I started the race with my brother in law, Joe, and my friend Mike. The goal was to run the 1st 6 at around 8:15-8:20, the middle 14 at around 8 and the remainder at under 8. The start was tough since the boardwalk was dusted with snow. It was kind of good since it kept us from going too fast. There was also 125 relay teams so we had to ignore the runners that were going out and running 13.1.

We held pace for the 1st 6 and were a tad over 8s after that. The road leading to state park was good since the wind was at our back. I hit the half at 1:46:47 and by then it was just Joe and I. Once we got out of the park we had a 2+ mile stretch where the wind was right in your race. All I could do was keep my head down and chug along. Being a local, I knew the course very well so I knew where the wind would stop. Once we got out of the wind we picked up the pace a bit. By mile 20, Joe told me to take up since he had nothing left. I took off and was averaging 7:30-7:45 for most of the trail section. (3 miles) I hit mile 24 feeling good but my legs were getting heavy. By 25 I was fighting to stay at 8. Once I hit the boardwalk (.4 to go), I dug deep and finished hard. An announcer called my name at the finish and I hit the line. PR by 6:31.

Nothing. I finally ran a smart marathon and it paid off. I just did IM Louisville Labor Day weekend so training was a little different. I really did not start training for this race until October (after triathlon season). I did have enough of base to stay in marathon shape and trained well. I will be doing the same Ironman next year and will run this race again next year. I hope to break 3:30.

Watched my brother-in-law come in then changed into warmer clothes at the hotel. After that I went back to the finish to watch my girlfriend come in.


Wind!!! Lost some time in that 2+ mile stretch but oh well.


I am biased since my friends organized this race. With that said, I heard nothing but positive comments from out of towners. For a first time race, everything went very well. This race will grow every year.

It was also fun running a local marathon. It felt like a long 5K since alot of the local runners ran the full or the relay.