PHOTOS: Nolan's Pub St. Patrick's Day 5K

The first annual Nolan's Pub St. Patrick's Day 5K road race was a huge success by all acounts, according to organizers and participants.

The street race in and around downtown Safety Harbor Sunday drew over 300 participants, far exceeding the expectations of pub owner Craig Davide and fellow event organizer Karl Lounge.

"Three-hundred and fifty-three people registered to run, and 337 showed up," Davide said as he poured beer and made food for participants after the race.

"I had no idea what to expect, I thought we'd get a couple hundred people at most. So I'm happy."

Lounge, a St. Pete police officer, was equally thrilled, especially since the race was a fundraiser for the Fraternal Order of Police to help send officers to the annual memorial event in Tallahassee.

"This came out absolutely awesome, much better than we expected," he said. "And every dime is going to the FOP - Craig isn't making a cent off it - so that makes it even more special."

Participants in the race ranged from Safety Harbor residents Christina Jackson and Commissioner Rick Blake to out-of-towners who thought it would be a fun event to enter.

In fact Jonathan Ferguson of Clearwater made the Nolan's 5K his first-ever race.

"I was in the bar about a month ago and saw the sign, so I decided to enter. I thought it would be fun," he said. "It was great. For a first time event I thought it was very well organized."

Ferguson's running mate, Joanna Cheshire, herself a seasoned runner, said they chose the race as a way to relax and have fun.

"We're drinkers with a running problem," she said. 

Tampa's David Ussery, who finished third in his category, also entered for the fun factor.

"This is the first time I've ever had a beer before a race," he said as he enjoyed a post-race brew. "This one was a lot of fun."

Lounge and Davide said they plan on hosting the event again next year, and they learned a lot from this inaugural effort.

"We'll order a few more shirts and medals next year, but overall we're please with how it turned out," Lounge said.

Davide, who was operating on little sleep due to weekend-long St. Patrick's Day festivities, was just looking forward to getting some much deserved rest.

"I'll sleep on Monday and make up for it," he said. "But this has been a fun weekend."

Stay connected to your community. Sign up for the free Safety Harbor Patch email newsletter and you won't miss a thing!