Your plan in four answers
Ocean City Running Festival is on November 14, 2026, under four weeks away, so we have set next year's race in November. Change the date below if you are running this one.
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon, 5 miles, 5K
- Terrain
- Flat
Course
The Ocean City Running Festival course
The marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. from the Inlet parking lot at the southern tip of Ocean City, right on the Atlantic, and crosses Isle of Wight Bay into West Ocean City. From mile 2 to mile 25 it is an out-and-back to a turnaround at Assateague State Park, across the bay from the mainland, before the return leg recrosses to the island and runs nearly a mile of the famous boardwalk to finish back at the Inlet.
Read the full course notes
The half starts at 9:15 a.m. at Assateague State Park's Day Beach lot (shuttle only, no parking) and runs the last 13.1 miles of the marathon route. The 8K and 5K start at the Inlet, run Baltimore Avenue and North Division Street, then go under the Boardwalk arch and up the boards to turnarounds at 27th Street and 15th Street. The roads are coastal and flat, with the bridge crossings as the only real climbs; time limits are 6 hours for the marathon, 4 hours for the half and 2 hours for the 8K.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Marathon, Half marathon, 5 miles, 5K
- Weather on race day
- Mid-November at the Maryland beaches is usually cool, around 40–55 °F at the start, and wind off the ocean and the bays is common on open stretches and bridges. Dress in light layers you can shed, and expect to work a little harder into the wind on one leg of the out-and-back.
What to train for
This flat coastal course is built for steady pacing, so marathoners should build to 18 to 20 mile long runs with the final 6 to 8 at goal pace, and half marathoners to 11 to 13 miles with the last 3 at goal pace.
Add short hill repeats or bridge or overpass repeats once a week (6 to 8 x 60 to 90 seconds) for the bay crossings, which come late in the race on the way back.
Practise running into a headwind by effort on an exposed route, tucking in behind others when you can. The long out-and-back can feel mentally flat, so rehearse breaking it into segments in your long runs.
Sample week
A sample Ocean City Running Festival training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 mile at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 6–7 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 10 mi with 6 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–18 mi, the last 4 mi at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Ocean City Running Festival
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Ocean City Running Festival (Marathon) in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Ocean City Running Festival training questions
How long should I train for the Ocean City Running Festival?
Most runners give a marathon sixteen to twenty weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the Ocean City Running Festival course hilly?
Flat. The marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. from the Inlet parking lot at the southern tip of Ocean City, right on the Atlantic, and crosses Isle of Wight Bay into West Ocean City.
What is the weather usually like at the Ocean City Running Festival?
Mid-November at the Maryland beaches is usually cool, around 40–55 °F at the start, and wind off the ocean and the bays is common on open stretches and bridges. Dress in light layers you can shed, and expect to work a little harder into the wind on one leg of the out-and-back.
When should I start tapering for the Ocean City Running Festival?
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Do I need an account to get a Ocean City Running Festival training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.