Gasparilla Race Director Says Runners 'Very Resilient'

Susan Harmeling was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon at 11 a.m. on Monday, just a few hours before a duo of blasts killed two and seriously injured scores of runners.

Harmeling, executive director of the Gasparilla Distance Classic, arguably one of the largest road races in Tampa Bay, attended the Boston race to market Gasparilla. When Harmeling left Boston to connect in D.C. en route to Tampa Bay for shoulder surgery, she had no clue what happened after she left.

"If not for that, we would have been there in the bleachers when it happened," Harmeling said. "We went to D.C., and after being there 10 minutes, my phone lit up. It was (Chief)  Jane Castor from TPD."

Eventually, Gasparilla sponsors, who knew Harmeling was at the Boston race, began to call, too.

"We were very sad and conecerned," said Harmeling. "There were 80 to 100 runners from the Tampa Bay area up there. Our concern was with them and the Boston Athletic Association."

As of Tuesday afternoon, two were dead - including an 8-year-old boy - and

Locally, runners across Tampa Bay continued plans to gather, some in honor of the Boston Marathon participants.

The Seminole Heights Running Club posted a Facebook status message on Monday that read "Wear a shirt tomorrow or run for those that can not in honor of Boston."

Meanwhile, Running for Brews South Tampa posted this on Facebook above a photo of a man wearing a race bib that said "4.15.13 Boston": "On Tuesday and throughout the week, let’s show the world how strong the running community is. Now is the time to unite and stand as one to show support for the victims and all those affected by yesterday's bombings."

The Gasparilla race, held in downtown Tampa in late February, includes a 5K, 8K, 15K and a half marathon. The two-day race attracted about 28,000 people this February, Harmeling said, which is more than the estimated 21,000 who ran in Boston's race on Monday.

While Harmeling said it's too early to tell whether plans for the 2014 Gasparilla race will be altered in the aftermath of the Boston tragedy, she said it's possible.

"The Tampa Police Department has already reached out to us, and once things settle down and we are able to know exactly what happened in Boston, then we will get together and put a plan in place for years to come," she said.

Despite the tragedy, Harmeling said runners are "very resilient," and hopes local runners are confident in herself and other race organizers for the 2014 race.

"I think certainly their (runners) psyche has been impacted initially," she said. "I think it's important we reach out to them, which we have, to let them know we are with them and working on it. We are mindful of what happened up there, and going forward with Gasparilla."