‘It’s a runner’s race this year’: How the Myrtle Beach Marathon is different in 2021
The 24th Myrtle Beach Marathon has largely been stripped of its fun by the coronavirus pandemic.
Many of the festivities and features affiliated with the full marathon, half marathon and 5-kilometer runs that make Myrtle Beach one of the more entertaining races in the country have been eliminated for the sake of safety from COVID-19.
Canceled are the runner’s expo traditionally held on the eve of Saturday’s races; the post-race beer garden featuring live music, food, drinks and awards ceremonies; live music along the course route; and spectators and supporters at the finish line at Pelicans Ballpark.
The 5K race is usually run on the scenic Myrtle Beach Boardwalk but will start on Grissom Parkway along with the other two primary races.
“It’s a runner’s race this year,” said Harrison Schenck, director of operations for Capstone Event Group of Raleigh, N.C., which owns and operates the race. “It’s going to feel really different for the runners and we’ve done our best to communicate that and we’ve gotten great feedback thus far from everybody.”
Supplying runners’ demand
Despite a late date change in January that was less than six weeks before the originally scheduled race on March 6, and the lingering pandemic, more than 4,000 runners are expected Saturday for the three distance races, with 1,284 anticipated for the full 26.2-mile marathon, 2,021 for the half marathon and 755 for the 5K.
That is about 700 shy of last year’s totals and about 400 shy of 2019’s numbers. The projected number of full marathon runners is up from last year and just 21 shy of 2019, however.
“The fact that people are still signing up, and signing up despite the date change in numbers that are exceeding what we expected, it’s great news for the race and great news for the city,” Schenck said. “Everybody is just so happy that we’re ready to bring racing back. People have gone a year or 14 months without a road race to run.
“It’s exciting for us to be bringing it back, and to do it in Myrtle Beach is great all around.”
Myrtle Beach was one of the last marathons run in the U.S. last year and is one of the first marathons being run in the 14 months since.
The 2020 race was held March 7, four days before the NBA suspended its season following Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID test result, which set off the cancellation of most other domestic leagues and sporting events within a few days.
Capstone operates about a dozen road running races in North America. Myrtle Beach was Capstone’s final race of 2020, and Saturday’s is its first marathon of 2021.
“I think it’s because people are just ready to get out and do something, and they’re excited to get back to running and we’re excited to give them a great, safe race to run,” Schenck said.
Safety measures in place
For precaution, rather than hold the start at Pelicans Ballpark in one large group, Capstone is spacing out groups of runners over several blocks of Grissom Parkway into corrals. The fastest runners are in the first corral, and Schenck said each corral has enough space for each runner to socially distance.
The corral groups will start two minutes apart over about 30 minutes.
At the conclusion of the race at Pelicans Ballpark, runners will receive their medals and swag bags that they usually pick up at the expo, as well as a pre-packaged bag of food and drinks, then they will be expected to expeditiously leave the ballpark.
Race staff and volunteers will be wearing masks and frequently using hand sanitizer.
“Our goal really from an organizational safety standpoint is to do everything we can so there’s never a time when people need to be less than 6 feet apart,” Schenck said.
Volunteers at aid and water stations along the course routes will offer bottled water on tables rather than handing cups to runners.
New this year are virtual races for the one-mile Family Fun Run and a new 10K distance, in which runners complete the distances at a time and location of their choice and receive a medal from race organizers.
“Everybody understands this race is going to feel different this year, and everybody understands why,” Schenck said, “and all of the runners I’ve spoken to and our team has spoken to are grateful, as are we, that we can produce the race, and they’re being as gracious and accommodating to the changes we’re having to make as we could ever hope for.”
Additional changes for 2021
The marathon and half marathon courses have changed slightly this year. Runners no longer will turn off Grissom Parkway to run along Oleander Drive, and won’t leave Farrow Parkway to run on Howard Avenue to avoid most residences and businesses in Market Common.
Race distance has been added on Farrow and Granddaddy Drive to make up for the changes.
“It’s so built out there now [on Howard Avenue], it’s an inconvenience for residents and businesses in there,” said Myrtle Beach Police Master Cpl. Henry Bresadola.
The Myrtle Beach Police information line at 843-918-4636 (INFO) will provide directions for motorists to get from one destination to another from 6 a.m. Saturday until the completion of the race.
Runners since 2019
2019
| Race | Runners |
| 5K | 793 |
| Half | 2,392 |
| Marathon | 1,305 |
| Total | 4,490 |
2020
| Race | Runners |
| 5K | 989 |
| Half | 2,519 |
| Marathon | 1,240 |
| Total | 4,748 |
2021 (Projected)
| Race | Runners |
| 5K | 755 |
| Half | 2,021 |
| Marathon | 1,284 |
| Total | 4,060 |
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 6:58 AM.
