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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 81 to 91]
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j. f. from Athens, GA
(2/20/2011)
"Flat course with good support" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Very fast course with just a few very minor inclines. You don't get to see much of the beach but I am usually focused so much on the run that I don't care what I see. It turned out to be 56-64 degrees with 10-15 mile per hour winds, which got a little hot in the second half of the race. Glad the race started at 6:30 a.m. All the aid stations were well staffed with nice volunteers. The post-race care was excellent. Missed breaking 3 hours by one minute and 44 seconds and I am usually in the three-hour-plus-seven-to-10-minute range. Will come back again next year and try to go under three again. I'll hope for no porta-potty break next year. | |
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S. H. from Snellville, GA
(2/20/2011)
"Flat course" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 As advertised, the course was flat. For me, maybe a bit too flat. I think I needed some more hills to break up the repetative nature of running the exact same terrain for 26.2 miles. The spectators were minimal, but considering the size of the field, this is to be expected. I was impressed with how well staffed the water stations were and how many there were. Also the volunteers and police were super nice. With that said, the race organizers may want to shift some of those volunteers to the start and finish lines. I needed water at the start and was amazed that I could not find a water table. At the finish, water was WAY far from the finish line. In addition, bag pickup was not organized at all. The bags were in unorganized piles. There was only one volunteer and she told me (nicely) that I would have to find the bag myself. Asking a half-dazed marathon finisher to sort through piles of bags makes no sense. These issues were not major, but considering how simple they are to solve, I would think the organizers could copy some of the tried and true techniques used at other races. | |
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G. R. from Atlanta, GA
(2/20/2011)
"Flat and fast...but somewhat dull" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 First off, many thanks to all the volunteers that helped make this event happen. You guys were great! The good: The course is fast and mostly shaded (early start and buildings along ocean area) allowing for fast times/PR. Great volunteers and traffic control. Nice medal and post-race activities. The bad: New timing system fiasco... did not capture splits and provided inaccurate results. Race director decided to go with a cheaper less accurate system instead of using a the more reliable '"Chronotrack" system provided by RMS Sports. This new system was being touted as better alternative, but turned out to be quite the opposite. | |
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D. Z. from Alabama
(2/20/2011)
"Great Comeback" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 After reading what had happened last year with the canceling the marathon because of the threat of snow, I wasn't sure I wanted to run this one. But I'm glad I did. The race was well organized and the volunteers were numerous and helpful. They did not close the roads but traffic was light and well controlled. The course was not run through a "rundown" part of town (as many city marathons do). Some of the other runners told me that this was a "new" course. I thought they did a good job of picking the route. It was not too flat but it didn't really have hills just slight ups and downs - just enough change to keep the legs from hurting. My wife crews me and she told me some of the traffic control could have been better but we could not see that from the runners perspective. I expected a little more from the expo but they more than made up for it in the after-race care they had for the runners. Plenty of food and drinks. I especially liked the chicken soup and cold beer. We did not stay for the post-race party but the locals said they were looking forward to it. | |
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L. W. from USA
(2/19/2011)
"Best one yet" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great weather. Great course. Great volunteers. Do not miss. | |
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Rob Klein from Aurora, Colorado
(6/30/2010)
"The Course was Bare & Wet" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I came from the Rocky Mountains to run in the South. Many airlines had already canceled flights, so it was hard to get here to begin with. I never dreamed they even might cancel this event for three inches of snow. What was reported late Friday afternoon was that up to six inches of snow could be accommodated without affecting the running of the race, but anything beyond that would need to be revisited before start time. That at least sounded like a reasonable course of action. I was in bed by 9:00 p.m., so I did not find out about the cancellation until I was on my way to catch the shuttle to the starting line. What a disappointment. What was later reported by the media was that at 10:00 p.m. the race officials were still "go" for the marathon. At 10:30 Friday night, city officials took the decision away from the race director and forced cancellation of the race. They were wrong for doing that, and should have at least waited until daybreak to decide. Even the weather forecasters said the snow would be finished falling by midnight. The shrubs and grass areas accumulated snow, but most of what fell on the warmer pavement areas melted nearly as fast as it fell. So it was wet, though some slush remained in shady spots. And many of us have run in snow, ice, and rain. So we would have got wet feet during the course. Big deal. By mid-morning the weather was great for running outside - partly sunny and mid-40's, with light and variable winds. Then many runners ran the course anyway. It was much more dangerous and hazardous for those runners to be out there with no support or protection trying to run the course - and people got lost! I was out there too and saw more than one person nearly get hit by a turning vehicle. Myrtle Beach politicians got this one wrong. But in the past they have offended other sport groups too, who have come to town to spend their money. And locals are all too willing to talk about it and let you know what they think. The potential remains for a repeat performance by the City next time (whether it is snow or something else). I do not intend to come back - next year or beyond. | |
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G. S. from Charlotte, NC
(2/27/2010)
"MB Race Cancelled - But, It Will Survive" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have run this marathon three times in the past and was one of the cancelled runners of 2010. I live in North Carolina and understand the reasons why the race was cancelled. Just wish the decision to cancel was made on Saturday morning. I have read these comments from runners who traveled from northern states. We get our share of cold weather and cold rain and some sleet and snow in NC. I think most runners have no problems running in these conditions. I see very few if any marathons being held in these snow area states. Are there marathons being held and run with several inches of snow on the ground? How about offering this info? I think Myrtle Beach will suffer a blow over the next few years, but we Americans have short memories, and the race will survive. How many people still talk about the heat and cancellation of the Chicago Marathon?! I would like a refund, but this money is committed to charities and used to front marathon expenses. The organizers should offer a credit on a future race entry. That way they can say they have offered something and it is up to the runner to decide if they want to return. I don't want to see any of the charities suffer and not receive monies they were promised and need. | |
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T. P. from Whitewater, Wis.
(2/24/2010)
"Stellar Event Sunk by the Decision to Cancel" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Myrtle Beach Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was one of the many disappointed runners who booked a nice weekend getaway with my family while I tried for a new PR for my seventh marathon. I was very impressed by the fine job everyone did to put on such a stellar race event the two times I ran it. So I was so looking forward to what would have been my third run at Myrtle Beach. By 10 a.m. that morning, it was clear that the decision to cancel was ridiculous. The 70% of the runners who are from the Carolinas may be a little forgiving. But for those from the northern climes, the cancellation looked absolutely ridiculous. I do have to admit that the city and the race officials didn't have much choice; they had no plans in place to change starting times or whatever to accommodate unexpected weather conditions. The city and the race officials have a lot of work to do if they hope to get any of us from outside the Carolinas to come back next year. | |
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M. S. from Pennsylvania
(2/22/2010)
"A lesson to be learned" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 All marathon directors and city organizers should look at the Myrtle Beach 2010 race and learn a valuable lesson. The lesson is, "What should we do if there is bad weather in the forecast?" Two days before the marathon/half marathon, the weather forecast called for up to 4 inches of snow. One day before the race the runners arrived, the expo was held, and the forecast was the same. Race participants were instructed that the course would start a half-hour late. At 10:30 p.m. the night before the race, the forecast still the same, and the city canceled the race. It was clear that a contingency plan was never discussed until the day before the event. When a city/race promotes itself as a nation-wide race, it should have a contingency plan in place. Too many people are traveling significant distances to attend. The most disappointing detail was that even though it did snow, the snow never accumulated in the streets. So to find out that you had traveled a tremendous distance only to have the race canceled the night before was shocking. To wake up with no snow on the roads was a disappointment that was hard to believe. I think a partial refund and a discount on a future years run should be given. I would go back since I do believe the race organizers felt very sorry for the turn of events. They did ship me my medal, which I also thought was a nice gesture. For all other marathons: Learn the lesson. This race should have run with 6,600 people sharing in a beautiful run along Myrtle Beach, with some snow clinging to the trees, grass and sand. A contingency plan for a Saturday afternoon start or a move to Sunday would have been appropriate. If the city was planning to cancel on the basis of a forecast, it should have done so on Thursday prior to everyone beginning their commute. | |
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T. S. from Monroeville, Pa.
(2/20/2010)
"Cancelation was ridiculous" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The city of Myrtle Beach owes all the runners an apology and a free entry for a future year due to forcing the marathon organizers to cancel the race. I feel bad for the race commitee because it wasn't their fault; they voted to hold the race but the city overruled them. At 6:30 a.m., my husband and I took photos of overselves warming up on the course to show to our running buddies up north how clear the roads were and how ridiculous the decision to cancel the race was. We were among a group of 50 or so runners who started at 7 a.m., and I ran at a tempo run pace to salvage something from the day. I had no problems at all with the road surface. Most runners ran the course anyway in little groups, starting all through the morning hours, only now with zero traffic control. I've run this half marathon 3 times in the past and have loved the trip, but I would seriously hesitate before coming back. I mean, what's next? Are they going to cancel the race because the forecast calls for rain showers or above 80-degree temperatures or some other less-than-perfect condition? |
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