Carb Up for the Miami Marathon With These Pre- and Post-Race Deals

The 15th-annual Miami Marathon and Half-Marathon will take place this Sunday, when nearly 25,000 runners will fill the streets of Miami and Miami Beach on a pedestrian tour of our fair cities.

If you're running the full 26.2 miles or the half (still a formidable 13.1 miles), you'll need fuel. Traditionally, the evening before a big race, runners carbo-load. Basically, that means scarfing down a steaming bowl of pasta in an effort to store energy for the miles to come.

A few restaurants in Miami and Miami Beach are offering special pre-marathon dinners, with two establishments celebrating your accomplishment with post-marathon deals. See you on the course!

Pre-Race

Azul
Azul at the Mandarin Oriental is featuring a pre-race three-course carbo-load menu Saturday, January 28, from 7 to 11 p.m. For a first course, choose from a field grain salad containing smoked cannellini beans, faro, quinoa, toasted seeds, and smoky eggplant and truffle/avocado dressing, or Brussels sprout salad. Then choose between udon noodle with kimchee, watermelon radish, shiitakes, and soft-poached egg or miso-roasted salmon with forbidden rice, seaweed, and preserved lemon vichyssoise. Finish the meal with almond gateau with brûlée bananas, cinnamon frozen yogurt, and puffed amaranth. Dinner costs $75 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Hard Rock Cafe Miami
This Saturday, enjoy a buffet-style carbo-laden dinner for $22.22 per person plus tax and gratuity. Start with a full salad station featuring diced tomatoes, sliced purple onions, sliced button mushrooms, sliced black olives, shaved Parmesan cheese, grated carrots, and homemade croutons. Ranch and balsamic vinaigrette are available on the side. Then have your fill of cavatappi pasta primavera, spaghetti Bolognese, and spaghetti Alfredo. For dessert, enjoy the chef's choice. The meal comes with unlimited soda, coffee, or tea. For reservations, call 305-377-3110 or email [email protected].

Scarpetta
Scott Conant's Italian eatery at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach offers a special "carb-up" prix fixe tonight and tomorrow. The three-course menu is available from 6 to 8 p.m. and includes a choice of antipasti (burrata with heirloom tomatoes, basil pesto, and balsamic pears; arugula salad with toasted pine nuts, pecorino, and truccioletto vinaigrette; or creamy polenta with fricassee of truffled mushrooms. For your pasta, choose spaghetti with tomato and basil; tagliatelle with wild mushroom, asparagus, and truffle sabayon; or duck and foie gras ravioli with Marsala reduction. Finish with a choice of coconut panna cotta; caramelized pineapple and guava soup; amedei chocolate cake; or toasted almond gelato with salted caramel sauce. The dinner is priced at $39, excluding tax and gratuity.

Post-Race

La Mar by Gaston Acurio
After the race, celebrate at La Mar at the Mandarin Oriental. Show your finisher medal and enjoy a complimentary upgrade from the Peruvian specialty brunch ($85 plus tax and gratuity) to the premium selection brunch (a $120 value). For more information or reservations, call 305-913-8358.

Via Verdi
Sunday evening, show your finisher medal and enjoy 25 percent off for you and a guest at Via Verdi.