Winthrop Park Express

Who we are

We are a group of friends who simply love to run year round. Rain, shine, cold or hot - we are out there running almost every Monday night. We represent all age groups, experience levels and paces. We only ask that you can run more than a 5k before you come out. Other training groups will get you to 5k; we want to take you beyond that distance. Our stated objective is to get folks to run a half marathon for the first time, but many of us keep coming back after attaining that goal. Most of our runners are members of the Gulf Winds Track Club. Please visit the GWTC web site to find out the latest news about running in Tallahassee and the region.

When and where we meet

We are called the Winthrop Park Express for a reason - that's where we meet before we run Betton Hills and the surrounding area. Here's a city map to get you to Winthrop Park. Note that we meet in the far eastern part of the park just north of the playground. You can enter this part of the park from Betton Road. We meet around 5:45pm and head out at 6:00pm year-round.

Please note that we do not meet at Winthrop Park during Springtime Tallahassee Training in order to show support for that group. We simply redirect our group to Myers Park and keep on running. Springtime Training normally starts at the end of January and runs through the end of March.

Our running routes

During the "maintenance months" we typically do an out and back totalling six miles. We are entering the "long run months" and extend the course a little bit every other Saturday (see training plan above). Here's a map of our Primary Route.
PS. You can click on the "MAP" button to take this map out of "Satellite" view.

Many thanks to Keith the Gator for working out the route.

What about water and Gatorade?

Please adequately hydrate before your run. GWTC volunteers Robert and Linda have a water fountain set up in their yard at the typical turnaround (the 2.6 mile mark). Water fountains and outdoor showers are also available at Winthrop Park.

Our Founders

Julie Clark and Jerry Ongley founded our training group in the fall of 2003 with one goal in mind - to properly train less experienced runners for the Tallahassee Half Marathon and beyond. Their legacy continues to help scores of runners today. Thank you Julie and Jerry for helping us to run farther and faster than we ever thought we could!