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May 5, 2024

Surfside Beach Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Surfside Beach Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.5

Organization 4.7

Spectators 2.7

Number of comments: 91 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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Bob Schamus from Houston, Texas (2/16/2009) "Truly a fun run" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran the half-marathon on Saturday and, thanks to the sand, had no pain in my joints the next day. The sand is packed hard enough to not get in shoes and socks, and the softness was easy on knees and ankles. I even ran with friends the next day. I've run other small(ish) full marathons and want to commend the Surfside organizers for doing an absolutely wonderful job. Everything went smoothly during the run, and the winds that kicked in at about the 45 minute mark gave us something to talk about afterward. I also like the long-sleeved windbreaker and discovered during the post-run rainstorm that the material isn't waterproof. Can't have everything! Great job, folks. I'll be back next year.
S. H. from Houston, TX (2/16/2009) "Man vs. Wild" (about: 2009) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was the hardest yet most rewarding thing I have ever done. The wind coming at me for the long stretch made me forget about the pace I wanted; I was just trying to not be blown backwards. The rainstorm made me feel like a Marine warrior. The last 6 miles were a blur but have never felt better about finishing something, even if I staggered in! The sand was perfect for running and treats at the end were fantastic. Great course (except for the weather!).
Kelley Blake from Houston, TX (2/16/2009) "Absolutely Exhausting. AWESOME!" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Well the experience began for me and my daughter when we drove in at 5:30 a.m. in the dark and in the FOG and almost drove directly into the Gulf. :) Then to drive down the beach 2 miles in the dark and fog was an experience unto itself. :) However, I must say that the organizers and volunteers at the marathon/1/2 marathon were absolutely awesome. The headwind going towards the 1/2 marathon turnaround point completely wore me out.... But that wind on your back pushed you straight to the finish line. The medals are awesome and the goody bags were great. Thank you for an experience that will be on my calendar every year!!!! :)
M. G. from Champaign Il. (2/16/2009) "Can't say enough good things about this one." (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 When you're from the frozen Midwest and you get a chance to run on the beach in mid February, it doesn't get any better than this. The organization was probably the best part of this race. The area was almost totally destroyed last fall by a hurricane, and yet these people put on one quality event. The volunteers - no matter what their responsibilities - were all friendly and helpful. The goody bag was packed full, the tech shirt was a way cool pullover-type jacket, and the after-race BBQ was to die for. It was cloudy in the low 60's with intermittent rain, but the weather is what it is. Real Runners run and train year round regardless of weather and learn to live with whatever the weather may be. Even during the rain the course workers stayed at their posts and served the runners. They should be commended for that. Overall, one great race. A big thanks to Daryl, and all of his crew.
J. H. from Tennessee (2/16/2009) "Unique race, which I enjoyed." (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I enjoyed this race on Saturday, even if it did rain the last 3 miles. It's unique and something you should try, if you're looking for a break from your normal downtown race. Pros: 1) Lots of communication via email for months leading up to the event (even when Hurricane Ike took out power to the area last fall). 2) A "ton" of giveaways (finisher's medal, wind/rain jacket, stone coaster, marathon runner's coffee mug, winter gloves, decorated plate for being from "out of state"). 3) Host hotel was very accommodating with early check-in, great rate and late checkout. Cons: There really weren't any that the organizers could improve on. The only negative I found was really just the "unexpected uneven surface of the beach," which made it harder to always stay in stride, since the waves had made ruts all along the beach. Nothing the race folks can do about it; I just didn't expect it. I'm sure the post-race food was great (it smelled good), but I didn't get any, since I had a flight home to catch. Thanks for a great race! It was a fun time!
M. C. from Austin, TX (2/15/2009) "Beautiful course, tough weather!" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Don't worry about the sand - it is really hard-packed and easy to run on. Organization for this race is top-notch. Great goody bag. Aid stations about every two miles, with Gatorade and water, plus GU later on in the race. Post-race food was fruit smoothie (great idea!) and plentiful barbecue. Lots of food remained for us back-of-the-pack runners. Special mention for the bugler who played the national anthem before the start. Mile-markers were very accurate. Not many spectators, so expect a lot of quiet time. The beach and ocean are beautiful. What made it very tough was the strong headwind until the turn-around, and the 45 minutes or so of pelting rain. But even with that, it was well worth doing, if only to see the pelicans flying over the water.
j. l. from San Diego, CA (5/15/2008) "They take good care of the runners" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Very well-organized. They took good care of us. The goody bag was loaded with cool things. Plenty of aid on the course. The Texas barbecue was the best post-race meal I've ever had. The Texas folks really made this out-of-towner feel welcome. Being a San Diego native, it was hard for me to get excited about running on the beach. The sand was packed hard enough that it wasn't too tough to run on. However the humidity and strong headwind (which conveniently died right about when I made the turnaround) made for challenging conditions. The fog rolled in during the latter part of the race and it made for surreal conditions, as some of the previous posters had mentioned. Being a smaller venue, it got lonely at times after the half-marathon course broke off from the full. Overall, I thought this was a great way to experience Texas.
Jeff Linwood from Austin,Texas (3/4/2008) "Hard-Packed Sand, Next 26.2 Miles" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is the only marathon in the US run completely on sand. The sand is hard-packed, especially close to the ocean. It is not the deep, stick-your-foot in sand like the Atlantic coast. In Austin, we have a wide, crushed-granite trail along Lady Bird Lake - running at Surfside is very similar. I didn't get any sand in my shoes or socks. Running here was very forgiving, but I did suffer from overuse of the same leg muscles because there were no hills. One strange thing is that a dense fog came in off the ocean about three hours into the race. I could only see about 100 feet in front of me, and given that there were only 200 or so marathoners, it was very strange to run without seeing anyone. I had trouble keeping a pace up. Apparently the fog was a very rare occurrence. The course goes out 2.5 miles, then comes back, so spectators can see the start, 5 mile-mark, and finish. for anything else, they can drive down to various parts of the beach. But there really weren't too many spectators except for some fishermen offering beers at mile 18 or so. The volunteers were very enthusiastic, especially after the fog rolled in. They would run out with water and Gatorade to meet me as I got close to their aid station. I really appreciated the family manning the aid station at mile 25 or so. The dinner before the race was not well attended, probably because many of the racers were from the greater Houston area and didn't want to drive down to Surfside the day before and then drive back home to sleep. There was an excellent barbecue lunch served up by friendly church youth group members after the race in a pavilion. Also they had Coke on ice, and lots of it. The short-sleeve technical t-shirt is a great material and design, and the seashell medal is top-notch. Also enjoyed the stone coaster. You also got a small sample of rice grains and an industrial band saw parts coffee mug! Something different from the usual running promos.
A. L. from Huntsville, TX (2/15/2008) "Great first marathon!" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first of what I hope will be many marathons to come - a great place to start! Despite the sand and a dense fog that rolled in at mile 23, I managed to come in well below 4 hours. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful (and the BBQ afterward ain't bad either!). It's not everyday an inlander gets to run exclusively along a nice, clean beach!
d. m. from Huffman, tx (2/12/2008) "Great small-town race!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Surfside Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first small(ish) marathon. The sand did slow me down a bit but it was the humidity that initially slowed me. The first 2 hours featured fantastic weather. After 10:30 a fog rolled in that made it difficult to see ahead. The water stations were very close and I liked the watered-down Gatorade Endurance formula. It beats having it too strong. Will do this next year!

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