Ocean State Rhode Races Marathon Reviews

  At the mercy of the weather

By Billy D about 2019

Review

Nice small town marathon. Scenic ocean views, coastal neighborhoods, and rural back roads. The weather was picture perfect on Saturday, unfortunately the race was Sunday. A steady, cold rain, to go along with 40 MPH sustained winds made things a bit less enjoyable than they could have been. I was still amazed by the enthusiasm of the volunteers even with the harsh conditions. Cool finish running towards the towers, and there was a good sized tent to shield runners from the elements as they came off the course.

Race Tips

I assumed running along the ocean would be fairly flat. Wrong. It was a hilly start through mile 5, a big climb at mile 18, and the last one between 24 and 25. My garmin had me over 1,000' elevation gain. Start conservative. I passed about 6 runners by mile 16 that flew by me at mile 6. You're gonna need a little extra at the end to get over the last hill.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

I stayed 10 minutes away and got dropped off at the beach no problem. Lots of parking spaces early, however the half marathon gets about 600 people, and starts a little later so they do fill up closer to the 7:30 start. Plenty of port o potties that were pretty clean. Bring your own bag to check, its pretty relaxed with that.