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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.