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Apr 28, 2024

Ocean Drive Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.2

Organization 4.2

Spectators 2.8

Number of comments: 199 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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A. C. from Puerto Rico (4/1/2011) "AMAZING COURSE" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 I thought this was a phenomenal marathon. There are no spectators to speak of but who wants them when the view is worth a million from beginning to end of the course?! It was cold and windy, but that's not the fault of any organizer. The aid stations were extremely well-equipped for the small size of the marathon, the start brilliantly organized by the Congress Hall Hotel (warm place to wait), the medal cute and, again, the course is "five-star."
A. H. from New York (4/1/2011) "Fantastic experience!" (about: 2011) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I want to congratulate the ODM organization for a job well done. This was my first marathon. Without a doubt the hardest athletic event I have ever done. Can't wait for the ODM 2012! The expo on Friday was well run, with friendly vendors. Picking up your race packet was quick and the tech shirt is very cool. The weather at the start of the race was 28-30 degrees! Just a little below average! But running all winter helped. The course was very scenic, and flat except for the drawbridges. The last one at mile 23 or 24 is a a nice touch! If you train, it is not a problem. As far as spectators, I did not expect many and those who were there did cheer when you ran by. There were plenty of well stocked aid stations with friendly volunteers. There were plenty of police and ODM personnel at the intersections. My only complaint was around mile 14 when a police officer did not stop me from going the wrong way! I blame myself but he could have said something. After I realized my mistake and doubled back, I asked him why he did not stop me, and his response was, "I thought you wanted to go home!" So I actually ran a 26.7-mile marathon. This of course led to some great conversation when I caught up to runners that I passed before. The finish line did have a cheering crowd. It was great to see my wife and daughter at the end. The aluminum wrap for the runners was a great idea. The medal is great. I also noticed that I had my picture taken at the finish line, which you can order. The food tent had the normal fruit, bagels, and beverage. I will be back next year. One suggestion. Unless I missed this at the start. There was no water available for the runners. I did see one table where they were charging $2.00 per bottle. Who has money with them at a marathon? Just great.
Will Marquardt from Denver, CO (4/1/2011) "This is a PR/BQ kind of course" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a really nice, fast course with great ocean scenery. Four or five bridges allow for a little change in muscle angles to keep things fresh. The pre-race weather forecast was frightening, but turned out to be perfect for a fast run. I have seen comments about the wind, but in my opinion the wind was a complete non-factor for this race. I ran a negative split and I know several other runners did too... because they passed me in the second half of the race. The single complaint I have about this race is the lack of chip timing. This needs to be fixed even if it means raising the price. Thanks to the OD Marathon team for a really nice event.
V. P. from New Jersey (3/30/2011) "Nice course, nice shirt, needs to be chip timed" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I wanted to do a March marathon and it was between this one and the DC marathon. I ran this one because it was a day trip for me, saving the hotel costs of going to DC. It was very cold in the morning and it was very nice to have access to the buildings to keep warm while waiting to start. The course was nice with a few bridges, and support was good, but the finish needs to be improved. With no chip timing, I was actually stopped just after finishing so a guy could rip the tag off my bib! This really should change so there is chip timing. My other disappointment was the medal. It is cheap, and probably the worst one I have. I know it's not all about the medal but for $90 I expected something nicer. By the way, it took 1 hour and 20 minutes of drive time to get the bus ride back to the start.
S. B. from Brookfield, CT (3/30/2011) "If you love the Jersey Shore" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a small race that takes you from Cape May to Sea Isle City, which is quite novel, especially if you visit the shore. There are several parts of the race when there are no spectators but that is ok with me because I like to take in what is around me. The people who were out were very supportive. Mind you, the weather was supposed to be worse than it was so that might have kept people at home. The aid stand people were awesome and very helpful directing you to the different foods. They also had a good selection of foods: oranges, bananas, Clif Shot gel, Gatorade and water. This was my first marathon in three years and I want to run another because this was such a great race.
A. d. from Arlington, VA (3/30/2011) "Windy and a bit lonely" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The course is flat, but for the bridges and minor inclines. Despite being a point-to-point race, there are a lot of turns. I guess that makes it a bit more interesting. There is not a whole lot to see around, if you don't count smelly swamps. It is also off-season, so the towns are empty and most bars/restaurant are not yet open. I guess off-season makes for a natural traffic control, as there were a lot of unmanned intersections. Water only for the first almost 11 miles. Why??? After that the stations are more frequent and pretty awesome. I must have had a total of 3 oranges. Great! GU: I could not find a plain vanilla one and did not want to experiment with some fruity flavor. The 10-miler finisher did not look like much, but I was actually impressed by the marathon finish line. Also, nice, long-sleeve tech shirt, average medal, average post-race meal. No beer??? There was some broth though. It was a cold one in 2011. And windy. Mile marks very pretty on point. Shotgun timing. What can I say about this race? New Jersey - checked!
J. N. from Bogota, Colombia (3/30/2011) "Should run from Sea Isle to Cape May" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Very nice, organized, small event. I chose it even though I had read here about the wind. I know you can't predict weather, but if every year wind blows fron N to S, change the course of the race. It would be a much more enjoyable experience if you had the wind on your back. Run from Sea Isle City to Cape May. People would come back and more people would show up. I'm not coming back unless they change it. Other than that, thank you for the small but enthusiastic crowd support.
T. P. from Lee's Summit, MO (3/29/2011) "So-So Experience" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 As I click off the states, this marathon would rank in the bottom half of the 22 marathons I've done. Expo - good location and organized. Course - was OK. Flat except for the bridges and I think the headwind from start to finish and the gray, cold day prohibited me from thinking it was beautiful. Volunteers - I always appreciate and the course was well-marked. Water stops - Plastic cups? Come on - you know that runners need to bend the cup to drink and plastic cups are no good for that. One or two people at some stops which doesn't work when you have 5-8 runners approaching at the same time. Shirt & Medal - less than great. When you spend more than $70 to register you expect these items to be great and they were not. The worst part of the experience was one of the sponsor hotels. The Montego Bay Resort and Conference Center was bad. Our room which was more than $200/night was dirty. So dirty that even though I had purchased the package including the meals, I refused to eat there assuming the kitchen couldn't be much cleaner than the rooms. Doesn't help that there's no 'competition' as most hotels are closed since it is 'pre-season'. If you are doing the 50 states, I'd say look past this one for NJ as I'm certain there are better ones to choose.
W. C. from New York (3/29/2011) "What's not to love about this marathon?!!" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The ODM course is lovely and scenic - it's a wonderful run! If you rely on spectators to help get you to the finish line, this one isn't for you. Crowds were sparse and not super supportive. Volunteers at the water stops were wonderful!!! Only wish there had been a few more water stops along the way. Overall, a great experience!
B. H. from Philadelphia, PA (3/28/2011) "First-Timer Marathon" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ocean Drive Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and it was great! There were so many aid stations, plenty of fruit and Gatorade throughout, and food at the end. The spectators were few and far between, but the ones there were so enthusiastic. The only room for improvement I would note is the non-chip timing. This was the first race I haven't had a chip and it was a little confusing at the end. I had a great time, though; I'll definitely be back next year!

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