I am running the 50 states and I picked Charleston for my marathon in South Carolina. I was so disappointed. If you are from out of town I recommend renting a car. The start and the finish lines are both in bad neighborhoods. There is no way to get to the start from any of the recommended hotels. The Taxi services know that so they charge you double the amount of money. There is a shuttle from the finish to the start but what good is that if you do not have a car. The course is just ok. I agree with the other reviews, it was confusing. The first few miles is the best part. I was very disappointed but I would like to give them a chance to work out all the kinks. It is their 3rd time and Charleston is a beautiful place to visit.

This is my 4th year for this event, first year when it was only the half marathon and all three of the marathons. The locations for the start and finish are a big improvement. The course changes for this year are good, but it would still be better to have more of the race in downtown Charleston if possible. There was more drink/food along the course and at the finish. There was more room for the post-race celebration at the new location and the convenience of the high school facilities as well. Overall the changes seem to reflect some of the comments from runners over the past several years. Charleston/North Charleston is a great location for a marathon and I want this one to continue to grow.

This was a good marathon, but several things should be enhanced.

My wife ran the 5K, and when she finished there were a number of food and drink options. When I reached the finish line near the 3:30 mark the options were severely depleted. They were out of shrimp and grits when I finished and it took them a while to get more. The shrimp and grits was good, though the overall quantity and quality of post-race amenities was lacking. The shirt was a bit of a disappointment as well. It was a rectangular painting on the front which makes it a little awkward to wear. A fun graphic would be more ideal.

There were a lot of good things about the race. The course was fun, including the time spent running on the pier. Porta-potties were plentiful, and the medal was great! There was plenty of parking for both the marathon and 5K. The convention was decent for a smaller race. Aid stations were great. I really enjoyed the steel drum band and all of the other music on the course.

The first miles of this race are spectacular. The weather was crisp and clear and the light hit the homes so that their beauty stood out.

Okay, the out and back at the end wasn't as glorious, but friendly volunteers gave out sandwiches and coke; this was helpful if you weren't trying to PR.

Someone mentioned there was no bathroom at the start. Many people were using the bathroom of the local supermarket that sponsored the race.

A lovely local youth orchestra performed during the pasta dinnerthey were so good, I initially thought the music was being piped in by a radio.

The race needs to be clearly marked all the way through. I was injured during my training and so had to run slowly; at one point, I wasn't sure which way to go.

Overall, a great experience!

This is an incredible race, the organization is PHENOMENAL ! The safety for the runners is impressive, the supplies and volunteers extraordinary, and the course and the city of Charleston are gorgeous ! We will be back next year !

The last few miles are run through a desolate industrial area, and you have to turn around and run right back through the same area. Passing the finish line and doing that last out and back really took a lot out of me. The design of the course makes it hard to stay motivated those last few miles.

Water was not as frequent as advertised. Otherwise the aid stations were good.

Only the first few miles have really pleasant scenery.

Great shirt - one of my favorites now for winter runs! Nice and soft.

Unlikely I'll be back (flew down from NYC for it).

To RC from Greenville who said there was no entertainment, the race I ran had plenty of school bands to listen too. The race was not perfect but not as horrific as some people are making it out to be. The water was an issue but not one that I encountered, I am not a fast runner so I don't know where it went wrong. Thank you to all the volunteers. The shuttles being late was bad but a runner has to take some responsibilty, get there early.

I wrote on 1/17 that I never got my gear bag back. Well, today, 1/30 it was delivered by mail! Glad to see there was good followup. Late is better than never!

This was my dad's 9th marathon(he flew in from CA to run the race together) and my 8th so we have a few races to compare to Charleston. We live in a beautiful and interesting city but didnt get to see much of it! Usually the race is the easiest part of the training... as you dont have to carry water, there are bathrooms to use and people to cheer you on.....Well there were few bathrooms and running out of cups at 3 water stations is inexcusable!!!!! If it wasn't for my amazing friends who cheered my dad and I on,this race would have been even more challenging. We started out with a pace team but had to stop running with the very small group as the leader was running faster then the indictated pace.
The end of the race was disapponiting seeing all the folks ahead of you! Also both of our watches were off by at least .5 miles...was there an issue with the distance?

The end of the marathon course needs to be redone- the out and back for miles 21-26 needed to be a little more exciting to help finish the end of the race. Also- they need more bathrooms! There were not enough porta johns at the beginning of the race and were almost nonexistent during the race. The first one was at mile 5, and there was only 1!