For the third year in a row, I got to run in Charleston’s Cooper River Bridge Run. This is my favorite 10k that I’ve taken part in and considering how much I love running an amusement park in the Run and Ride series, that’s saying something. The Bridge Run has it all for me from the large expo the day before to the big crowds at the start and during the race to the great view and rare opportunity on the middle of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. Then there’s the Finish Festival that takes place half a block from the finish line with all the food, swag, music, and general interactions. There is a reason this 10k race is consistently voted as one of the top ten 10k events in the United States, especially when the annual race draws between 25k to 35k participants for race day.

I feel like I should start with BEFORE the race and a review with the expo. The Cooper River Bridge Expo is THE biggest race expo I’ve ever attended. A couple of people I know have said the Bridge Run Expo rivals many marathon expos in size and vendors. Check in is easy for anyone who didn’t have their race packet sent to them, like me.

The Expo took place at the North Charleston Convention Center, just south of the Charleston Airport. Parking was relatively easy for us, but we were warned that parking would be an issue if we showed up later because Jimmy Buffet was in town and would be playing at the Convention Center later that night. Once we made it through the doors, we saw the wall of names for all runners and walkers would didn’t get their packets sent to them. Those runners would have to look up their names to get their bib number. Once the bib number was determined, a runner would go through the double doors and head towards the bib pick-up and after receiving their bib, walk just a little further to get the rest of their race packet. I observed several people do this, and it was a relatively painless process, especially with volunteers all around directing people which way to go if they needed to get their packets.

After we walked through the packet pick-up area, we strolled through the aisles of vendors, sponsors, and various race organizers. A lot of vendors offered an expo discount, to include Fleet Feet, Garmin, and RSports. Several alcohol producers were present as well and they offered plenty of samples if you were of age. We got to sample some well-made vodka, bourbon, and several varieties of wines in addition to a few drink mixers as well. Our bib has a special voucher on it that allowed us to get a free full drink from one of four minibars behind the music and relaxation area just outside the Convention Center.
The day of the race was pretty easy for us. If you missed the part at the beginning where I said that the Bridge Run about 30k people taking part in the race, I’m just going to re-iterate it here. To get to the race, if you somehow aren’t physically located near the starting line (somewhere in Mount Pleasant), then you have to catch a charter bus from one of several locations. Buses run from 5 AM to 7 AM. For my wife and I, we stayed at one of the hotels across the street from the Convention Center, which besides being where the Expo was located also doubled as a busing point for the race. There was PLENTY of parking at the North Charleston Convention Center. Volunteers show you where to go and encourage you as you load onto the buses. It took us about 25 minutes to ride the bus from the North Charleston Convention Center to the starting area of the race, and it was still dark.

We dropped out check-in bag at the proper location which was very easy to spot since it was along the way to the corrals. We joined the zombie-like crowds of runners making their way to their respective corrals, but not before passing several establishments catering to the morning crowd to include Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks coffee. The Bridge Run organizers had several port-a-potty locations set up, and my tip for when you first get off the bus and have the urge to pee is to keep going until you get close to your corral because there will be a bunch of port-a-potties set up and they won’t be as crowded as the first set you see after getting off the bus. I will say that 30 minutes before the race, all the portable bathrooms will have a line, so go early if you can.

The race started promptly on time; wheelchair athletes took off prior to 8 AM and the first competitive wave set off right at eight AM. I was in corral A and we moved up after the elite heat and the red, white, and blue colored bib racers took off. The other corrals followed us in the move towards the starting line.

Once our wave started, everyone in corral A moved with a purpose. There was no shoving or pushing, but you could easily see that wherever you were, you would be in close proximity of other runners; personally, I love that feeling. The first mile and half were very flat. Once we hit the on-ramp for the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, we began our ascent to the apex of the giant obstacle. It started easy with a slight incline, but it soon we trudged on with a 5% grade for what felt like a straight mile. Even when I reached the zenith of the bridge, I swore I was still running upwards. I do want to point out that once you’re on the bridge, it is a good time to pull off to the side and snap some memorable pictures.

The 3-mile marker and the 5-kilometer split appear after cresting the bridge and it really is all downhill from there, because once you get off the bridge, you are running on flat ground all the way to the finish line. I felt a little out of energy by the time I made it to the five-mile marker, but since I was still in a crowd of runners, albeit a smaller crowd, I felt the urge to continue on and not walk or stop. The downtown area along the course has the greatest number of supporters who will cheer on all the runners, joggers, and walkers who participate in the race. I saw gym instructors spinning on their stationary bicycles, I got to sample some great bacon from one of the local restaurants, and I read many signs of encouragement or attempts at humor. The crowds definitely make the final two miles so fun and worth running. However, all along the course 22 bands set up and played music for all the running and walking passers-by and they sounded pretty good out there.

Once I crossed the finish line, I walked about 100 feet or so to get my finisher’s medal, my token of achievement for this annual journey I partake. I continued on to the “finishers’ festival” in the plaza just to the north of the finish line. Harris Teeter, the local grocery store chain in Charleston, provided all sorts of fruits, muffins, and water by having two semi-truck sized stands set up on opposite ends of the plaza. Several vendors also handed out free samples of refreshments and protein snacks. Various gyms, running clubs, and colleges also had stands at the festival and amazingly I saw some apartment and living space companies there as well. Johnsonville Sausages had a rather large set up on the side street and they prepared some great, and free, brats for everyone. We stayed for the awards ceremony and they had a category for best costume… something to think about if you know you won’t go fast on this race.

When we were ready to leave, we headed out to the bus staging area. This is a minor complaint, but there were not enough volunteers at the bus area to direct the runners on which buses to take back to their original locations. I make it sound worse than it was, because everything was moving smoothly for the most part, but when you’re tired and ready to just go home, one of the last things you want to see is a bunch of people “cutting in line” to get on the bus sooner. Again, minor complaint, because the race was very well organized and they seem to have just about everything down to a science.

We made it back to our car okay and vehicle traffic around the Convention Center ran a lot smoother than I would have expected.

I fully plan on running in this race again next year and I highly recommend that everyone try this race at least once in their life; it is a great experience and something to enjoy.

I'm attaching a link that shows the highlights from the Bridge Run so you can see what I saw out there.
https://youtu.be/h2DdZqAO5-c