My wife and I entered this 5K race as a new challenge – a trail run – unlike the usual road races that we engage in. As a veteran of over 50 road races, this was very different!
The race, held at Vereen Memorial Gardens in Little River, SC, is managed and directed by the Horry County Parks and Recreation Department. They did a great job overall, in terms of organization, publicity, parking, timing, announcing and the awards ceremony.
The day we ran was uber challenging – warm and humid with a temperature of 80, a heat index of 90 and a dew point of 74, at 8am in the morning! As such, most people including us dialed it back in favor of living another day.
The course is off the charts hard compared to a flat road race. This course is 10% paved and 90% trail run through the woods and marsh. You will encounter roots, sand, narrow paths, dozens of orange cones directing traffic, wooden bridges and tough hills. We did not train for this course and learned quite a lesson, as everyone’s times were significantly slower than a typical road race. The winning time was over 21 minutes, from a local runner that can usually go as low as 18:30.
As I was unable to find a good course map prior to the race, I have included my Garmin map from the race. This is not a USATF certified course and I believe it was about 3.2 miles long. The course is chip-timed and they did a great job on that.
The post race festivities were fun, with water and snacks provided for free. The finisher medal is worth entering the event – it is beautiful.
If you are looking for a PR, do not run in this race! If you are looking for an interesting trail run course that will challenge you to no end, then this is the race for you. This was the most challenging 5K race I have ever completed of the 50+ I have entered since 2012.
Onward!