Daufuskie Island Marathon & Half Marathon

I was planning to do a half in South Carolina this weekend. I was debating between this one and Charleston. I was initially leaning towards Charleston as the logistics seemed easier for Charleston but when Charleston canceled the race last minute last year and canceled the marathon this year, something just seemed off about it and I decided to do this race instead. This race was definitely the correct choice and I would highly recommend it. Logistics are a bit intimidating as the race is on an island only accessible by ferry. What makes it intimidating as there are very different logistics if you stay on the island vs stay in Hilton Head. I stayed in Hilton Head and once I read through the logistics carefully they weren’t bad at all. I will state exactly what I did and if you do it too you will have a successful race weekend. When you register for the race if you are staying in Hilton Head you also have to purchase a ferry ticket. I will say between the race registration, ferry ticket and cost of lodging in the area this is not a cheap race but worth it for a fun race-cation. This race is on Saturday and does not have packet pick-up unless you make special arrangements. I took off Friday and flew into the Savannah airport Friday morning and rented a car. I stayed in Hilton Head where the ferry to Daufuskie Island is located. It is about an hour drive from Savannah to Hilton Head. Packet pick-up is at the embarkation point in Hilton Head where you will also catch the ferry on race day. They also had a few other options for packet pick-up at different locations earlier in the week. You are assigned a bib and it was easy to get it. This year the swag item was a duffle bag. It is a nice bag and has the race logo but it’s not my favorite swag item as it will be annoying to bring back as I only packed a duffle bag for the weekend and now I need to stuff this additional duffle bag into my duffle bag when I fly home. There were also items to purchase. The shirts all had turtles on them and I couldn’t resist and bought a shirt. However they did run out of some sizes by Friday packet pick-up. For the hotel I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Hilton Head. This is an under 10 minutes from the ferry embarkation and within walking distance of the beach, shopping area and lots of restaurants. Race morning you drive back to the embarkation where there are volunteers directing parking. One critique I’m not sure they have control over is the timing of the ferries is kind of awkward. There are ferries that leave at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 and the races start at 8:30 for the marathon and 9:30 for the half. The ferry ride is about 20 to 30 mins so for the half you can take the 7:30 ferry and be there over an hour and half early or the 8:30 and be there 30 to 40 minutes early. An 8:00 ferry would have been perfect but was not an option. I get nervous with a race I haven’t done before so chose 7:30 but there was a lot of waiting before the race. The ferry left efficiently at 7:30. They tell you to be there a half hour before the ferry but you really only need to be there 5 minutes before. Someone checked you in before you boarded. It was sunrise during the 7:30 ferry which was beautiful. You then get off the ferry and onto the island. Weather was beautiful for running but cold for waiting. I did not bring a jacket or drop bag but if I were to do it again I would have brought either a blanket or jacket to keep me warm while I wait. They did have a tent with heating and warm coffee and cinnamon buns. They even had oat milk for the coffee which is great since my stomach can’t handle black coffee or dairy milk before a race. You definitely would be fine if you took the later ferry as it is a smaller race and the start line is right by the dock but it was nice to see the marathon start and get the logistics down and also allowed time to fully digest the cinnamon roll. About 10 to 15 minutes before the race they lead some dynamic stretching and the RD gave brief race announcements and then we went to the start line. It is a pretty small race with about 200 people in each distance so no corrals. We just went. It is chip timed with a timing mat at the start/finish. The race is on roads throughout the island. It is “open to traffic” but there are very few vehicles on the island mostly just golf carts so essentially the entire road is open for running and there was plenty of room to pass people and spread out. The course is very nice through the island. The first about 11 miles are inland on the island. This means no wind and there weather here couldn’t be better. This part is scenic with lots of trees and very different vegetation than we have in the northeast though does get a bit monotonous. You also pass by some horses and some nice houses and a golf course. Most of the race is paved but some is on packed dirt. Nothing technical at all but I find I tend to run slower on dirt than pavement. This is probably the flattest of the ~70 half marathons I have done with just 62 feet of elevation gain. It was a very easy race. Although I actually found it to not be a fast course. I tend to be fastest at races with some slight changes in elevation and all on pavement. While this course could be a PR or BQ course I thought Louisiana which is the same weekend was a faster course. This was however a great course for the middle of a back-to-back-to-back-to-back weekend half marathon stretch as the flat surface and occasional dirt road were easy on the joints. The course is very well marked. There are pink flags along the entire course. Obviously it is going to be hard to get a lot of volunteers for a race on an island only accessible by ferry so to make up for it, the course is extra well marked. There is also less aid stations than usual for a half though the aid stations were all well stocked and this was in the race instructions. So I’d recommend you carry water as you can go as long as 3 to 4 miles without an aid station. There are also not a ton of spectators but that is expected given the race location. However as there are also full marathoners doing two loops and there are lots of back of the packers I was never alone for the race. The final 2 miles are the best and you run by the beach. Part on a boardwalk and part on dirt path. This part is absolutely gorgeous. One of the prettiest stretches of any race I have done. To my surprise I even saw some dolphins swimming past us. The finish is the same as the start. They announce the finishers and your name is on a board and you get your medal. The medal is absolutely gorgeous, huge and sea turtle themed. Probably my favorite medal but the only negative is that it is not distance specific. My finishing time was fine. I was hoping to be under 3 hours but I got too distracted by dolphins. At least I was a few minutes faster than last week. There are also very long time limits with 7 hours for the half and 8 hours for the full and I was nowhere near last. At the finish area there is beer and food. The food included option of pulled pork, hot dog or veggie burgers. I was very happy they had veggie burgers. They also had potato salad, pasta salad and chips. Plenty for a meal which was great since there was still a ferry ride back. I didn’t get any beer but they also had iced tea and lemonade. I did notice my finishing time wasn’t listed in the results. I went back to the timing tent and it was promptly fixed and everyone was very nice and helpful about it. I then took the ferry back. It was a bit of a wait for the ferry. I arrived back at the mainland a little after 2pm so plan on this race taking most of the morning and a good portion of the afternoon. Overall this was great race experience and a fun run-cation. Unless you are looking for the cheapest, most convenient race in South Carolina or need a huge race with tons of spectators, I would definitely recommend this one. I will definitely consider coming back and doing it again.