11-03-27 Ocean Drive Marathon

After running the Philadelphia Marathon last November, I decided to try to give qualifying for the Boston Marathon a shot this year. To qualify for Boston, a male in my age group needs to run a marathon in 3:10 (7:15/mile pace). I looked up fast courses in the Philadelphia area and this was seeming at the top of the list.

I thought the biggest drawback was that it was so early in the year, not leaving much time to train coming out of the cold winter. And of course I knew could be pretty cold. After reading the reviews on MarathonGuide.com, I found out over the first 12 years this race has been held the number one thing slowing down runners was the head wind THE ENTIRE RACE. According to the reviews I read, only in 2002 and 2006 had the wind not been a major factor.  

We had to pick-up the bib by 5 pm on Saturday at the Wildwood Convention Center. Apparently there was an option to pay $6 and have it mailed. I would definitely recommend this option unless you need to purchase things at the Expo. The expo was small but they did have the race shirts for cheap. Surprisingly, considering I picked up my bib just before they closed up, was the number of bibs left unclaimed. They had a HUGE stack of people that were no shows for both races for some reason or another (probably the weather).

The temperature with wind chill was 23-26 degrees. We lucked out a bit because the winds were not the 10-15 mph NNE forecast, but only 6-8 mph. This still wore me down over time but wasn't completely soul crushing. So in the end, all of my stressing over the brutal winds was somewhat justified, but not the worst case scenario it could have been.

The course itself is fairly fast. It's a point-to-point race that begins in Cape May along the beach (near Congress Hall) and heads north through Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, then ending in Sea Isle City. You cross a number of small bridges, none more then 30ft or so. There are a few sections on bike paths and one the boardwalk which was a nice change of pace.

As for the actual run, I always try to just go as hard as I can while maintaining a sustainable heart rate (not breathing heavily). Apparently I wasn't breathing heavy for the first mile because I ran it in 6:11! That was fun while it lasted. One turn into the wind and we got a taste of what we were in for over the next few hours. It was so bad two guys sprinted to catch up to me just so they could use me to block the wind for a good half mile or more.

I passed the 10 mile finish line where a number of people were peeling off at 70 minutes. This was a good pace, a little faster then what I needed to and 2.5minutes ahead of BQ pace. As planned, I began to fade. Unfortunately, I faded a lot faster then I hoped and was off BQ pace by mile 17 (somehow I was on pace until mile 23 in Philly last year). Despite loading up on electrolyte drinks / salt / water for the past few days, my calves still cramped up (like I did last year) starting at Mile 25 and then again just after crossing the finish line. I might have to experiment with salt pills in the future.

I wouldn't recommend this race unless you really want a mentally challenging race. You need to be able to motivate yourself because the wind is pretty brutal, there are very few fans for support, there aren't many other runners near you and it's COLD!

Big thanks to Ray R. for acting as support crew / photographer / host. Having somewhere to get a hot shower after a bone chilling run like this was priceless.

Pros: scenic / flat / nice shirts w/big jersey shore course map on back / post race tent was nice to get out of the wind / the shore was a ghost town which makes it easy for people to follow you in a chase car and park along the course

Cons: head wind entire race almost guaranteed / spectators were sparse / no chip timing / long bathroom lines (try Congress Hall, thanks!)

Improvements: As many have suggested, reverse the course (starting SIC and ending in Cape May)

Overall I enjoyed the race. I didn't have a BQ time, or even a PR, but considering the lack of miles I have logged I can't complain. Finished with a 7:44 pace.