Travelled from Atlanta, GA...This was my 3rd marathon, but my first that I did not have to walk at all. I ran a 16 minute P.R.! The ocean views coming out of Sandy Hook are breathtaking! Very well organized, good volunteers, great post race dinner buffet night of race. Flat and Fast course along ocean...we had virtually no wind, but could become a factor. I'll be back next year!

This is my 2nd marathon and my 1st NJ Shore. Race directors, Art & Eva Castello and their staff did an excellent job. This race is well organized. The course is good and you are on the shore with beautiful scenic views. When you look back as you reach the top of a small bridge, you can see the NY skyline. The weather was perfect 65 - 68. The spectators were excellent, the fluid stations were bountiful. EMS was doing an outstanding job. There were lots of bands. Even the NJ State police brought in a bagpiper. The finisher's medal is very nice, too! I will definitely participate in 2002.

This was my fourth marathon for 2001 and I shaved 40 minutes off my best time from the first three. You have to run this marathon! It has everything a runner needs for a great time -- flat course, cool starting weather, water and sports drink at every mile, oranges and bananas at some stops, plenty of available porta-johns along the route, huge fan support for such a small marathon, interesting scenery (odd military fortifications dating from WWII or earlier, some views of the beach, and spectacular mansions), good food at the finish, and buses to and from the host hotel. Run this race if you seek an outstanding race management whose goal is to put a PR within your reach.

I'll admit I was disappointed in the scenery (sea wall), and part of the course was run on a fairly busy street, but you have to give these guys a standing ovation for there organization & enthusiasm. Art seemed to be on the course cheering on the runners at every intersection. An entire hotel was devoted to race participants. I rode back to the hotel in a race-sponsored minivan after the race. A woman at the pick-up location had left her car at the start. The driver dropped us off at the hotel, went back to pick up the woman & drove her almost 20 miles back to the start to pick up her car. After 25 years of running, this was the only time I've ever called the race club after the race to tell them how much I enjoyed it.

I really haven't run any other NJ marathons, but I've run a lot of others in other states. This one rates pretty high on my list of to do marathons. For anyone living in the tri-state area, this is so convenient. It's fun to run a marathon with fellow Jerseyans, ones that you may see at other shorter races. The organization was fabulous, the volunteers were wonderful and the course was pretty good. Too bad they had to put up that darn wall by the ocean which cut off the view.
I would have liked to run on the boards and hope they might consider doing this in the future.

Don't know why the person from Illinois chooses to denigrate this race, but Art and his band of volunteers do a bang-up job. I can't think of a better setting than running much of the race along the Atlantic Ocean. Not much in the way of hills at all. I'm considering flying back from Cali to run this year's.

I had to use the medical tent due to dehydration even though I drank at every stop. The medical staff was prompt, courteous and made sure I was OK before I left. They took good care of me. I am looking forward to running the marathon again.

This marathon provides a prime reason not to believe the race brochures. Most of the course was run along a sea wall, there were no spectators. The brochure said there was only one hill (I guess the ups and downs in Deal don't count as hills.) I have read the other reviews and wonder if they really ran this race or are they that impressionable? My advice is don't trust the brochure hype.

Don't believe the hype on the race brochure. It advertises bands all along the course (there were two guys strumming on a guitar), and only one hill (what about the hills in the last seven miles especially in Bath). If your idea of great scenery is a sea wall for the majority of the race, then have at it. This is one of the worst marathons I have run (and I don't mean my time). No spectators to speak of.

This was my first time at the N J marathon and I was very happy with the
outcome. The temperature was a bit hot. Everyone was very helpful and I hope to run it again.