Myrtle Beach Marathon 2023

Marathons hurt. They're expensive and time consuming. So why do I do these things?

On Saturday, March 4, 2023, I will run the Myrtle Beach Marathon for the second time.

The last time I ran the Myrtle Beach Marathon—or any marathon—was in 2016. Back then, I was coming off a 6-month marathon kick that started in late 2015 when I ran, in fairly short succession, three marathons in a row: the old Indianapolis Marathon (now the Indy Half Marathon at Fort Ben), the Monumental Marathon, and then the Myrtle Beach Marathon in March 2016.

I finished the MBM in 2016 in 3:43:41, for a per mile average of 8:32. That’s a decent enough time for a non-competitive, recreational marathoner like me. These days my number one goal when I do one of these 26.2 mile monstrosities is to feel strong enough to finish well and not let it ruin my weekend.

I gave up on my dreams of qualifying for Boston years ago when I realized that while I do enjoy pain in the abstract, I don’t enjoy that level of pain in (or on) the concrete—so to speak. This year, I simply want to finish in well under four hours (3:40:00 or better would be perfect), avoid any weird accidents on the course, and—to the extent that it is possible—enjoy the salty air and the overall experience. I sure hope it doesn’t rain.

One of the joys of the marathon, at least for me, is the preparation. Finishing a marathon is a significant goal, and so it gives you something to work towards. This is especially important for me in the dead months between Christmas and the start of March Madness. Marathoning gives me a routine and a plan that I can stick to, a series of non-academic items that I can check off my to-do list. It chases away the winter blues, at least to a point.

There’s something about breaking a sweat on a 15 degree morning in early January that strikes me as defiant and brash. I love the feeling that I’m pulling a fast one on Old Man Winter, as psychotic as that probably sounds. Getting warm when no one is supposed to be warm, being outside when everyone is telling you not to go outside, avoiding wintertime flabbiness when everyone else is lining up for the lat pulldown machine at the gym (or worse, the dreadmill)—there’s something defiant and (dare I say) rebellious about training for an early spring marathon in the dead zone of a Midwestern winter. And that’s one of the things I love about marathon training.

What makes the Myrtle Beach Marathon the perfect early spring marathon for me comes down to a few factors.

First, being at sea level, the course is essentially 100% flat. Aside from maybe a speed bump here or there, or an errant rise in the pavement, the entire 26.2 mile course is at sea level, and much of it runs alongside the coastline on Ocean Boulevard. (This does have drawbacks—namely, the very real possibility of 35+ mph headwinds that can feel like a full frontal assault, especially if they’re hitting you on that 9-mile stretch along Ocean Boulevard.)

Pic credit: blog.condo-world.com.

Second, as a native of South Carolina, I’ve been going to Myrtle Beach nearly every year for over forty years, so I feel like I know every nook and cranny of this charming little tourist trap beach resort paradise, even with the acknowledgment that a lot has changed over the course of four decades.

Perhaps the most profound change is that the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, a veritable mainstay of everyone’s trip to the Grand Strand since the early days of the 20th century, is long gone. It closed in 2006, and the 11-acre parcel of prime downtown Myrtle Beach real estate on which it sat in some form or fashion for nearly 100 years has inexplicably sat fallow and unoccupied ever since.

Third, the MBM is not a massive race. There are typically between 5,500 and 7,500 participants in the weekend’s festivities, which includes a half marathon and 5K (as well as a 1-mile fun run for children), which is on the small(er) side for big races. As a point of comparison, some 35,000 people run the Indy Mini Marathon each year, making it the nation’s largest half-marathon by a country mile.

Fourth, seafood. And not just any seafood, but the kind of superfluously fresh, lightly-fried, Southern style seafood I grew up with: hushpuppies, golden shrimp and flounder, sea scallops, she crab soup, deviled crab, and so forth. I’ve already made reservations for my brother and me on both Friday and Saturday night at the famous Sea Captain’s House, widely regarded as the best seafood restaurant on the Grand Strand by people who know good seafood. (I’ve also been eating at Sea Captain’s since before I was even old enough to order off the kid’s menu.) You can take your Calabash seafood back across the border to North Carolina. As far as I’m concerned, that trash is for Ohioans and Michiganders and other clueless tourists. It’s an affront to good seafood and common sense.

And finally, family. In years past, my family has made the trip up from the western side of the state of SC to cheer me on. This year, only my brother is coming into town, but that’s fine with me. I think I have run enough marathons at this point that I don’t really require an elaborate cheering section. It’s enough to know that I have a ride back to the condo after I finish the race and someone to pull me into the drive-thru at Jimmy John’s so I can refuel.

I look forward to sharing some updates after the big race. Subscribe now so you don’t miss it!

Other life updates of possible interest:

• Earlier this month, Kaylin and I adopted an eight-week old dachshund puppy named Heidi. She is…how can I put this?…one of the most adorable animals I’ve ever seen. You can find pics of her plastered all over my Twitter feed (@paulgeecook), which is fast becoming little more than a shrine to Heidi. (I’ve already lost quite a few followers over it and I suspect I will hemorrhage more before it’s all said and done—I am more than okay with this.) You can also find a hilarious video of Heidi monkeying around with Joni on my Instagram page. And, finally, I am also on TikTok, which really is just a place for me to post cute stuff that Heidi does. You can find me on TikTok at @pz_136.

  

  This dog is serious…seriously cute!

• And, lest you think all I’ve been doing so far on my sabbatical is marathon training and dog wrangling, I will have you know that I’ve already roughed out two chapters of the book manuscript for a grand total of 20,000 un-revised and largely un-edited words. The entire project will likely be in the 75K to 80K range, so I figure I am 25% there, at least in terms of the composing. I made the mistake of trying to write the Introduction first, which I have discovered is just about the dumbest thing you can do when it comes to book writing, but I need to get the revised proposal back to the editor soon so they can make a final decision on the project, and roughing this out has helped me (I think) to figure out exactly what I want this project to be. I will write more about this later.

• Kaylin and I are starting to think seriously about a honeymoon sometime in the next few months. (We didn’t take one when we first got married.) We are thinking Cuba. If you’ve been to Cuba recently, please reach out to me at paulcook@yahoo.com. I would like to hear your thoughts. We’re looking at travel packages that take care of your visa and whatnot for you and that also include some interesting walking tours and cigar rolling.

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• That’s all folks! Have a wonderful week.