| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| H (°F) | 57 | 73 | 72 | 66 | 77 |
| L (°F) | 46 | 60 | 59 | 60 | 58 |
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a lot of miles on the highway, completely unsafe. course is not marked very well. You have to go over the bridge 4 times. some of the course was unpaved. … MORE
a lot of miles on the highway, completely unsafe. course is not marked very well. You have to go over the bridge 4 times. some of the course was unpaved. The swag was not there for pickup, waiting for it to be mailed.
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Hilton Head is near and dear to my heart. There are probably better races in SC to check the state off, but I vacation here a lot and was married … MORE
Hilton Head is near and dear to my heart. There are probably better races in SC to check the state off, but I vacation here a lot and was married on the beach in Palmetto Dunes.
It’s not a challenging race, very flat and a decent amount of water stations. The course is not thrilling as others have commented– a lot of highway and a bit of repeat over the same few bridges. I am not sure why they don’t block off some of the more iconic parts of the island, maybe too much of a hassle to redirect traffic. It’s worth saying February in HHI is some of the best weather for running I’ve ever enjoyed. Brisk in the morning and warms up to a comfortable temperature by noon. This was my 5th marathon and I easily PR’d at sub-4 hours, a huge accomplishment for me and hardly challenging at all with the elevation/ climate.
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This was a well organized race with great swag and good post race food and drinks. All participants receive a nice fleece vest at bib pick up. MORE
This was a well organized race with great swag and good post race food and drinks. All participants receive a nice fleece vest at bib pick up.
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This was my first Hilton Head Island marathon but my 8th marathon run. It had been 10 years since I ran marathon #7 so I was excited to be back … MORE
This was my first Hilton Head Island marathon
but my 8th marathon run. It had been 10 years since I ran marathon #7 so I was excited to be back out there! But, I was really disappointed…
*The Expo was practically nonexistent. Shouldn’t even be called an expo but just a shirt + number pickup
*I’m amazed it’s a USTAF sanctioned course – road to trail to running around an open field. Really?!
*The marathon field was so small there were often times I couldn’t even see any other runners. I wasn’t first or last either.
*I did place first in my age group + my award was another medal exactly identical to the finishers medal w/1st place on the strap. *Support on the course was primarily a few people with polite golf-like claps. There were only 2 or 3 times over the 26.2 miles that had a significant crowd of cheering.
*While Spanish Wells was beautiful to run through, the course was pretty boring with a lot of repeat…like the same damn bridge 4 times. I train on bridges so I was ready for it physically. Mentally it was a drag with so much repeat.
*DEFINITELY NOT enough water on the course!
*I really hate to sound like a Debbie Downer. Marathons aren’t necessarily all fun, I realize that, but with so many to choose from out there I’d have to say this would be one I would never repeat. If you don’t like crowds and don’t mind being lonely for long, long stretches, this one might be for you.
Ellen H.
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Hilton Head is a BEAUTIFUL town. This run route doesnt allow you to see that beauty. Most of it is on the highway. The bridge was harder than I thought. … MORE
Hilton Head is a BEAUTIFUL town. This run route doesnt allow you to see that beauty. Most of it is on the highway. The bridge was harder than I thought. The winds were high when we ran so I had to hold my ears and close my eyes partially when I was running/jogging/walking up the bridge because the winds were heavy. No ‘gu’ at the water stations. Mostly flat outside of the bridge. I had no issues during the race. The last 3 miles were difficult because the highway seemed to never end. I had a hard time speeding up because it just seemed the end wasn’t in site. Not as many runners as other races so that was kind of nice. The race area was narrow and just right. It’s the first race I’ve been on where it clocked dead on 13.1. I’d attribute it to the fact that since it wasn’t as many runners and running area was contained in a narrow space that we didn’t end up zig zagging too much, which adds to the distance.
The ending was nice. Last .3 was back in the park and it made it a nice change from the never ending highway.
Medal and long sleeve shirt were made of good material.
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Communication was sparse, no expo, small race with a flat course. One "hill" in the middle, boring course - mostly on the roadways. Pretty start and pretty finish but the … MORE
Communication was sparse, no expo, small race with a flat course. One “hill” in the middle, boring course – mostly on the roadways. Pretty start and pretty finish but the 10 miles in between were boring. Friendly volunteers. Nice shirt and medal.
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The Hilton Head Half Marathon is an easy race to run, especially for South Carolinians for whom travel is easy. The course was largely flat with some small inclines here … MORE
The Hilton Head Half Marathon is an easy race to run, especially for South Carolinians for whom travel is easy. The course was largely flat with some small inclines here and there. Climbing the bridge twice was the only real incline, and even this wasn’t anything for a runner to lose sleep over. The bridge added some interest to a course that was run mostly on an unremarkable parkway (living in the Lowcountry, we are a little spoiled, however). The 13.1 miles of the course was populated by a small army of enthusiastic high school students and retirees who directed runners at turns and passed out water and Gatorade at aid stations. Runners who like to stay close to the start can stay at the clean and modestly priced Ramada which is a quick 1/2 mile warmup to the start at Jarvis Creek Park. The race shirts were long sleeved, green, and technical and we will definitely wear them all over town.
Our advice: if you only want to run one half marathon in South Carolina, make it the Kiawah Half. If you, like us, are serial runners and just enjoy the race experience, you will enjoy this one.
For an even more detailed review of this race visit https://www.serialrunner.com/half-marathon-race-recaps/hilton-head-half-marathon
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not scenic and many miles on the highway
a lot of miles on the highway, completely unsafe. course is not marked very well. You have to go over the bridge 4 times. some of the course was unpaved. … MORE
a lot of miles on the highway, completely unsafe. course is not marked very well. You have to go over the bridge 4 times. some of the course was unpaved. The swag was not there for pickup, waiting for it to be mailed.
Good race, doesn't do the island justice
Hilton Head is near and dear to my heart. There are probably better races in SC to check the state off, but I vacation here a lot and was married … MORE
Hilton Head is near and dear to my heart. There are probably better races in SC to check the state off, but I vacation here a lot and was married on the beach in Palmetto Dunes.
It’s not a challenging race, very flat and a decent amount of water stations. The course is not thrilling as others have commented– a lot of highway and a bit of repeat over the same few bridges. I am not sure why they don’t block off some of the more iconic parts of the island, maybe too much of a hassle to redirect traffic. It’s worth saying February in HHI is some of the best weather for running I’ve ever enjoyed. Brisk in the morning and warms up to a comfortable temperature by noon. This was my 5th marathon and I easily PR’d at sub-4 hours, a huge accomplishment for me and hardly challenging at all with the elevation/ climate.
Beautiful season to run
This was a well organized race with great swag and good post race food and drinks. All participants receive a nice fleece vest at bib pick up. MORE
This was a well organized race with great swag and good post race food and drinks. All participants receive a nice fleece vest at bib pick up.
Disappointed
This was my first Hilton Head Island marathon but my 8th marathon run. It had been 10 years since I ran marathon #7 so I was excited to be back … MORE
This was my first Hilton Head Island marathon
but my 8th marathon run. It had been 10 years since I ran marathon #7 so I was excited to be back out there! But, I was really disappointed…
*The Expo was practically nonexistent. Shouldn’t even be called an expo but just a shirt + number pickup
*I’m amazed it’s a USTAF sanctioned course – road to trail to running around an open field. Really?!
*The marathon field was so small there were often times I couldn’t even see any other runners. I wasn’t first or last either.
*I did place first in my age group + my award was another medal exactly identical to the finishers medal w/1st place on the strap. *Support on the course was primarily a few people with polite golf-like claps. There were only 2 or 3 times over the 26.2 miles that had a significant crowd of cheering.
*While Spanish Wells was beautiful to run through, the course was pretty boring with a lot of repeat…like the same damn bridge 4 times. I train on bridges so I was ready for it physically. Mentally it was a drag with so much repeat.
*DEFINITELY NOT enough water on the course!
*I really hate to sound like a Debbie Downer. Marathons aren’t necessarily all fun, I realize that, but with so many to choose from out there I’d have to say this would be one I would never repeat. If you don’t like crowds and don’t mind being lonely for long, long stretches, this one might be for you.
Ellen H.
Mostly Highway
Hilton Head is a BEAUTIFUL town. This run route doesnt allow you to see that beauty. Most of it is on the highway. The bridge was harder than I thought. … MORE
Hilton Head is a BEAUTIFUL town. This run route doesnt allow you to see that beauty. Most of it is on the highway. The bridge was harder than I thought. The winds were high when we ran so I had to hold my ears and close my eyes partially when I was running/jogging/walking up the bridge because the winds were heavy. No ‘gu’ at the water stations. Mostly flat outside of the bridge. I had no issues during the race. The last 3 miles were difficult because the highway seemed to never end. I had a hard time speeding up because it just seemed the end wasn’t in site. Not as many runners as other races so that was kind of nice. The race area was narrow and just right. It’s the first race I’ve been on where it clocked dead on 13.1. I’d attribute it to the fact that since it wasn’t as many runners and running area was contained in a narrow space that we didn’t end up zig zagging too much, which adds to the distance.
The ending was nice. Last .3 was back in the park and it made it a nice change from the never ending highway.
Medal and long sleeve shirt were made of good material.
Not very scenic
Communication was sparse, no expo, small race with a flat course. One "hill" in the middle, boring course - mostly on the roadways. Pretty start and pretty finish but the … MORE
Communication was sparse, no expo, small race with a flat course. One “hill” in the middle, boring course – mostly on the roadways. Pretty start and pretty finish but the 10 miles in between were boring. Friendly volunteers. Nice shirt and medal.
An easy race to run...
The Hilton Head Half Marathon is an easy race to run, especially for South Carolinians for whom travel is easy. The course was largely flat with some small inclines here … MORE
The Hilton Head Half Marathon is an easy race to run, especially for South Carolinians for whom travel is easy. The course was largely flat with some small inclines here and there. Climbing the bridge twice was the only real incline, and even this wasn’t anything for a runner to lose sleep over. The bridge added some interest to a course that was run mostly on an unremarkable parkway (living in the Lowcountry, we are a little spoiled, however). The 13.1 miles of the course was populated by a small army of enthusiastic high school students and retirees who directed runners at turns and passed out water and Gatorade at aid stations. Runners who like to stay close to the start can stay at the clean and modestly priced Ramada which is a quick 1/2 mile warmup to the start at Jarvis Creek Park. The race shirts were long sleeved, green, and technical and we will definitely wear them all over town.
Our advice: if you only want to run one half marathon in South Carolina, make it the Kiawah Half. If you, like us, are serial runners and just enjoy the race experience, you will enjoy this one.
For an even more detailed review of this race visit https://www.serialrunner.com/half-marathon-race-recaps/hilton-head-half-marathon