*Did Not Start

This past weekend, I was supposed to run the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. It was to be my first attempt at running a winter distance race. Considering the cold December, January and early February that we have had on the east coast - I felt fairly prepared for the race. Having run a sub-four hour marathon 3 and 1/2 months ago, I simply maintained my running over the winter and got in a couple outdoor long runs in mid to late January.

On the fourth Saturday of January, Raleigh temps were in the upper 40's to mid 50's and I finished an 11.1 mile run from home to downtown in 1:35:30. My course included a 1.5 mile uphill finish and I still averaged an 8:36 pace which was only .07 sec/mile off my PR half marathon set at the 2007 Virginia Beach Rock N' Roll event. The rest of my training was on the treadmill at the gym and it included hills even though the Myrtle Beach course is flat. This time, two weeks ago, I honestly felt another 1:50 or better half marathon was possible.

Than like most winters, I got sick. Add to my being sick - I than ran the Krispy Kreme Challenge the weekend before the half marathon. It was only 4 miles and the sky was dry so I figured whats the harm?! Needless to say, my cold did not get any better last week before it was time to go to Myrtle Beach and it actually got worse. I went to the doctor where she reviewed my records and pointed out that I get sick every winter and its probably due to my running outside. She called it winter induced asthma and recommended I run inside during cold weather and that I should skip the half marathon. As I left the doctor office with a prescription of antibiotics and an inhaler, I couldn't believe that my own diagnosis all along has been right - that I am allergic to winter!

I admit, I began having my doubts about running Myrtle Beach that very day but I had no intention of actually not going and doing it. Part of the reason I signed up for the race was that a good friend in Myrtle Beach was going to run his first half with me. I didn't want to wimp out on that commitment to him plus I really wanted us all to hang out for the weekend. Than as Friday rolled around, the weather forecast for Myrtle Beach mirrored my health and took a dive. The forecast overnight was for 4-6 inches of snow and ice to hit Myrtle Beach and the race temps would be in the low 30's with a windchill dropping it to the mid-20's. Considering my health, the doctor's advise and the weather conditions that I was not trained for, I decided to forgo the race and stay in Raleigh.

In the end, I made the right decision but not for the reason I expected. At 10:30 PM on Friday night, the City of Myrtle Beach canceled both the full and half marathons due to the snow and predicted icy roads on race morning.

While I was very disappointed to miss this race, I wasn't nearly as disappointed as the thousands of runners that had made the trip to Myrtle Beach from all over the United States only to have it canceled after they had gone to bed for the evening. I understand the city's reasons for canceling the race but I also sympathize greatly with the runners who had made the training and financial commitment to race this event only to miss out running it because of a some light flurries that ended up not even affecting running conditions.

To my pleasure, many stubborn runners took to the course race morning anyways and completed the distance they signed up for and even got their finisher medals. If I had been faced with the same situation, you can be certain I would have been out there too to run the unofficial half marathon. Check out the story and videos from the unofficial race.

The City of Myrtle Beach and the race organizers have some serious work to do between now and next year if they expect to recover interest after the anger their race cancellation decision caused however they need not worry about my participating as apparently cold weather and running do not mix for yours truly.

Carpe Viam (as long as its warm)!