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Apr 29, 2024

Ocean City, MD Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Ocean City, MD Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.7

Organization 3.2

Spectators 3.2

Number of comments: 64 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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A. T. from Hoboken, NJ (4/7/2007) "2007 - AWESOME RACE!" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race was just fantastic. The weather conditions were not for the faint hearted: it snowed so hard that most of the race was in whiteout conditions, but that only added to the excitement of the course, and the camaraderie amongst the runners. Ocean City has great accommodation options, and are very cheap because it is off-season. The farm country that the course meanders through was a welcome change from New York City, and the snow made it even prettier. The race organizers did a phenomenal job: packet pick-up was incredibly well-organized and easy, complete with a running shop for last-minute necessities on-site, the directions given before the race were well-prepared, and the course itself was well attended by police traffic facilitators and spectators. They had invigorating DJ music and a moving live rendition of the Star Spangled Banner to start us off. Each drink station had great volunteers and most had port-o-potties. The flat course was great for making good time even despite the wind. At the finish line for the half-marathon they were set up well for finishers with snacks, medals and buses waiting to take people back to the main tent, which had hot soup, beer and an extensive award ceremony. The organizers must be great at budgeting, since the $55 race fee paid for not only the race organizing, but also a long-sleeve race T-shirt, a medal just for finishing, free food and drinks, and all of the awards given out. Overall, a wonderful event from start to finish. My fiancée and I will certainly be back next year.
S. S. from Abingdon,MD (3/29/2007) "No Award Received... Extremely Difficult Sports" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I ran the half marathon in 2005. The course was flat and fast, and the wind didn't hit me until very late in the race, but boy did it hit. The weather was much worse the night before the event, so I'm thankful that the rain was gone and that the wind wasn't blowing against us the whole race. It's not a big event, and at times it was a wide open course, so the fans were sparse, but they were enthusiastic and supportive. My biggest negative observation about this race is related to the organization. I accounted for the fact that it was a first-time event and I know it's a lot of work. The missed turn or non-turn at the beginning of the race wasn't the thing that bothered me the most, although that should not happen and it did cause a little confusion when people were passing the mile markers on this new altered course. The things that bothered me the most were my lack of ability to reach a contact person both prior to and following the event, and after finally contacting the organizers by both phone and email, not recieving a placement medal that I earned during the event. Like another athlete wrote, after his 2006 event he never received his award. I also did not receive an award. For me, in this case, it's not that big of a deal. They did, however, say they were going to send it to me and nearly two years later (I did a 2005 event), I still don't have it. Weeks and months after I expected them to send the award, I tried to contact the organizers. They were extraordinarily hard to get a hold of and they NEVER responded by phone call, e-mail, or receipt. Perhaps Extreme Sports should be renamed EXREMELY Hard To Contact When You Want Something.
D. S. from Hyattsville, MD (11/22/2006) "Course was boring..." (about: 2006) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Expo was well organized, food after the race was perfect and the quality of medals was awesome (even better from NYC Marathon medals). I ran the half-marathon and I can say that the course was boring. Except the first mile, the remainder of the course was completely outside the city. The only thing you could see were trees, big fields and, oh yes... some other runners. Anyway, here is the thing that I didn't like at all: I won an award in the race; however I was not at the party to pick it up. The organizers promised to me via email (I still have the email...) that they will send the award at my home address. I NEVER GOT IT! Well, very simple: I will never run this race again.
D. M. from Easton, MD (11/1/2006) "remote country setting near ocean" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This is a VERY flat/fast course with one exception (bridge going to Assateague Island near halfway point - bridge is not long but steep to keep the wild ponies on the island from crossing over it). Weather can be unpredictable this time of year (early spring). I did the event in 2006 and it was fairly nice - not too windy and just perfect temp. for running (near 60 degrees if I recall correctly). Small field of runners but very nice event if you don't like running in the city or big crowds. Nice setting; it starts on the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD, heading around the parking inlet area facing the ocean, and then heads down the boardwalk and out onto the street. Can be a nice early season vacation for the family before the beach crowd arrives. I plan to do this event again!!! Highly recommend this event. Very well organized.
I. V. from Tampa (4/15/2006) "180 turn-around from what was said last year!" (about: 2006) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I also read about all the issues they had last year and must say they did a great job this year. Pick-up took only minutes and the course was great. Not a lot of specators, but I for one loved the course for its very rural setting and didn't expect a lot of spectators (the ones that did show up where AWESOME and cheered all runners on). The party was first-rate and these folks should be proud of the great job they did. I will be back next year and will drag some friends along. I had to bail at the half due to ankle issues, and was very impressed at all the folks who offered help. Bag drop-off and pick-up where super easy. Thanks again and see you next year.
J. G. from Norfolk, VA (4/12/2006) "Nice, rural setting; I'd run this marathon again." (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I'm glad that I ran this marathon. After reading the horror stories from last year's inaugural race, this year's weather was much improved and so was most everything else associated with this race. The course was well laid out with plenty of water stops. This marathon is in a rural area that very much reduced having to deal with vehicular traffic of any consequence but also limits the number of spectators. Although there was not much runner participation either (172 total for the full marathon), those that stayed home lost out on a pleasant experience. The white t-shirt and age-group awards were somewhat disappointing. If efficiences were realized here to benefit charity, however, I understand. I still would have preferred some kind of colored t-shirt and never expected to win an award anyway. I stayed at the Phillips Beach Hotel on the boardwalk for $45.00 per night, as was suggested by one of last year's runners, and this worked out well. Starting out on the inlet and running down the boardwalk and under the famous sign was a nice start to an enjoyable journey. With the exception of a couple of bridges, this course is about as flat as they come and is highly recommended for a first-time marathoner or someone looking for a little elbow room and peace of mind. I would like to recognize the efforts of the race director, all the volunteers, the students at the Stephen Decatur High School water point, and the band that was playing at the 23-mile mark. Stevie Ray Vaughn never sounded so good.
M. T. from Lexington Park, MD (4/10/2006) "Excellent job by the organizers and volunteers" (about: 2006) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was a great first marathon. Flat, scenic course, near ideal weather conditions, well organized. After reading comments about last year's event, I was concerned, but the organizers did a great job this year. I would definitely consider doing this marathon again. Not many fans, but the volunteers were very enthusiastic and helped lift my spirits when I was struggling.
D. N. from Maryland (4/10/2006) "Great weather and organization, nice race for 2006" (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the 2006 Ocean City marathon, and after reading last years comments I was a little apprehensive. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well orananized the race was. The weather was perfect, very little wind and the rain held out until almost everybody was finished. Cloudy with temps in the high 50's to low 60's. The volunteers were outstanding and very entergetic, they even had fruit and sugar cookies toward the end of the race. If you are looking for a flat course with a small running field, this is your race. While every mile was marked with a sign, I did not see any clocks on the course until the finish line. I don't know if there was a maintenance malfunction or something else, but for all the positives I just kept checking my watch. Looks like the organizers learned a lot from last year and did their city proud. Great job Ocean City.
R. V. from Baltimore, MD, USA (4/9/2006) "Recommended: Well-organized, excellent conditions" (about: 2006) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I signed up for this race after reading all the comments posted in response to last year's race. It seemed to me that whatever problems there might have been last year, these were all ironed out in 2006. The organization was excellent. The start near/on the boardwalk was nice. Running over the bridge to/from Assateague was very pretty. Water stops were all well equipped. This is a small-scale event with few spectators. However, overall I had a blast. The course is flat and fast. The weather was great: not too warm, little wind, and no rain until almost everyone had finished. Having the start and finish 2 miles from each other is a little less convenient than having everything close together. However, this was managable, also given the buses provided. I would enjoy running this race again.
Brad Thern from Appleton, WI USA (4/7/2006) "#11: Regardless of everything, it was a good time." (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Yes folks, it was windy. But that's the risk you take for being involved in an outdoor sport. What's the big deal about the chip distribution? Sure it was different, but I doubt it affected anyone's performance. I will admit the route error did cause some problems when determining pace vs. location on the route, but I didn't hear that anyone actually died from this. Also, while I may have been in the minority (I am NOT an elite runner), the race director personally approached me me after the race and apologized for the error. He was quite visibly shaken when he told me this had been practiced in the days leading up to the race, but somehow the first person directing traffic pointed in the wrong direction. You know, mistakes happen to all of us. It's only my opinion, but I think more runners would enjoy themselves if they didn't use their entrance fee as an excuse to complain about every possible thing they can find. After speaking to the race director, I myself was quite impressed that they were able to react and do what was necessary to maintain the course certification before any runners reached the point where that wouldn't have been possible. I also want future runners to know that this is a very flat and fast course, making it a good choice for a PR. True, there weren't many spectators (probably due to this being an inaugural event), but the people that were around were as friendly and as helpful as you could ever expect. I would personally recommend this event to anyone.

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