I am not one who makes and keeps a bucket list. That being said, I have always looked forward to doing one thing in my retirement years and that is to escape at least a part of Michigan’s winter season to enjoy warmer weather. So late last year I sought out a race in a warmer venue and do a race-cation.

My race destination had to meet certain criteria. The main criteria was that it was within a day’s driving time away. Another significant but not absolute criteria was the preferred race distance was a half marathon. Finally, I also preferred a location that my wife and I had not previously visited. The solution was the March 4th, Myrtle Beach (SC) Half Marathon! To enhance the trip we also decided to extend our trip to visit Savanna Georgia in the days following my half marathon. It all was a wonderful and memorable trip, except for one thing my actual half marathon and that is the topic of this post.

Our first stop was a condo in North Myrtle Beach that overlooked the beach and ocean. It was a fantastic view and Mother Nature did not disappoint either. Temps were in the mid 70’s with plenty of sunshine. Great for visiting, not so great for distance running. My training for this race never really materialized like it should have for the challenge of a half marathon course therefore, I accepted that I was going to be satisfied to simply run for the enjoyment. I would leave my usual competitive frame of mind at home for this race.

As with nearly every race day, the day begins in the wee early hours of the morning long before sunrise. As I gathered my gear and left the condo it was still very dark, warm, and with a spit of humidity in the air. It was about a 20 minute drive to the race start area and fortunately, being very early on a Sunday morning, the only other cars on the road at that time were other runners also seeking a parking spot close to the start. Parking was not an issue at all. What was the first order of business was my need to visit the local running office, aka, porta-john. My only complaint with this race was the quarter mile distance between the porta-johns and parking. Not that someone who is about to run either 13.1 or 26.2 miles can’t walk a quarter mile but it was more about the time associated with this. I wish race directors would place at least a few porta-johns nearer to the mass of parking. No, issues, everything came out all right.

The event is a dual marathon and half marathon, not uncommon in the running world these days. It does however result in quite a large crowd at the start however, and yes, the lines at the porta-johns too. But that’s all a part of the pre-race energy. Despite running hundreds of miles from my home aera I was spotted before the start by a running bud from back home! Another member of the 501 running club, Dan, was in town to visit his mother, took the time to scope out this race for his future race agenda and generously took a few pics of me. Thanks Dan, I do recommend this event for your future consideration.

The course is one of the flattest race routes I have ever run which obviously is something most runners prefer. It also includes long stretches of straight aways. Something I don’t prefer as a runner as it messes with my mind during the run. The longest straight path occurs during most of the latter half of the route an parallels the ocean front. Except it’s not on the ocean front, high rise condos and hotels block any potential view of the scenic ocean views. I suppose this could also be a good thing when strong winds are blowing off the ocean, but today there were no winds.

I won’t bore you with a blow by blow description of each mile I ran, mostly because I was bored running this race. I will summarize by saying I knew the heat was going to be a huge factor I started the race with a relaxed and slower pace. Shortly after mile 5 I started the run-walk routine. During the final miles there were many such “walk breaks” too. The final mile or so was tough but I did manage a weak attempt at a final kick. There were however two moments that make the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon memorable. One occurred at about the mid-point of the half marathon and the other was at the finish.

Somewhere between miles 6 and 7 there was a hairpin turn. There was a narrow boulevard in the road that separated runners.  There were also a fair number of spectators in the boulevard cheering on runners.  In the distance I saw a tall flagpole held by one of the spectators with a huge green flag with a large white S on it!  I thought what the hell?  That can't be a Sparty fan all the way down here in South Carolina ! Anyways, as I approached it turned out it was a family with kids holding Go Sparty signs, so I gave them a high five and a Go Green as I ran (slowly) by.  

Then about a half mile later after I made the hairpin turn I thought to myself, I wonder where they are from?  I should have asked.

As I approached them again they were once again cheering to my side of the boulevard. So when I got to them I stopped and asked where they were from.  The father gave me that look that said I would not have a clue about any town in MI.  Anyways, after a brief moment he said Walled Lake !  and I said NOVI !    (FYI, Walled Lake is the neighbor directly north of Novi )High fives again and I was off and running again.

It’s not often anymore that I race a route that I have not raced before. Except for today. The lesson learned here is to study and become very familiar with any race route you run. I never took the time to study the final mile of the route. Where most of the race consisted of several long stretches of roadways, there were suddenly a few turns as I approached the finish line. The problem was that I never saw the huge finish line banner that I can usually spot long in advance of finishing. At Myrtle Beach the finish line is hidden behind dense trees and not revealed until the final 50-70 yards of the route. This is not really a problem, I just knew I wished to see how far I had to go to finally get to the finish. Which by the way, I eventually did reach 2 hours and 15 minutes after I started. Not one of my fastest races, but I did not care, I actually enjoyed the race.

The post race party was another surprise. A very pleasant surprise in fact. Shortly after clearing the finish area you are marshaled into a baseball stadium. It’s the home of the local Myrtle Beach minor league class A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. I collected my free can of beer and pizza then found a sunny spot in the middle of centerfield to await the results.

At first I thought I may had actually won my age group division! But no, just a glitch in the early reports. I actually did manage to finish 9th, so I celebrated my top ten finish with my beer and pizza, then started the journey back to the condo and awaiting swimming pool.

So the first half of our trip was fantastic, but little did we know at the time that it was about to get a whole lot better once we arrived in Savanna. Again, not to bore you with details, but we had a truly very unique apartment within an old mansion that bordered on historic Forsyth Park. That part of this trip deserves an entirely separate post.

Thanks for taking time to read my post, I do highly recommend both the full and half marathons in Myrtle Beach if you too are seeking a visit to a warmer climate in late winter.

Coach Lee