There's something about runner Stacy Schwartz that brings out the wildlife, be it manatees nursing their offspring or peacocks strutting their colors or dolphins dancing in Biscayne Bay.

Maybe it's because Schwartz is a touch on the wild side herself.

Who else would have performed professionally on stage Saturday night, woken up a few hours later at 3 a.m. to prepare for the ING Miami Half Marathon, been on the starting line before dawn, finished the 13.1 miles, rushed home and then raced back to the theater for two shows that day?

``Last year was bordering on insanity,'' said Schwartz, 36, called the ``pied piper'' of running by fellow competitor and uncle Ron Sevcik, a retired Miami Dade College professor of psychology. ``People tried to tell me, `You may want to rethink this,' '' she said. ``I said, `No, I can do this. I'm young. No problem. Plenty of people run distances.' ''

They just don't do it sandwiched between singing, dancing and acting in three performances.

Schwartz will repeat the insanity again this weekend at the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon, but this time she'll only have a matinee -- The Great American Trailer Park Musical at Actors' Playhouse in Coral Gables -- on Sunday.

It could be worse. She could be running 26.2 miles in the ING Miami Marathon, which begins at the same time and place as the half marathon, at 6:15 a.m. in front of AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami.

The eighth annual event has nearly reached its registration limit of 18,000 for both distances, about 4,500 of whom signed up for the marathon. Some of them are elite runners vying for part of the $10,000 purse. But most, like Schwartz, race recreationally for fun and fitness.

Last year, Schwartz won the Carbonell Award, often referred to as the ``South Florida Tony Awards,'' for her performance in Adding Machine that coincided with the marathon weekend.

``It involved me very gracefully and very beautifully gliding down a staircase several times, then going back up the staircase while I'm singing a lovely song -- which is all fine and well when you haven't run 13 miles that morning.''

PLAYING DUAL ROLES

ING Miami Marathon co-founder Frankie Ruiz was thrilled to learn about the running actress. ``Running is an activity that welcomes everyone, regardless of their backgrounds,'' Ruiz said. ``I love the idea of people like Stacy Schwartz running.''

This weekend's ING events include Saturday's Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Tropical 5K on Miami Beach that benefits Community Partnership for Homeless.

For Schwartz, running has everything to do with ``getting healthy'' in a way that doesn't rely on unwieldy equipment. She is a recreational athlete who also competes in 5Ks and 10Ks. She ran last year's ING race in 2 hours 12 minutes.

Schwartz moved to Washington last year after living in Miami for 10 years. She grew up in Annapolis, Md., but spent vacations with her grandparents on South Beach.

``They had one of those condos that overlooked the cruise ships coming in,'' she said. ``I loved it. So when I ran last year's ING Half Marathon, I was going over the MacArthur Causeway and seeing the cruise ships and thinking about my grandparents and remembering my childhood.

``Now I run the national mall, which is beautiful. But there's something about Miami and watching the sun rise over the ocean while you're doing a half marathon -- I mean it's out of a postcard.''

Schwartz's uncle has been training with her in Miami for the show. She calls him ``Coach Ron.'' He said he can't get over how his runs are infinitely more fun when she runs with him.

``We looked down under our feet on the Coco Plum bridge recently and there's a pod of three manatees. One of the babies was nursing. We just stood there watching,'' said Sevcik, 60, who has run 17 marathons, his fastest time 3:08 in the early 1980s.

``Another time we saw peacocks strutting and fanning their tails. A few weeks before we were running off the Rickenbacker Causeway and saw dolphins. She's like a magical magnet.''

Schwartz and Sevcik, whose wife Fran works for the Sony Ericsson Open and will drive them to the Metrorail station at 4 a.m. Sunday, will be joined in the half marathon by Wilton Manors resident Eric Alsford, the musical director for The Great American Trailer Park Musical.

`BUNDLE OF ENERGY'

While Schwartz belts out songs and does some provocative dancing in this production, Alsford will be playing the electric keyboard and conducting the four-piece band.

``Running actually gives me more energy,'' said Alsford, one of Schwartz's closest friends. ``Stacy, in fact, is like an absolute bundle of energy.''

Last year, however, by her final show after the marathon, she wasn't so energetic.

``I remember her leaning against her dressing table between shows and thinking, `Uh oh. She's going to fall asleep,' '' Alsford said. ``But Stacy's a pro. She's never going to give a half-[hearted] performance.''