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Ocean Drive Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Ocean Drive Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 2.8
Number of comments: 199 [displaying comments 161 to 171]
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Slow Joe (Vasil) from Cleveland, Ohio
(3/21/2005)
 "Great Course, Great Race" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The more of these I run, the more I like smaller marathons. This course was flat and fast, and the temperature was perfect (42-45 degrees) with occasional cold winds. It was somewhat of a gray day, but the rain held off. Minimal crowd support, but this is what you would expect in towns that get quiet during non-summer months. Very well organized. It was great to be given fresh fruit at some of the aid stations. | |
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M. W. from Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan
(9/27/2004)
"This was a lot of fun" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It does not get better than this. I ate all the wrong things the night before, while loving every minute of it, and ran a beautiful course on a beautiful day. This is a fast course, but the wind takes its toll on your time. Enjoy it. | |
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P. S. from Annapolis, MD
(4/30/2004)
 "Fun, scenic course with a little bit of wind." (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Wow, the wind was really something. This would have been a fast course if the race had been run from Sea Isle City to Cape May, instead of vice versa. The course was interesting; small coastal towns were interspersed with boardwalks, bridges, and lonely stretches of highway. In the vicinity of miles 19-22, several of us had to work together to fight through the wind because there were no buildings for shelter. This was the first time I ever had to work with other runners to draft. The organizers did a great job putting together a relatively small marathon. There were plenty of port-a-potties at the starting line and plenty of food at the finish. I was even able to get a massage at the finish because there was almost no line (another benefit of a small race). Since this was still the off-season, there wasn?t much to do in the area after the race. | |
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B. P. from Runner from Philly
(4/14/2004)
 "No frills, windy spring marathon" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Ocean Drive Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was my second ODM and the weather's the only bad thing. The course is straight and flat except for the bridges... ideal PR course sans the utterly relentless headwind... The wind fights you the whole way...it never lets up. Wind aside, this is a quality marathon... organized well, plenty of food and drink afterwards, and pleasant volunteers. Running on the boardwalk in Wildwood was cool and Cape May is always nice - it's like walking back in time. Since I enjoy training outside all winter (as long as it's not windy), I look forward to next year's ODM. | |
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S. Z. from Annandale, VA
(4/9/2004)
"Weather a factor here" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course runs through several off-season beach towns, so it's mainly you and the other runners -- only 370 finished the marathon portion of the race. Wildwood Boardwalk from about miles 7 to 10 was actually quite bouncy and forgiving. A strong 20+ MPH headwind in an open area from miles 13 to 15 is a challenge to watch out for -- this apparently was not unique to this year. Also be forewarned about the final bridge heading into Sea Isle City at mile 23 -- it comes somewhat surprisingly after a turn leaving Avalon; it is the steepest of the bridges to be encountered. Police and the few fans were very helpful, enthusiastic, and will definitely be pulling for you. Good T-shirt and medal, along with massages at the finish line. Try the Starlux Hotel in Wildwood -- neat 50s style architecture with late checkout, although you would have to drive yourself to either the start (about a 15-20 minute drive) or to the shuttle (about a 5 minute drive + a 20-25 minute ride to the start). | |
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M. G. from Chestertown, Maryland, USA
(3/31/2004)
"Strong headwind, but still fun" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Off-season in a beach town... We stayed in Cape May (known for its B&B's). Some of the B&B's and restaurants were not open for the season, but we still found enough available. Made a nice family weekend of it. Walking distance to the start. The weather was cool (43F) and windy (10-30 mph headwind) for the race. Well organized with dedicated volunteers at the water/gel/fruit/Gatorade stations. I enjoyed what I saw of the course (the wind made my eyes water). It was easy for my family to drive ahead and see me three or four times. Good small marathon experience. I'd do it again. | |
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M. S. from New Jersey
(3/30/2004)
"Great Small Marathon Experience" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 In contrast to my experience in the NYC marathon in November, all future marathons will be small to medium in size. Once you do the circus of Chicago or New York once, you will appreciate the small marathon experience much more. This happened to be a perfect run for me setting a PR and breaking 4 hours for the first time in 10 tries at 3:57. The course is scenic and nearly flat except for the bridges. However, there is inevitably a headwind which there was on this day of about 15-20 mph. Fortunately, I tend to run better into the wind. This time of year is off-season for the NJ Shore so fans are sparse but how many of us train with fans anyway. Save your reception party for the finish. I thought the aid stations were spaced appropriately for a small marathon. Wear a watch ( I used a Forerunner 201 GPS watch) because there were only a few clocks, but the mile markers were large. It is nice having the 10 milers running the first 10 miles as long as you don't try and pace off of them. The organization was great. For a nice getaway, stay at a bed and breakfast in Cape May and experience the town. It would be nice if the marathon raced from Sea Isle City to Cape May and finished somewhere near the Mall of the point. Overall, if you enjoy the small town, seascape experience and don't need a lot of fans (or runners) around, this is a great small marathon | |
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M. S. from Simpsonville, SC
(3/30/2004)
"Scenic and very windy." (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Very scenic course. Headwinds most of the way weren't much fun. Judging from comments in other years, it might be better to reverse the course and get tail winds instead. Great volunteer support. Loved the oranges and bananas starting at around mile 15. Very enthusiastic support at the aid stations. Despite strong headwinds I ran a PR! | |
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r. s. from long branch, new jersey
(3/29/2004)
"Windy" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Enjoyed the run, but the wind was a bear. Great water stops. Volunteer had power gel pack open and waiting for me. Plan on eating breakfast someplace other than Uncle Bill's Pancake House at the start. The restaurant staff is most inhospitable to runners! | |
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J. L. from Youngstown, OH
(3/2/2004)
"Mother Nature Was Evil At My First Marathon!" (about: 2003)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 My family and I have been coming to this area of New Jersey for summer vacation for years - 10 years to be exact. In 2002, I started running while on vacation in wildwood. So I thought running my first marathon where I first started running would be a good idea. First off, the expo was very nicely organized with some very nice volunteers working it the day before the marathon when we picked our packets up. The shirts were very nice, one of my 2 favorite marathon shirts (the other being Erie, PA's marathon shirt). We stayed at the Montego Bay Hotel (the 10-mile finish line) a very nice hotel in wildwood. There were buses from our hotel to the start line, and we got down late & had to run after the bus and then ended up having to sit on the floor. Due to rushing to get ready in time for the bus, we forgot 2 important things - gloves & headbands! We had planned on taking the early start of the marathon and ended up being late for the early start - 2 minutes late. We took off after the rest of the early starters going way to fast for the beginning of a marathon. Not at all the pace we used in training. Mother Nature was not our friend that day - this is no fault of the race directors! - with pouring cold rain & freezing 20-40 mph headwinds blowing you back constantly. At mile 10 we were able to stop at our hotel & change into dry clothes. Then at mile 17 we met up with the rest of my family that had just finished the 5k. Thankfully they gave us gloves & headbands & much needed support. We ran/walked/hobbled the remaining 9.2 miles to the finish line where we were able to sprint in. They gave us those metal things & gave us very nice medals (one of the best I've gotten). They still had a little crowd support left & they waited for every last person to cross the finish line. There wasn't much crowd support on the course probably due to the weather & the fact that the marathon isn't during tourist season. And it proves that no matter where you are you always see somebody you know, at around mile 15 we were passed by people who asked us 'Hey weren't you at the Snow Stomp?' - a race we had gone to in western PA earlier that year in January. Altogether, I finished my very first marathon at 13-years old and have done 3 marathons & 2 ultra marathons since; and this is still one of my favorites. I will definitely run this again & recommend it. This is a strange but pleasing first marathon. |
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