RunAPalooza! Asbury Park, NJ
Seaside Heights, NJ
- Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Jersey Shore Relay is comprised of teams of 1 to 5 members running from Seaside Heights to Asbury Park, NJ on an awesome 26 mile ocean front course along many boardwalks and past scenic venues. The Asbury Park Half Marathon starts and finishes in Asbury Park and runs through … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Apr 11):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 65 | 44 | 68 | 75 | 59 |
| L (°F) | 44 | 40 | 49 | 42 | 37 |
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Beachfront Race Could Be Amazing
13 of my friends and I came to this race for Maryland. A few of us did the marathon, one person did the half marathon, and five of us did … MORE
13 of my friends and I came to this race for Maryland. A few of us did the marathon, one person did the half marathon, and five of us did the relay.
Registration for the race was a piece of cake. Then… Came the emails. Email upon email upon email. Logistics, reminders, info about bibs, more info. I stopped checking every email because they were coming multiple times a week.
Reading over the relay information made my eyes cross! Directions were provided, but no maps. Not having been to the area before I was riddled with anxiety trying to think how we would get to all of these stops. No shuttle? That’s unusual for a marathon relay.
The day of the race comes and we are told that our start time is 8:30. We arrive only to find that the relay started at 8 AM and one of our teammates might be disqualified? All of us had a reminder that the race started at 8:30 for the relay and the marathon. The start locations for the half marathon and the marathon and the marathon relay were different? Again, we’ve done many relays, and never experienced this.
There were absolutely no mile markers so you had to rely on your own knowledge of where you were in the race at any given time. There were porta potties at the different relay stations, but they were not visible and off to the side. Very little signage as to the direction you were supposed to go. There were long swaths of time where I was by myself, hoping that I was going in the right direction. No Gatorade, as promised in the advertisement but a few water stations.
The swag? Creepy! Although the fit is superb, the graphic design is terrible. I don’t think I will ever wear this shirt. Or maybe that’s the appeal? No clue.
By the time we were done the race, things were getting cleaned up. We felt rushed to grab our swag, grab some snacks, and we totally missed the band. As we grabbed swag, the woman leading the shirt effort was rude and was seemingly bullying other women and was downright nasty. I get that it’s a long day, but this race is making a good deal of money and I’d love to not be sneered at when I ask for the shirt that I purchased.
See the scenery… Stunning! I so enjoyed trotting along the boards. We ran through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods I’ve ever seen. Five stars!
Overall, this can be an incredible race. But needs much better organization, more support throughout the race, and more than a five hour time limit.
Lots of room for Improvement
My friends and I did this race together even though we were doing different distances. We had a group of 5 do the relay, 3 of us doing the full … MORE
My friends and I did this race together even though we were doing different distances. We had a group of 5 do the relay, 3 of us doing the full as a single team, and one doing the half. First off, the half was in a completely different area so be sure to note that if you hoped to run together. In terms of the Marathon, we were told to show up between 7-8am with a start time of 8:30. Well my whole group showed up at about 7:45. There were only 4 porta potties at the start. We figured out we were supposed to “check in” (even though we were mailed our bibs), and as soon as we did our relay team members were told they were supposed to start at 8am?!! What? Why? We had no idea that was supposed to be the case. The 3 of us that were running the whole marathon had planned to run with our relay team friends, and now that first member was rushed off to start her leg with no time to warm up and get herself situated. And was told if she didn’t start at 8am, the team would be disqualified!!! And yet, when she ran out to start, the volunteer had told her she was not on the “list” and could not start yet…. so she goes back inside to check and they had obviously had some kind of mix up… she’s added back to the list and rushed back out to run. We were so angered right off the bat. That was not part of our plan for this race. We wanted to run together. No idea the relay team had a different start time.
Then for the 3 of us running the marathon, we started at 8:30 with everyone else. No chip time at the beginning. So start “line” from what I saw, just “GO!”. We ended up finding ourselves in the back of the pack pretty early on… but by mile 10ish we had volunteers following us around and taking the signs down as soon as we passed by. Kind of humiliating, even if they gave us a cheer or two. I don’t think I saw a single other porta potty on the course (apparently they were set off the course a little bit near each exchange point, however after the first exchange point, we were far enough behind that we never noticed another exchange point. There was NO clear signage. WORST of all they had removed all the water stops after about mile 10. I guess we so far in the back that they didn’t want to wait around for us to get there. I mean, we were running a marathon, we DEFINITELY needed those hydration stops. Not to mention even the first few we saw, there was ONLY water, no gatorade as advertised. We were told there was a cut-off, which we were more than ahead of that cut-off until about the last mile or two, so we SHOULD have still had all the same amenities (water/gatorade/porta potties) as everyone else. ALSO, there was not a SINGLE mile marker. NOT ONE! Why? I don’t understand. Such an inexpensive way to motivate everyone and give them reassurance they are on the right course, etc. So cheap to have a mile marker, so why not add that!?
As we got close to the cutoff we had a volunteer on a bike that was following us to tell the other volunteers where we were. My friends doing the relay made us aware that they were already cleaning up and breaking down!!! We still hadn’t passed the cut-off! So frustrating, thinking we might get a DNF when we hadn’t hit the cutoff yet. One of our friends was asking the timers to please keep it up and that we would make it. They assured her they were. But meanwhile snacks and the tents had all been packed away. When we finally arrived (a few minutes over the 5.5hour cutoff) there were a few cups of water left on a table. Then we had to walk over (and were told we needed to hurry up and get over there) and pick up our shirts and medals from a tent. That is when we realized they had mostly closed up shop at that point. Honestly it was humiliating. I completely understand if being a “small” run club race, but I belong to a small run club that hosts races, and it can be a fun experience for everyone even on a tight budget. My last two complaints is that the members of the relay team were not able to see their split time because it is not chip times (only the last member gets a chip). And lastly there are no shuttle busses or anything to get people from one leg to the next. Everyone is on their own for transportation. I truly believe the race can be great if they can clean up the organization, have volunteers that are willing to stick around until the last few people cross, and add some few things (like mile markers) they could make it a great race. The scenery was pretty, a lot of time on the boardwalk and running in neighborhoods with HUGE houses, and the weather was amazing. Plus a VERY flat course. So there is a LOT of potential here. But PLEASE make those improvements. This turned out to be the worst race I’ve ever run because of these things.
An enjoyable race by shore
Course: Flat. Tight at the beginning and end and a few spots in between. Three out-and-backs…good for seeing friends who run at different paces. Still has 9 unique miles. Nice … MORE
Course: Flat. Tight at the beginning and end and a few spots in between. Three out-and-backs…good for seeing friends who run at different paces. Still has 9 unique miles. Nice running along the beach and on the boardwalk.
Swag: Nothing special. Typical medal and tech shirt.
Production: Very responsive to all emails. No morning of pick-up for bibs so we had to get it mailed. One person forgot theirs, and they accommodated. No bag drop mentioned on website, but it WAS available.
Top Tier Event
Everything about this event was stellar. Race production was great, plenty of aid stations, flat USATF certified course, and a great medal and t shirt. Can't ask for better scenery … MORE
Everything about this event was stellar. Race production was great, plenty of aid stations, flat USATF certified course, and a great medal and t shirt. Can’t ask for better scenery than the beaches and houses of the shore.
Flat Course - Nice Setting- Free Pics!
Setting was really good. Course could be improved, smoothed out for first two miles. Enjoyed running the Seaside Streets and Jersey Shore boardwalk. Originally I had written that the swag … MORE
Setting was really good. Course could be improved, smoothed out for first two miles. Enjoyed running the Seaside Streets and Jersey Shore boardwalk. Originally I had written that the swag was low budget. I’m revising to note the organizers offered free pics for download. This is the best swag – free pics! Every race should do this- it’s free advertising. I’d also recommend adding a chocolate milk sponsor for post race refreshers.
Would suggest a name change to Asbury Park Running Festival or Jersey Shore Running Festival. Clown logo doesn’t do the event justice.
Fast and smoothly run race
I really enjoyed this race. Signage every few miles, certain parts were very scenic, started on time, not too many participants (under 2500 finishers). Medal doesn’t say date or distance, … MORE
I really enjoyed this race. Signage every few miles, certain parts were very scenic, started on time, not too many participants (under 2500 finishers). Medal doesn’t say date or distance, if you’re into that. Long sleeve technical shirts are given. The only two cons were some parts of the race were narrow walkways that were shared with runners going the opposite way, and the tent to get your shirts, water and bananas was a bit far from the finish line.
Some good, some not as good
First, I want to say that this race had to be suspended for two years due to Covid. The medals say 2020 on them. A few people were upset about … MORE
First, I want to say that this race had to be suspended for two years due to Covid. The medals say 2020 on them. A few people were upset about this, but I have no problem since I am sure the medals were ordered well before they were forced to cancel the race.
The two things I was not thrilled about for the race was running on the boardwalk and the finish line, postrace amenities.
I know running on the boardwalk is part of the identity of the race, but the boardwalk is not closed to other traffic and there were places where I had to run around groups of people blocking sections of the boardwalk. In addition, when you cross the finish line all you received were cups of water. You had to walk to the Berkeley Hotel to get your shirt, medal, and postrace food. The hotel is only about .25 mile away so that wasn’t a big deal. However, the room where you received your swag and food was kind of small for this. There was not much of a postrace spread. Bananas, oranges, some small snacks, and water. No gatorade, chocolate milk, beer ;-(. I am going to write this off as a cost saving measure due to being canceled for two years? Also, I know the organizers were still asking for volunteers almost to race day. So that might have also been part of the issue. I like to get together with other runners after the race and this did not provide much of an opportunity to do so.
The scenery was ok. Mostly neighborhoods for the first 8 miles until you reach the boardwalk. The last 5 miles are along the beach. Of course, being near the beach it was very windy.
I liked the shirt (nice having a shirt that fits and you can wear) and the medal was fine. The communication from the organizers was excellent. Constantly sent updates and information. I imagine this race was probably better pre-covid and will return to its previous reputation in the near future.
For out of towners, staying at the Berkeley was convenient. You can walk right out of the hotel to the starting line. You have to pay for parking everywhere in
Asbury Park but it was cheaper to pay for parking on the street than for parking at the hotel.
Flat course by the ocean
A really great half marathon race. The course starts by the convention hall in Asbury Park. It’s a super flat course on roads and finishes the last 5-6 miles on … MORE
A really great half marathon race. The course starts by the convention hall in Asbury Park. It’s a super flat course on roads and finishes the last 5-6 miles on the boardwalk. You can see the ocean a lot of the race so a very pretty view but it does have the out/back course which can be boring to some people. Spectators were scattered along the course but very prevalent at miles 0,2,8,13. Lots of energy. Well managed race with lots of porta potties and regular bathrooms near the start. Swag was a nice dry fit long sleeve shirt and also nice quality towel for top 3 M/F in your age group. I thought this was a very fun and well organized race with opportunities for great PRs.
Comic Sans font on race shirts lol
Pros: -Extremely flat. Very easy PR course. The only challenge is the monotony - you do a few out and back loops, so it seems like you see the same … MORE
Pros:
-Extremely flat. Very easy PR course. The only challenge is the monotony – you do a few out and back loops, so it seems like you see the same thing the entire time, aside from a couple of random neighborhoods.
-Pace groups, even though it’s a small race
-Ability to sit/chill inside of the nearby hall before the race
-Plenty of porta potties with short lines before the race
Cons:
-Water is on one side of the course, which makes for a lot of clusters of people during the out and back portions, since there were runners going both ways
-Boring course until the boardwalk portion, but even that gets dull because of the out and backs
-Post race party wasn’t great. Finisher shirts were very Microsoft Paint looking, and there wasn’t any food. It also smelled terrible with all of the finishers in a crowded hall picking up shirts.
-Parking was dicey. I was fine because I got there early, but there are only a couple of nearby lots. Most options are street parking in the neighborhoods near the start line.
Don't count NJ out!
Unfortunately for the state of New Jersey, it has a reputation nationally, and it's not a good one. You don't hear of anyone going on a dream vacation to the … MORE
Unfortunately for the state of New Jersey, it has a reputation nationally, and it’s not a good one. You don’t hear of anyone going on a dream vacation to the Garden State. Sadly, many will never know the delightful pockets of interest in the state, Asbury Park being one of them. Runapalooza, an event that hosts a marathon, half marathon, and relay, showcases one of the most magnificent destinations in the area. Runners get a 13.1 (or longer) tour of the decaying glory and current revitalization of Asbury Park, the crown jewel of the Jersey Shore in the early 1900’s. Devastated by Hurricane Sandy and years of neglect, this scrappy beach town is fighting it’s way back, and runners get a chance to witness it’s progress on foot. This race will likely look very different in 10 years, and the race will without a doubt continue for many years thanks to the event’s magnificent scenery, stellar organization, and easy course. For more information about race swag, finisher medals, post-race party, accommodations, places to eat, and photos of it all, visit https://www.serialrunner.com/half-marathon-race-recaps/asbury-park-half-marathon.