Two race days set the order
The 50th Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Weekend runs Saturday, February 20 and Sunday, February 21, 2027. The 15K and 5K run Saturday. The half marathon and 8K run Sunday. Each distance carries its own entry ladder, and each rung closes on a date.
The entry price is fixed by the calendar. No organiser page publishes a room rate.
The ladder, distance by distance
The 15K opens at $55 for March 17 to April 18, 2026, then $60 to July 6, $65 to September 30, $70 to November 30, $80 to January 8, 2027, and $85 for January 9 to February 14, 2027, online only. Race weekend entry runs $90 if any remain.
The half marathon runs $105, $115, $120, $130, $145, $155 and $165 across the same windows. The 5K runs $45 to $80. The 8K runs $50 to $85. Every figure on the race pages excludes the service fee charged by Race Roster, the registration partner.
What waiting costs
October 22 sits inside the $70 window for the 15K and the $130 window for the half. The final online window asks $85 and $155. The gap is $15 on the 15K and $25 on the half.
The December step is the smaller one. Waiting for it narrows the gap to $5 on the 15K and $10 on the half. Two half entries bought in October cost $50 less than the same pair bought in February. A 15K entry and a half entry together save $40.
February 14 closes online registration
Online registration stays open until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 14, 2027, or until a distance reaches capacity. The mail-in route closes earlier. Forms must be postmarked by January 8, 2027, and must carry the entry fee plus a $5 processing fee.
The February 12 deferral covers two products
Deferral into 2028 is accepted until 3 p.m. on Friday, February 12, 2027. It covers the half marathon and the four Michelob Ultra challenges. The half deferral fee is $37. The challenge deferral fee is $47.
The 15K, 5K and 8K carry no deferral. Refunds and transfers of registration are prohibited in every 2027 event. A distance change costs a $15 transfer fee plus the difference in entry fee, and no challenge transfer is handled at the expo.
The nights the weekend needs
The Tampa Bay 28 Health and Fitness Expo opens at the Tampa Convention Center, 333 S. Franklin Street, on Friday, February 19 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and continues Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. Packet pickup sits inside the same hall.
Saturday starts early. The 15K goes at 6:45 a.m. from Brorein Street and Franklin Street, with a second wave at 6:55 a.m. The 5K waves begin at 9:15 a.m. from Brorein Street and Ashley Street. A Saturday runner needs Friday and Saturday nights and a Sunday checkout.
Sunday starts earlier. The half marathon goes at 6 a.m. from Platt Street and Bayshore Boulevard, and access to its staging area closes at 5:50 a.m. sharp. Once the area closes, no entry and no start. The 8K goes at 9:15 a.m. from Bayshore Boulevard and Verne Street. A Sunday runner needs Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and a Monday checkout.
Gear check sits in Meeting Room 125 on the convention center's lower level, open 5:30 a.m. to noon Saturday and 4:30 a.m. to noon Sunday.
The host hotel publishes no rate
The organiser names the Embassy Suites Tampa Downtown Convention Center as the 2027 official host hotel and states that additional hotels are coming. The city's nearby-hotel list records the property at 513 S. Florida Avenue, connected to the convention center by skybridge.
No nightly rate appears anywhere on the race site. Ask the sales office for the race-weekend rate, the date the block releases, and the cancellation terms in writing.
Parking runs $15 a day with no in-and-out
The organiser tells drivers to expect $15 for all-day parking with no in-and-out privileges. Its recommended garages are Fort Brooke at 107 N. Franklin Street, Pam Iorio at 301 Channelside Drive, the convention center garage at 333 S. Franklin Street, and Whiting at 400 E. Whiting Street. The City of Tampa sets those fees and collects them before you enter.
Entry first, room second
The entry is the only fixed number available today, and it is not refundable or transferable. Ask for the block release date and the cancellation terms before you authorize a charge on the room.
For ten or more rooms, hotelhuddle sends one request to 50 or more hotels, with responses inside 24 to 72 hours and no markup. Some properties quote from five rooms. Florida sits outside what hotelhuddle can process under state seller-of-travel rules, so a Florida group should route the request to the property's own sales office and confirm the current status at hotelhuddle.com/seller-of-travel.
The race office answers at (813) 254-7866 and information@RunGasparilla.com.