Real runner feedback on course feel, crowd support, aid stations, and logistics (parking, hotels, restaurants).
I thought it was great. Expo was good. Kiawah is beautiful. Its a well ran race.
Its flat as a pancake and a lot of shade. Aid stations are kind of spread out and there are no gels or much food in general until late. Coke only at one station.
You need to get to the freshfields lot at 530am sharp to get on the bus.
Absolutely the worst!!!
They ran out of finisher medals!
They gave the same finisher medals to the half-marathoners and marathoners.
13.1 miles vs 26.2 miles - NOT THE SAME!
They did not secure the marathon course - they allowed non-participants and cyclists on the course! Very dangerous to the runners!
Do not run this marathon! Not recommending this race!
When you run a marathon, no matter how "slow" you ran it, YOU SHOULD BE GETTING A FINISHER MEDAL AT THE END! PERIOD.
Learn good pacing strategies. Conserve energy in the first 10-miles. The marathon race doesn't really start until the 18th mile.
Arrive early. Always do your pre-run workout/warm up.
Everything about this marathon was great from the communication to the course being well marked to aid stations every 2 miles. the downside was the insanly small amount of port a potties at the start. for a race this huge to have like 20 of them was crazy. we arrived very early to the site did a 1 mile warm up then stayed in line 1 hour to use the restroom!
if you can afford to stay on the island it makes race day so easy. shuttle access was simple check in and out was easy.. book early!
Course was flat, sea level and in 2016 the temperature was perfect.
We stayed on the island, which was nice. If you don't, you can't access the course until race day because permits are required.
The pluses...lots of communication leading up to the event, and about as flat of a course as you can get. That being said, I found the course itself (which was changed in 2016) to be miserable. It was largely on golf cart paths with uneven surface and endless "snaking" without any notable views. They claim to have chip timing, but did not. I noticed that the runners at the front of the pack had "net times." Those of us further back did not. The RD was very unaccommodating on this point. There's no excuse for that. So if you are looking to PR or are a few minutes away from BQ, I'd suggest looking for a different race.
Try to run on the street instead of the actual course. Note that your GPS will be off from the first few miles because of the satellites are.
Charleston is a reasonable driving distance if you do not have the small fortune required to stay on site.
Loved everything about this race BUT the weather! Definitely not anyone's fault, but planning for a marathon in December even in the south can prove to be tough due to humidity and heat!
This is a great-flat island marathon. The weather is usually perfect...and it was this year as well (Dec 2014). The expo is really small, but the pre-race meal was great. Southern food! Real Mac N Cheese!!
It is pretty easy to keep a solid pace. I was able to stay between 8:10-8:30 the entire run. The only con of the course is that there are many out and backs... so there are many turn arounds.
The course looks like a hand....with a lot of fingers!
But overall, after about 10 marathons, this is a favorite.
Stay on the island! During this time of year, the condos are reasonable. The Sanctury (the hotel) is always expensive. But the condos are spacious and worth the money. Also, the Start is an easy walk if you ask during booking of your condo.