Ridiculously long lines for Diva port-a-lets. Still riding the high of two fantastic races and the PR’s that went with them, I impulsively signed up to run the Divas Half Marathon in North Myrtle Beach, one week after the Derby Festival Mini Marathon and two weeks after Rock-n-Roll Raleigh. As Justin is still infected with half marathon fever, he briefly considered running (men are allowed) but decided to take the manly way out and support me in my 3 for 3 quest. Unfortunately, I paid the price for my impulsivity, both monetarily and physically. Having signed up late, I had to fork over $20 more than the cost of early registration (which actually doesn’t seem that bad. Heck! This is an expensive race!) With spring break for some people ending this week and with the race being in town, hotel rooms were few and far between in North Myrtle Beach, so I paid the price there, as well, and paid it for a hotel located 20 minutes from the starting line… by car. Anyone running this race has literally hundreds of hotels to choose from in Myrtle Beach, so my recommendation is, if you’re going to run it, sign up early and book your hotel early. You’ll be glad to have a hotel, its parking spaces, and bathrooms close to the race start.
The Divas Half Marathon tech shirt The race expo (which the Divas call the Health and Fitness Boutique) was held on both Friday and Saturday. The J. Bryan Floyd Community Center was packed to the gills with runners and vendors with their merchandise. Though there was a brief hold-up at the expo entrance as volunteers asked for travel information from runners (length of hotel stay, number in party, etc.) things moved quickly to bib pick-up. I picked up number 3173 (definitely indicating a late registration!) and was distracted by the many vendors on the way to t-shirt pick-up. The Divas website indicated that their t-shirts run small, so I was mildly disgruntled when the large I ordered was in fact, large. The Divas representative told me they “fixed the t-shirt problem a year ago” (Note to Divas: update your website!) and that I could exchange my shirt in one hour, at 5 pm. (Good thing I got to the expo late.) Not wanting to hang around for an hour and be tempted to purchase more at the expo, I asked at the solutions booth if t-shirt exchange was available on race morning. The response was, “No, we don’t have the staff to man a booth in the morning.” Needless to say, I hung around at the expo for another hour, determined to get a race shirt of the correct size. At 4:50, an abrupt and mildly disgruntled Divas employee began exchanging shirts, and I got what I should have ordered in the first place: a size medium.
The race start of the Divas Half Marathon I spent a restless night at the Horizon on 77th hotel, in spite of our spacious quarters (which was basically a one bedroom apartment with a full kitchen). When the alarm rang at 5:15 am, I was ready to go simply because I was sick of a restless night of sleep. Knowing our drive to the race start would take about twenty minutes, Justin and I left the hotel at 6, figuring this would allow us enough time to find parking and allow me to use the port-a-lets before the race. Parking was easily done, but unfortunately for the 5,000 women running in both the half marathon and the 5K, using the port-a-lets was not. There were twenty at the start of the race, and the public bathrooms across the street were locked up. I joined hundreds of other women in line and crossed my fingers that, a.) my bladder wouldn’t explode before the race and, b.) I’d make it to the port-a-let before race start at 7:10. Luck was with me this time and I managed to arrive at the 8:00-9:01 corral moments before the gun went off. (I say corral, but the start was really just composed of sections, trusting women to place themselves in the correct area.) All 2,753 runners began at once, and everyone from 9:00 and faster seemed to place themselves in their correct section (nice work, ladies!)
Divas Half Marathon Finisher Medal The course took us down Ocean Blvd for the first two miles and from there ran us alternately in quiet, shady neighborhoods and sunny, major thoroughfares. While the course was flat, anyone running should know that there are some minor changes in elevation, though nothing that one would need to train for. Water and Gatorade stops were located approximately every two miles, with cheery, enthusiastic volunteers distributing perfectly filled paper cups. Cheering spectators could be found in great numbers in the “downtown” areas of the race, while neighborhood residents could be found on occasion on their front lawns, showing their support for the race and the runners. While the course wasn't the most scenic of all the half marathons Justin and I have run, it gave runners the opportunity to see some of the residential areas of North Myrtle Beach and experience the quiet oases of local neighborhoods nestled amidst the craziness that is Myrtle Beach.
The goal of this particular race series is to treat every runner/woman like the “diva she is,” which I conclude means providing her with pink and/or sparkly things. Somewhere around mile 12.8, runners had the chance to grab a pink feather boa and tiara before crossing the finish line. Whether or not I would stop was in question: I am not a pink, sparkly girl, nor do I like to sacrifice half marathon times unnecessarily. When I realized the station operated just like a water stop, where volunteers held the feather boas and tiaras for runners to grab without breaking stride, I got into the Diva spirit and looped a feather boa backwards around my neck and plodded onward to the finish line. Tons of fans lined the streets for the remaining .3 miles, so cheering was plentiful. Volunteers were there immediately with much needed bottles of water (the temperature of this spring race quickly climbed into the seventies, a blistering temperature for 13.1 miles!) EMS volunteers were on hand, and just beyond them, buff, shirtless men were looping medals around runners’ necks. Somewhat embarrassed by this gratuitous display of male flesh, I shame-facedly accepted my medal and proceeded to a table where flutes of champagne (or ginger ale, for those who, like me, aren’t champagne fans) and red roses were being distributed. At the finisher photo area, runners posed in front of the Divas logo and I took the opportunity to ham it up for the camera. When running twelve half marathons in twelve months, the finisher photos start to look the same, so hopefully the hamming will make for a unique photo. After passing boxes of bagels, fruit, and more cookies than I’ve ever seen in one place, runners exited the finisher corrals and were reunited with friends and family.
The goal of this particular race series is to treat every runner/woman like the “diva she is,” which I conclude means providing her with pink and/or sparkly things. Somewhere around mile 12.8, runners had the chance to grab a pink feather boa and tiara before crossing the finish line. Whether or not I would stop was in question: I am not a pink, sparkly girl, nor do I like to sacrifice half marathon times unnecessarily. When I realized the station operated just like a water stop, where volunteers held the feather boas and tiaras for runners to grab without breaking stride, I got into the Diva spirit and looped a feather boa backwards around my neck and plodded onward to the finish line. Tons of fans lined the streets for the remaining .3 miles, so cheering was plentiful. Volunteers were there immediately with much needed bottles of water (the temperature of this spring race quickly climbed into the seventies, a blistering temperature for 13.1 miles!) EMS volunteers were on hand, and just beyond them, buff, shirtless men were looping medals around runners’ necks. Somewhat embarrassed by this gratuitous display of male flesh, I shame-facedly accepted my medal and proceeded to a table where flutes of champagne (or ginger ale, for those who, like me, aren’t champagne fans) and red roses were being distributed. At the finisher photo area, runners posed in front of the Divas logo and I took the opportunity to ham it up for the camera. When running twelve half marathons in twelve months, the finisher photos start to look the same, so hopefully the hamming will make for a unique photo. After passing boxes of bagels, fruit, and more cookies than I’ve ever seen in one place, runners exited the finisher corrals and were reunited with friends and family.
The finish line at the Divas Half Marathon My finish coincided with the awards ceremony for the 5K and half marathon, when the band took a break from entertaining everyone and plaques were awarded to top finishers (both male and female in the 5K, and just females in the half.) When none of the male award winners took the stage to claim their prizes, some women spontaneously accepted for them and proved there were more people hamming it up at the Divas Half Marathon than just me.
Side Note: There was a post-race pool party later in the day at one of the local hotels. Justin and I opted out of going due to the fact that I was exhausted and hurting, and that we were eager to return home.
Final Verdict: With the right kind of planning, this is a great girls’ weekend for a group of running buddies.
Tips for a Successful Divas Half Marathon:
1. Plan ahead so you can stay close to the finish line. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be located close to your own bathroom. You will NOT want to wait in the line of port-a-lets at the race start.
2. Order your normal size race shirt. Contrary to what the website says, the shirts do not run small.
For more information visit http://www.runlikeadiva.com/Events/Divas__Half_Marathon___5K_-_North_Myrtle_Beach/Event_Information.htm
Side Note: There was a post-race pool party later in the day at one of the local hotels. Justin and I opted out of going due to the fact that I was exhausted and hurting, and that we were eager to return home.
Final Verdict: With the right kind of planning, this is a great girls’ weekend for a group of running buddies.
Tips for a Successful Divas Half Marathon:
1. Plan ahead so you can stay close to the finish line. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be located close to your own bathroom. You will NOT want to wait in the line of port-a-lets at the race start.
2. Order your normal size race shirt. Contrary to what the website says, the shirts do not run small.
For more information visit http://www.runlikeadiva.com/Events/Divas__Half_Marathon___5K_-_North_Myrtle_Beach/Event_Information.htm
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