Oak Island Marathon Review

Paula and I along with our friends Lee and Suzanne participated in the 2025 Oak Island Marathon in Oak Island North Carolina.  We flew into Myrtle Beach on Friday and drove about 80 minutes to packet pickup at the St. James Community Center.  Packet pickup was friendly and efficient.  The shirts and medals were high quality.  We were in and out in about 10 minutes.

Restaurants were limited for us.  We always try to find gluten free options.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express about 10 minutes away from the race start.  It was very nice.  The staff were very accommodating.  They allowed us to get yogurt and chocolate milk from the breakfast refrigerator because we would be leaving before they started serving on race morning.  They also provided free bottles of water and packaged cookies to all (not gluten-free).  

On race morning, we left the hotel around 5:45 for a 6:45 start time.  There was parking near the start/finish, but it was filling up when we arrived.  They had other places to park along with shuttle rides to the start/finish.  There were plenty of porta potties at the start/finish.

This was a nice size race -- not too many for the course and not too sparse to make it lonely.  

The race started winding through southern style neighborhoods.  It was very scenic early.  The course weaved between the ocean and intercoastal waterway but neither were actually visible for most of the course. 

Aid stations consisted of water and sports drink.  The first aid station was not until nearly mile three which seemed quite long.  The other aid stations were between two and three miles apart somewhat randomly but they were well stocked and friendly.  

The sun was quite bright heading to the lighthouse near mile 9.

Most of the course was pavement.  However, there was a section of the course that was on a narrow concrete sidewalk. 

The course was very flat.  It did seem like the course had an incline near mile 19.  But when we did two right turns to head back towards the finish, it also seemed uphill.  If these were hills, they were very mild.  

The only serious climb was back and forth across the causeway near mile 22.  

The finish line was full of spectators cheering us on as we completed the race.

The weather was beautiful.  It started off cool and warmed up into the 60s.  I was overdressed.  Paula had it just right.

Post race consisted of water, bananas, and the choice of either chopped barbeque or macaroni and cheese.  The barbeque was delicious.  The awards started minutes after we finished and were very efficient.  Lee finished 3rd in his age group and received a pin to attach to his medal.

Overall, this was a fun race that was well organized.  The aid stations could have been closer, and it would have been nice to have gels on the course.  North Carolina has been completed.  Praise the Lord!