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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 41 to 51]
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D. H. from Washington, DC
(4/25/2005)
"Best of intentions but many start-up problems." (about: 2005)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Chips not ready at packet pick-up. Mob scene trying to pick them up race morning. No mat at start line to time individuals' start times. Course totally mismarked in terms of mileage. Surprise extra mile at the end. Not enough fluid stations on first half; more than enough on second half. Race personnel polite. | |
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F. L. from Woodbridge, Virginia
(4/22/2005)
"Great Marathon" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and definitely not my last. The course was flat as advertised despite the strong winds, very enjoyable to run. There were a few spectators scattered throughout the course, however those who were there were loud and very supportive. I applaud the efforts of the Ocean City Marathon organizers in making this day enjoyable to me and my family. | |
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R. H. from North Carolina
(4/22/2005)
"Fun Marathon" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have to admit that I was a little nervous commiting to this marathon since it was the first time it was to be held. However, I found the organization to be very good, although there was a long line for chips on race morning. The wind was awful on race day, but that cannot be helped. The course was scenic, and I saw a couple of deer and wild ponies along the way. The finisher's medal was first-class too. There were very few spectators, but the ones who did appear, as well as the volunteers, were enthusiastic. I really think the post-race food was great and there was plenty of it - hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cookies, chicken broth, donuts, soft drinks, water, and beer - I was really hungry after the marathon, so I ate my share. I hope Ocean City continues to hold this marathon as it has a lot of potential to be a great spring marathon. Hopefully the wind will not be so rough next year. | |
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Don Kienz from Pennsylvania
(4/22/2005)
"Fine, Flat, Windy. Shamrock w/ out the beach." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Inaugural event successful with a few glitches that will likely be easy to fix. Friendly, helpful people; kudos and much thanks there. Highlight of course the Wild Pony Park, though wildlife still asleep (saw 3 horses and a couple of deer). Never saw beach on other side of dunes. Pretty crossing of waterway into park, and park a change of scenery. Rest of the course a flat, almost traffic-less parkway type road, so we saw a lot of trees, few residences, and nothing of downtown (Shamrock without the beach, but with a park). Last 10 miles or so were windy, as in very. Few spectators, though very friendly and happy. Nice day. Requests? Have mileage markers on the last half of course; and move food to registration tent by finish line... we're going the other way to get back to remote lot. Thank you again. | |
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P. S. from Chicago
(4/20/2005)
"absolutely worst organization - ever" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 My 34th marathon, and the worst of all. Mile markers, when present, were all wrong. The first mile was #2, and the last mile was #1. There were stretches of 4 or more miles without any markers... unacceptable for a marathon. The half marathoners only did 12.1 miles. Boston certified? What a joke. It was also extremely windy, and while weather can't be predicted, the course could have been laid out to better protect marathoners. The 'extreme' goody bag had 26 brochures, a huge and useless water bottle, and a t-shirt. So much for extreme. I've run some small and some 'bad' races, but I doubt anything will top this. Save your legs for a better race! | |
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Larry and Sue Pritchard from MahoneWV
(4/19/2005)
"This marathon was great,should continue to grow." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Our only complaint was not being able to get your chip with your packet like other races. It caused congestion and a late start for the marathon. We loved the course: well marked, scenic, etc. The fluids and support along the course were great. Showed excellent planning. GOOD JOB, RACE OFFICIALS!! Hope there are many more in the future. Sue and Larry Pritchard,Mahone,WV | |
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R. T. from Virginia
(4/18/2005)
"Thar It Blows?" (about: 2005)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 With two glaring reservations ? one controllable, one non-controllable, the Ocean City Marathon is a great entrant into the marathon field. But any inaugural marathon should be taken with a grain of sand ? especially if you?re being pelted with it. The least savory part of the OCM is the course. I?m not sure if someone forgot to turn the runners in the correct direction or there was a miscommunication or what, but the opening loop was simply missed, then later placed as a demoralizing ?you-can-see-the-finish-but-you-have-to-run-this-maze-of-streets-first? loop. The omission made every mile marker (assuming that they were there) meaningless. This issue, which made pacing impossible, was compounded by the fact that people ?in the know? gave conflicting information as to the distance that was omitted (I was told that mile 13.1 was really 13.8, later told that 20 was really 19.25, and thereafter informed 23.5 was really 22). At least eight of the mile markers were missing, which didn?t help things. In general, here?s a note to anyone planning a marathon. Measure your course. Mark the miles and measure it again. Then run the course with at least 10 other runners. If a single one of them misses a turn or doesn?t see a mile marker, there?s a problem. Use balloons. Use neon. Use singing aliens from Mars. But treat mile markers as you would water stations ? critical with no room for error. The course circus was magnified by the non-controllable aspect of this year?s Ocean City Marathon ? wind. This bitter, biting, 20-30 mile per hour force dived out of the Northeast, which was unfortunately the heading of the last 11-1/2 miles of the marathon. This relentless power was the only damper in what could otherwise be a great course for a PR or a Boston qualifying time. The course itself is almost completely flat, excluding the camel?s hump heading into and out of Assateague. On a non-windy day, this slight up and down provides a bit of a quad-test. With the wind raging and no protection from the elements, it took considerable energy to avoid being twisted into a pretzel. But where the wind really takes a bite was after the turnaround point, just after the half-marathon finish. The runners are on an asphalt path that winds around the beaches of Assateague. With the wind at your back, this is a pretty, almost idyllic setting for a race, but once the turn is made, and the sand is pitting your legs and pelting you in the face, it?s one of the most brutal miles around. If the wind is taken out of the equation, OCM has one of the prettiest courses around, replete with verdant green grass, budding trees, gentle undulations of waves, even wild horses and deer. You?re not going to find industrial parks in this neck of the woods, a nice break from the highway on-ramps and blighted city corners featured in so many marathons these days. Course support is commendable ? enthusiastic volunteers passing out water and Gatorade at roughly two miles intervals in the first half, more frequently in the second half. For those who are picky about what they drink, the OCM not only provides real Gatorade (not any watered down powders), but provides it in multiple flavors, making each water stop a rainbow of offerings. Outside of the start and finish, crowds were negligible, although the few spectators found along the course were good for inspiration. Afterwards, the OCM provides a decent medal and a nice spread of food, including a wide selection of drinks, hamburgers, hot dogs, and even veggie burgers for those cow-friendly folks. If the OCM learns from its inaugural errors and gets its course markings and layout fixed, it can make a great race for those looking for a friendly, small-town affair. Just understand that it may be slow going if the wind?s a-blowing. | |
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J. P. from Virginia Beach, Virginia
(4/18/2005)
"Needs improvement" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 This course has potential to be a very fast scenic marathon. Timing chips need to be given out when picking up race packets. Runners do not need another line to stand in race morning. For some reason we did not start the race on the correct course so all of the mile markers were incorrect. Two days after the marathon and race results are still not posted on line. Water stops and volunteers were great. Pasta dinner not worth $15.00. | |
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D. H. from Baltimore, MD
(4/18/2005)
"Lots of promise, but lots of learning needed" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 First, I'd like to congratulate the organizers. This is small-town Maryland, no matter what you may think of Ocean City in the summer. As a native Marylander, I'm proud that they were able show a great part of Maryland, show the kindness of the people of our state, and in general the ability to put on a marathon when they had never done one before, and being flexible when things went a little crazy. Since it was the first year, and from the looks of the website it looked unprofessional, I came in expecting nothing. That was a good thing, because there were a lot of problems in this marathon that need to be fixed for next year: 1. I'm still fairly irritated that the Ocean City Marathon doesn't actually go in to Ocean City (West O.C. for a short stretch, doesn't count to me). 2. I was grateful that packet pickup stayed open late due to traffic, but it seemed to be not of a benefit to pick up the packet anyway, because all of the runners had to pick up their chips on race morning. This led to long lines, and a little bit of a late start. 3. The chips didn't actually record our start time - there were no mats down. If we're going to have chips, and pay the expense for them, we should be able to have 'net times' when we finish. Even with the smallness of this marathon, it still took a while for the people in the back to cross the start. 4. Plastic cups were used during the race. This is normally bad on a normal day, but since a noreaster was coming up the coast, this led to our water being blown out of the cups when we tried to drink. Plus, all the cups just get blown all over the protected land of Assateague. 5. The pace car went the wrong way at the start! Thus, a piece of the marathon was missing right off the bat. The first 9 mile markers were off by a mile, and after then, there were no mile markers at all (thank God for GPS!)! I figured they took them down when they realized that we were off course. Amazingly, the organizers were able to adjust, and move the half marathon finish for those runners, and add the extra piece back on for the marathon runners, so in the end, it worked out. The main runners hurt by this were the relay runners, who planned for certain distances, and have no idea what they ended up doing. In general they did a fantastic recovery of a possible disaster. 6. The awards ceremony was an hour late (6 1/2 hours after the start), with no awards/results at all for the half marathon runners. The latter was not announced until the half marathoners had stayed around for hours to find out their awards. They seemed pretty upset. 7. They charged a big-time-marathon price for a first time marathon, poor organization, no net times, and a cheap tshirt. General Comments ---------------- This is a fairly nice course. If you like running the flat Eastern Shore without actually going into Ocean City or any beach areas except for a 1/2 mile on Assateague, this is it. Except for that stretch, you wouldn't even know you're near the ocean. The only hill was crossed twice on the bridge to Assateague, which looked tough from afar, and the wind is bad, but you can't complain when the course is about as flat as you can get. The course support is wonderful. Marylanders at their best. There wasn't much for spectators, which you'd expect for this area, and the 1st ever marathon. The support volunteers made up for everything with their excitement and kindness. The organization was really tough, but they were very kind as well. I just really hope they get more help for organizing next year. And maybe give us better shirts. This marathon has a chance to become a well-known marathon if they handled it well, and maybe moved it into Ocean City. I thought it was a nice touch that our medals and water at the finish were given to us by kids that maybe were a part of the charity that we were supporting (if I'm wrong, I'm sorry). I was glad that they were there. It gave you a nice perspective on what you were helping to support, and what's important in life. A major factor in this race was the wind. Winds were 24-26mph during the race, probably gusting higher, judging by the sand in my shoes/face, and water blowing out of the cups. This was an unusually windy few days, so it should be a lot better in the future. From mile 15-25, you were facing that wind directly on as a headwind. Even the lead runners looked like they were doing 9-10 min miles at that point. I'd wonder if the wind factor could be reduced though if we did the course in a reverse direction. Much more protection from the winds in the first half. There's lots of cheap hotels in O.C. at this time of year. You can get a lot better bargains from great hotels not mentioned on the marathon website. Even the major travel sites don't list most O.C. hotels. Go to the Ocean City official website. Stay at the lower numbered streets - much closer to the start. I stayed at Phillip's Beach Plaza at 13th St. & the Boardwalk, for $45, and even got late checkout to get a shower. | |
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B. S. from Delaware, U.S.
(4/17/2005)
"Not good." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 1. Course marked incorrectly. 2. Few mile markers 3. Few spectators 4. High entry fee 5. Race packet, just a handful of coupons. 6. Most of course was on long stretches of highway, we ran on the shoulder of the road. 7. Post race coupon got you a beer and a hamburger, if you wanted more, you paid. 8. T-shirt, nothing special. 9. Weather on the coast in the Spring is totally unpredictable, so come prepared. We had 40+ MPH winds crossing the bridge and gusts to 28 for the whole second half of the race. 10. I could have run two really nice, well organized races for the price of one O.C. Marathon. |
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