Overall Rating
Overall Rating (6 Reviews)
3.5
(6 Ratings)  (6 Reviews)
DIFFICULTY
2.2
SCENERY
3.5
PRODUCTION
3.5
SWAG
2.7
The Jersey City Road Runners (JCRR), in partnership with the City of Jersey City and CompuScore, has announced its annual Jersey City Marathon and Half Marathon will take place this April. The marathon and half marathon will be a USA Track & Field New Jersey sanctioned event on a certified … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Apr 14):
  2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
 
H (°F)  90  81  70  60  70
L (°F)  65  57  48  48  60
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Recent reviews

    brianrocknj FIRST-TIMER '23

    I ran the Jersey City Marathon in April 2023 - it's first time. It wasn't perfect, but the race has a lot of potential. The course is two loops - … MORE

    I ran the Jersey City Marathon in April 2023 – it’s first time. It wasn’t perfect, but the race has a lot of potential.

    The course is two loops – although it doesn’t follow the same exact loop each time. But it starts in downtown, goes through Liberty State park, and then meanders through the neighborhood before ending in downtown. The views from the park are great, as well as the view coming back into downtown.

    The crowds downtown were great, but the portion of the race in the park was a little quiet. This is probably due to the road closures, making it hard for spectators to get down to the park. Just be prepared for a quiet stretch.

    The course is pretty flat, although there are a few small hills coming in and out of the park.

    The start was well organized, with multiple corrals and plenty of porta potties. Things started on time.

    One major downside to the race was the parking situation. Everyone had to park in the parking garage at the Newport Mall, and it was gridlock getting in. I almost missed the race, and I heard some people were late because of it. Definitely take mass transit or stay at a hotel if you can.

    The other issue with this year’s race was that the chute at the end routed you away from the post-race party. The organizers claim this was the city’s doing, but there wasn’t any signage to make it clear which way to go. Almost no one made it to the party because of that. Hopefully they can fix that for next year.

    Other than that, the race has great potential. There was a large, fast crowd with friendly pacers.

    DIFFICULTY
    2
    PRODUCTION
    3
    My Report
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    2

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    thegerm FIRST-TIMER '23

    The inaugural Jersey City marathon was an enjoyable race and course. I do hope this becomes an annual race but also that it grows into a better event. I'll break … MORE

    The inaugural Jersey City marathon was an enjoyable race and course. I do hope this becomes an annual race but also that it grows into a better event. I’ll break down different aspects of the race and how it was organized.
    The Expo – the expo was in a beautiful location near the waterfront. But the expo was teeny tiny. There were hardly any vendors there and little if any swag for sale. I did appreciate how quickly I was able to go in/out. The area has little street parking so you may have to park in a garage.
    Race Start/Course – It was exciting. Plenty of people and we were given a proper sendoff by race officials and Jersey City mayor. It was raining a lot and it remained that way for most of the run. It was a bit packed at first, like most races, but I feel it thinned out after a mile. The course was in/around downtown Jersey City and you also go through Liberty State park and you see Statue of Liberty. There indeed were a few potholes but nothing dangerous. Also there were tons of puddles but obviously that was mother nature’s fault. The miles were properly marked. I did not see 2 or 3 of them. I don’t know if they were missing or I just missed them. Also the mile markers were a bit on the small side but nothing that bothered me. Just an FYI.
    Crowd Support – It was a mix of crowd support. Certain areas you had great support and other times it was non-existent. I am sure the rain had something to do with that.
    Stations – water/electrolyte stations were properly manned with wonderful volunteers and I never felt there were too few stations. It was perfect. I didn’t like that they used Powerbar electrolytes. It’s not something I wanted to try for the first time during a marathon. Because of that, I stuck to water. I just didn’t want to take a chance that it might mess up my stomach. So, stick to water or bring your own electrolytes. I believe they also had a gel station but since I brought my own, I don’t remember how many gel stations there were.
    End of the Race: The end of the race was exciting and awesome. Again, great support and solid volunteer work. My BIG issue with this race was the lack of post-race goodies. There was water and…well…that was really it. I mean, really? No bagels? No pretzels? No fruit? Anything? That was disappointing. You run 26.2 miles and you expect some sort of nourishment afterwards. I believe there was post-race entertainment but I did not go so I can’t comment on that.
    Conclusion- nice fast, flat course, great volunteers, decent crowd support, nice medal, Expo can be improved and post-race snacks need a mega upgrade

    DIFFICULTY
    2
    PRODUCTION
    3
    SCENERY
    3
    SWAG
    3

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    Hamsco FIRST-TIMER '23

    This was the first year for this race. The expo no thrills, could have done better with little effort. The staging area was good, but there should have been some … MORE

    This was the first year for this race. The expo no thrills, could have done better with little effort. The staging area was good, but there should have been some porta potties on the same side as the coorals. The course was flat, no thrills and you had to watch for pot holes. The finish line could have been better with little effort. Just water, no food and no direction as to where to go. I do have to say the volunteers were awesome at each water stop. Thank you to all who helped us during this rainy day.

    DIFFICULTY
    2
    PRODUCTION
    2
    SCENERY
    2
    SWAG
    2

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    Lexifer FIRST-TIMER '23

    Course was a double loop w/an out & bk, so the sights were constantly changing. Plus running by Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty round mile 5 was fun! … MORE

    Course was a double loop w/an out & bk, so the sights were constantly changing. Plus running by Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty round mile 5 was fun! Medals are beautiful & only 2nd to RunDiz (had a window that opened up). Hydration stations were on point & crowd support (despite a very rainy first half) was quite good. Would definitely do this race again.

    DIFFICULTY
    3
    PRODUCTION
    4
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    4
    My Media

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    ajd90 REPEAT RUNNER '23

    I ran the inaugural marathon. The race was decently well organized, nice flat course that was pretty interesting overall (especially views of Statue of Liberty), and volunteers/spectators were great for … MORE

    I ran the inaugural marathon. The race was decently well organized, nice flat course that was pretty interesting overall (especially views of Statue of Liberty), and volunteers/spectators were great for an early race in the rain. I imagine spectators would be even better in nicer weather. I had a huge PR so certainly can’t complain!

    The expo was painless, though the shirt is not my favorite (boring block letter design). I never saw finish snacks either, think they were in a separate finish area but should have been in the finish chute. Pretty decent medium sized marathon!

    DIFFICULTY
    1
    PRODUCTION
    4
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    2

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    scottclem REPEAT RUNNER '23

    I participated in 2023, their inaugural event. As far as I'm concerned, it went well without any issues. The course is interesting enough. The highlights for me was seeing the … MORE

    I participated in 2023, their inaugural event. As far as I’m concerned, it went well without any issues. The course is interesting enough. The highlights for me was seeing the Statue of Liberty very clearly (I even stopped on the side of the road twice to take pictures) , and seeing the skylines of NJ and NYC. I also enjoyed running through the neighborhoods of Jersey. People were friendly and cheering. Jersey people are noisy and fun. The course is flat and most of the time feels like you are running slightly downhill. There are two downsides to the course: 1) It is a little narrow for the first couple of miles so it gets congested, but this is somewhat common for city races. 2) There are many rough neighborhood roads with potholes. It was a rainy day so trying to avoid the puddles was like running a trail race. I enjoyed it, but if I were doing it for a PR/BQ time, I could see where this would not be ideal.
    note: I can’t accurately report on the race swag because I missed the expo and had to pick up my bib race morning. I got a tech-shirt which is fine. Did not get purchase anything.

    DIFFICULTY
    3
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    3

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