Update March 11, 2012: We've got photos! Check out the slideshow above or hit our Flickr set.
Also check out Hope Epton's race report. She's posted it on her new blog SportyMomme.
Update March 9, 2012: A little wind and chilly temps never hurt anyone! Chief Big Daddy's Leap Ahead for (men) Women (and children) is tomorrow!
Registration has closed, but you can still head out to Claire Chapin Epps Family YMCA, 5000 Claire Chapin Epps Drive in Myrtle Beach, beginning at 8 a.m. to cheer on the participants. Our own race reporter, Hope Epton, will be there, making us proud! Stay tuned for post-race pictures and recaps.
First report: Jason Greene is facilitating not one, but now two races in March as a part of the Myrtle Beach Race Series. The first is Chief Big Daddy’s Leap Ahead for Women, which will be held on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at the Claire Chapin Epps Family YMCA in Myrtle Beach and benefits the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
Now who, you may ask, is Chief Big Daddy? That would be Guy Osborne, Chief of Police in Pawley’s Island, who has been heading up a local eight-week fitness boot camp since 1997. After joining the class last year, Greene and his wife became friendly with Osborne, whom they have recruited to design challenges for the Leap Ahead.
As with each of the races in the series, the goal was to come up with a twist on the idea of a traditional race to inspire non-athletes to come out, have fun, and get excited about fitness. “[Guy] has such a great imagination to put these things together. I can’t believe he comes up with some of the stuff that he does,” Greene gushes about the obstacles the die-hard fitness expert has created, which involve walking lunges, a serpentine run, military-style crawls, and a maze. According to Greene, Guy Osborne is careful to point out that this is not a six-mile race. It’s six one-mile races with the rest in between. Of course, you can elect to forego the obstacles, but you must take a time penalty equivalent to the amount of time it takes others to move through the challenges.
While this is the Leap Ahead for Women and the goal is to empower them, the race is also open to men. Greene made sure to provide an event for children, as well. The Leap Ahead specifically benefits the Habitat for Humanity Women Build!, which encourages women to employ construction skills and come together to build homes for those in need.
In the words of Jason Greene, an avid runner with a degree in Kinesiology, the Leap Ahead should help you “test your agility and stamina,” and hopefully have fun while doing it. This event can be done individually or as a team of up to four members. A two-mile kids’ bike race precedes the event, beginning at 8 a.m. and followed by the first wave of runners at 8:30 a.m. Individual entry is $35 and there are discounts for team entries. You can register online here.
The Leap Ahead for Women is the third race in the Myrtle Beach Race Series. The second event this month is the St. Patrick's Pier to Pier Beach Run on Saturday, March 17, 2012, which takes us one step closer to the season finale Myrtle Beach Mud Run on May 12, 2012. All of the non-profit events are coordinated by Greene with help from his wife, Kelli. For more information on the series and details on individual events, visit the Myrtle Beach Race Series site here.
TheDigitel Myrtle Beach is the official media sponsor of the Myrtle Beach Race Series. Check out our ongoing coverage, including photos, race reports, and more on our topic page.
