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May 5, 2024

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 51 to 61]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 4 5 6 7 8 .. 32 > ]

L. C. from St. Louis, MO (2/20/2012) "A PR course" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 First the positives: (1) Certainly a PR course that is mostly flat. There are some mild rollers and some potential wind between miles 10-17 as you head north. (2) Packet pick-up was a breeze - I arrived late (see below) but located conveniently at Sheraton Hotel where I also stayed. (3) Post race food was very good and lines short (4) Overall organizers did a good job - but they have had 14 years to figure this out. The negatives: (1) Do the organizers really need to make an extra $1.99 for a mobile app to track racers? There is a free version but it did not provide final race time or even notify when the participant had finished. I think our entrance fee should cover this amenity and we should not have to wait until 2 days later to see final times on website (2) Time system used in 2012 may have been new. Did not offer split times - why? (3) Traffic getting into Myrtle Beach on Friday evening was horrendous. After driving 875 miles from St. Louis, MO I was reduced to crawling along through a series of traffic light intersections then had traffic diversion due to 5K event in progress as I approached hotel/convention center for packet pick-up (4) Sheraton was conveniently located but service there was sub par. Room was not vacuumed and toilet was dirty (5) Shuttle bus pre race - waited for 10 minutes then decided to walk to start. Maybe others had a better experience (6) Tech shirt was white with purplish pink sleaves for everyone! Enough said - not bad for 50 staters and another reason to head to the beach.
R. W. from Burlington, NC (2/20/2012) "Good Marathon to run and a great location" (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was only my second marathon. There is always something you can complain about, but they are just to small to even mention. The course was good, the organization was great, the medal was very nice and the people were great!!!! Add a great location and this is a marathon that I will run again. Plus, they listen to the runners; adding chocolate milk this year which was great!! Thanks for a great marathon!!!
S. A. from North Carolina (2/20/2012) "2012 Race was great and well organized." (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 All was good except no water at the finish line. That freaked me out since I was already dehydrated.I had to hike out of the fenced in area considerable distance to find water. Many thanks to medical crew for helping me out after finish.
M. Z. from Chicago, IL (2/20/2012) "Super fast course, nice event" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Ran Bi-Lo for the first time in 2012. PR and BQ. Course is very flat and extremely fast, provided there is limited wind. 10 miles along Ocean Blvd are pleasant with sporadic ocean views. Locals do a nice job of supporting the race/runners. 2200+/- marathoners. Half-marathon is run concurrently. This is not a mega-marathon; manage your expectations about crowd and amenities. Has the flavor of a well-run, small-town marathon.
C. P. from North Carolina, US (2/20/2012) "Disappointed in a couple of things" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Myrtle Beach Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Overall I love this run (2nd year in a row) and overall the event is well done, people are great, good expo. However I had 2 issues with this years event. Once again for the 2nd straight year the shirts ran a size smaller. I even checked ahead this time and I was told for sure that wouldn't happen this year. The 2nd item was no food on the course. I wasn't looking for a lot but there should have been something, gel pack something? Ton's of food at the finish so maybe run a box of it out to the course. I do love this race but these itmes bothered me so I thought I should bring it up.
M. I. from Pittsburgh, PA (2/20/2012) "Great February race - one of the best" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I had a great experience at the 2012 marathon - Shuttle was very convenient - Expo was well organized - Great start: first time I haven't had to run around people for miles - Can't ask for a flatter course, and the weather cooperated - Great volunteers and spectators - Excellent finish line, especially food (soup, oranges, Dole fruit) - Nice technical shirt - Very nice medal
M. W. from Cary, NC (2/20/2012) "Always a solid marathon for me" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Myrtle Beach Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Another visit to MBM for me. I always run well here, and I think that makes up for the somewhat flat and bland course. I missed 2011, but noticed some significant course changes. Overall, I think it stays about the same. I probably could have done with one less uturn on the course, but overall it worked well and the aid stations were well placed. Gels are pretty typical for a race of this size and price, and the communication was unclear. The first aid people actually had the gels on request-only it seemed. If the race is purposely not distributing gels, it might be good to make that clear so we can carry more of our own. The no-headphone rule as announced on the web and at the start is not enforced at all, so the race should probably just get rid of the rule. I'm still not a fan of headphones in big races, but there's no fighting it. Overall headphone users are more conciencious that 5 years ago, so it is also becoming less of an issue. Full disclosure, I know the timing company, but this was my first experience with them at a big race, and I thought the advanced system was neat and worked well. With those caveats, overall I think MBM is a great marathon. Hotels are cheap that time of the year, the entry fee is fairly reasonable, and the race is always good enough to make the trip. I'll continue to run it every year, and there aren't many I'll say that about.
M. H. from Illinois (2/20/2012) "Fast course" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Myrtle Beach Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Course was flat, good aid stations, well organized, and good expo. My only criticism was the shirt. I mean purple. Really?
M. S. from Durham, NC (2/19/2012) "Attempting to run a PR? Why not try this one?" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first time running the Myrtle Beach Marathon and I chose this course because of its reputation of being flat and fast (which it was) because I am trying to qualify for Boston (which I did not). The race started early (6:30 AM) which did not seem to pose a problem since there were many hotels nearby and the parking located adjacent to the race was the best I've seen. There appeared to be plenty of port-o-potties at the start but lines did appear to become relatively long about fifteen minutes to race time. The start of the race was orderly with runners lining up by projected times as well as by race (1/2 marathon versus full marathon). The race started on-time and, from what I could tell, bottle-necking within the first mile was minimal. A strange element of this race was that within the first few miles prior to a left-hand turn the marathon runners were expected to hop a center grass median and join the 1/2 marathon participants. This was sort of quirky element for this particular marathon. The race itself appeared well organized to me with efficiently managed drink stations every couple of miles. The volunteers appeared well trained and numerous. As has been discussed, the route itself lacks scenic views unless you count Wings beachwear stores as scenic (I think I counted six of them) as you run on the main drag. But honestly, when I am running marathons I pay attention to my pace, how I am feeling, my hydration/food intake, and not much else (except to the Wings stores for some reason). At some point after mile 11, the 1/2 marathon runners split from the full marathon participants and the race predictably became more serene. Further, the course eventually left the strip and wound through some nicer areas. Somewhere around mile 22 or 23 an EMS crew sped past us with sirens blazing. That's never a good sign and it was later revealed that a runner around mile 18 required cardiac resuscitation while on the course. I hope he's okay. Weather conditions were nice though temperatures seemed to be creeping up toward the 65-70 degree range later in the morning, fairly warm conditions for a marathon. The race finish was well organized and microbrew beer was available - nice. Pizza was also available but Mellow Mushroom was charging 3 dollars a slice. I would have enjoyed some pizza but I generally don't run 26.2 miles with my wallet so I had no money to pay the man. There was a tent at the finish to immediately check your time. This worked well and there was also a working iPhone app to check your time and even your splits. In conclusion, this was a well organized, easily accessible, and efficiently managed marathon for the runner looking for a flat and fast course. What more do you need?
M. S. from Kennebunk, Maine (2/19/2012) "Excellent Race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Myrtle Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very well organized. Nice expo. Clean start. Course runs the length of the city but no negative interaction with cars. Excellent layout for post race food. Maybe not the most scenic- you see far more hotels than ocean but very nice. The fans are very positive and very vocal- 'looking good y'all'

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