Our last race of the year is usually a big one. We start and finish the season with a full marathon. While this year’s race had a new location, we were still going to end on a high note. Controversy had dominated this race in 2015 and we just wanted to get back to our running roots and execute a race that celebrates Rhode Island.
To begin – we honored the original Ocean State Marathon by contacting the race director and asking permission to use a portion of this name. Additionally – that race incorporated Narragansett in the course and we elected to have our race start and finish in this beautiful seaside town. We created a course that had a beautiful shore line, stone bridges, quiet back roads, and the most picturesque run along the Narrow River.
To end the race – we had the authentic RI blues band – Neal and the Vipers playing as the runners rounded the last corner, we served Del’s Lemonade and Chowder at the finish and it was just a gorgeous day to have our post-race festival at the iconic Narragansett Town Beach. Our race participants were so loyal this year and we hoped that we were able to provide a race that celebrated running in Rhode Island. We are extremely grateful to everyone for joining us in our new location and we are humbled that you joined us.
A special note of thanks goes to our Rhode Crew. On race days, these guys start working at 3 am and often don’t stop until 7 pm. They do anything that needs to be done, no matter what. After the mesh banners are rolled up, the barricades are put away and the DJ has stopped bringing the runners home, the Rhode Crew still has to go back and do the dirty job of cleaning up and unloading the trucks, pushing their bodies past the point of exhaustion. They do all that is asked of them (even if we don’t ask), they do it very well and they keep us laughing the whole day. They are the most generous and kind group and we could not execute these races without them.
So to Greg, Mike, Mike, Neil, Sean, Scott, James, Riley, Kyle, Matt, Keith, and Byron – THANK YOU for another great racing season!
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