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Weather cooperates for 'almost perfect' Atlantic City Marathon
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ATLANTIC CITY — In the final giddy strides of his fourth marathon, Gurinder Singh became an airplane. He stuck his arms out straight and veered from side to side, slapping hands with Atlantic City Boardwalk bystanders as others laughed and cheered him to the finish.
“I was pumped up,” said the 40-year-old Wilmington, Del., resident.
The only person who was indisputably more pumped up was Brian Barry — organizer of the 51st annual Atlantic City Marathon, and winner of the weather lottery.
The race already had been postponed a month for logistical reasons, then entrusted to Barry’s employer Katz Jewish Community Center on short notice, when a punishing northeaster swept up the shore just ahead of the new date. Beaches eroded and streets flooded throughout the area, but Barry clung to forecasts that showed no rain on Sunday.
“I was really relying on the weather people to be right,” Barry said.
Luckily for race personnel and the more than 800 runners, Sunday was clear and mild, and ocean debris on the course was minimal, Barry said.
“I think it was almost perfect,” said Dug Neri, 62, of Washington Township, after finishing his 23rd marathon and his 16th on the island. “Actually, this course is one of my favorites, and I’ve done Boston, New York and Philly. The people are really nice.”
Neri said the running crowd seemed smaller, which Barry had expected after the race was postponed to a week before the competing Philadelphia Marathon. However, several runners said they ran Atlantic City for the first time specifically because they had been unable to secure a spot in Philadelphia.
“This was the most available one that was relatively close,” said Debbie Volk, of West Chester, Pa., as her husband, James, finished his first marathon.
Adrienne Rogers brought her daughter from Upper Marlboro, Md., to run her first race of any kind, after a closer race fell through.
“She did her investigation, talked to people at running stores. They said, ‘Atlantic City’s a good one,’“ Rogers said.
Wynston Stanback, a 15-year-old observer who came from Mercer County to watch his father run, noticed one problem. As the morning wore on and the Boardwalk filled with people unaware of the race, they became obstacles for the runners.
Linwood resident David Nhan, 24, didn’t encounter that in the 5-kilometer race. All four races — marathon, half-marathon, 10-kilometer and 5-kilometer — started simultaneously.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. There’s some things we know we have to work on,” Barry said.
Singh, who plans to run a marathon in each of the 50 states, found the zig-zagging course “kind of funky.” And half-marathon runner Maria Liu, 29, of Baltimore, wished there had been an additional water stop. Both runners, though, left their first Atlantic City race very impressed.
“It was very well-coordinated,” said Liu, who ran her personal best time and liked feeling the ocean breeze. “I’m thinking I’ll come next year.”
The race cost about $60,000 to operate, said Barry, who like Liu is looking to next year’s race. He’s hoping to get more sponsors, bigger prizes and more runners to raise the marathon’s profile in a competitive regional market.
Neri said he’ll be back either way: “Races with smaller crowds are better for runners.”
Contact Eric Scott Campbell:
609-272-7227
Posted in ATLANTIC CITY | TOP THREE on Monday, November 16, 2009 6:30 am Updated: 6:45 am.
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