It's time to run on the beach

VENICE

At the first Kids Summer Beach Run, the countdown never had a chance.

By the time race officials called out "5, 4, 3," more than 80 children had let out a shout and raced down Brohard Beach. Several minutes later, they plodded back, out of breath, their faces bright pink in the sun.

Wendy Aldridge, a Sarasota County program coordinator, likes to shorten the mile-long fun run.

"It's more like three-quarters of a mile," she said. "We get a lot of little ones."

Tuesday-Wednesday

After leaving town to cover the Gulf oil spill and then take a family vacation, I wanted to hustle back and write my annual column about the Beach Runs.

What's better than hundreds of kids screaming and running down the shore?

Let me answer my own question: Nothing.

Somehow I lost a day on vacation, though, and showed up at Siesta Key on Wednesday evening. D'oh! Fortunately, there was still time to drive down to Venice.

There's a lesson there, folks.

If you screw up the date, like I did, or if you and your kids can't make it to Siesta on a Tuesday, Venice on Wednesday is your backup plan.

For the next nine weeks, the Kids Summer Beach Runs are at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at Siesta Beach, and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at Brohard Beach, next to the Venice Municipal Pier in Venice.

Admission is free. All finishers get a ribbon and a frozen pop. Kids who complete four runs get a free T-shirt.

On Siesta, the Manasota Track Club sponsors 7 p.m. Tuesday races for grown-ups, too. Fitness and fun for the whole family.

'Camp Nana'

The Siesta Key runs often draw more than 400 participants. Venice has a smaller beach and smaller race.

Lots of kids are visiting Florida relatives on their summer vacations.

"I bet half of our registration here is from out of state," Aldridge said. "It's kind of cool."

I spotted one pair of Venice grandparents at the finish line. Alan Carter took photos of the kids, while Micki Carter took snapshots of their time on the race clock, which was 11 minutes and 24 seconds.

"They did the walk-run," Micki said. "They're not used to this heat."

The grandkids -- Alex Braman, 12, and Madison Braman, 9 -- sweated through their first Beach Run. After the race, he traded his orange pop for her banana one.

"They're here at Camp Nana," Micki joked. "They're going to be here all summer, until July 30."