Andrew MacDonald's Staging Area

Wow! What a race! First marathon after the two years of pandemic life and it did not disappoint. Well, my time was disappointing due to having a 6 week old, no training and lack of sleep, but would definitely do this race again.

Expo was small but super efficient getting in and out, and had all the products you would need if you were happen to forget something at home, such as your race shorts.

Getting to the race was a quick affair, simple walk down the hill and through the park. Would recommend more portapotties, but you can never have enough of those on race day. We went off in waves based on bib number assigned to us at the expo, and definitely missed my wave due to those lines at the john. Course was the 2nd year of the double loop, which was still pretty awesome. Multiple bands and drum groups out there playing their hearts out for the runners. Super easy for spectators to see their runners multiple times around the starting line since we pass it about 4 times total.

Would recommend bringing sunscreen since you’ll be next to the water or out in the open a lot of the time. Few stretches of street where there is absolutely no shade and you will get roasty toasty.

Again, highly recommend this race for runners, and would even be a great first marathon!

Expo = not the most organized initially, but goes smooth once you get through the initial check-in part. The bibs are legit a giant piece of paper that gets printed in front of you so bib pickup is pretty easy. You have to go to a separate area to get your shirt and that can be a bit of a hassle. The Adidas merch area runs out super quickly so get there early as possible.

The afternoon before the marathon, make sure you get to a spot on the marathon course so you can watch the inline skating marathon. It’s super cool to watch those folks rip by at breakneck speeds on the course you’ll be running the day before.

Pre-Race staging area = get there early, use the bathroom, then get right back in line to go again before you line up. Or just keep walking around until you find a trove of hidden toilets. Waited in line for 45 minutes upon getting there only to find out there was a whole other section with no one waiting.

Race = do you like drums? Yeah? Good cause there are a ton of bands out and about along the course. Tons of drum bands, school bands, bandy bands. Certainly helps push you along the course.

Scenery = you’re in the middle of a city so don’t expect too much. You’ve got some street art and the Tiergarten but that’s about it.

Course = pancake flat. Only issue is the constant moving from 2 lanes (or both sides of road) down to 1 which creates a huge bottle neck.

Enter the lottery for this race, go get your WMM star, and eat some currywurst.

Pick-up was super easy, with color coded bibs for which race you are doing. Small expo with a decent amount of swag, plus the ability to customize your participant shirt.

Drop off on race morning can be a bit difficult with only one entrance to the start area, so there are a good amount of people either parking there, or drop off, but there aren’t separate lines for it until after you enter the race area. Kind of annoying but not a huge issue.

Race start has you all corralled in by your start wave number and you slowly make your way up. It’s a great way to spread runners out, but maybe put the waves a little closer because the last wave could be waiting quite awhile.

Tons and tons of support out on the course from all the locals! Since you’re running with the half marathon participants, the first half can be a bit crowded before they split off. But after that, you’re coasting and having a great time passing spectators on the boardwalk.

Race medal is super cool and they’re customized to which race you ran.

Recommend this one if you’re trying to check off all 50 or just something down in NJ in April.