Did it a couple of times- it's well run, but kind of more geared to tourists who want a beach weekend than locals and on the expensive side for a sprint by local standards. Yes, it's toasty like a big giant steam oven, but the aid stations are well-manned.
The 2005 race was probably the strangest triathlon I'll ever do. It was the weekend before Katrina hit, and half the field had come from LA/MS. A lot of people had woken up to the 5:00am advisory that confirmed the big model shift westward, and the usual pre-race chatter had been turned into talk of cones of uncertainty and whether to try to make a run back home to board up/grab valuables before they contraflowed the interstates or to plan on staying put in Florida for a couple extra days.
And the water was so freakishly calm for all that we knew about the big monster lurking to the south. Some people peeling out of the parking lot as soon as they finished, others deciding to hang out and race, drink and be merry and let Monday bring what it would.
My favorite local sprints:
Santa Rosa Island at Pensacola Beach-
Santa Rosa Island Triathlon - Saturday, October 4, 2008 They've finally got J. Earl Bowden Road fully repaired and the bike course, if a bit windy, is to die for.
Destin Crab Trap Triathlon-
multisport.com - Home Very much a laid back locals race.
Mullet Man at the Florabama line (mid srping) has some structural issues, but is worth doing once just for the t-shirt.
I've done Grandman in Fairhope, AL in its previous incarnation as Pelican Point Triathlon (The infamous 'usually calm waters of Weeks Bay' year) and it was very well run.
There's a sprint series in Panama City Beach which tends to get a love it-hate it response, and the fall and spring Beach Blast races in Mexico Beach further east that are in a more rural area with spring and Olympic distance options-
http://www.beachblasttriathlon.com/12101/index.html
If you're interested in going long, Gulf Coast 1/2 IM on Mother's Day weekend is very well run with a nice flat (only hill is the bridge over the intracoastal) bike and run course. Just be aware that about 75% of the time, it ends up being the first really hot weekend of the year and the race is known in triathlon circles as 'Gulf Roast'
If you're interested in going really long, of course there's Ironman Florida in PCB. Never done that because I just don't like to bike That Much, but I've volunteered at the race a couple times and had a blast with that.
Since the weather here can be hit or miss from December to February in terms of good outdoor swimming and biking conditions, a lot of people do run emphasises that time of year. There are a ton of marathons and 1/2 marathons within a weekend trip drive that time of year- pretty much anything in the area from Orlando-Tampa Bay to Birmingham to New Orleans. And Seaside 1/2 marathon right in your backyard is a great race.
