JELLYFISH INSPIRE ARTWORK FOR KEY LARGO BRIDGE RUN MEDALS

Upper Keys artist Brittany Parker displays her work, which will appear on the Key Largo Bridge Run medals, alongside event organizer Henry Menendez, at Jewfish Creek Bridge in Key Largo. JIM McCARTHY/Keys Weekly

Runners returning for the annual First State Bank Key Largo Bridge Run on Nov. 14 will experience a course with views of the water not seen elsewhere. Participants will also be met with cheers when they reach the finish line at Gilbert’s Resort and a medal with artwork from a talented local painter. 

On the ribbon of this year’s bridge run medal are jellyfish created by Brittany Parker, of Go With the Ocean Flow. She’s created art as long as she can remember. Moving to Key Largo in 2014, she slowly took her art talents to new levels. What began with a few paintings to distress has evolved into large art displays during Third Thursday Morada Way Art Walk events. And she now conducts paint-and-sip classes every Wednesday at Key Largo’s Baker’s Cay Resort. 

The First State Bank Key Largo Bridge Run Half Marathon & 5K Run/Walk medal features artwork from Upper Keys artist Brittany Parker. CONTRIBUTED

Henry Menendez, Key Largo Bridge Run organizer, said he couldn’t think of a better person to provide the medal’s ribbon design this year. 

“Having one of the most talented, up-and-coming artists in the Upper Keys provide this year’s ribbon design is a very humbling experience for the First State Bank Key Largo Bridge Run management team,” Menendez said. “Brittany is definitely making an impact throughout the Florida Keys as she creates the beauty of underwater life to both locals and tourists alike.”

Parker said her inspiration is derived from nature with custom paintings inspired by the depths of the sea and Costa Rican waterfalls created with a class. She said she loves expanding her art and trying different techniques and styles. Recently, she dove into glow-in-the-dark paint and painting glassware. Parker said she went with something she loves to paint, jellyfish, for this year’s bridge run medal ribbon.

“I started with the blue background with the idea of creating a current where the jellies are going along with it, just like this run, one direction with a flow of individuals at different speeds all heading to the same finish line,” Parker said.

The half marathon & 5K run/walk will go over the Jewfish Creek Bridge overlooking the Key Largo Bay and finish at Gilbert’s Resort. Run or walk the bridge on the 18-mile stretch, or the “Gateway to the Keys.” 

Race T-Shirts will be given to the first 600 participants to register.  All participants will receive a medal upon completion of their respective race. Awards will be presented to the overall top three finishers for male and female, overall masters for male and female and the top three of different age groups.

More information is on the First State Bank Key Largo Bridge Run Facebook page or at runsignup.com/Race/FL/KeyLargo/KeyLargoBridgeRun.

Jim McCarthy is one of the many Western New Yorkers who escaped the snow and frigid temperatures for warm living by the water. A former crime & court reporter and city editor for two Western New York newspapers, Jim has been honing his craft since he graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 2014. In his 4-plus years in the Keys, Jim has enjoyed connecting with the community. “One of my college professors would always preach to be curious,” he said. “Behind every person is a story that’s unique to them, and one worth telling. As writers, we are the ones who paint the pictures in the readers minds of the emotions, the struggles and the triumphs.” Jim is past president of the Key Largo Sunset Rotary Club, which is composed of energetic members who serve the community’s youth and older populations. Jim is a sports fanatic who loves to watch football, hockey, mixed martial arts and golf. He also enjoys time with family and his new baby boy, Lucas, who arrived Oct. 4, 2022.