Myrtle Beach Marathon 1999
by Charles Cohn
We arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC on Thursday afternoon, February 25th, and got ourselves a campsite in the Myrtle Beach State Park. Then we went to the headquarters hotel, the Holiday Inn, and met with our friends in the Penguin Brigade, an Internet-based running club that I enjoy tremendously. We went with a group to Mr. Fish for dinner, as has become a Penguin custom. This is a hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant where the food is far better than the ambience. On return to the hotel, I picked up my number, T-shirt, etc. and drove us back to the campground.
Friday morning we went to the Sunrise Café for breakfast with the Penguins. (This used to be across Ocean Drive from the Holiday Inn, but has been relocated a couple of blocks away.) We returned to the campground, spending the rest of the morning and early afternoon reading and napping. (This was much better preparation for the marathon than traipsing around the nearby Brookgreen sculpture garden as we did last year.)
Midafternoon we returned to the Holiday Inn. We found that Parke-Davis and Pfizer were sponsoring free lipid screenings. We both took the opportunity.
My numbers were:
Triglycerides: 138
Total cholesterol: 163
HDL: 66
LDL: 70
Total cholesterol/HDL ratio: 2.5
Needless to say, we are both well pleased with our numbers. (Incidentally, these were not fasting tests; they were taken about two hours after lunch.)
We enjoyed the lectures at the hotel and the sociability of the pasta dinner at the All-Star Café. I had been drinking a lot of water, and during the evening I noticed that I was having to pee quite often, more than once per hour. Therefore, I drank no more than a few sips of water from then on. We returned to the campground and got to bed early in preparation for the big day.
Marathon day, Saturday, began for me at 4 am. I vaselined my armpits, nipples, crotch and feet, and dressed in two undershirts, a long-sleeve T-shirt and long running pants, as seemed appropriate for the temperature of 38 degrees expected to rise into the 50s. I drank only enough water to allow my chocolate PowerBar to form a gel in my stomach, as it is designed to do.
While Maggie slept, I drove our camper van to the abandoned airbase south of town where the start and finish were. I left the van and walked over to the start line to be ready for the 6 am early start. Socialized a bit with the early crowd.
Finally the moment of truth arrived, the start was called, and we all set out. We crossed Kingshighway, the major street that's a couple of blocks inland, and headed out onto Ocean Drive.
I was racewalking at what felt like an easy pace, and mile 1 went by in just 13:29, as I passed hotel after hotel. Mile 2 was slower in 14:09. By now it was starting to get light and I had glimpses of the ocean between the hotels. I took some water at the first water station; they were spaced every 2 miles.
Mile 3 was a bit faster in 13:55 and mile 4 was even better at 13:44. At this point I took my first chocolate PowerGel, which I would repeat every 4 miles thereafter, and washed it down with some water from the water stop. (Any excuse for eating chocolate will do.)
(I had trouble ingesting the PowerGel. The notches in the neck of the packet where you tear off the top were too high up, so the passage for the contents was not fully opened. Thus it took a lot of squeezing to get the contents out. I'm sure this slowed me significantly by occupying my hands and spoiling my racewalking style for a few seconds. For my next marathon I plan to make a scissors cut lower down on the neck, so I can pull it apart where the passage is fully open.)
Mile 5 went by in 13:12, when I passed the first relay exchange point. By now I was able to see the beautiful red sunrise over the ocean. Mile 6 passed in 13:51. I took a cup of AllSport sports drink, as I did subsequently whenever I didn't take PowerGel.
Mile 7 took 13:16, after which the road took a jog closer to the ocean. I saw an oceanside park having potties with no waiting. As my bladder had been pressing on my brain, I figured this was a good time for a stop. It slowed mile 8 to 14:56, but fortunately I needed no more potty stops for the rest of the trip. So my hydration management was much better than at Disney, where I was slowed by four pee stops.
Mile 9 went by in 13:12. In mile 10, the course turned inland and headed toward Kingshighway. When I crossed that busy street, there were a bunch of cops holding back a line of cars, with their drivers angrily honking their horns.
The second relay exchange point was at the end of Mile 10. I was so distracted by the friendly greetings I got from the crowd of Penguins there that I missed recording my split. All I know is that miles 10 and 11 combined took 25:41.
Mile 12 took 12:52 and mile 13 took 13:23. At this point my total elapsed time was 2:55:43, so I was on track to beat my previous PR of 5:55:10, if I could maintain my pace. So I kept on keeping on. Mile 14 went by in 13:06.
I was getting quite a few compliments on my style from spectators. They seemed to give more notice to my racewalking than to the runners. One old guy said, "It hurts just to watch you!"
Mile 15 took 13:37, and I got more friendly greetings at the third relay exchange point. The course then turned west on 29th Avenue toward the All-Star Café. Mile 16 went by in 13:45. I took the tube of Clif Shot that was handed to me in place of a PowerGel.
The course then wound through the parking lots of the All-Star Café and the roads around Broadway at the Beach. Mile 17 took 13:47 and mile 18 took 13:58. Then the course returned to Kingshighway.
Those last two miles were a bit slow, and I knew I had to pick it up if I wanted to make a PR. I was able to do that; mile 19 went in 13:25 and mile 20 went in 13:12. At that point I passed the last relay exchange point and took my last PowerGel.
Mile 21 took 13:28. Then the course turned into the airbase roads. Mile 22 took 13:31 and mile 23 also took 13:31.
I had thought about taking another PowerGel at mile 24, but decided not to, because I figured the benefit gained would not make up for the time lost in handling it. So I took another cup of sports drink instead. That mile took a slow 13:45.
I had been daydreaming for a long time about making a PR, being able to shout "PR!" when I finished and getting increased bragging rights in general. By this time I wanted a PR so bad I could taste it, and I knew I had to push if I wanted to make it. Mile 25 was still slow at 13:40, but I stepped up mile 26 to 12:46 and the final 0.2 to 2:17, pumping my way to the finish at 5:53:37, my fourteenth marathon finish, a PR by 1:33 and 17:39 faster than last year.
So I picked up my medal and got in my brags, accepting everybody's friendly congratulations. (This marathon also has begun the unique practice of handing out marathon-finisher license tags.)
I met up with Maggie, who had a pleasant morning. I ate some muffins, cookies and bananas and we settled in to wait for our 75-year-old friend Margaret Hagerty from North Carolina. She was running this marathon two weeks after finishing the Antarctica Marathon in 7:47. (She started when I did, but she was going at a safe, conservative pace and I passed her in the first mile.) We were a bit concerned about the poor dear, but she came in strong and perky in 7:05:49 for her 41st marathon. She was an instant celebrity and received much attention.
Afterwards, we invited Margaret and her friend Richard to a tailgate picnic. They were leaving right for home, so we bid them goodbye and returned to the campground.
I tried to take a shower, but the showers had only cold water, so I settled for just sponging off my hairy, sweaty places. Since the state park charges $16 a night for camping, and some hotels charge in the low $20's, the latter may well be a better buy in the future.
We went to the post-race party at Yesterday's Night Life. That facility seemed much too small for the crowd and there was a long wait in line for food. We had some good conversations with fellow Penguins, although it was very noisy. I looked at the award lists and found I hadn't won any.
Sunday morning we checked out of the campground and went to the Penguin farewell breakfast at the Sunrise Café. After much gemuetlichkeit we headed west in triumph.
This would be an excellent marathon for slowpokes and first-timers. The course is flat and the time limit is eight hours if you start early. It's very well organized.
Charles Cohn
chasmagc@bellsouth.net
"Live forever or die trying"
Net Links:
Myrtle Beach Marathon Official
site for the event
1998 Disney World Marathon Charles' report.
1998 Myrtle Beach Marathon Charles
reports on the 1998 event.
1999 Disney World Marathon Charles'
report.
Long Distance Walk
Articles: Training, Clothing, and Food/Drink
Marathon and Ultra Event Net Links
Walker-friendly marathons and ultras.
Event Calendar with walker-friendly
marathons.
