Active Community: Message List - Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:15:46 GMT

I agree with the runners above. The course was decent (although running on the road with traffic was a bit tough) and ending on the island was awesome. I really appreciated the gels around mile marker 9, and felt the water/ gatorade was perfectly placed. The after party however needs improvement. It was VERY crowded, tough to figure out the food, and when we got to it, it was gone within seconds. We runners ran 13.1 miles and couldn't even get a slice of pizza. My vote: change of venue for the after party or you will lose interest.

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:02:57 GMT

The course was great, it was well marked and easy to follow. There were not enough bathrooms along the way. The race was a quiet one, not a lot of places with music or team support. Other runs I have participated in Had clocks throughout the course to keep track of where the runners were and let the runners know their time. It seemed very un-organized we should have started in corrals. I did not even attend the after party. I felt there should have been a celebration at the end of the course in the tent. I am unsure if I will be participating in this race again.

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:42:24 GMT

I love doing this race each year! The course is great and the race organization is good. But this year the after party at secrets was not family friendly at all. After we waited to get in, we had to find our way to the food table which was in a crowded room. The line was super long so with two small kids we decided to just find a place to sit down. The place we found was no where near the award ceremony so we couldn't even watch it. We just left so we could get some food and relax as a family. What everyone wants to do after a long race. Hope they can get it right next year.

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:52:50 GMT

A great course and a great race. All volunteers and runners were friendly. Crowds were quite small and almost exclusively rooting for their family/friends. Post-race event venue was great but logistics were atrocious. Pizza was tasty but they took the chicken to another room just as I was about to dig in (after waiting for about 25 minutes in the food line and 30 minutes to get thru the front door). I'd do the race again but recommend packing a lunch to eat on the beach rather than stress about nutrients/beer post-race.

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:40:52 GMT

Considering the low cost of the event I was very pleased with the ease of packet pick-up and the great flat, fast course. I had heard about the bridge from a previous participant and drove the course the day before to see it for myself. The coming down bridge actually allowed me to speed up and sprint to the finish. I do agree that while the "party" was held elsewhere there should have been something besides water and a few cookies at the finish line for the runners. I'm not suggesting a huge buffet open to everyone, just a few more items for the actual participants.

Since I carry my own water, waterstops were not a problem, although a couple did seem overwhelmed. But I also saw runners come to a dead stop and walk over to the waterstops without any regard to anyone behind them (I'm assuming newbies).

Despite not a lot of traffic control along the route (intersection control was great) I thought the vehicles were very respectful of the runners, especially along Decatur when runners and vehicles were separated by only the occasional cone and a white line.

I think the Seacrets issue has been covered by others.

My main issue was FSK Motel not allowing a late check out to runners and the requirement that runners be shuttled from the finish (past FSK Motel) to Seacrets and then catch another shuttle back to FSK Motel. A major logistical nightmare if you want to shower after you run. Many participants got back to the motel at 11:00 (and considering the lines at Seacrets I am sure they had not been hanging out partying but had just been dealing with transportation), so either they checked out beforehand and planned to drive home sweaty, planned to stay an extra night, or missed the check-out deadline and were going to get penalized.

As the "host hotel" FSK Motel should have been accommodating to the runners. OCTriRunning should have worked out a deal with the place to allow all participants to stay until noon or 1:00pm. Or they should have arranged for the FSK shuttle to transport directly between the finish and the motel.

I look forward to doing this race again but I will not be staying at the "host hotel" again.

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:27:18 GMT

This was my first half-marathon and I enjoyed every minute of the race. The opening ceremony was nice with the national anthem. Great course. Great communication leading up to the event. The biggest disappointment was post-race. We were only given water and cookies at the finish line. I've done shorter races where they provided better food (bagels, bananas, oranges, etc) at the finish line. On Saturday you had a 20 min drive and a 30-45 min wait in line before you had the option to get real food - which we never got. The wait staff from Seacrets actually said, "We're now open for our real customers and you'll have to go back inside now." We left the party and went next door to Dumsers. I'll do this race again, but I hope the organizers can get a better handle on the post-race. Had there been something other than cookies at the finish line, the Seacrets disaster would not have factored in as much in my low rating. Some people want a party - others, like me, just want to eat something better than cookies.

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:09:56 GMT

This was my first half marathon and my wife's second. Most of the comments I read have been spot on. Definitely will do this race again and will recommend it. The pickup wad well organized, the volunteers knowledgeable and courteous. The course was perfect as was the weather. More gatorade and music after mile eight would of been helpful. We had our kids/nieces with us so the after party and its long line was not an option. FSK would of worked nice. Overall, a great job, course, nice volunteers and surroundings second to none. 5 stars (somewhat biased as I had the best run of my life!)

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:06:27 GMT

Great fast n flat course! The after party was a joke and a total waste of my families/friends and my time, oh, and $10. Secrets staff even charged my wife for a soda....what a rip. To top it off we had to wait in line for the waste of time.....really a bummer! The post party was perfect in 2011 when it was held at FSK, where it was a good time for all the family...including the children. Hope the organizers get it back to a family after party rather than a "bar scene",...

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:53:10 GMT

Loved the first half mile, and last mile of course, rest was pretty boring. Start needs to be more well-organized, line people up by their splits. Shame on you for not having enough bananas! Less than 2000 people ran this race. Shame on you also for running out of space blankets. It was windy and overcast on the Island, should have been sooo easy for race organizers to order the correct number of mylar blankets! SOOOOO excited I did not go into after race party at Seacrets (after reading other reviews)!!! Have run 3 full marathons, and 4 halfs, will NOT do this one again.

Re: Ocean City, MD Half Marathon / 5K Event Reviews

guest — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:54:14 GMT

The race was well organized, excellent course, awesome volunteers, water stations were perfect, maybe a few more porta-pots. Could not ask for a better race!! As for the after party...very unorganized... More bagels, snacks at the end of the race. Seacrets could have cared less about the runners... The servers were rude and clearly they needed more stations considering the number of runners in the race. Sorry but bringing out a lage pizza and a tray of chicken for a line of 30 people is crazy! However, friends say if you waited, the food was very good!