I was a pacer for this race and so was given a comped entry as a pacer.

Unfortunately, the race this year landed on a very hot and humid late-April day! I was the 2:30 pacer and although I tried, I came in just short of reaching my goal. I do enjoy this race, though. Here's a breakdown of my ratings:

T-Shirts/Swag: I loved the pace shirt, but the race shirt seemed about average. I like it, but it doesn't really stand out. I have not worn it yet, but it feels a little thick. The medal was nice!

Aid Stations: On such a hot and humid day, I would have liked to have seen more aid stations. At the first one, they were pouring water into the cups from a pitcher as we were at the stop, but after that, the aid stations were fine.

Course Scenery/Elevation: The beginning and end of the course are awesome -- the course starts at Assateague Island State Park and goes over the Verrazano Bridge (the only real hill on the course) up Route 611 before turning toward Ocean City. The race finishes on the Boardwalk. So, the beginning and end would be a "5" rating for me, but I rated the course a "4" because the middle isn't especially interesting. There is a nice pond in a neighborhood that we went through. Overall, it's a very flat course.

Parking/Access: For this race, runners park at or near the Ocean City Inlet and take a bus to Assateague — it is a point-to-point race. This does mean an early wake-up call, but the buses went smoothly and my group and I didn't have to wait in line to get on one. Then, I was really close to my car at the end. Our group did have to pay $8 for parking when leaving the Inlet parking lot.

I didn't have any problems with the race management. I knew all the details that I needed to know and the race went smoothly for me, aside from heat issues.

Runners were able to get a beer, a piece of pizza, water and other snacks (granola bars, bananas) post-race. The after-party is in the Inlet parking lot, right by the beach in Ocean City!

I also did this race in 2016, and the weather was totally fine! I think 2017 was kind of an off-year for heat on this date.

To read my full blog post, go here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/04/30/a-tough-race-to-pace-the-hot-ocmd-island-to-island-half-marathon-2017/