Emily Wedlock's Staging Area

I’m sorry if you’re looking for a review of the Monterey Bay Half Marathon Ocean Bay Challenge. I was in Monterey during the week and there were no CA runs happening so I created my own virtual race complete with swag from Challenge in Motion. Read on if you’re traveling to CA and want a runners course that is similar to the official Monterey Half. I started at Lovers Point Beach and followed the Pacific Coast Trail to Asilomar Point for a total of 5.09 miles on 6/11/24. The trail is well populated up until that point, which is where I turned around, but you could continue all around the coast even up to Pebble Beach if wanting to do a full marathon up and back. Expect trail run conditions – a mix of asphalt, sidewalk, boardwalk, dirt and sand. The views are breathtaking, plenty of ocean wind, and my time was slower than usual because I stopped to take so many pictures of the views. I’m not particular about my 50 states runs. After running over 80 races, I’m still counting this run unless I can make it back to CA again. I ordered a virtual medal and ran with it, taking pics to document my CA run. When I returned home I realized you can also run Monterey as a virtual run on many treadmills with the exact views I saw in real life. Running Monterey on the treadmill after the fact allowed me to see the rest of the coast I didn’t run while in CA due to it being less populated and not wanting to run that alone. I would definitely return to Monterey for the official race if given the chance!

I had chosen this race for 2022 to check WV off my 50 states list as if never been to the Greenbrier, thought it would be a cool Mothers Day race-cation, and the swag/post race brunch looked awesome but had to defer to 2023. The 5k/10k/half swag was the exact same – shirt/medal design and size/glassware. Not like your usual race where the higher the distance the better the swag so you could pay a lot less for the 5k and get all the same swag/lodging & activity discounts. No incentive to run the longer distance by offering better or different swag as seen from in other races (I’ve run over 80). The shirt & medal literally featured a picture of the hotel lobby not the exterior of the historic hotel/golf courses/mountain views/bridges that you actually ran by/through. Had me wondering if any actual runners were on that design committee as what runner wants a hotel lobby on their medal? Especially when it’s a 50 states medal collection. The $59 brunch (+fees) was falsely advertised as featuring gourmet options, but there was no meat option, no hot tea, and half the food options were gone and not replenished for Half finishers. 5k and 10k runners got better food and what they got was not gourmet by any means. I’ve been to way cheaper hotels that include continental breakfast with lodging and the Marriott for example was waaaaay better than this “incredible Champagne Brunch on Mothers Day.” They did have unlimited mimosas and beer and take away boxes so you could load up more food to take with you but for $59 (x4 since I had my family there) I’d expect at least some bacon or bagel options, but really should have gotten a carving station with multiple meat options, omelette station, and dessert station after I’ve spent $240 on brunch and ran 13+ miles. Also my gps/Apple Watch and several other runners also noted we ran over at every mile – mine totaling 13.27 miles The only reason I would run any of the Greenbrier races again would be for the lodging/activity discounts so that my husband could enjoy playing the 3 golf courses which were the best feature of the course – running on the cart path with the views of the mountains and beautiful homes on the course. The first 10 miles were great with lots of water/Gatorade stations (no fuel options though) but the last 3 miles were torturous hills winding through the neighborhoods of the property. I attached pics of the 2022 vs 2023 medals and the falsely advertised brunch options at $59/person + fees. The brunch is included in your registration but if you’re traveling with your family/non runners I say drink your alcohol while you stretch after running, fill up to go boxes with the yogurts/kind bars/muffins etc and bring to your room to keep for the drive home then meet your people at another restaurant so that everyone eating can feel they didn’t get robbed of a gourmet brunch – Drapers probably being the cheapest option on property that’s open for lunch but theres also the secretly lower priced main lobby bar menu with plenty of seating no reservations required. For dinner the Forum is your cheapest option there because everything is already at a ridiculously inflated price there to help preserve the historic property that is outdated and not worth the full price. There is a shuttle option to stay off property but I do recommend staying on property at the runners discount and taking advantage of all the other discounts they have race weekend, including the bunker tour and horseback riding. This race was also my absolute worst time for halfs (I’ve run 14 I think? ) due to the humidity 60 degree start 74 degree finish and 600 foot elevation gain those last 3 miles but I wasn’t running for a PR just trying to check WV off my 50 states and hadn’t been able to fully train due to injury one month before. It happened to be overcast with threat of rain so it would have been even more brutal had the sun been out on the course the whole time.

This was a great pick for my 50 states list. The race hub was at Bally’s, which is where I stayed and loved this convenience. I could see the start/finish from my room and simply walk to/from both and packet pick up without worrying about parking. Lots to look at while running – Boardwalk hotels/casinos/mansions/shops/Ferris wheel/tourists/and of course the bay, marina and the beach. We left the Boardwalk to run around the Borgata and hit some highway, tunnel and bridges where there were some inclines and street smells. You do run by the finish around mile 9 which is discouraging since you keep going and don’t turn around to head back to Bally’s for what seems like forever. I agree that the Boardwalk running is different on your feet, and you have to pay attention. Plenty of food at the finish. Great medal, so so technical long sleeve, and finisher towel (although I read some people didn’t get one). Was hoping for more merch at packet pick up but there were slim pickings even though I was there during the first hour. When I left, the line was ridiculous. I did like how their shirts featured all runners names from all 4 races, just wish I could have bought that style in a technical tank or other option. If I could plan it again I’d make time to shop off the Boardwalk and make dinner reservations and time to hit the Borgata. The location of the race is in the older, less updated part of AC so keep your expectations low. FYI there’s no wait at the bar at Rainforest Cafe which you can walk to from Bally’s, and their food is always great!