'Best Damn Race' Returns to Safety Harbor in 2014

The inaugural 'Best Damn Race' was considered a success by all accounts, drawing thousands of people to downtown Safety Harbor while offering runners an affordable alternative to typically costly road races. 

The success of the event recently prompted the City Commission to agree to allow organizer Nick Zivolich to host the second annual BDR in town in February of 2014. 

Hoping to capitalize on the race’s success and bring recognition to the city, the commission also agreed to allow Zivolich to put the city's logo on marketing materials and promotional items related to the race, free of charge. 

“I’m in favor of putting their logo on our website and our logo on their marketing materials, if it costs us nothing,” Mayor Joe Ayoub said during the May 6 city commission meeting. 

While Commissioner Rick Blake and Vice Mayor Cliff Merz also agreed to the marketing proposal, Commissioners Nina Bandoni and Nancy Besore voted against the arrangement.

Both cited opposition to the inclusion of the word 'damn' in the race title as a reason for not wanting the city’s logo to be included on event promotional materials. 

“I rarely get a lot of feedback or comments about names and little stuff, but there are people that are offended by the ‘damn’ aspect of the name,” Bandoni said.

“I feel at the very least whatever we put out as far as marketing support, we need to figure out something else for that.”

“I haven’t gotten as much pushback, but it still sounds funny and it would still seem funny to see it with our seal, to me,” Besore added. 

Despite the small disagreement over the marketing, Zivolich said he is excited to have the race back in Safety Harbor again next year. 

"We are very excited to bring the race back to Safety Harbor in 2014 and expect it will stay in Safety Harbor for years to come,” he told Patch via email.

Although 1,600 people signed up to run on the first day of registration earlier this month, Zivolich plans to limit entries to 5,000 to help ensure an enjoyable race experience for all participants. 

"BDR is limiting the size of each race to provide a quality race experience that is not overcrowded," he wrote. "We want the BEST DAMN RACE, not the BIGGEST DAMN RACE."

For more information on the Best Damn Race, visit the event website at www.bestdamnrace.com.

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