About 4,500 expected for 25th Myrtle Beach Marathon. What runners, drivers need to know
Between 4,300-4,600 runners are expected for the 25th Myrtle Beach Marathon and affiliated races on Saturday.
There will be approximately 1,300-1,500 in the full marathon, 2,200-2,500 in the half marathon, and 800-900 in the 5K. Among the runners will be nine who have run in all 24 previous Myrtle Beach Marathons.
The courses are the same as 2021 for all three races, which will start at 7 a.m. on Robert Grissom Parkway near Pelicans Ballpark, which will house the finish line.
“It worked incredibly well,” race director Greyson Feurer, of Capstone Event Group, said. “The new 5K course, starting with the full and half marathon at the same place, runners really enjoyed it, ... and it allowed runners to do a loop and see the [Skywheel] and still get to experience a lot of the exciting parts of the 5K course they always loved.“
A pre-race runner’s expo will not return this year. Race packets can be picked up by runners Thursday or Friday at the Fleet Feet Myrtle Beach retail store at 7931 North Kings Highway. Feurer said the return of the expo in 2023 will be considered.
“The decision we made this year is due to COVID, and it’s not something we’re necessarily eliminating moving forward,” he said. “It’s something we’ll look at. We haven’t made a decision for future years yet.”
A Finish Line Festival inside TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark will feature awards, beer, food including Mellow Mushroom pizza, and live music.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary, the 25-year participants will be honored at the post-race party, and musicians who performed at the first marathon will be among those performing at a few places along the course.
The marathon is forecast to have good weather, though it will be a bit windy with a high temperature of about 70, partly cloudy skies and southeast winds between 10 and 15 mph.
Road closures, traffic information
U.S. 17 Bypass will not be affected by the marathon and should be used as the primary route for north/south travel through the city.
Travel on Kings Highway both northbound and southbound will be impacted in several areas.
Vehicles on Ocean Boulevard will only be allowed to travel southbound from 82nd Parkway to South Kings Highway, and Ocean Boulevard southbound will also be closed to vehicles between 12th Avenue North and 8th Avenue North 6-10 a.m.
Guests staying in Ocean Boulevard hotels are advised to park on the west side of the road Friday night to avoid significant delays. Police officers will be positioned along Ocean Boulevard to assist with crossing the street when runners aren’t present. Parking along Ocean Boulevard will be prohibited after 1 a.m. Saturday.
South Kings Highway will be among the roads most impacted. It will be closed from Mr. Joe White Avenue on the north end to Farrow Parkway on the south end from 6:30 a.m. until the final runner exits the Market Common area, which authorities expect to occur about 10 a.m.
Particularly congested intersections will be on Grissom Parkway at both 21st Avenue North and 29th Avenue North, on Kings Highway at both Grande Dunes Boulevard and 82nd Avenue North, and Mr. Joe White Avenue at Kings Highway, Grissom Parkway and Oak Street for much of the morning.
Detours and delays
The Myrtle Beach Police information line at 843-918-4636 (INFO) will provide directions for motorists to get from one destination to another from 6:30 a.m. Saturday until the completion of the race.
If drivers are planning to travel in the city on Saturday, marathon organizers and the city have provided these notes:
- To access Broadway at the Beach, use U.S. 17 Bypass and 29th Avenue North. There will be no access to Broadway from the two Grissom Parkway entrances 4:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
- Expect delays in front of Pelicans Ballpark until 2 p.m. while a temporary crosswalk is in use.
- All lanes of Grissom Parkway will be closed from 21st Avenue North to Mr. Joe White Avenue 4:30-11:30 a.m. All lanes will be closed from 29th Avenue North to 21st Avenue North 4:30-8:30 a.m. One southbound lane will be closed from Granddaddy Boulevard to Pelicans Ballpark 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Expect major delays when attempting to cross Grissom Parkway at 48th Avenue North, 38th Avenue North, 29th Avenue North and 21st Avenue North 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Mr. Joe White Avenue will be closed to all traffic from Kings Highway to Grissom Parkway from 6:30-10:45 a.m.
- If traveling Kings Highway between Mr. Joe White Avenue and the southern city limit, leave before 6:30 a.m. to enjoy an open window of access.
- Expect an increasingly difficult exit from side streets and parking lots on the west side of Kings Highway 6:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
- North and southbound lanes of Kings Highway near the intersection of Mr. Joe White Avenue will be shut down at 6:30 a.m.
- Northbound lanes entering the city on Kings Highway from Surfside Beach will be sent back south at Myrtle Beach State Park until the last runner exits Market Common at roughly 10 a.m. Southbound lanes will be diverted at Harrelson Boulevard until that time.
- The left lanes and median on Farrow Parkway will be reserved for runners. Traffic on Farrow Parkway will use right lanes in both directions.
- There will be no access to northbound Kings Highway from Farrow Parkway until about 10 a.m. All northbound traffic from this area should use 17 Bypass. There will be access to businesses on Farrow Parkway from Shine Avenue.
- Expect delays while attempting to enter or exit hotels on the east side of Ocean Boulevard.
- All northbound lanes of Ocean Boulevard from South Kings Highway to 82nd Parkway will be closed 6:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- Southbound lanes of Ocean Boulevard from 12th Avenue North to 8th Avenue North will be closed 6:30-10:30 a.m.
- Grande Dunes Boulevard will be closed 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- All traffic on Kings Highway will experience major delays near the intersection of Grande Dunes Boulevard 8:30-11:30 a.m.
- Traffic crossing Kings Highway at 82nd Parkway, 79th Avenue North, 76th Avenue North and 67th Avenue North will experience major delays 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- 65th Avenue North will be closed to westbound traffic 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Frontage Road between 62nd Avenue North and 65th Avenue North will be closed to southbound traffic 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Granddaddy Boulevard will be closed, so enter Pine Lakes Country Club from Woodside Avenue.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 9:36 AM.
