The Martha’s Vineyard Marathon was the first marathon that I have ever run. I was originally training to run a marathon in the Fall of 2018, but my training partner suggested we get one in during the Spring as a test run before our Fall marathon.

The race as a whole is a great, well put together race. The course has beautiful scenery and really highlights the best of Martha’s Vineyard. The main problem with the race is that it occurs during the Spring and presents a potentially mixed bag of weather. When I ran, it was cloudy, a bit chilly and during half of the race it rained. This made for a miserable, and not so scenic or enjoyable run. I really wanted to run this again, but wasn’t sold on making it a priority because of the possibility of not getting good weather again.

As a my first marathon I was thought I was running amazingly well. I felt like I was fueling great, running at a perfect clip and didn’t feel like I was going to slow down at all. Unfortunately, right around the half way point I could feel my IT band start to tighten. This was a first for me and I had no idea what this meant. I told myself that I’d push through any kind of tightness or pain. What I didn’t realize is that with the IT band, it becomes impossible to push through that kind of pain and only make the injury worse.

Eventually, the pain was unbearable and I had to walk the last 5-8 miles. It was at this point that it started to rain and since I wasn’t running anymore my body temperature dropped. I was super cold, wet, in pain and I really, really wanted to quit. But, I couldn’t bring myself to quit and honestly, my time was pretty decent considering.

Total Time: 4:21:38
Pace: 10’0” min/mi
Place: 199
Division Place: 21
Bib #: 304

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From the Website

Martha's Vineyard is an amazing island located south of Cape Cod, famous for it's natural beauty with miles of beaches; walking, hiking, and biking trails. Check out Oak Bluffs history, shop in Edgartown and explore the whole island's undeniable charm. A summer playground for all ages. Now you have a reason to make this bucket-list destination race your "RUN-CATION". Martha's Vineyard offers 2 beautiful courses for the relay, half and the full marathon that showcase this amazing island in Massachusetts. Both the full and the half marathon are relatively flat with a few gentle rollers in the full marathon. Whether you're trying to qualify for Boston or just want to run a beautiful race, see why Martha's Vineyard is so famous and a spend a few extra days pre or post race. A destination favorite!

HALF MARATHON
(USATF Cert #MA16037JK) 6 HOUR TIME LIMIT

The Half Marathon starts at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School and runs the first 2 miles with the marathon and a total of 3 miles through the middle of DCR Manuel Correllus State Forest and pass the airport. Then left on Edgartown road on the paved bike path for 5 miles. Then left again, along Beach Road over the famous "JAWS" bridge with a finish in beautiful Waban Park in Oak Bluffs.

MARATHON
Boston qualifier (USATF Cert #MA16036JK) 6 HOUR TIME LIMIT

The Marathon starts at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School and runs the first 13 miles through DCR Manuel Correllus State Forestthen right down through Edgartown on Meeting House Way to Atlantic Drive. Then left up Katama Rd through the quaint town of Edgartown with a finish on Beach Rd, over the famous "JAWS" bridge with a finish in beautiful Waban Park in Oak Bluffs.

2-PERSON HALF MARATHON RELAY
The 2-person Half Marathon relay starts with the rest of the race at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. Runner #1 will start at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School and runs the first 5.3 miles of the half marathon course. Runner #1 will hand off to Runner #2 at Water Station F where Runner #2 will run the remaining distance 7.8 miles to the finish line at Waban Park. Vans will transport runners from the transition area to the finish.