New Jersey Marathon to Run as Scheduled

The New Jersey Marathon will continue at the Jersey Shore this spring, but some changes may be made to the annual event.

Organizers have announced that the full marathon, which highlights the series of events scheduled for May 3 to 5, will take place as scheduled, and that they are working on a program to give money back to the local community in an effort to Restore the Shore as it continues to recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

This has already begun with fundraising promotions at events owned and operated by US Road Sports, which operates the marathon, in Palm Beaches and Miami.

The race has adopted the theme “We are on! Are you in?” to emphasize its resolve to conduct the weekend's festivities and help in the region's recovery efforts.

The race starts at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, winds through eight towns, including Monmouth Beach, Deal, Allenhurst, Lock Arbour, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Long Branch. 

Race organizers say it is still unclear whether changes may need to be made in the race course because of the damage some of these towns sustained during the hurricane. The race course often takes runners over boardwalks, and many of them were affected.

Organizers say they have begun to survey the route and hope to make decisions "as quickly as possible."

“We expect to work with the eight communities which host our courses over the next few months to reestablish certified routes for our 2013 event,” race director Joe Gigas said. “We will keep the public informed as we work through the process, as quickly as circumstances allow. We greatly appreciate the concern and support we have received to date from many across the state and the country.”

The weekend-long event features a full marathon, half-marathon, half-marathon relay, three-mile fun run/walk, kids race, and other events for children and their families.

Registration for all events, course views (when finalized), information about volunteering and sponsorship and details of the entire weekend of activities and more are available at the race web site at www.NJMarathon.org. 

The New Jersey Marathon is administered by US Road Sports & Entertainment Group, which conducts road races nationwide.