Hilton Head Island Marathon toes the line with added spoils

South Carolina’s state marathon champion will be crowned Saturday when the Publix Hilton Head Island Marathon reaches its conclusion at Jarvis Creek Park. That doesn't mean the winner will actually hail from the Palmetto State, though.

Fully 45 states are represented among the nearly 1,200 entries received for the marathon, plus an accompanying half-marathon and 8K run. And while not every one of those states has a marathon entrant, there are enough to make it a broad-based affair.

“We're excited about the race. We always are,” race chief Mark Weisner said a few weeks ago, when the marathon was given championship designation by the Road Runners Club of America. “Adding this, though, just gives it more credibility.”

The marathon begins at 8 a.m., following a course that takes runners from Jarvis Creek Park, onto the Cross Island Parkway, through several neighborhoods and over Broad Creek before returning to Jarvis Creek Park.

It’s the same course that was laid out last year, with perhaps a slight modification to account for the hurricane debris being processed at Honey Horn Plantation. Runners still will pass through Honey Horn, though, before turning onto the Cross Island Parkway.

The marathon is part of the 2017 RRCA Championship Event Series, designed to bring together more top runners in each state at some of its top events. Overall male and female winners, along with those in three masters categories, will receive RRCA awards.

An out-of-state entrant dominated the field last year, as Missouri's Bryan Kelpe was the only man to break three hours on a brisk day with a wind chill of 37 degrees. Kelpe, who specializes in ultramarathons, was clocked in a breezy 2 hours, 55 minutes, 47 seconds as he hit the tape six minutes ahead of his nearest pursuer.

Christine Rockey of Conway captured the women's title in 3:05.43, fastest for a female in the event’s five-year history.

Saturday's race also serves once again as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, with runners able to submit their times for consideration to get into the nation's premier running event.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Hilton Head Island Marathon toes the line with added spoils."