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Myrtle Beach Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Myrtle Beach Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.6
Number of comments: 318 [displaying comments 91 to 101]
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D. M. from Wilmington, Delaware
(2/17/2010)
 "Race doesn't know how to be a big-time event" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Let's be clear. This event has been around for 10 years now and has grown from about a 1,000 to 6,600. It started to look like a big-time event, except for one problem - it doesn't know how to be one. For a race that has been around this long and grown this large, why weren't there contingency plans in place for bad weather? Didn't they think it would ever snow in February in South Carolina? Why is the course, with the numbers having grown, still open to traffic? Either stop the traffic or design a less traveled route. Additionally, the race could have been postponed an hour or two. The race directors claimed the that "volunteers" wouldn't be available with a change in time. Why not? Either they support the event or they don't. This was a bad decision that will hurt this race for years to come. They'd have to do something nice to entice me back - like free entry to next year. They can keep their swag. I've already got a batch that I won't use because, while I paid fo it, I didn't "earn" it. | |
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S. N. from Colorado
(2/17/2010)
"Missed Opportunity" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I don't know what the course or spectators would have been like, and the final decision on this race was by the city. I think the city should have made a final decision at about 4:00 a.m., as this would give them some time to work on the course and see what the roads were like, since the snow was supposed to stop at about 3:00 a.m. The roads were wet and slightly slushy, but running would certainly be doable. This would have been a great opportunity for Myrtle Beach to showcase its city and determination. Instead, people traveled 1000's of miles to an event that was canceled with very little ACCUMULATED snow on the road. | |
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Don Slusser from Monroeville, PA
(2/16/2010)
 "Caution: Race canceled in 2010" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Normally a very well run race, but the city canceled it in 2010. Snow... but roads were 99.9% clear. City not behind race? Have a back-up plan. I ran it "unofficially" and the roads were wet. Caution City panicked once seeing a snowflake. | |
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K. S. from Goode, VA
(2/16/2010)
"Race canceled due to wintry conditions" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Hard to rate a new course so I opted for 3 stars. Same for spectators, since we didn't actually run. However, as is always the case for this race the organization, volunteers and little extras are always top-notch! Packet pickup is always a breeze and this year runners received a number of nice goodies for their registration fee. Yes, I was disappointed that the race was canceled due to the weather; at 11 p.m., when the announcement was made, it was snowing VERY heavily with predictions in the 4-5 inch range. Given the other option available - further delaying the start time after it had already been delayed once - I feel like in the interest of EVERYONE'S safety (runners, volunteers, course officials, safety officers, etc.) that the correct decision was made to cancel the race the night before. At least that way, when you went to bed, you knew whether or not you had to get up early for the race. It is unfortunate that people feel as though they wasted their money by coming to Myrtle Beach since the race supports a number of South Carolina charities. There are always other races to run and it wasn't worth me running a marathon if doing so would have adversely affected innocent people's lives, health, and safety. | |
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C. S. from Columbia, SC USA
(2/15/2010)
 "race canceled" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The race was canceled due to snow... or as some would say, a few flakes. Most people who live in the north just don't get it. We don't do snow here. We rarely have snow here, we don't drive well in it, and we don't have mountains of salt and snow removal trucks to make the roads clear. They called the race the night before because it was so unclear how bad the roads were really going to be. I ran at 7 a.m. and it was slushy and tricky. I can't imagine if there had been 6,600 other people trying to RACE in it. It would have been a mess. I am sorry for the people who traveled and spent tons of money on this race. I am sorry for the first-timers and the hopeful BQ'ers who had trained so hard. It is unfortunate that MB will be ridiculed for this. I don't know how else they could have called it. I will be back to run MB because it is always a well run race. | |
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P. N. from New York
(2/15/2010)
 "Myrtle Beach Cancelled- Valuable Lessons Learned" (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Valuable lessons for runners: 1) Myrtle Beach Marathon and Half Marathon event for 6,600 runners is not a closed course. 2) There are no solid contingency plans if weather conditions are not ideal. 3) Develop your own backup plan if a race is cancelled. 4) The City of Myrtle Beach has a different work ethic philosophy from a typical runner preparing for 2 to 5 months to run a full or half marathon. 5) Race organizers are volunteers and they do their very best... but... it is not their full time job. Lessons for the City of Myrtle Beach: 1) You have disappointed over 6,000 runners and families. 2) If you were really concerned about safety of an event for over 6,000 runners, you would have committed to a closed course during the planning stages. 3) Hire a few full-time employees to develop contingency plans and share the plans upfront with runners so they know what to expect. 4) You lost the opportunity to have repeat customers. 5) You have damaged your reputation to support a big-time running event. 6) The growth of this event had tremendous upside, and if the community cannot support a closed course, then you may want to consider a smaller event. I was there at 7 a.m., joining 75 other runners at the starting line, and we were determined and motivated to kick off an "unofficial" race. Like most runners, we are self sufficient, we have fuel belts, we carry gels, we are able to manage running in wet conditions, and we do our best to safely maneuver around traffic. It's a risk we take every time we hit the streets for training over 150 - 200 days per year. I was fortunate to find 3 other runners who ran at my 7:50 "wet condition" pace time. We ran 11 miles together until we split up on 10th Avenue North on Ocean Blvd. I finished my own half marathon at the "unofficial" time of 1:44. The snowmen and the snow-covered trees were beautiful along the route. We passed so many runners running their own "unofficial" race routes; some were alone, and some were in pairs and groups. I am very thankful that the half marathon route was very easy to follow with the map organizers provided at the expo. My heart goes out to the runners who were ready to make their attempts at qualifying Boston. Other runners, like me, had a lot less riding on this race and I am able to run a half anyway without the worries of an "official time." It felt exceptionally satisfying to recieve a medal as organizers were handing them out in the afternoon at the finish area. It was a great experience for me and I learned a lot from this event. I would have welcomed the opportunity to make this an annual event for me from NY, but the City of Myrtle Beach and I are not a good fit. I will move on and stick with organizers and communities that are a great fit for runners - especially since more of them exist in the North. One final note: Since there was no real backup plan, and since, Myrtle Beach and the surrounding areas are not accustomed to driving in the snow, and the majority of the volunteers are over 50 years-old and more, and the course was not closed, and the cold and snowy conditions would have been extremely challenging for volunteers to set up between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and they had no idea what the roads were going to look like at the start of the race (could have been snowy and icy, but were just wet and a bit slushy in some areas). I do understand why they cancelled the race. I hope they are able able to learn from this experience and be better prepared for the next time if they continue holding a big event in the month of Febrary. | |
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Casey Crookston from Minnesota
(2/14/2010)
"2010 was canceled by the city due to snow" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I came all the way from snow-entrenched Minnesota to run this marathon, and the City of Myrtle Beach pulled the plug the night before because of a few little snow flakes. Embarrassing. The race organizers still did their best to make it a good event, and it looks like most runners still ran the course anyway. I did. Medals were still given out, but I feel bad for anyone who wanted an official time for Boston. After this, I don't think I'll be back. There are enough other marathons where the host city is more level-headed. | |
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R. U. from South Carolina
(7/28/2009)
"Run at the Beach" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This a great, fun, mid-sized marathon. The course is flat and fast. I set my PR here and I wasn't even trying. Like others have said, if you want to qualify for Boston, this is the race to do it. They had a enough aid stations and they served oranges and bananas at a few, which is helpful. Also, there are not a lot of spectators, but more than I've seen on other marathons. They actually have race volunteers on the course, where other marathons just use their volunteers at the expo. Getting the shirt with the towel and bag was a great surprise and GREAT SWAG. This year's expo was spread out and easy to navigate, but in the past it has been in hotel lobbies as opposed to the convention center. The weather is cold, much colder than most people expect. If you think MB is warm year round, think again. February can be in the low 20s at start with chance of rain or flurries, so dress in layers. It will warm up. I've run in other major cities and I believe that the MB Marathon can compete. The organizers are friendly and helpful, and it's a fun race. It's worth running more than once. Also, the heart-shaped medals were awesome!! Different from other medals, so they are memorable, like the race. It truly shows that Southern hospitality. | |
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J. A. from baltimore, md
(5/18/2009)
 "My favorite of 9 marathons" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 A+ marathon. My favorite of 9 marathons. I was not in tip top shape so I ran this one more as a training run but could have definitely PR'd on this extremely flat course with a nice, low number of runners. Fabulous course, very well organized (plenty of parking, no traffic jams, etc.), and it was not too crowded to run your speed. I LOVED this race. | |
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M. R. from Orlando, Florida
(5/17/2009)
 "Flat course, well-run race" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Nice, medium-sized marathon. Pros: 1. The course is FLAT. This can also be a problem if you need a few hills to work other leg muscles. 2. The HEART-SHAPED medal for Valentine's Day was neat - I like the different look. It's very creative, as against the round or square medal. 3. Speaking of Valentine's Day, I saw two marriage proposals on the course. 4. SWAG - good tech shirt, big read towel, and ditty bag. 5. Expo was small but easy to navigate. 6. Plenty of parking right near the start/finish line. 7. The band at the start line from a nearby university keep the energy moving. 8. The split start with the half-marathon on the left and the full on the right for the first mile-plus was wonderful, as it allowed you to get into a pace before the merge. Cons: 1. The crowd was thin, but the rain was the problem. If you are looking for a flat course, Myrtle Beach is your race. You could press your dress shirt on the course - it is that flat. |
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