2018 New Jersey Marathon: Thousands flock to Jersey Shore for 22nd annual race

LONG BRANCH – The 22nd annual New Jersey Marathon brought thousands of runners and spectators to the Jersey Shore on Sunday and of all the marathon experience shared by the participants, it was a rookie who stole the show.

Running in his first ever marathon, Leif Fredericks, a 22-year-old Princeton University senior from Idaho, crossed the finish line with a time of 2:23.56 as the sun began to peak from behind the clouds on a cool, spring morning. With the finish, Fredericks, a runner on the Princeton club running team, was the first participant to finish the full 26.2-mile marathon.

“It’s kind of unbelievable, it’s amazing,” said Fredericks, who ran with five teammates from Princeton. “I love the whole marathon vibe. It’s kind of cool how the whole town is very marathon focused this weekend.”

Fredericks fought through a calf injury in his introductory marathon that started at Monmouth Park in Oceanport at 7:30 a.m. and ran through eight shore towns before ending along the Long Branch boardwalk for a scenic, ocean view finish.

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Shortly after Fredericks finished, Caitlin Phillips, a 35-year-old film producer from Brooklyn, finished the full marathon at the 2:41.43 mark and became the first female of the day to cross the finish line.

Phillips, an experienced marathon runner with 10 finished races under her belt, participated in the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago but dropped out early due to hypothermic symptoms. With the initially cool, drizzly morning transforming into a beautiful, sunny day by time she finished, Phillips did not want to call it quits early again.

“I started to struggle pretty hard with eight miles to go, and with four to go, I started to get dizzy,” Phillips said. “Obviously, the physical attrition is there, but I think it’s just trying to stay mentally tough. At the end, it’s all a head game.”

The full marathon ran through the towns of Oceanport, Monmouth Beach, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbour, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Long Branch. A half marathon, 5k, and full and half wheelchair marathons ran simultaneously.

Spectators lined the residential streets to cheer the runners on. Some rooted for those closest to them, like a young, blonde girl holding a sign that read, ‘Let’s Go Mommy!” Others offered encouragement seemingly at random, shouting reassurances or ringing cowbells.

Others found their own wacky ways to offer support to the runners. Brian Elberg, a 26-year-old high school teacher from Montclair running in his fourth full marathon, came across a spectator blowing marijuana smoke into the path of the participants on the heels of the push for legal pot in New Jersey.

“Around mile eight, some guy smoking weed blew smoke forward,” Elberg said. “We ran through a cloud of weed smoke, so that was pretty funny.”

Many participants ran with their loved ones as couples, families and friends crossed the finish line hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm. Michelle Clug, 27, from Jefferson Township ran in her first half marathon on Sunday with her friend of 15 years, Samantha Carola, 29. Carola, an Oak Ridge resident, is an experienced runner and helped Clug finish. Clug felt she wouldn’t have been able to finish the race without her close friend trotting by her side.

“Being her first half marathon, it was pretty cool to cross the finish line with her,” Carola said. “Knowing that I helped push her and that we ran the whole thing together was nice.”

As each runner made it to the finish line, they were handed light thermal blankets. With the aluminum foil-like blankets draped over their shoulders, the finishers had their choice of water, Gatorade, bananas and pretzels to help replenish the electrolytes lost on the long run.

Some finished with relative ease, and others had a tougher time, like a woman who became ill right after crossing. After a brief check up from a nearby EMT, the runner gladly accepted her blanket.

Each runner had their own motivation for finishing. Many wanted to finish with a certain time. Others, like Andy Cunningham, 39, had family waiting at the finish for them.

The Morristown transplant now living in Pennsylvania had his three children, ages eight, seven and two, eagerly awaiting their father's arrival.

“You think about your family a lot at the end,” Cunningham said. “You get a little emotional too. It’s so draining, and it’s a spiritual thing in a lot of ways.”

Some simply had the thought of the complementary ice-cold, bubbly brew offered to all finishers of age courtesy of the Asbury Park Brewery keeping them running through the cramps, dizziness and sheer exhaustion.

“Knowing there was beer at the end kept me going!” Carola exclaimed. “It tastes awesome.”

Daniel LoGiudice: @danny_logiudice; dlogiudice@gannettnj.com.