What really happens after mile 13? My Myrtle Beach Marathon Relay Race Report…

Departing Charleston yesterday afternoon for Myrtle Beach, I admit I had not really given much thought to the relay race. I have been killing myself at work lately and my travel has been nuts. Luckily, the relay race was a great chance to get to know everyone a little better and have some fun!

I volunteered to drive us up there so we loaded up the Tiffmobile and were off! A beautiful drive up highway 17 takes you through some of the most beautiful coastal views of the state. We get into town in just enough time to hit the expo and get our packets, do some fast shopping and get some great deals on gear, chug a beer or two, and grab dinner. My friend Edi’s mom lives in Myrtle Beach and was nice enough to play our host. We hit the hay around 11:00 PM in anticipation of a 4:30 AM wakeup. Getting 5.5 hours of sleep was actually a treat for me after last week and I did not even mind the twin bed I was sleeping in, despite my feet hanging off my edge and Edi’s dog trying to eat my socks. My “roommate” (another relay partner, Steph S) kept receiving text messages throughout the night from her boyfriend back at home so finally I turned her phone off. Eerrrr!!! 2:30 AM wakeups are NOT good!

I am naturally a very super-organized person so I tried to get everyone to lay their clothes out, get the bibs handed out and pins allocated, and take care of any last second logistics the night before. My friends think I am crazy… although it is weird thinking about other people and their preparedness as part of your team when running is usually an individual thing. Unfortunately, the relay exchange point map SUCKED. There were NO street names and NO info about road closings. Piss poor if you ask me. I have an earful for the race organizers. It was super stressful getting everyone to the relay exchange points due to some jackass not giving us proper info. More about that later.

4:30 AM comes early and I try to get the crowd moving. We had planned to leave the house around 5:15 AM and get Steph S to the start a little early for the 6:30 AM gun. Edi’s mom has the coffee brewing and bagels so I try to get everyone rolling and the car packed. Getting 3 women out the door in the morning is NOT easy. We finally get going at 5:45 AM and I am worried about the time.

Pull up to start line at 6:20 AM. Drop Steph S off. It is 29 degrees and I cannot feel my hands. Luckily, I run Steph S to the start line with a blanket around me… and we made it! She is running the first 5 mile leg. She is off… great!

We drive like madwomen to the next exchange point. We run into a tangled web of road closings, traffic, and poor navigation. We finally get to the Mile 5 exchange point and Edi (the next runner) refuses to pee outside. She wants to go into a hotel. Damn… I am getting nervous!!! She runs in and comes back 2 seconds before Steph S shows up. Good deal- they pass the relay bracelet and Edi is off.

We drive again to the next exchange point and we realize we had the wrong directions. We improvise (because Edi is the one currently running and is the only one of us FROM Myrtle Beach) and find our way. Steph H has a couple minutes to warm up and stretch and I got to even cheer on a couple of my friends from work running the full or half marathons. I am starting to feel a little more relaxed. Edi comes through to the exchange point and Steph H takes over. Steph H is definitely our fastest runner so I am starting to get worried again as time is short. The girls in the car (Steph S and Edi) want to get coffee and donuts at Krispy Kreme. Fine. I drive them over there and tell them we need to hurry. We run into HUGE traffic problems and I realize we might not get to the exchange point in time. The next point is MY exchange before I run the last 11.2 miles. I am worried- I want to pee, I want to warm up, I want to stretch. I start to get frustrated. Edi is lost with the directions and I start driving 65 MPH through back streets in Myrtle Beach. I finally regain my cool and we have to backtrack and get on the highway. We take the long, long, long route and Steph S and I did a Chinese fire drill and she takes the wheel at a red light so I can just jump out at the exchange point. I scurry to get my crap out of my bag- MP3 player, a couple GUs, sunglasses, etc.

We pull up the relay exchange point and I have to jump out of the car. People are looking at us like crazy people. I run across the street and see Steph H right away- PERFECT TIMING! She hands me the bracelet and I realize I have done NOTHING to prepare. I immediately take off and realize how ill prepared I am. My MP3 player promptly cuts off- dead battery. I have to piss like a racehorse.

I finally get into a groove. I run the first 2 miles with ease, get to a port-a-pot at mile 3, and do a little stretching while waiting.

After all the drama to this point- I felt great. I had a couple really crappy runs last week and was worried about how I would feel today. I felt AWESOME. The weather was perfect- low 50’s and sunny. I soon realized I did not miss my MP3 player. I could concentrate on the world around me. My breathing. My footsteps. The comments of people around me. I felt totally into it instead of being closed off to the music.

I finally got to see a glimpse of what happens after mile 13 of a race. Up to this point, I have done two half marathons, never venturing past that point. I will admit, I “cheated” today and had my friends run the first 15 miles for me but I still felt pseudo-legit. It wasn’t until mile 18 or 19 of the course that I started to see the differences. It felt like everyone was running this marathon together. Shouts of encouragement from one runner to the next….People that did not even know one another. I was happy I did not have my MP3 player with me as I met a lot of great people on the course. There was the guy from Durham, NC running his first marathon. He looked strong when we shared a conversation from miles 20-22. He caught up with me post-race at the beer tent and had tears in his eyes. He had lost over 100 pounds and just reached one of his life goals. There was the father-daughter team from Iowa running their yearly marathon together. We ran together through mile 18 and they could not believe the wonderful weather… after being banned to the treadmill in sub-zero weather. And my personal favorite… a lady I found at mile 19 that was running her 100th marathon. ONE HUNDREDTH MARATHON. I am amazed.

Plus, the medical tents were a little more busy than I have ever seen.

My relay partners met me for the last 2 miles and we ran it in together. It was a perfect finish to the day. It is amazing how much better I got to know these women… and we are already mapping out our next relay (Steph H recommends Hood to Coast as a natural progression- she has done it several times) and other races we want to do together this year. I think Steph S might actually run Chicago with me in October… her first full! Steph H might be going up to Louisville with me in April for the KY Derby Festival half too. I love it!

In a way, I felt a little guilty running the relay and “posing” as a marathon finisher. However, I also felt like I had my place helping others through the tough miles. I didn’t really even have to initiate conversation as I found most people were talkative and just looking for someone to help them pass the miles, like the one guy that told me to “tell him anything and everything about myself that had nothing to do with running.”

So, today I feel good. I feel energized. I feel ready to take on the next challenge.

Next up? Some new cross training, a couple 5Ks, and The Cooper River Bridge Run…. and I’m gonna kick its ASS.

And hence I continue on my journey to Chicago....