Run Oak Island Marathon

I ran this beautiful local course with the hopes to BQ. The packet pickup was well organized, parking was easy, and the start was promptly at 6:45 am (huge pet peeve of mine when races are late). We had ideal marathon weather and no issues with wind. The scenery was amazing and the volunteers were helpful. However, at Mile 8, there was one tiny change between the half and full marathons. At the turnaround, there was an unclear sign for the full marathon to turn before the stretch of cones, rather than keep going for the half marathon racers. It was the size of a standard paper that had blown in the wind and I only noticed it because I had turned my head fully 90 degrees to read it. Not seeing any runners turn at that spot, I continued with the half runners and ended up tacking on an extra .2 to my race. By the time I realized my mistake, I lost my morale to compensate for the additional distance. Mega bummer. I just signed that the sign was visible, clear and maybe a volunteer to point it out. Also, watch out for various “fake flats.” While I did PR, it was not the time I had been hoping for.

The medals are quite exquisite I must say!! They're the size of license plates.

There is one fairly steep bridge at Mile 22/23.

This marathon is part of a multiple event day -- there's also a half, a 5 miler, and a 1 miler. The marathon starts 15 minutes before the half and does not come back to the half course until mile 13.5 of the marathon, so only the fastest marathoners are likely to catch up to the slowest of half-ers. I'm a back of the pack-er (was last through mile 9), and so it was fairly solitary, but beautiful running until an out-and-back at mile 5 finally let me see folks in front of me. But even while running alone, there were some volunteers at some intersections and signs to cheer me along, and beautiful views of the intercoastal waterway marshes. The out and backs at mile 5-7 and 7-10 (to just past the lighthouse and back) were nice opportunities to see other runners and cheer each other on. The portion of the course that is along the main road -- E Oak Island Rd -- is run on the sidewalk for good reason. Otherwise, the roads are either very lightly traveled (back in the neighborhoods) or have a good shoulder/bike lane with much less traffic. For the out and back across the bridge (mile ~21-23 if I remember right), runners get the shoulder with or without the inbound lane, with cones marking where runners run out and come back (we stayed to the left always). My race-day shirt is neon orange, and while I'm always thankful for bright colors on/near roadways, the course was quite safe and drivers were courteous.

The weather race day this year (2019) could have been awful -- a week before they ere calling for rain all day, temps barely getting into the mid-40s, and winds from the west at 16-20 mph. Fortunately, things settled in -- temps steady in the upper 50s (yay!), light rain fell for only about an hour-plus (by which some fast folks were already done), with winds only 7-8 and from the SW or SSW. How much it affected you depended on where you were on the course. The "out" from mile 13.5 to mile 19 runs due west, and because it's close to the beach has little wind break (the dunes are pretty eroded, and the houses not close enough to the road or close enough together from about 13.5-17). That's exactly where I was for the time it rained, and it wasn't the best running weather I've ever had, but I stayed grateful that it wasn't nearly as bad as I had been preparing for. A cross-wind is way better than a head wind! A sunny day would have made for hot running -- probably only the first 5-7 miles would have been shady. Since it was 70 degrees and sunny the day before the race, I was thankful it wasn't hot, too!

But the race organizers are prepared for folks to dry out -- there are water/gatorade stops every 2 miles or so, which is frequent for a marathon. I suspect that many runners underestimate how much the wind dehydrates you, and on a sunny day, it would definitely be a double whammy. Great race, great BBQ at the finish (even for slow folks!) and a 7 hour limit. Would definitely do it again.

Hydrate!!!

Chain hotels are off the island, but rental houses abound. We stayed within walking distance of the start/finish.

This is a small, no frills marathon. I actually drove past the start b/c I was looking for a place with lots of cars! Obviously easy to park at the start/finish with no traffic delays. The roads are open. Instructions before the countdown were to run facing traffic, use sidewalks when available and call 911 if you have a medical emergency! They had manned water stations but very few spectators to offer encouragement along the course. If you're a solo runner wanting a new PR, this may be a good option as the course is flat except for crossing 2 bridges. There are 4 turnarounds on the course, each with foot pads so they did a good job of reviewing finisher's and DQ'ed those who cut the course.

Easy, no traffic drive to start with ample parking. Running with hydration would be a good idea as the water stops were not too plentiful. You'll probably run alone most of the course.