MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach Marathon Weekend kicked off Friday night on a fun note for dozens of runners at Broadway at the Beach.
More than 3,000 children and adults participated in the Ripley’s Aquarium Family Fun Run and the Bojangles’ 5k races. For many, the Friday night events have become tradition among family and friends.
“It’s just a great event,” James Roach, who ran the fun run with his family, said. “You get the kids together and get the families together and have a good time exercising. They get excited many months ahead of this time and it’s something they look forward to every year.”
More than 5,000 athletes are expected to participate in Saturday’s Dasani Half Marathon, Myrtle Beach Marathon and Marathon Relay. Shaun Walsh, president of Myrtle Beach Marathon, says the number of participants is on par with previous years.
Myrtle Beach Marathon Weekend previously happened over President’s Day Weekend, and Walsh said he was pleased with the number of people signing up for the new March date.
“When we’ve been such a staple for that President’s Day Weekend over the years, there’s always a concern in terms of, ‘Alright, there may not be runners that can make it because we were a 3-day weekend,'” he explained. “But what we’ve also found is we opened ourselves up to other markets and other people that couldn’t make it President’s Day Weekend that were prepared to make it this weekend.”
This year’s race is expected to generate about $8 million for the local economy.Race weekend will conclude with a post-race party for participants at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach.
Walsh says the 2017 Myrtle Beach Marathon will again be scheduled for March.
