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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 31 to 41]

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M. J. from baltimore, Hon (1/23/2006) "unorganized from start to finish" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 As poor as last year was, I am willing to give O.C. another try because I've been waiting for years for O.C. to get its own marathon. Problem is that I have not seen the race director's comments on how 2006 is going to be improved.
D. H. from Norfolk VA (12/22/2005) "2006 Race" (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Well, I ran last year's race and have many of the same comment about the missed mile, wind, etc. Even with the knowledge of last year's poor planning I was considering giving it a try again this year. Well just checked out the 'new' course. The start is now in OC proper, with the same finish location. The only thing I don't understand is they cut out much of Assateague State Park and that was my favorite part of the course (except for the wind-blown sand). Oh well, I guess they can't skip the 1-mile loop this way.
p. f. from Clarksville, MD (5/14/2005) "BLOWN AWAY" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I will not repeat what several other entries have already discussed about the wind, chip pick-up, course location, etc... all valid comments. This was a first time event and as others have indicated, the lack of experience showed. There are certain things you can understand first-time organizers missing. Marking the course correctly is not one of them. As the other entries indicate, the mile markers were wrong or missing for the entire course. Luckily I had my Garmin GPS. Here is the scary thing. Not only was the course marked wrong, but I think we had to run more than 26.2 miles. Here's the deal: the GPS is a nice device. It is not perfect - you will lose the signal and therefore some distance if you are in the woods or under a long bridge underpass, for example. But when the marathon was done, it actually read 26.6 miles - about 0.4-0.5 miles too much. I have run with the GPS for about a year and it has NEVER OVERESTIMATED a measured course. I do not think that technically it is possible. I emailed the race director 2 times and they never replied. Considering the other mistakes that were made in the course, it is not unreasonable to assume the distance was wrong too.
B. D. from Delaware (5/2/2005) "B-R-U-T-A-L!" (about: 2005) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 No doubt about it; the wind was brutal. It may have effected how I felt on the day, but a month later and with reflection this marathon still is only getting one star for the following reason; POOR organization. Planning is everything, all marathoners know that. I felt 3 months of training for a personal best went down the tube - yes, one reason was for wind, but the others are as listed: 1) Missing the 1st mile. Spent the whole race wondering if I was running a 25.2 or not knowing if the mile would be added in. 2) To see the finish line and then make a hard right turn, in a nutshell, sucked. 3)No chip pick-up on Friday. Drove over an hour on friday to get my race packet pick-up, to have no chip. Heck of a race expo too, in the one hotel room. 4) High entry fee. 'Extreme' goody bag got you a bunch of flyers and a water bottle. I especially liked the flyer for the Marine Corp Marathon, which entry had ALREADY closed for. 5) Mile markers, mile markers, mile markers! On the lone stretch from mile 13 to 19 didn't know where I was, very frustrating when you're battling into the wind and the only hope you have is a mile marker, only for there not to be one, mile after mile. 6) One free beer at the end and then you had to pay. Come on now, we had just survived a mixed up course in the Sahara, which I have payed $75 for, and you're telling me I can't have another beer without paying! That was the real kicker! All the best to O.C., but I won't be back!
D. G. from Winchester,VA (4/30/2005) "First Marathon... Great Time!" (about: 2005) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon. I started running (for the first time) in November and trained the next five months. I trained in cold weather, rain and even snow but never wind! Like everyone else has stated, the wind was something else! My legs felt as if they were being sandblasted... they were! Nonetheless. I enjoyed the race. The volunteers were terrific. It took me some time to finish the race (a little over 6 hours) so there was not a lot of food for me to enjoy... but I was smiling ear to ear because I finished the race. If anyone is looking for a flat course to run, it's perfect for a first-timer... even if you are running against the wind!
Charley Widmer from West Harrison, NY (4/30/2005) "Fix the inaugual glitches and it's OK" (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Figure next time they have the mile markers and the course fixed, plus the chip pick-up and a mat at the start and this will be a pretty good event. I would run it again if I were looking for a PR. Wind is wind; it was tough this race, but without it this is a very fast course. I also enjoyed the scenery, particulary while I was being sandblasted after the turn.
F. L. from Woodbridge, Virginia (4/28/2005) "1st Marathon" (about: 2005) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my first marathon and definitely not my last. Despite the strong winds, I found the course very scenic, flat and enjoyable to run. The finisher's medal was nicely designed and the organization of the entire race was well done. There weren't too many spectators; however, those who were out were very supportive. My family and I would like to thank the Ocean City Marathon organizers for a great experience.
C. W. from baltimore (4/27/2005) "Now I can do ANYTHING!!" (about: 2005) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Finishing this marathon meant much more than others because of the incredible obstacles to overcome. Once it became clear that a PR was not to be, I relaxed, and buckled down. What can you do - it's nature!! Lots of positives - the support people were some of the best I've encountered and the finishing crew was the best. A few gliches can be worked out for next year, but if you want 'smooth' don't run an inaugural event! Wish we could have run more in OC proper, however. Funny, as we were driving in that am, we heard 'running against the wind' playing on the local station! It is what it is, an experience, and finishing showed perserverence and determination!!!
D. S. from FLORIDA (4/26/2005) "GOT WIND?" (about: 2005) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I had run the Ellerbe springs marathon about a month before ocean city marathon. Ellerbe is quite hilly and I only ran a few seconds faster at ocean city. On the back of the Ellerbe t-shirt is the phrase 'got hills?' the back of the ocean city marathon should say 'got wind?' this was one of the windiest marathons that I have run. It ranks right up there with Minot North Dakota. The first half of the marathon was fairly fast with some tail wind and crosswind in some sections. When I first heard that a marathon was going to be held in ocean city a few months back I was a little disappointed that it would not be running in Ocean City. I used to live and work in ocean city during my summers in college and had never even been over to the west Ocean City marina. The marina area looks like an interesting area that is being redeveloped with every expensive water front houses. I don't think running in ocean city proper this time of year is feasible or safe. Although this is not peak season in the resort there is quite a lot of traffic on coastal highway and on the boardwalk. I walked the boardwalk after the race and it just wouldn't be safe to have runners on the boardwalk. You'd have to dodge all the inattentive tourist on the boardwalk. The ocean city police is not at full staff this time of year and you would need a lot of officers to monitor all the intersections along coastal highway. You'd have to dodge all the inattentive tourist on the boardwalk. I thought running out in the country was a lot more interesting than running past all the concrete condos and motels along coastal. I think the wind would have been even worse had the entire race been run in ocean city as there were a lot of trees along the course. The wind was not an impediment in this race until you got around to the bridge going into Asseatague. I definitely liked doing the missing mile latter in the race. The missing mile has a lot of turns and I think it would have been pretty crowded on that mile if we had done that mile first. I would hope the race directory would consider keeping that one mile loop at the end of the race. My strategy coming back from Asseeatgue was to save my energy and not expend a lot of extra effort fighting the wind. That last mile was not too windy with all its twists and turns and I had a lot of energy and speed toward the finish. The chip pickup line was quite a surprise. They were actually scanning our runner info into the computer as we were picking up the chip on race morning. All this should have been done the day before. Get there early - I spent about an hour getting ready for the race (long walk from park and ride, long chip pick up line, had to drop off clothing, and port-a-pottie lines were of average length--) I spoke with the sponsor after the race. They said the sheriff's dept had directed the runners the wrong way. I was very impressed with the race sponsor. They are a storm restoration company. They went to Florida to do the restoration cleanup after the hurricanes. They were able to react quickly and the 1/2 finish line moved before the runners got there. I was a little leery when I first heard a storm restoration company was sponsoring a race. They have the resources and people to improve this event. Post race party was very good. They had huge tents constructed that protected us from the wind. There was plenty of food at the race. Plenty of hamburgers, vegie burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, sodas, bagles, donuts. I went back for 2nds--plenty of food. Yes there were some food that could be bought but I think that was mainly intended for the spectators. Race registration fee was kind of high. I registered late at $75. The Tampa marathon costs about the same and has been around longer and you were lucky if you got a banana after you finished that marathon. The aid stations were great (blue, red or Powerade at a lot of the stations). The ocean city marathon bottle they have out was nice too. I put that on my shelf with all my trophies. Not too many races give out that type of bottle. If this marathon were to be moved to Ocean City. I would recommend that it start and finish in the inlet parking lot with the course going across the bay into west Ocean City and then on to Sinexpuxent Road.
j. m. from connecticut (4/25/2005) "Good Inaugural Marathon" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Stengths: -Very flat course, except the incline on the bridge that you go over and back. Definitely a PR course, weather permitting. -Pretty scenic, especially going over the bridge and in the park (around the turnaround). -Easy to get to the start - race hotel was about 1/2 mile from the start. -Organizers were very responsive at replying to questions via e-mail. Negatives: -Expo was very basic, not much to buy. I guess this is to be expected at an inaugural marathon. -Running chips for some reason weren't handed out until the morning of the race. This helped delay the start of the race by about 10 minutes. -No chip mat at the start of the race, thus, you didn't receive an accurate chip time. This, I feel, is the biggest (and easiest) thing to fix. -The course was changed at the last second. Instead of running through a neighborhood in the beginning of the race, runners ended up running through it at the end. Not a huge deal, except, it wasn't too pleasant seeing the finish line and having to take a right and run .8 miles through the neghborhood before heading back to the finish. -Few spectators. -A 40 mph wind in your face from mile 14-16 and from mile 22-25, but, obviously nothing the race could do about this. Of course, the next day, there was absolutely no wind. Overall, I definitely recommend this marathon. If your lucky enough to get a cool, low-wind day, you can definitely PR. The negatives mentioned above are easily correctible. For a first-year event, with little time to prepare, the organizers did a great job.

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