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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 51 to 61]
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R. S. from United States
(4/17/2005)
"Paid $80 for a $20 marathon." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 I have run a number of marathons in various states. I have enjoyed the glitze and glamour of Boston and N.Y. as well as the hometown feel of Houston, Philly, and V.A. Beach, to name a few. When it comes to the O.C. Marathon however, it ranks dead last by a 'missed mile'. The mile that I refer to is the mile that the marathoners were not directed to at the beginning of the race. Subsequently, the mile was added on at the end of the race, just as you approached the finish line. Mile markers? Do not count on it. I look for them like a hawk. There were maybe 13 of them, that is being generous. Crowds? even at the finish line there were only about 100 or so. Post race? it was okay. I enjoyed one beer and a burger, if you wanted any more, you paid. WEAK...WEAK...WEAK. I could go on about the hohum t-shirt and finishers medal, but I have said enough. If you choose this as your first marathon, you will not be disappointed because you will have nothing to compare it to, however if you have done others, heed my advice, look elsewhere. | |
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D. V. from Durham, NC
(4/17/2005)
"Nice fan turnout for a small race" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The race is run over very Eastern Shore terrain. It's flat with sporadic woods. This course has one unique feature in that part of it runs through Assateague Island with its wild ponies and deer. In fact, the lone hill on the entire course is the bridge to the island. The race got off to a rough start because someone messed up and they forgot to take us on the initial loop through a neighborhood which housed the mile markings for the rest of the course. However, they were able to recover and they had the half-marathon finish moved to accomodate the extra mileage needed. For us marathoners, they re-directed us through the missing neighborhood loop and all was well. The wind on the way back, especially on Assateague was BRUTAL. I got some laughs by saying they missed a marketing opportunity with a derm-abrasion firm. It was truly brutal. I was very impressed by the number of fans along the route. This is off-season in Ocean City and there just aren't that many people out that way. It was not all people cheering for a friend or family member either. The aid stations were well stocked and they had Gatorade or water, and several stops later on had GU and/or fruit. Porta-johns were frequent too. Obviously, the initial course confusion has to be rectified, but I mark that down to a one-time screw-up. The course is not beautiful (especially the last few miles), but is flat and if the wind cooperates (as it would have on Sunday, which was gorgeous), it can be a PR course. I didn't get to the expo or stay in any of the affiliated hotels, so I can't speak to them. The Inaugural Finisher's medal was really nice. The T-shirt was a generic cotton though. One other improvement is that we had to park in a remote area and after running 26.2, I sure would have appreciated a shuttle bus to the park-and-ride lot. The band in the meal pavillion after the race was quite good. Overall, I give this a 3+, but with a potential to get much better. In order, fix the start, shuttles to park-and-ride after the race, better shirts. Decent first effort though. Overall, I enjoyed the race | |
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James Riley from Baltimore, MD
(4/17/2005)
"Lot of organization problems" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 This race suffered from a lot of organizational issues. Rather than put a lot of negative comments here, some advice for the event staff of the next one: 1. Make the race in Ocean City, not in West Ocean City. The draw for this event is the beach. Why couldn't we start & end at the inlet, and run the boards & coastal highway? 2. Move the race date back by one month into May, to assure that weather will be better. Wind was horrific! 3. Water stations every 2 miles is pretty standard... 4. Traffic patterns need to be better defined. My spectators couldn't get to the finish line to see us cross it! 5. Website, and especially course map, need help. Why aren't results posted yet? 6. Consider not giving chips out on the day of the race; make all packet pick-up occur in the days leading up to the race. 7. There ought to be a chip pad near the beginning so we get an official chip time rather than just getting the gun time as our start. 8. What happened to the course? Weren't we supposed to go through the neighborhood? I heard that there were some deviations that were unplanned. How does this affect those who are using this race to qualify for Boston? | |
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Chuck Johnson from Bel Air, MD.
(4/17/2005)
"Great job for a first time event!!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Was wondering why 1) no signs directing where the Pasta Party was at and 2) why we had to return on Sat. in the a.m. to get racing chips. Mile markers were off but no real big deal for a first time event. I ran the 1/2 Marathon but have run many Marathons through out the country and with a little adjustment you could have one of the finest!! Friendly course and people!! | |
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K. K. from Germantown, Maryland
(4/17/2005)
"Pretty flat but VERY windy" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The volunteers of this race were very nice. There were a few locals along the road cheering, but it was the first marathon here so it was pretty small in comparison to others. Since it was the inagural marathon, there were some organizational issues that will be ironed out for next year. For example, there was no bus from the parking lot to the start/finish, which was about 1/2 mile-this was do-able before the race, but unbearable after. There was also a mix-up with the course in which we didn't do a 1 1/4 mile loop through a neighborhood at the very beginning, so all of the mile markers throughout the race where all wrong, and when they told us we had 1 mile to go and we sucked it up for the home stretch, we were then given the loop through the neighborhood, so it sucked to see the finish line and think you were done, then told to make a 1 1/4 mile loop to the right first. The last 1/2 of the marathon was also VERY windy. Reports said that we were running against a headwind of 30mph. If you want to do this race, be sure to wear a warm hat and gloves and long pants, a lot of people were in shorts and t-shirts and were freezing. The next day, the wind wasn't as bad, I think we were all just unlucky to have such bad wind. All in all, it was an amazing experience to accomplish this marathon, and I look forward to my next marathon, but I'll hope that it's not as windy. | |
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B. C. from Virginia
(4/17/2005)
"Not a bad run for their first event. " (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The Good The course was completely flat except for a bridge you cross twice. Still it was a scenic course. (would have been better if not for the wind, appx 35 mph) The fans were great and they had access to the whole course. The bad Much of the course (14 miles) was on the right shoulder which, while paved, inclined down. That was tough on the hips and ankles. The organization was mostly good but there was some kind of course glitch and the mile markers were off. The ugly The wind was fierce. From 18.5 to 25 you ran head long into a Northeast wind appx 30-35 mph. Not the organizers fault but most of the final mile markers blew away. Still could be a pleasent run on a more mild day. Food after was good and a great spot for an after run party. | |
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J. G. from Salisbury, Maryland
(4/17/2005)
"Good Job for an Inaugural Event" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My compliments to the event organizers. A couple issues that would be helpful for next year. The chips were not given out at packet pickup. You had to come back the morning of the race to collect your chip. This made for long lines on race day and delayed the start of the race. There was no chip mat at the start of the race, so runners in the middle and back lost several seconds since their start time was the same as those up front. Also, the mile markers were not put out in typical race fashion. When you finished mile 5, you saw a sign that said mile 6 (i.e. you are now beginning mile 6). I have never seen this in a race and heard a lot of complaints from other runners during the race. The course is very nice. Flat and fast. Although the wind was BRUTAL at two points, most of the course offered very generous protection from the weather. Running on Assateague Island with the wild Ponies and deer was a real treat. The run back off the island with a 23mph headwind was a test of Will. Lots of cheerful volunteers and very nice water stops with gatorade, water, and a variety of food. Very nice finisher's medal. Tweak a few issues and you have the makings of a great event for next year. My compliments. | |
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B. W. from Delaware
(4/17/2005)
"Good first try" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Great cheer sections throughout along with great, well-equipped fluid stations. The course is sort of bland: long, long stretches of road, few turns. The high winds made it quite a challenge this year! The entry fee was very high and the advertised 'cool swag' was non-existent...I'm sorry...a water bottle is NOT cool swag...esp. for such a high fee. I'm sure they will also get the mile markers correctly placed next year. :) Overall, a fun day and a good first try at hosting a marathon. | |
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B. W. from Delaware
(4/17/2005)
"Good first try" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ocean City, MD Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Great cheer sections throughout along with great, well-equipped fluid stations. The course is sort of bland: long, long stretches of road, few turns. The high winds made it quite a challenge this year! The entry fee was very high and the advertised 'cool swag' was non-existent...I'm sorry...a water bottle is NOT cool swag...esp. for such a high fee. I'm sure they will also get the mile markers correctly placed next year. :) Overall, a fun day and a good first try at hosting a marathon. | |
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M. S. from West Virginia
(4/17/2005)
"Slanted course and very windy, great crowd!" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon so I am not sure how to rate it, but I can say that the winds were very strong and they had us run of the side of the road which was slightly slanted. This ended up hurting my feet pretty badly. When we were on Assateague Island the sand was hitting us from the wind and that hurt pretty badly too. But! I had a blast!!! I ended up not walking and finished the race with my best friend who I had been training with . The specatators were sooo wonderful , I wish there were more in the last 4 miles cause that is where we needed them the most, but I knew they were eagarly awaiting us at the end.:) |
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