I ran the 2017 marathon with my brother. We traveled from out of state. We decided to stay in downtown Charleston at an Airbnb with our wives so I can’t comment on accommodations at Kiawah. (Highly recommend staying in Charleston if you’re so inclined. The nightlife and restaurants and culture are incredible. If you stay on Kiawah it’s very convenient but you’re also confined to Kiawah). We enjoyed the expo and pasta dinner the night before. The food was plentiful and good...we just thought $40 a head was overpriced. The expo was pretty minimal but had a selection of items associated with the race. Nothing special. The swag for the marathon was somewhat disappointing. The race shirt, although technical, wasn’t very good. It was a hoodie emblazoned with “Marathon and Half Marathon on the back and very garish in color. I wished they had done separate shirts or hoodies. When worn the hood covers up the word “Marathon”.

The transportation is kind of a hassle but to be expected of a race in that location. Parking the morning of the race is several miles from the starting line. Parking is in a grass field and motor coaches are used to transport runners and families to the starting line area. This wouldn’t have been a big issue except on race day it had been raining for several days and the parking area was a mud bog. Our feet were already muddy and wet before we even toed the line. Granted...next time we’ll plan better and bring extra shoes and socks. Finally, in regards to transportation, don’t trust your GPS for the time to get to Kiawah. They don’t close off traffic and make it one way on race morning so although it only took us 45 minutes the evening before on race morning it took an hour longer. Plan accordingly.

Once we got to the starting line everything was fine. Weather was cold (high 30s) and wet but the rain stopped about an hour before the gun. The course itself is very flat and relatively scenic. A few segments allow ocean views and all of them show the nice houses on Kiawah. The staff and volunteers were excellent and friendly. Aid stations offered water and Gatorade and later jelly beans, pretzels, etc. There were not a ton of supporters but enough to make it fun. Near the finish line after about mile 20 we encountered some pretty great supporters cheering us on...several offering us swigs of beer which we politely declined. The finish line is well done and plenty of room to walk it off. Volunteers gave out space blankets and medals just after the finish. The medals are ok...but again they are identical between the half and full marathons. The center spins around to display either half or full. There was free beer for those of age.

Overall we enjoyed the race and the people more than made up for the minor inconveniences. We are planning on doing the marathon again next year. I’m sure they will address some of the minor quibbles we had with the entire affair.