Growing up in New Jersey many of us spent our summers down the shore (that’s right the shore NOT the beach) and for me there wasn’t anything better than exploring the shore towns of Asbury Park, Avon, Belmar, and Spring Lake. So it’s safe to say that I’m a little biased when it comes to my review of the course for Asbury Park Half Marathon, but, childhood memories alone don’t carry you through 13.1 miles, so read on and learn how my day went.

Living in Philly it’s not a terribly long trip to Asbury Park, so after setting an early alarm to account for traffic and the fire drill that is packing up a one year old to spend any time outside we got on the road with coffee in hand (key component pre-race). The trip was pretty uneventful and we got there with time to spare before the start, however, walking over I noticed the line for the bathrooms was at least twenty people deep (note – go early or stop on the way into the city).

After a brief warm up I was feeling good and looking on track to put down a PR (sub 1:40) based on my training times up to this point. As the pre-race announcements began I noticed the wind picking up but didn’t think much of it, it’s an ocean front race – of course there will be wind I thought (that would come back to me big-time around mile 4).

Before I knew it the gun sounded and we were off on the first mile on Ocean Avenue passing the iconic Wonder Bar and the Stone Pony. The first mile felt great and even though I was starting out a little too fast I knew if I slowed up a little on the way back I’d be back on track. As we finished the quick loop and began heading back up Ocean Drive I saw my cheering section comprised of my wife and my son who were both cheering loudly for me. It was here that I shed my throw away shirt and got the reminder to slow down from my wife, who a stronger half marathoner than I am, so I listened (just don’t tell her that).

As I heeded the good advice I noticed the wind picking up, was I slowing down or was I about to get blown all the way down to Cape May? For the next few miles the races weaves through the boardwalk and the backstreets of Deal with turn offering its own unique take on headwind which was met by a few grumbles from my fellow racers (I thought this was odd – runners never complain right?) Anyway, despite this headwind things were still going alright, but as we approached the turnaround I felt myself struggling to keep pace. I attributed this to the wind and told myself that it would all sort itself out once I got the tailwind on the way back.

All of this sounded great in theory and I actually started back towards Asbury Park feeling strong and passing people along the way. However, I noticed that the further along I got the worse my stomach was beginning to feel. Think positive – you’re fine I told myself, and for a while I was just fine, even looking good for a few pictures my wife captured of me. As I passed her at the 7 mile mark she subtly let me know that it was time to pick it as the fast out and back on the boards was up ahead, which was just what I wanted to hear as I love running the boards.

However, as my pace picked up so did whatever was going on in my stomach and I thought, Houston, we might have a problem here! As I weaved my way towards the boardwalk I began looking for a bathroom as a preemptive measure to avoid a real problem. Looking around there was nothing at all, the boardwalk bathrooms were closed and I had passed all the port-o-johns a mile back – uh oh!
Getting on to the boards around mile around mile 8 made things feel much more settled and while the idea of an emergency bathroom break faded what didn’t was the pain in my stomach which seemed to only get worse until I was eventually walking along doubled over. Trudging along watching my PR slip away to be replaced with stomach pain, the kind that feels like someone hit you in the guts with a hockey stick for fun (I’ve seen stranger things in my home state of NJ), I realized that today wasn’t going to be my day.

Just after mile 9 I found myself tearing off my bib and stumbling off the boardwalk to begin the slow march back to the start, my day was over. A DNF is never anything that you strive for as a runner, but, sometimes things happen and that is the nature of racing and learning your limits and how to push past them.

Despite not being the day I wanted for myself Asbury Park is nothing short of amazing to race. The course is spectator and runner friendly (despite the wind) and you get to sample some of the best the Jersey Shore has to offer. I would highly recommend turning up the Springsteen and getting in on this fast, flat course down the shore, you won’t be sorry.