Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon cancelled due to expected inclement weather

The latest forecast for Tropical Storm Nestor calls for it to peak here at approximately 3:00 a.m., Sunday morning, with possible wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour.  Unfortunately, that is precisely the time that city crews were scheduled to be on the streets placing the infrastructure for the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon.  The race was scheduled to start at 7:00 a.m., Sunday, October 20. 

Not only will the forecast wind and rain be a hazard to our staff, but the traffic cones and barricades may not stay in place with winds of that speed.  Without the traffic control devices, we are not comfortable that the course would be well marked and secure and that the runners would be safe. 

For these reasons, we have advised the event organizer and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce that the race will be cancelled.  We do not have any options to reschedule it; no rain date is planned. 

The weekend also includes a shorter 5K road race Saturday morning on the usual Market Common course, and that event is still on for tomorrow morning.  In all, 1,200 runners were registered for the Mini Marathon, some of whom may not have wanted to run in wind and rain anyway. 

Many race participants are within easy driving distance of Myrtle Beach and, by sending this notice now, we hope to give them the option of staying home, or coming on to Myrtle Beach and enjoying the weekend’s other activities.  The race organizer will help with this notification.