Save the Light Half Marathon & 5K
Folly Beach, SC
- Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Save the Light Half Marathon and 5K supports the preservation of the Morris Island Lighthouse by Save The Light, a grassroots non-profit organization that formed in 2000 to save the Morris Island Lighthouse from being lost to the sea. Both races are USATF-certified and start and finish near the … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Feb 06):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 54 | 68 | 60 | 67 | 46 |
| L (°F) | 32 | 52 | 45 | 45 | 41 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
No frills two loop course.
Small course. The swag shirt was awesome but the medal is the cheapest thing - it is plastic! I wish we had ran past the lighthouse the race is named … MORE
Small course. The swag shirt was awesome but the medal is the cheapest thing – it is plastic! I wish we had ran past the lighthouse the race is named for. Also the person handing out the medals at the end was facing away from the finish line talking to a friend, I had to tap them on the shoulder and ask for my medal! It is a pretty beach, you just don’t see much of anything other than a neighborhood the whole time.
Flat, coastal PR run
This course is a flat road run that follows the coast for beautiful ocean views the majority of the run (don't forget to peep that lighthouse!). Double out and back … MORE
This course is a flat road run that follows the coast for beautiful ocean views the majority of the run (don’t forget to peep that lighthouse!). Double out and back broke the race up nicely… especially helpful with the wind picking up later in the day. The “medal” was plastic… unexpected but unique nonetheless. Also, the road is an active roadway but fortunately traffic was minimal.
Great race, accurate distance of 3.12 mi
Some races are "long" and this one is not at precisely 3.12 miles. If you want to try to run a PR this is a great venue to do so. … MORE
Some races are “long” and this one is not at precisely 3.12 miles. If you want to try to run a PR this is a great venue to do so. Flat and fast with only 3 left turns and one right turn.
Good smallish beach race
Save The Light Half Marathon and 5K benefits the efforts to preserve the Morris Island Lighthouse in Charleston. It's not the best organized race, but the size (~500 people) and … MORE
Save The Light Half Marathon and 5K benefits the efforts to preserve the Morris Island Lighthouse in Charleston. It’s not the best organized race, but the size (~500 people) and beach scenery can’t be beat! And it’s cheap ($40-50 in 2017). The Tides Hotel in the center of Folly Beach is where registration, packet pickup, and awards all take place…and that is good, because it’s usually clear and cold the first week of February (well, it has been the last 3 years that I’ve run it), so the indoor warming area is greatly appreciated. (Northerners might not find it to be that cold – upper 30s to upper 40s, with beach wind, but usually not a cloud in the sky.) The race is all on Folly Beach and goes out to a view of Morris Island Lighthouse. They slightly changed the course in 2017 to provide this view by adding a sand portion, which was difficult, but only about 1/2 mile. The rest of the course is on paved roads.
Course support is pretty good; the medals themselves aren’t anything to write home about, but everyone gets a poster-sized photo or painting of the Morris Island Lighthouse with the title and date of the race. Post-race refreshments are the standard bananas, oranges, and bagel pieces. It takes a long time to start the awards ceremonies, which are crammed into a conference room at the hotel, but at least it’s warm! And the prizes for the overall winners have been Harbor Lights or similar lighthouse replicas, and coffee mugs or similar for age group winners.
All in all, it’s a very good race (I’ve done it every year since I started running halfs). And Folly Beach is a great place to visit, even if it’s a bit cold. The laid-back beach town ambience is worth a try!
Run this race every year
For the bargain price of $50, runners at the 2017 Save the Light Half Marathon got two views of the iconic Morris Island Lighthouse, and four trips past "The Washout," … MORE
For the bargain price of $50, runners at the 2017 Save the Light Half Marathon got two views of the iconic Morris Island Lighthouse, and four trips past “The Washout,” a local surfing haven. In addition to the long sleeve cotton t-shirt, runners at this race receive a different poster every year that features artwork of the Morris Island Lighthouse. In recent years, organizers have added a modest finisher medal to present to participants.
For a more detailed report of this race visit https://www.serialrunner.com/half-marathon-race-recaps/save-the-light-half-marathon
Small, no-frills, but inexpensive
I ran Save the Light in 2015 and really liked it. It's a fairly small, no-frills half marathon at Folly Beach, but the course is 100% road. The race is … MORE
I ran Save the Light in 2015 and really liked it. It’s a fairly small, no-frills half marathon at Folly Beach, but the course is 100% road. The race is very inexpensive, and even race day, I believe the cost tops out around $50 (discounts if you register early). Runners receive a long-sleeved cotton shirt and poster, and you do get a very simple finisher’s medal. There’s a hotel at the start and finish so you can hang out and stay warm, too (also where packet pick up is held on race morning).
The course is flat and fast, and if you can zone out and just run, and the weather’s right, it’s a great place to PR. You won’t find many spectators but the race organizers did a fairly good job of marking the course. The first mile or so was crowded, then it thinned out substantially once we got going. If you are local or going to be near Charleston that weekend, it’s a great race option- definitely not a destination or bucket list race, but works for a solid local half marathon.
Great Southern Oceanfront Race
This is a small race, about 700 runners (HM & 5K), The race is run at the beach, but not on the beach. Super flat and fast. Nice swag: medal, … MORE
This is a small race, about 700 runners (HM & 5K), The race is run at the beach, but not on the beach. Super flat and fast. Nice swag: medal, long sleeved cotton shirt, poster of light house. I came close to PR. See blog recap for details.