DONNA Marathon Weekend: FIS 5k Race Report 2026

What a roller coaster ride it was to even get to the start line for this race! I signed up for it months ago because I’d heard from a lot of other people that running the Donna was a big deal. When I signed up, I {of course} had to pay an extra $7 to get a shirt in my size. But more specifically, there was no mention of packet picket not being available on race day. There was nowhere to pay extra (like with Gate River Run). So, silly me, I assumed that I’d be able to pick up my swag on Saturday morning.

Fast forward to about a month before the race, and I get some pre-race emails from The Donna Foundation, and they specifically said that there would be NO race day pickup, and that all racers MUST pick up their packets on Friday.

Yah, that won’t work… I live about 90 minutes away from the race location, and it makes no sense to drive there and back, or drive there and stay the night, for a simple 5k race. So I replied to that email on January 13^th, asking if there would be any concessions for out of town people, or if I could swap to the Virtual Option (they were the same cost). I got no reply. About a week later, I reached out via The Donna Foundation’s website contact form, with the same questions. Still no response.

At this point, I was so frustrated with the lack of communication, and the supposed “bait & switch” with having to do pickup on Friday that I began to entertain the idea of saying fuck it all and just not going… I can afford to lose $50, but I didn’t really WANT to, ya know? So in a last ditch effort, I messaged them via their website one more time, and I finally got a response (apparently they had disabled the contact form because it was glitching). The person who responded (let’s call them MM) offered to swap me to the Virtual Option or race day pick up for $10. I told her that I would be fine with race-day pick up (though I was still ticked off about all this), and requested specifically that a W3XL shirt was set aside for me (since I seem to keep getting screwed on receiving shirts that I pay extra for!). She told me that she would personally pack my bag and bring it with her to packet pickup, and not even charge me the extra $10, since I’d had such a frustrating experience… that was very nice of her!

Now that we got that all sorted out, it was time to look forward to race day, and oh yeah… now there’s a crazy cold front on the way. I’m talking temps IN FLORIDA under freezing for race day. Oh, and some rain. I jut had to laugh… I fought so hard to get packet pickup, only to be rewarded with a cold as fuck rainy race? But at this point, I couldn’t not go!

When I went to bed Friday night, it was supposed to be about 55º when I took off, but unfortunately, when I woke up on race day, I was looking at low 40s. Hubby took the day off, so I drove up extra early, to ensure that I could get a good parking spot (so I wouldn’t get lost) – parking was at a hotel 10 miles away. When I got there, I assumed that the shuttle bus would pick up near the hotel, so I parked there. I went inside to use their potties, then asked the front desk clerk where the bus picked up – turned out that the bus picked up at an outer lot about a quarter-mile away, so I moved my car over there and got a good spot right by the bus stop (easy to find when I get back!).

I stayed in the car (toasty and warm) for about 15 minutes, but once I saw the line begin to grow, I decided I should probably get in line. I dressed in a base layer and shirt when I left the house, then tossed on a beanie and running jacket and got in line. Within five minutes, though, I realized that I needed another layer, so hopped back over to my car to get my puffer jacket and a pair of gloves, then got on the shuttle. I’d rather be too warm than too cold.

So many people still behind me (waiting for the bus)

Bus ride took about 10 minutes and it dropped us off a few blocks from the start line. The start area was quite hectic and not well organized. There were some tents on the left side of the road, some tents on the right side of the road, with the ‘corrals’ in the middle of the road – but no way to get to either tent area without having to swim upstream through the corrals. A walkway or sidewalk would have been extremely helpful!

I found the tent to get my packet, and shocker, I ran into my Race Shirt Nemesis – Blue Hair Carol. I gave her my bib number and said that she couldn’t find it. I told her that MM told me that she’d set it aside, and someone pointed to a bag on the chair behind them, which ended up being my bag. Without missing a beat, Blue Hair Carol told me that they didn’t have a shirt in my size, blah blah blah, but I could come back later and hopefully they’d have one in my size (remember, I paid $7 extra for this shirt that she says they don’t have). I opened my bag, and MM came through for me – my W3XL shirt was nicely folded inside. I may or may not have given Blue Hair Carol a smirk as I walked away. I found an empty table, folded up my bag and shirt as small as possible, and tucked them into my waist pack, just minutes before the race began.

The energy as we took off was amazing, such girl power! Lots of survivors and supporters… I almost felt like an imposter. I have no skin in this game, why was I here? But off I went at a fast walk, gaining energy from so many spectators waving and cheering all of us on.

Start Corrals on the left, Tents on the right, and past the corrals on the left

I didn’t warm up very much at all during the entire race, maybe unzipped my exterior jacket by the end of the race. Coming in to the finish line, everyone was so energetic and amped, but then the race announcer Fitz turned off the music so she could relay something she was just told – a finisher told her that she did this race every year, but she’d just gotten terrible news and expected that she wouldn’t be here next year. Or any year after that. Fitz was in tears, repeating fuck cancer, man. FUCK cancer. Someone next to me said “There’s no quit ‘til you’re cold.” I took this to mean that you don’t quit ‘til you’re dead. And I completely agree. You absolutely never know when something can change or improve.

Never give up; you never know what is in front of you

This sounds selfish, I know that, but… this announcement sucked all of the energy out of my own finish, but this woman (the one with the cancer) got SO MUCH SUPPORT from everyone around here that I didn’t even care. I wish I knew who she was, so I could check to see if she comes back in 2027.

I finished under an hour, at 56:29, and was 1761/2262 total runners, and 118/149 in my age group. Anyway, I got my medal, and well… It kind of looks like a vagina with dick arms. It’s a pretty medal, like a suncatcher, all glistening and pink (but, um, aren’t all vaginas glistening and pink?)

It's cold and getting colder!

I wandered around the after party, but there wasn’t much there – there were some places selling food or coffee, but not a lot of fun swag. I picked up a bottle of Electrolit (tasty) and a few Strawberry Watermelon Bloom drinks (also tasty). I headed back to the bus, riding in the cool kid single seat in the back, back to the nearly empty parking lot (being slow makes it easy to find my car!).

Same seat I sat in when I was in high school

I took the car over to the hotel again so I could change clothes and visit the expo (there’s a half and full marathon tomorrow). Then I went to Shake Shack for lunch (not impressed), hit up Trader Joe’s and Dollar Tree, then grabbed a soda and headed home.

Shake Shack Bacon Cheeseburger, Fries, Coke Zero, Vanilla Milkshake - $25!

ETA – A few days later, I found out some cool stuff:

• There were participants from all 50 states, and 11 countries
• They raised a quarter-million dollars for The Donna Foundation
• Fitz (the race announcer) is from Gainesville (possibly still lives there?). Also, she beat cancer herself, which explains why she is so powerfully emotional about this race. Who doesn’t love a confident, healthy, hilarious, kick-ass, conservative woman? Instant follow on X! 

Race Notes                                                          

Location: Jacksonville Beach

Host: The DONNA Foundation

Race Fee: $30 (Plus extra $7 for Women’s 3X Shirt)

Packet Pickup: Near start line; chaotic

Parking: Miles away, at Host Hotel

Support: One water stop (accessible twice), lots of cheers near start/finish line
After Party: Big, but mostly food trucks and concession tents ($$)

Results: https://my.raceresult.com/380156/results#1_979DAD

Give Me What I Paid For! - IQ Fiber Winter Beach Run 5k Race Report 2026

I’ve done the summer version of this race a few times, back in the mid 2010s, and the last time I did it (in 2016), I got heat exhaustion! So I’d decided to not do this race anymore, at least until I was in better shape (i.e. not fat). I haven’t done it since… But there’s also a winter version that I’ve wanted to try but never remembered to sign up for… until this year!

I left home around 6am and had an easy drive to Jacksonville Beach. I got there around 7:45am (for a 9am race), scoring a great parking spot in the lot right by the park. I went up to get my packet, and I was told that they didn’t have any Women’s XXL shirts, and that I could check back afterward to “see if any showed up.” I asked to get a different size, and the volunteer kept telling me that they couldn’t swap or substitute before the race. BUT… I wasn’t trying to swap or substitute – I was just trying to get a shirt that was owed to me for signing up for the race. I was getting pissed off, because I specifically paid $5 EXTRA for a shirt in my size, and somehow ended up with NO SHIRT?!?

After a few minutes of trying to be rational with this woman, I gave up and went back to the car. Where I decided to tweet about it. Like, I didn’t expect any sort of outcome, but I was just so damn ticked off, that I needed to name and shame the company at this point.

I headed back to the park around 8:40 and as I was walking I heard my bib number being called over the speaker, telling me to come to the Info Tent. When I got there, I was told that they just randomly had someone turn in an WXXL shirt (yeah, sure) so I was able to get the shirt that I paid extra for. Was it the twitter bitching? Did they find an extra one in a box? Did someone actually turn one in? Who knows, got mine. I wasn’t happy, per se, but satisfied. Like, I don’t take pleasure in having to shame someone publicly to get what I deserve. I took it back to the car, then back to the park to finally line up and walk this race.

A tiny bit of the race was along the Seawalk sidewalks, but the majority of it was on the beach. Trudging through the soft sand always sucks, but then you get to the harder-packed sand at the water’s edge and it’s easier to walk. I didn’t do any running, but I did want to run, so that’s a win, I suppose (I feel like my body is fighting back from a year or so of not training).

I finished under an hour – 58:54 – and was 445^th out of 486 total participants. I was last in my age group, and ironically, I could have beat the 22^nd lady if I was just 20 seconds faster!    

I wandered around the ‘after party’ which was sad as hell. A perk of this race is hot cocoa after the race, and even though it was already in the high 60s, I got some anyway, and y’all… I kid you not, there were cases of individually packaged cocoa mix under the table, with the cocoa being kept in those large Igloo cooler dispensers. Someone had to sit there and open thousands of Swiss Miss packets and mix them all together! As you can imagine, the cocoa wasn’t all that hot, and not super-tasty. The only other thing there was some rando handing out almond granola. Not an almond fan, so I didn’t get any. The after party was very sad!

I walked around the adjacent Jax Beach Arts Market, which was as sad as you’d imagine, then headed back to the car. I changed at a local gas station then headed north to treat myself to a platter of fried deliciousness at Safe Harbor Seafood. There were about 30 Navy men in their fatigues, waiting in line. As I stood there looking at them, they all looked so YOUNG! I’ve reached an age where I can look at new soldiers and realize that they could all be young enough to be my child. Bless you all, my dudes, and stay safe as you make your way through the world.

Anyway, I got the Fried Shrimp and Scallop basket, and took it outside to the patio. I forgot how much I hated these stupid, hipster, aluminum seats (they aren’t meant for big butts). Sadly, the scallops weren’t cooked all the way through (I guess?) because they felt kind of mushy inside. The shrimp was delicious, nice and plump. I need to remember to skip the scallops and just get shrimp! Although I’m beginning to wonder if the product is worth the hype anymore? This meal cost me about $25, and I only ate about half of it.

With a full belly, I decided to check out the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. Everyone raves about St. Vinnies, but this one wasn’t impressive. It was very small, and felt bougie. Good for them for marketing their wares in a great way, though! I felt like I was shopping at a boutique that caters to 60-year old women who like to lunch. I ended up getting a small fleece blanket for a buck, that I use at work (our building is 200 years old and not well insulated).

Next, I headed to Hope’s Closet Thrift Shop  and HOLY MOLY, what a store! I didn’t know what to expect, only that the store looked like it would be big, but wow. It was probably 75% clothing, so at first I wasn’t all that thrilled – it’s hard to find Plus Size clothing at thrift stores. This store was weird, though. They had some items that looked brand new with tags, like they got it from a warehouse or outlet, but then they also had racks of typical thrift clothing. Racks were very well organized, by type, then size – including Plus Size! This made me so happy, because it meant that I wouldn’t have to dig through racks and racks of clothing just hoping to find my size! I could simply go to the Shirt rack, and look at the small selection of Plus Size, and then move on if I don’t find anything. I ended up wandering this store for three hours, immersed in the hunt! I scored a few pair of nice (like really nice) work pants and some little tchotchkes for Valentine’s day décor.

I thought about hitting up another thrift store, but it was late in the day, so I grabbed a soda and just headed home, exhausted! 

Race Notes                                                          
Location: Jacksonville Beach, FL
Host: 1^st Place Sports
Race Fee: $25 at time of registration (Plus extra $5 for Women’s 2X shirt)
Packet Pickup: Easy to find, unsatisfactory interaction
Parking: Across the street, but I got there early
Support: One water table (accessible up and back), beach was not closed to tourists
After Party: Pretty much nothing! Some rando with granola, an Igloo cooler with Hot Cocoa
Results: https://my.raceresult.com/378077/results#2_EB48B6