Blake Barrington's Staging Area

The Kiawah Half is a great race and perfect for anyone hoping for one that has relaxed setting and very doable course! It’s fairly flat and the road doesn’t have any camber to it, so it’ll be gentle on your knees and hips. The aid stations are perfectly placed and always have Gatorade and water at the least. We were fortunate that the weather was quite cool. It was rainy for almost the entire duration of the half, which added some humidity but nothing that made the run difficult. The race producers can’t do anything about the weather to have made the sun peak out at least a little, but I do think they could do more to add more views of the beach and ocean. The only glimpse we get it towards the very end and only about 1/4 of a mile running behind a hotel and through their pool area. The race is on an island with beach access, I would’ve hoped for a lot more of that. In order to get to the one portion where we could see the beach, we had to run on dirt/gravel service roads, which was not ideal given it was in the final two miles and that change in ground slows you down a bit – and as I mentioned before it was a rainy morning, so the service roads were squishy.

Overall great race, and I highly recommend it for half-marathoners, especially if hoping for a PR. The producers put on a really great expo with lots of supplies available (and on discount if bought in certain quantities), as well as featuring local artisans and venders. After the race, they had a buffet that features great options for some recovery carb and protein reloading – chicken pasta, couscous, white bean soup, and more. They also had hot chocolate and coffee to help warm up.

Really enjoyed it, and would definitely make an effort to run it again!

This was my first race ever, so my insights are limited. However, I can say that the race itself was really great, and the race staff are even better. I gave myself a relatively poor rating because I slept through all 4 of my alarms, started the race 30 mins late, and got lost for the first 0.6 mile, which led to an 11 min/mi split because I was running and stopping in circles trying to figure out where to go). My pace and time were terrible because my first race simply did not get off to the start that I expected. That being said… When I arrived to the check-in tent at the starting line, the staff were incredibly empathetic and kind. The one staff member just said, “It’s okay. Just breathe, you’re here”. That they even let me still run meant so much to me.

Otherwise, the running expo the night before was at a great location. Even though I don’t really drink, the brewery they chose was an awesome setting, and the staff were very organized in getting people their shirt, bib, etc. The indoor and outdoor seating options were perfect up on a hill with amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The 10K race course overall was really great. I wish I had started on time so that I would’ve been directed to the first key turn that gets you out of Downtown, so my only critique would be that some signage would have been great instead of relying on guide people who had already left their post. I had to ask some police officers for directions. The first portion is mostly downhill, the middle is pretty flat going through the River Arts District, and the final two miles are pretty consistently on an incline getting back into Downtown. In my opinion, it’s the perfect mix for a race and being able to target a pace because you have a portion of ease to start, consistency in the middle, and then you get to challenge and push yourself to finish.

The medal and swag overall are great, especially for someone who has never medaled before! I’ll cherish my medal and personalized bib, for sure. The post-race party/festivities was really fun and social. One other thing that was impressive but I didn’t get to partake in were free rehab/PT services… I missed my appointment in the morning before the race to get free kinesiology tape application and stretching, which I would’ve loved given I’m still recovering from severe IT band syndrome. They also had the same rehab/PT care providers available for after the race, though, and I saw people being assisted with stretching and theraguns, etc. Really just an awesome service to provide for anyone that ran the half or 10K.

Overall, it was just an amazing race, and I’m looking forward to running the 10K again or even the half next year! I have no doubt that it’ll be just as well-organized and enjoyable as it was this year. It also gives me a good reason to visit Asheville, where I went to high school but rarely get back to. It’s set the bar high for any other race I run in the future.