Charleston Marathon

I have completed 80+ marathons prior to Charleston Marathon. I ran with the 3:30 pacer during this race. We had to stop for a train between mile 10 and 11. This was the first time that I had to stop for a train during a marathon. I managed to run a Boston qualifying finish despite this train delay. However don't know how many runners missed their goals by this train delay.

I'm an experienced marathon runner with 10 marathons under my belt including Boston 2013 and a full Ironman. This was far and away THE WORST course I have ever run in my life. Crowd support was almost non-existent and who could blame anyone for that...the course had you running mostly out and back loops through undesirable ghetto areas. At one point you run down a dock and turn around and run back. I will say that the course was well staffed and I never had issues w/ water or gels. Packet pickup was smooth and easy. The medal was nice. But..the course...I won't be coming back to Charleston and I wouldn't recommend you go either until a serious revision is made because no one in there right mind wants to see the nonsense on this course.

This was my 7th marathon, and I chose it because of the flat terrain, hoping for a BQ. I read the reviews about out-and-back loops and I suppose I underestimated how mentally defeating those would feel for the entire second half of the race. We were also hit with a 15 mph headwind for the majority of the race. There were virtually no crowds at all until the finish line with only a few hundred people. Water/aid stations were plentiful, but some weren't even manned with volunteers-I have never experienced that before. I was on track to BQ at the half marathon point, but finished 10 minutes slower than my goal due to these other factors. I would NEVER run this race ever again. The city of Charleston is beautiful and that portion of the race is gorgeous. Perhaps if the weather had been warmer and less windy I would have had a more positive experience.