RunningAHEAD - Topic: One Year away - Which Marathon Should I do???

mb1973

posted: 3/24/2008 at 2:42 PM

Giving myself a year to build a base back up and train smart before attempting my next marathon. I have Myrtle Beach in February and Shamrock in Virginia Beach in March as my final two contenders. Which should I choose?

Ben_1415

Hey, nice marmot!

posted: 3/24/2008 at 3:56 PM

Are they not both 26.2 miles?! I kid. As I know nothing about you, you may find my advice a bit vague. You could go with Myrtle Beach since, from your username I'm guessing your initials are mb. Or, you may rather do Shamrock to celebrate the Irish heritage you may or may not have. You might want to do whichever one is cheaper, then again, you may have money to spare and would have more fun by spending more money. You could just do the one closest to where you live, then again you might also want to do the one farther away and make a trip out of it. Hope this helps! May I suggest filling out a profile and making your log visible. It's pretty tough to give advice to someone you know nothing about. Then again, that never stops me from trying.

Ben

"The world is my country, science is my religion."-- Christiaan Huygens

Wings

posted: 3/24/2008 at 4:31 PM
modified: 3/24/2008 at 4:33 PM

I've run both. They both have their good and bad points but the races are very similar. Shamrock: Good shirt, good medal, lot's free beer at the finish, ok crowd support, 1/2 marathoners start early and go the opposite way - no traffic issues. The biggest negative to me, in comparison to Myrtle, was the expensive lodging. There are also not too many restaurants close by, that I knew of anyway. The course is very flat but kind of mundane for long stretches along Pacific/Atlantic Ave. The stretch through Fort Story, although devoid of crowd support, was my favorite part. Finishing on the boardwalk by the statue of Poseidon or Neptune or whoever that big dude is was pretty cool. Myrtle: Terrible shirt, not so good medal, lot's of free beer at the finish, ok crowd support, great parking close to finish/start, excellent volunteers at fluid stations, very cheap good lodging, lot's of restaurants to choose from. The course is very flat and not real interesting for the most part - I hated miles 21-25 or so along Kings Highway. I got sick of running by discount beach junk stores. The 1/2 marathoners start with the marathoners and it is quite crowded for the first 2 miles or so. The weather should be similar for the two races, however it was freezing and very windy when I ran Shamrock in 2007. The 2008 Myrtle Marathon had perfect weather - cool with little wind. I guess if I had to choose one to do again it would be Shamrock, for whatever it is worth. If you have any other questions, just post 'em and I will try my best to answer them.

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 3/25/2008 at 9:23 AM

Myrtle Beach fills up early, I have a friend who procrastinated and got shut out. But that was the HM. Anyway it's something to consider.

"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

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Wings

posted: 3/25/2008 at 10:08 AM
modified: 3/25/2008 at 10:08 AM

I don't think the full at either Shamrock or Myrtle typically fills up. The Half's usually do.

One Year away - Which Marathon Should I do??? (Read 676 times)