Pier anniversary event to include a scenic four-mile run

The “new” St. Pete Pier opened July 6, 2020, and to celebrate its first anniversary, the City of St. Petersburg and Big City Events have partnered with St. Pete Run Fest organizers for a Fourth of July weekend bash.

The event – with a makers’ market, live local music and lots more to be announced, will be held Friday through Sunday, July 2-4.

Sunday will dawn – literally – with a four-mile run. “This, to me, is going to be one of the most epic courses ever,” says Ryan Jordan, who co-founded the annual St. Pete Run Fest in 2017. “Everyone’s going to line up in the morning, right under the beautiful Echelman net. The race starts at 6:30. The sun will just be coming up. And the race actually runs out towards sunrise, at the pier head.”

Registration (limited to 2,000 runners) is open now.

Continues Jordan: “You’ll loop around the pier, then you’re actually going to run down south, by the Mahaffey, by the Dali, and part of the course actually goes on to Albert Whitted Airport. So you’re on the water the entire time. It’ll loop back around, and the finish line is at Spa Beach. So out of the four-mile run, two miles of it will be actually on the pier.”

There are, of course, other components, like a 40-yard dash-for-charity on Spa Beach, and a mile-long run/walk “parade” for less-competitive types.

The 2021 St. Pete Run Fest, a multi-event downtown running festival, is scheduled for Nov. 12-14.

For now the focus is on the Pier Run on Independence Day weekend. Jordan is grateful that the city has entrusted its planning and execution to his group. “Running on the pier is not an easy thing to operate,” he explains. “It’s not like the old pier, a pretty easy route. There’s a lot of moving parts on the new pier. Which makes it unique and beautiful, but for running – and for the operations of putting on a large-scale running event – it’s pretty complex.”

Approximately 10,000 visitors are anticipated each day of the July event.