Ocean State Marathon & Rhode Race

This was my first time running the full. I did the half a few years ago. I thought the course was really pretty and interesting. Only issue I had was the lack of road closures and really narrow spots. They keep the size of the marathon relatively small so it should be easy to get a good time. Definitely train for hills... there were a few challenging ones later in the race but nothing too difficult. I would recommend this one over Providence and Newport based on the scenery.

This was #43 for me. The parts along the water were really pretty, but most of it was blah and trafficy. They route you through regular neighborhoods, along main roads with stores and gas stations and lots of cars (with little space for runners) while throwing in lots of turns, which makes for a mediocre route. Organization and aid stations were good and very few spectators (which I like). Rolling hills is a bit of an understatement, its pretty hilly, esp for us flat landers. I would suggest a different race if you need RI for your 50 states like I did.

Pro - small quaint marathon - course had lots of food as did the end - easy packet pickup Cons - fair number of rolling hills - running mostly on busy roads with cones. If you are uncomfortable with traffic, this is not your marathon - marathon/half marathon split was not well marked