OWL-DRAGON

Down The Shore - The Ocean Drive Marathon

This was the smallest marathon that I have participated in (370 finishers; there were also 342 in a ten mile race). I began checking the weather about ten days ago (and yes I know it's useless and yes it drives my poor wife crazy) and right up until Saturday
the weather looked good - 50's with mild southwest winds. Instead Sunday was overcast and in the 40's -not necessarily bad running weather but it also came with stiff winds out of the north and east. Cool temps good - north winds bad.
I was a little concerned about a bruise on the top of my left foot. Not sure what did it - it's only painful with some shoes - unfortunately my Brooks dyads were one of them. I chanced wearing my ds trainers (light but no cushioning) and they worked quite well. The bruise never bothered me. In fact I was quite pleased with my condition after the run – I felt quite relaxed and have suffered very little doms (delayed onset muscle soreness) or other problems. Perhaps I am not going hard enough.

This race goes from Cape May, NJ to Sea Isle City. The ten milers stop in Wildwood. Very friendly crowd made the cold wait for the start bearable. The first couple of miles I was with a chatterbox, but then I tend to be talky during a marathon - it's one of the
contrasts between marathons and the all out of a 5k. Two runners carried on a hysterical account of the deficiencies of the host hotel complete with peeling wallpaper and tepid water.

After a couple of miles thru mostly residential streets Lower Township you go thru salt marshes. Despite the name Ocean Drive for long parts of the run you don't actually see the ocean. The salt marshes, teeming with life I suppose, provide boring vistas and are also very windy.

In Wildwoods you’re on a bike path and then the boardwalk. Wildwood has a huge expanse of beach compared to Cape May. But its boardwalk seemed dreary and tired even for the off season.

Terrific volunteers throughout the race (and this was important because there were no spectators - it has to be the least people I have ever seen over a 26 mile run. Even my marathon in Maine had more spectators.)

I only had one really slow mile when I lost my succeed tablets - it was kind of comical. I had shoved the tablets into the back pocket - at least I thought I did but I had shoved them into the shorts - it must have been a sight as I danced around trying to retrieve them.

I had worn gloves which came to be soaking wet but despite that my hands seemed warmer with them then without them, however, retrieving gels and tablets with
gloves was cumbersome. Took gels twice (probably later in the race then I should have but the first 10 miles had flew by and I just didn’t think of them.)

There's quite a long stretch (about 7 miles) thru Stone Harbor and Avalon. Wow! What homes. The amazing thing is this that these million dollar homes sit largely empty. In those seven miles I saw only a couple of people but more amazing is that there were no cars parked anywhere. This is a strictly summer community and these mansions are second homes. And though we were only a block from the ocean you don't see it at all. Partly this is because the grand homes block the view and partly because they have built up sand dunes to protect the Island. Ironically some homeowners are miffed because their view is obstructed. I think if I lived on a fragile barrier island I would learn to love sand dunes.

Out of Avalon there is one last bridge to challenge you, then briefly thru tiny Townsend Inlet before Sea Isle and a fast last mile on Sea Isle’s Promenade.

Seven bridges break up an otherwise very flat course. One bridge is under reconstruction but volunteers were placed so keep us safe. Not that I had any inclination to tempt fate by running anywhere near the railing less left side of the bridge. The bridge is not open to traffic and the sea gulls seemed to have learned to use it to open shells. Between droppings, sea shell casings, and left over calms you definitely wanted to step carefully.

Only few bends on the course, so no tangents to calculate. Because this is an early in the season race it is relatively under appreciated but it is definitely a Boston qualifier course. With relatively few long runs before hand, and steady hard effort but not pushing I finished in 3:56:56 right on goal. (I could qualify for Boston with a 3:45.)

After the race a young runner approached me and said how impressed he was with my good spirits at the 25 mile mark and that he appreciated my enthusiasm. And I must confess that I enjoyed trading quips along the route especially with the volunteers. It’s probably the lactic acid that wears away my usual reserve. I probably should stay more focused and not waste energy shouting but it wouldn’t be as much fun.

I did all my runs strictly by time and never did a run longer then 3 hours. And still ran
comfortably. I must give some credit to Succeed tablets; they have been a great tool. I can race these distances without cramps and that is a big bonus. And as long as I'm doing product placement I might as well mention blistershield - picked this up at an expo (NY?) and have been very pleased with it. A powder you put in your socks it definitely helps prevent blisters.

Now I need to plan my fall marathon.