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Myrtle Beach Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Myrtle Beach Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 4.2 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 4.3 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 3.6 
 
 
Number of comments: 318 [displaying comments 121 to 131]
More Comments: [ < 1 .. 11 12 13 14 15 .. 32 > ]

 

M. S. from New Jersey (2/15/2009)
"Everything was very nice" (about: 2009)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 4


The organizers of the MBM did everything they could to make this marathon a good one. I'd do it again. If you want to run a fast marathon, this is a good option.

The Good:
The start had the local college pep band, clearly marked pace groups start areas, and a solid police presence.

The course was clearly marked and not very congested after the first mile. Participants could really run almost from the start. The mile markers were easy to find and most had clocks. Since it is in a beach town, it is almost pancake flat.

Since it was Valentine's Day, the medal was heart-shaped, which was a nice touch. The technical shirt was red, too.

The expo was fine, easy to find and just the right size. The beach towel was a nice touch. The runners got a lane, designated by cones, on the roads. Where needed, police stopped traffic. The race is not a huge one, so my family could easy find me at all of the places we arranged to meet.

The Not So Good (very minor):
The first 3:30 pacer went out way too fast, but the second guy knew what he was doing. I figure the first one just made a rookie mistake.

The fuel stops were almost all water and Gatorade. I usually don't eat much, but carry your own if you do.
 

keith hines from North Carolina (2/15/2009)
"maybe add a few more bananas a little earlier" (about: 2009)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


Overall, a great race. I will be back every year. Thanks.
 

j. h. from myrtle beach (2/15/2009)
"Proud to be living in Myrtle Beach" (about: 2009)

2 previous marathons | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I am so glad to see all of the positive comments about the half and full marathon here in Myrtle Beach. Since I live here, I can tell you that the residents of this town are proud to host this event every year and our middle and high school kids vie for the opportunity to work at the various food/water stations along the course. These kids provide excellent moral support to all the runners and make it a positive experience for all the runners.

I ran the half this year and had an easy run, but would have been thrilled had there been a few port-a-johns in the last miles of this race as there were MANY runners on the side of the road pooping and peeing. I did not see any port-a-johns for the half runners.

Overall, great day! The organizers really did an excellent job!
 

J. B. from SC (10/28/2008)
"Overall, great race; but start is crowded, shirt h" (about: 2008)

3 previous marathons | 2 Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I've done MB for two years in a row. The course is flat, and offers a great chance for a PR. The expo is great, and fans are plentiful (and loud and wonderfully encouraging). My only two complaints would be that the beginning of the race is bottle-necked and you lose a lot of time there, and the 2008 shirts were HORRIBLE!!!!!! Please, please, please go back to something like 2007 - they were much better!!!
 

W. O. from Charleston, S.C. (4/12/2008)
"Enjoyable experience" (about: 2007)

1 previous marathon | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I enjoyed the Myrtle Beach Marathon immensely. It was cold at about 30 degrees, but I warmed up nicely to the task.

Since this was my first, I decided to use the Hal Higdon walk-run method, in which I walked all of the water stations. I felt good most of the race, and was pleasantly surprised that I still had turbo boosters in the latter stages of the race (at around the 20th mile). It was at around mile 23 when I hit the wall, but I didn't let that stop me (occupational hazard). When I run, I like to sing, and yell cadence to keep up morale, and when other runners joined in, it really made the run fun. What really did it for me, though, was when some of the other runners said that if it wasn't for me, they would've dropped out a long time ago.

NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!

Doing it BIG WILLIE-style in Chuck Town, S. Cakkie Lakkie
 

J. B. from Raleigh, NC (4/3/2008)
"Had BBQ and got a BQ all in the same day!" (about: 2008)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


Fun, flat marathon with an exorbitant amount of BQ potential. This was my 4th marathon and I must say it was probably my most enjoyable. I ran an 11-minute personal best and qualified for the Boston Marathon. The expo was nice. All of the free goodies and BEER was a plus! I got a massage from Naomi at the finish and it sure helped things the following week. The shirt and medal were a nice added plus.

However, I did not like the start of the race. I started right in front of the 3:10 pace flag and found out really quickly that I was in the wrong place. When the half-marathon runners merged with the full-marathon runners, it forced me to run on the sidewalk and pass large groups of runners to catch up. My first mile was 7:39 (from my watch crossing the start line) and should have been around 7:00. Thanks goodness I had plenty of time to get back on pace.

All around, I enjoyed my Myrtle Beach experience. If you can hack all of the winter miles and harsh weather, MB is truly a great reward. I honestly got all my course and detailed information regarding this race from this site. I feel that most of the posts are correct and are a great resource for those new to the MD marathon. Good luck and take it one step at a time.
 

D. S. from Columbia, South Carolina (3/18/2008)
"The Tourist Trap of Marathons." (about: 2008)

11-50 previous marathons | 2 Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


Your opinion of Myrtle depends on your goals. Need a BQ? This is a wise choice. The course is flat and the field isn't too huge.

But if you care about a noteworthy marathoning experience, Myrtle lacks inspiration. It's really kind of cheesy, from the ill-advised shirt, to the blah medal. And that flat course often runs along horrid, horrid Kings Highway (insert shuddering flashback here).

- D
 

G. H. from Georgia (3/15/2008)
"Great Place for a BQ!" (about: 2008)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


The course is somewhat dull, but it is flat and fast! The areas where you could see the ocean were quite scenic. Organization was quite good (full disclosure: did not make it to the expo; a friend got my stuff). Spectators were wonderful and cheered everyone. Police support was excellent.

More food at the finish would have been nice. The beer was good. The medal is nice, but relatively non-descript. The shirt... well, sometimes I like it and other times not so much. Got my BQ here so it will always be a great race for me.
 

J. H. from Wilmington, DE (3/14/2008)
"Great weekend at Myrtle" (about: 2008)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


After failing to qualify for Boston at New York (Oct. '06), Delaware (May '07), Steamtown (Oct. '07) and Philly (Nov. '07), this was my last best hope, and it didn't disappoint - qualified with a 3:29, a whole minute to spare.

Lots to like about this marathon:
(1) Really flat. Read some prior posts saying it has hills or is rolling. Meh. You can't get much flatter than this.

(2) Pre-race number option. For $35 they sent me my chip and number 10 days before the race. Highly recommend this as it took away a lot of worries and enabled me to avoid the long lines on race pick up day.

(3) Starting line. Have read some complaints here. Found it not to be an issue at all; inched up along the sides and was crossing the start within 20 seconds of the gun. Plenty of porto-potties and good cheer. Like the 6:30 start; lets you get 3 miles under your belt before the sun comes up.

(4) First few miles - a bit congested, but certainly nothing compared to the congestion at NYC or Philly.

(5) Support - plenty; was happily surprised by the number of people out cheering.

(6) Weather - about 50 at the start, overcast. Couldn't get much better.

(7) Post-race - I'm not one to eat a lot after the race, so looked like plenty to me. Plus, there was a Starbucks person walking around with a big (40 pounds) vat of coffee on their back, handing out free cups of java.

(8) Myrtle - had never been, and was under the impression it was a spring break; honky tonk kind of town with a million t-shirt shops. While there was some of that, I was happily surprised by how pretty much of it was, and how friendly the people are. Stayed at the Marriott host hotel, which was great.

This is a great, great race. Did I mention that I qualified for Boston? If not, you would have heard me screaming it as I crossed the finish line.

Thank you, Myrtle and all the race directors and volunteers, for an unforgettable weekend.
 

S. T. from wilmington, nc (3/9/2008)
"Nice" (about: 2008)

2 previous marathons | 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


This event has a lot going for it. I love the variety of events available, the (marathon) course was scenic for the most part, and the volunteers were plentiful and encouraging. The 6:30 start time seems rather silly though considering that Myrtle is a ghost town until golfers arrive in March.

I have a huge complaint about the pacers, or at least the 3:10 pacer. At around mile 10 he just took off his pace shirt and started walking in the wrong direction. Aren't pacers supposed to be good at this kinda thing? I found this especiallyunnerving due to the quote by Bart Yasso on the marathon's website promoting its pacers. Maybe the other pacers did just fine, but 3:10 not so much.

The House of Blues is beautifully masochistic choice to have a post-race party due to the fact that you're putting a bunch of people who just ran a marathon into a standing room only venue. The free beer greatly made up for this oversight however.
 

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