Sadly as someone who knows Raven for decades I have no sympathy for someone who is so compulsive…read morethat they forsake friendships over running. His running style has ruined his body and he was and is so compulsive that he could not visit a person on a significant day because he had to run at 4:00. I can't honor someone who never worked, run his body into the ground and is now doing a fund me. Others go out and work. He lives in the apartment that his mother worked hard to buy.

Robert Kraft aka the Raven has run 8 miles every day for the last 35 years on South Beach since…read more1975 for a total of over 100,000 miles. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4169717 He invites anyone and everyone to run along with him. I decided to try and do it myself a week ago in efforts to start training for upcoming Boston Marathon and St. Anthony's Triathlon. He is really fun to run with and everyone gets a nickname and he has a photographic memory. He remembers everyone's name and birthday !!! I heard some walk up that ran 8 years ago from Germany - ask Raven " Do you remember me ? " He did after he told him his name, Raven told him his nickname and birthday !! Incredible !! If you are a first time runner he waits for you to finish no matter how long it takes and gives you your nickname - if you run with him he full of fun stories and history of Miami Beach. Two people who have met on the run even go married on the run !!! Running in the sand was no joke and but I did finish and there in the dark was the Raven waiting. By the way my nickname is Stair Climber why ? because I do this : http://skyrisechicago.com/

OK so I want to love Battle Racing, but unfortunately this place leaves a lot to be desired…read more I recently went here for my cousins birthday because he wanted to live out his inner child dreams of doing real life Mario Kart. We went in a large group, and got to try out both the racing and the shooting game they offered. The actual race is so fun - you can buy a package to do two races that's around $25, but they offer group discounts and deals the more tickets you buy. I had a blast racing the go-karts, and it was even more fun because I beat my entire family much to their dismay. While the go-kart experience is fun, the entire experience of Battle Racing is pretty mediocre. The building itself is pretty run down, and the staff is not very welcoming or helpful. The place doesn't have a lot to offer in terms of other games to play while you wait your turn, and they also do not offer reservations and the experience is first come first served. I would imagine that creates a weird experience if you aren't the first ones to arrive like we were. There is only one bathroom for the entire space, so if the place is full you have to wait quite a bit. They also offer food and private party services, but seemed pretty unprepared for our private party which my cousin booked in advance with time details and food requests. I think this place could be really successful if they spruced the place up a bit, offered a bit more organization when it came to booking, and had a more welcoming team. There is definitely potential, but it missed the mark for our party this weekend. There is a free parking lot in the back of the building, as well as street parking. Overall, if you want to go-kart race here I would be prepared for an in-and-out experience as it's not a place you want to linger.

We either caught this place on the come-up (maybe a "soft opening"), or it has not reached its…read morepotential. The space is great & the location is good. The things that have been paid attention to (outside decor, the inside lighting, the overall theme etc) are well done. From that aspect, you are transported once you walk through the doors. But, the inner-workings lack the competitiveness to be in the same general area as K1 racing or Dave & Busters. There are better options that appear to run a tighter & cleaner operation 20 minutes in each direction. The battle karts were fun & do employ the gaming aspect that make them more than just go karts. But the software is wonky, the track felt small, & the safety precautions by the attendant were pretty much nonexistent (we had a 9 year old riding w the belt half on & a 14 year old who asked the attendant about tightening the seat belt only to be waved at & be told that it didn't matter). Eating in a room with only neon & black lights isn't too bad...unless you have to kill a roach (which we had to do) & then not having clear, bright-light sight of your food is concerning. (I know this is S FL & having a roach in a warehouse in downtown in the heat is hard to avoid - but this is my actual experience & if that sort of thing grosses you out, I thought you should know.). The gel-ball shooting game is pretty innovative - a mix between paintball & nerf that use small gel caps that sting but don't hurt too bad. Face masks are provided with different nerf implements to use as shields. The space for this competitive team shooting game is a shared space, with spare battle karts taking up a portion of the area. While the shooting zone is separated by a chain link fence, spectators do get hit with strays. Although players have masks, spectators are completely vulnerable. Several older people in our party opted to wear their sunglasses just to protect their eyes while watching others play. The location only has 1 bathroom, which is next to the shooting zone. So, if you are waiting in line during a match, there is a large probability that you will get hit (whether you are part of the party playing or not). The gel bullets move pretty fast & erratically - we found gel pellets in our curly hair for hours afterwards...a warning to anyone with textured styles. After driving & shooting, we were pretty warm. The place hasn't figured out ventilation & is generally warm. They do have air conditioning, but unless we stood directly below the vent - we were breaking a sweat. Here's the overall thing - I'm a Miami guy. I want to support small operations trying new things- even if they haven't quite figured it out yet. I like start ups, out-of-the-box labors of love. There are places that I haven't rated on Yelp bc I had a below average experience, but I felt that the proprietors were giving it their all. I'm not high maintenance - I don't need posh. And if this place had been in a non-gentrified area of town, I think I'd be okay. But, if you are going to spend money for go-karts & shooting games - I would regrettably suggest some place else.

This race was fun and definitely not boring…read more The course is tough. It's not impossible but I don't see it as a PR sort of course. You cross I beliee 4-5 bridges with one or two being pretty long. The volunteers we good. The medal is nice. And obviously the location is awesome. This year, 2011, it rained at like mile 9 and stopped by mile 10 so it was kind of refreshing but definitely slowed you down.

The Rock 'n Roll series of races is always a good time, and I am so happy we have one here in Miami…read morenow! Everything about the race was top-notch, from the fitness expo right on the beach, to the course support and the music! The course layout itself was similar to pretty much every other half marathon run on Mimai beach. I did like going over I-I95 instead of the venetian like you do on the ING. Pit Bull was the performer for the end of race concert. How can a race not be good if it ends with Pitt Bull?

The Miami Beach Halloween Freaky Four Miler was my most recent 5K, and I cut my time from my last…read moreevent by 2 minutes. #yeahme! As the name implies, it was a Halloween themed event and I went dressed up as #thatguy who didn't rock a costume. The race had both a 5K and Half Marathon component; I did the 5K and will comment on that. Originally - up to two weeks before - the race was supposed to start from Parrot Jungle and run across the causeway ending up at Nikki Beach. However, about 3 days after registering I was advised it was changing , supposedly over construction on the causeways (which I didn't notice any on this particular day). Still and all, the race organizers did a pretty good job with keeping me informed. Unlike the previous 5k, they required packet pick up in advance (most likely to get you to spend money at one of the sponsor stores #tinfoil). The course wasn't too bad; we started running along South Pointe Park to the access walkway of the marina, eventually thru Ocean Drive and back through the park. Signage was actually pretty clear and there were water & Gatorade stations at about third points of the course. The food spread after the run wasn't too bad. Besides the usual bananas and orange slices, they had blueberry pancakes and a tasty scrambled eggs with onions and red peppers. I wish they would have also had chair massage stations to help runners stretch like they used to have back in the earlier editions of the run.

The 2011 Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon was my first road race ever. I had a really great time…read moreand it was a blast to run in a costume. People seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves and the organizers and volunteers did a wonderful job of making sure that everything went smoothly. The route was fun and offered many beautiful views of Miami along the way. The finisher medal is super cute and makes me smile every time I look at it. Really, I have no complaints at all and recommend it to serious and novice runners alike. This was a laid-back race experience in a beautiful setting and I can't wait to run it again next year. Five stars all around.

4th full Tough Mudder and am just so disappointed. Loved my first couple TMs, but this one was just…read morea total letdown. - One, totally not a fan of the 2-loop course. What in the world. It seemed like a way to "cop out" of putting up the 20+ unique obstacles. Instead, we had 16 or so obstacles and had to re-do a few of them. - Missed obstacles like Arctic Enema. It felt like we had all the janky obstacles for the first 90% of the run. All of the fun ones were saved for the 2nd loop and stuffed into the last 1-2 miles (i.e., blockness monster, happy ending, funky monkey, etc.). Really disappointed in the layout. - Like the other reviewer mentioned, there was... No. Mud. Perhaps that's a fault of SoFlo since our dirt at this park was more like sand... but it felt like I was at a beach moreso than going through an actual mud run. Absolutely no mud. - No premium parking. In the past, I've always been happy to pay the $25 or whatever to park closer to the venue. In this instance, it was $20/vehicle, and premium parking didn't exist. Not only that, but it took over 30 minutes to park... This isn't Disney, folks! - Photographers... were placed SO badly! There was one that was just randomly placed in a field. WHY? Put him by an obstacle! There was no one by Berlin Walls; no one by Hero Carry; no one by Funky Monkey... It's fun getting to see the photo documentation of you championing the obstacles, but not this time. - Ran out of Small tech t-shirts... followed quickly by the Mediums. I have no idea what's going on with TM this year. :/ First time I've been to an event that ran out of Ts. + Only pro is the community. Still great camaraderie; everyone is always willing to help out others up and over obstacles, etc. Overall, just super disappointed. I think this will be my last Tough Mudder. In the future, I'll probably be looking for other mud runs. :(

This was my 3rd Tough Mudder and the worst one I've done. There was almost no mud or water courses…read more We also had to repeat several courses twice for the for the "full race". Not going to do it again in Miami.

Absolutely LOVED this run!…read more The parking and getting to the starting line was a bit of a mess, but besides that, all was great! There was entertainment along almost every single nook and cranny of the run- singers, dancers, DJs, bands, etc and a fringe benefit to running up and down 8st was that I got to see/find a lot of the restaurants I'd been reading about on here, but had yet to go to like Le Baguette and a Mexican taco place! The fact that the night was cool and crisp paired with the fact that there was beer at the finish line made me run faster than ever. There was paella at the finish line too, but really....all I cared about was the beer. This has been my favorite race to date. I can't wait to do the hooker run...i mean...calle ocho run...again next year!

Walked in just to kill some time and ended up having one of the coolest experiences I've had in a…read morewhile. Never tried sim racing before, but within minutes I was gripping the wheel like I was chasing a podium. The gear is top-notch and being on the tracks you see on tv is crazy. Will definitely be back.

Simply top notch simulators and a great guide. Much appreciated. I'll be back. Parking was easy as…read morewell.

In 2023 I ran the Miami marathon for the very first time. I spent months leading up to the race…read moretraining and building my stamina. The race was so much fun (and harder than I expected). But the scenery was beautiful, the crowd cheering was motivational, and the volunteers passing out water were helpful. Twenty- six miles later and I made it to the finish line filled with a feeling of accomplishment. I would absolutely run another marathon! Something to check off the bucket list!

1/29/2017 - First time running this race, 6th half marathon and 1st this year. This is a race you…read morewant to do at least once. It is the fastest growing race, and it brings runners from all over the world. The City of Miami did a great job coordinating the race with the police department. The traffic ran very smoothly throughout. It was a bit chilly but I dressed for the weather so I was fine. I got into my corral, letter H at 5:45am. You are placed in the corral based on your half marathon time. My best was 2:27 in 2016. The race was scheduled to start at 6am. Well, the race started and it was by corral at every 5 minutes. We were standing packed like sardines in the corral for 30 minutes. At least, we kept each other warm. It wasn't until we were called to the front that the rain started to pour and did not stop throughout the entire race. It was a cold, windy and rainy race. The views are absolutely spectacular whether it rains or not. The course takes you through the McArthur Causeway where you can see the cruise ships, the beautiful Miami skyline, inside South Beach and the Venetian bridge. The race finishes at Bayfront Park where they set up a huge party with vendors and a big stage with music. Once you cross the finish line, you go through the complimentary food area. They had bananas, individually wrapped bagels, oatmeal cookies, pretzels, power bars, waters and Gatorade. Then you collect your gorgeous medal and take pictures. This year was their 15th year of the Miami Marathon/Half Marathon and they gave a commemorative medal. Even with the 4 bridges, rain, cold and wind, I ended up beating my best time by 9 minutes. My official time was 2:18:24!!! Very happy with that. THANK YOU MIAMI!

Very aptly named, the Miami Nice Triathlon is everything that is good about Miami, not only is it a…read morewonderful event set in arguably the most beautiful multisport courses, but it is also staged for two great causes. It was created to promote healthy lifestyles and physical activity, and also and most importantly, in partnership with the City of Miami and Hands on Miami, to plant 1,000 trees in the next few years, thus making Miami a better place to live, work and play. The Miami Nice Triathlon follows the same course as the now internationally famous Miami International Triathlon which takes place in March and is one of the premiere races to jump start the Triathlon season. Miami Nice gives athletes the opportunity to gage their progress through the season as it stages two races with the same name, one in June 9th and the second installment in August 29th. These are perfect dates to participate in such competitive and challenging races. The early date allows for a review of the training and results and yields invaluable data to make the necessary adjustments to ensure a high performance season. The latter date is ideal to refocus and prepare for the late fall and end of season events. As mentioned before, the course of the Miami Nice Triathlon is world class, first the swim which takes place in a quiet inlet, it is open water but with little to no current and a very safe course. Exiting the water after 1500 meters of a good swim leg, comes one of the most exhilarating bike courses in South Florida multisport. Traveling through the Rickenbacker Causeway, the athletes have the opportunity to take in the beautiful Miami Skyline while testing their legs going over the William Powell bridge not one, but four times as they travel through two laps of the same route. With ocean views through much of the bike leg, the competitive and inspiring. After 24.8 mile bike leg, the participants shake their legs through T2 to begin a very unique 6.2 mile run, here the runners literally run through the woods, a shaded path that feels more like a trail since much of it is on soft packed dirt, covered with pine needles. It brings you close to nature and the runners welcome the much needed shade from the pine trees, emerging from the trail in the second lap to run a few hundred yards towards the finish line. There is no way to describe the feeling of accomplishment that an athlete feels when they drape the medal over your head and you check off one more successful Triathlon off your bucket list. The Miami Nice triathlon also has an option of a Sprint Distance race, a 750 meter swim, 12.4 bike and 3.1 mile run makes this the perfect first time race for anyone looking to try a tri.