North Myrtle Beach girls run 120 miles for charity

Havana Charles never imagined she could run 120 miles.

But she did. And so did Kaylin Regan, Krista Drozdowski, Emily Worsham and Taylor Monahan.

On Saturday, family and friends cheered them on as they ran through the finish line and into the Atlantic Ocean at Main Street in North Myrtle Beach after completing the last three miles of their 120-mile run.

They ran to raise money for the new Medical University of South Carolina Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, raising about $5,000 through online donations so far. They began their run in Charleston on June 12 in front of the current MUSC children’s hospital, which is almost 30 years old.

“I just think about what we’re doing it for,” Regan said. “I can run. Some people have to be in the hospital all day. I can be out doing stuff. I’m just glad I got to do it with such a great group of people.”

The girls, ranging in age from 14 to16, are all on the cross country team at North Myrtle Beach High School.

Eden Fowler was also a part of the team, but was unable to run due to a tear in her ACL.

“It was heartbreaking that I couldn’t do it,” said Fowler. “But I was cheering them on from home.”

This was Charles’ first year as a runner.

“It gives me a sense of actually accomplishing something instead of just sitting somewhere binge-watching Netflix or something,” she said. “Especially raising money for this children’s hospital makes me feel very, very accomplished.”

Taylor Monahan said Earl Main, a volunteer coach with the cross country team, was one reason she started running.

“It’s fun,” she said. “It feels like I’m flying.”

Monahan said she was asked to participate by Main, who organized the run and provided T-shirts and accommodations along the way.

She said it’s been a bonding experience for all of them.

“It was a good cause, and it was a chance to get closer to the people I’m going to be running with the next couple years,” she said.

Drozdowski said some of the cross country coaches had been talking about the run “for a while,” before they decided to ask if the girls were interested.

“They told us about it, but they said we didn’t have to do it unless we really wanted to,” she said. “We all thought it was a good idea.”

Drozdowski said the run has been hard, but fun.

“We run along the highway and we find weird stuff and make jokes about it,” she said. “We found a couple of headless dolls.”

Worsham said the first few days of the run were tiring, because she wasn’t used to the early mornings and long distances, but she’s gotten used to it.

“It’s definitely worth it,” she said. “I don’t hate running, so it’s not that bad. It’s such a great cause and we’re raising money for these kids that really need it. Hopefully other people will see it and donate.”

Regan said there’s nothing that compares to the rush of adrenaline she gets when she’s running.

“We’re having a good time,” she said. “I had a really fun time and I’ll always remember it.”

To donate, visit https://givenow.musckids.org/300

This story was originally published June 18, 2016 at 4:36 PM with the headline "North Myrtle Beach girls run 120 miles for charity."