The 2023 Charleston Half Marathon was on Saturday, January 14th. My Cincinnati friends Adrienne, Jen and Amy came down to run it too. And they brought the cold with them! The 2022 Charleston Half was cancelled, so I had a deferral entry to the 2023 race. Back in 2022 we were just visiting Charleston and now we live here!
2023 Charleston Half Marathon Race Recap
We all agreed that the route was fine, but it would have been better if it was reversed. It started downtown and finished in North Charleston at Firefly Distillery. The start was less than a mile from the apartment, which was very convenient. There were pacers, but there weren’t corrals so it was a bit congested at the start line.
The weather was chilly! We all bundled up and checked bags with warm clothes to put on in the finish line. My Febreeze garbage bags added an extra sweet smell to Amy and Jenn’s running outfit. Adrienne made the mistake of ditching her long sleeve shirt early on and had to survive the race in short sleeves.
The first half of the race was very scenic in downtown Charleston, but then as it went further North, it got more boring. And the wind! There were gusts of 40MPH and always seemed to be headwinds. Even after making a 90-degree turn it was still headwind. Amy and Jen took off at the start and we didn’t see them until after. Adrienne and I stuck together the entire race. In the final mile we caught up with Michelle and finished together. We snapped this photo and then quickly went to find our checked bags.
Because of the congestion at the start line I didn’t catch up with Jessica until after the race, when we were warming up inside the tasting room at Firefly Distillery. Leading up to the race the temps were in the 50s and 60s, but the day of the race the temps dipped down to the 20s and 30s. 🙁
Swag
Look at those post-race smiles! After waiting in line forever for our checked bags, warming up in the tasting room, picking up our free snacks and hats we got on the shuttle back downtown. The heat was BLASTING in the bus and it felt so good.
The swag was pretty good! I don’t really need another pint glass but it’s a good one. I originally got a medium shirt, but they let me exchange for a small, which fits much better. The medal is nice, but the best gift was the hat! It was so cold and even though I packed my black one, it was sweet for everyone else to have one post-race.
Full or Half Marathon in Every State
South Carolina is state number 18. The map is starting to fill in, but I’m running out of states that are within driving distance. For 2023 I’m registered for half marathons in North Dakota and Wyoming, but I have many more on my list! Including this really hilly race in Virginia in April, possibly one in Rhode Island in May and possibly one in Maine in September.
Alabama –2021 Cancelled Rocket City Marathon- Arizona – Wickenburg Wild West 1/2
- California – Napa 1/2
- Florida – Amelia Island 1/2
- Georgia – Ironman 70.3 Augusta Relay
- Illinois – Chicago 1/2
- Indiana – Indy Full & Carmel 1/2
- Kentucky – Honor Run 1/2
- Michigan – Ragnar (my cumulative miles were over 13, so I’m counting it!)
- Minnesota – Gopher to Badger 1/2
- Missouri – Creve Coeur St. Paddy’s 1/2
- Nevada – Las Vegas 1/2
- North Dakota – Fargo 1/2
- North Carolina – Asheville 1/2
- Ohio – Flying Pig Full & 1/2 (virtual), Queen Bee 1/2 2018 & 2019
- Pennsylvania – Run for the Elk 1/2
- Rhode Island – 2023 Red Island 1/2
- South Carolina – 2023 Charleston 1/2 (2022 Cancelled Charleston 1/2)
- Tennessee – Nashville Full
- West Virginia – Marshall University Full
- Wisconsin – Eau Claire 1/2
- Wyoming – Jackson Hole 1/2
One thought on “2023 Charleston Half Marathon”
Comments are closed.