Marathon Run on the beautiful Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail. This is an out and back course that starts at the beginning of the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail and heads east along the trail to the turn around point just before the County Road 234 crossing at the Rouchelle Parking Area. The trail is a wide paved path with plenty of shade. The course is mostly flat with some gradual hills in the first and last mile and a short hilly section between miles 2 -3 and 11 - 12.

The 2019 edition of our race will take place on Sunday November 10th with a scheduled race time of 8 am. This is a chip timed race on a USATF-certified course. It is also the Florida USATF half marathon championship!

The race will take place on a paved rails-to-trails that crosses the northern portion of Paynes Prairie State Preserve. Enjoy the scenery of a trail race without the twisted ankles, and enjoy the smooth pavement of a road race without the traffic! The race starts and ends at Boulware Springs Nature Park which is home of the historic Bouleware Springs Water Works. The course will feature duct tape numerals on the actual trail pavement for every single mile marker of the course.

The aid stations will have water and gatorade. Water stops will be located at approximately 1.15, 4.85, 6.85, 8.85, and 12.15 miles along the half marathon course. There will also be toilet facilities at the water stops but just one at each. At miles 1.15/12.15 toilet is the permanent facility on the trail.

*Prize Money Eligibility Policy

To be eligible for elite entry or prize purse at Tom Walker Memorial Half-Marathon, an athlete must:

• Not be currently serving a suspension issued by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) or the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for use of a banned substance
• Not have ever served a ban issued by USADA or WADA for the use of performance enhancing drugs
• Not be represented by coaches and/or agents who have had 2 or more athletes receiving such suspensions in the previous 4 years
• Not be represented by coaches and/or agents who served a ban for use of performance enhancing drugs during their own athletic career*
• Provide proper documentation proving they are eligible for prize money (form W-9, W-8ECI or W-8BEN)
• Sign a statement attesting they are in compliance with USADA and WADA anti-doping regulations related to banned substance use and if issued a doping suspension or ban in the future, they will not be allowed back at the event for any reason
  
• Consent to random drug testing according to the standards and procedures of USATF, USADA and WADA

Any athlete that believes they have been barred from the event or the opportunity to earn prize money at the event because of mistaken identity due to near or exact name of a person currently suspended, banned or previously banned, must submit documentation certified by a notary in advance to the race director or elite athlete coordinator of the event proving that they are not the same person identified as serving a suspension, ban or previous ban (event organizers will need to clearly outline the exact person to submit documentation to for this recourse section of the policy).