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Runners gather at 8 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, at the Ocean City Transportation Center at Ninth Street and Haven Avenue. From there they run west over the Route 52 causeway, using the lanes that normally carry traffic, then drop off the bridge into Somers Point and cross the finish at John F. Kennedy Park on the bay. This year marks the race's 31st edition. Shore Local noted that 2025 was the 30th, and that Mark Soifer, Ocean City's former public relations director, started the event.

Awards are handed out at JFK Park after the last finisher comes in. That park has been under construction since last fall. Most of the funding comes from sources outside the city budget, and every one of them came with requirements. Those requirements decided where the new fencing went and why the soil had to be tested. They also explain why a waterfront property just steps from the finish line will never offer the public a path down to the bay.

What to Expect on Race Morning

All race details below come from the official Trail of Two Cities page, which Ocean City Recreation maintains.

1. Until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4: Register online through Ocean City's RecDesk site for $30.
2. Thursday, Nov. 5, and Friday, Nov. 6: Register in person or pick up your packet early for $35 at the Ocean City Aquatic & Fitness Center, 1735 Simpson Avenue. On Friday, pickup runs from noon to 5 p.m.
3. 7 to 7:45 a.m. on race day: Same-day registration costs $40, and packet pickup happens during the same window. Both are at the Transportation Center, 945 Haven Avenue.
4. 7:30 a.m.: The final bus departs Kennedy Park for the starting line in Ocean City. Somers Point residents can leave their cars at the finish and catch a ride to the start.
5. 8 a.m.: The 3.1-mile point-to-point race begins. Once it's over, buses bring runners back to Ocean City.

Registration fees are nonrefundable and can't be transferred to another runner. The money raised supports Ocean City Recreation scholarships and programs, along with the Somers Point Education Foundation.

Not racing, just heading into Ocean City that morning? Last year's road schedule gives you a rough idea of what to expect. For the 2025 event, Shore Local's traffic advisory said the inbound causeway lanes into Ocean City at Ninth Street would be closed from 7:30 to 10 a.m., while outbound lanes leaving the island stayed open. Times could change this year, so look for a 2026 advisory before planning around last year's.

A Finish Line in the Middle of a Construction Job

In late 2025, Shore Local reported that Kennedy Park's old playground equipment had been taken out to make room for an inclusive replacement. The design called for wheelchair swings, braille signs, adaptive seesaws, poured-in-place surfacing and an accessible walkway to the public restrooms. At the time, completion was expected by spring 2026.

Bids came in on May 8, 2026. Six days later, on May 14, City Council gave the JFK Park Improvements contract to Capela Construction, Inc. of Medford Lakes for $133,450. The Ocean City Sentinel reported that the contract includes fencing around the playground and a path connecting it to the restroom.

Council then approved Change Order 1 on September 10. According to the resolution, Green Acres, the state program paying for the playground, decided more fencing was needed to divide the inclusive playground from the standard one. The change added $11,250 and raised the contract total to $144,700, an 8.4% bump. The spring 2026 goal has come and gone, and the city hasn't set an opening date for the inclusive playground. When runners come through on November 7, they'll be finishing in a park that is only partly rebuilt.

Three Funding Streams, Three Sets of Strings

The work at Kennedy Park is one of three related projects near the north end of Bay Avenue, and each relies on a different type of funding.

The two Green Acres awards are similar in total, but they're structured in reverse. Roughly three-quarters of the playground funding is grant money. Roughly three-quarters of the bike path funding is a loan the city will have to pay back.

The state's requirements reach past the fence. Resolution 169 of 2026, included in the city's May 28 council minutes, states that the Green Acres grants obligate the city to test both sites for historic fill and for contaminants that could put people using the city's recreation areas at risk. That testing cost $44,500. The city got a preliminary award of $31,750 from the NJDEP Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund to help pay for it. In other words, one state fund is covering part of the cost of testing that a different state fund demands.

The third funding source is visible right from the finish line. Exceler Building Solutions LLC is putting up 23 townhouses and two single-family homes at 90 Broadway, on Great Egg Harbor Bay beside Kennedy Park. The Sentinel reported that the redevelopment agreement, approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection, gives the city $200,000 in place of public water access on that site. Councilman Sean McGuigan said $30,000 is earmarked for Kennedy Park, with the other $170,000 going toward proposed nature trails off DeFeo Lane.

Those trails sit inland, beside the former sewage treatment plant. City Engineer Greg Schneider put the cost at roughly $233,000. The plan includes parking, signs, mulch, fencing, landscaping to hide the public works yard, trash and recycling containers, and a viewing platform overlooking Patcong Creek, which will require a wetlands permit. The net effect is a trade of shorelines: the town loses a bay access point at 90 Broadway and gains funding for a creek lookout across town.

The Route You Run Connects to the Same Plan

Runners only get the causeway's car lanes on race day. Every other day of the year, pedestrians and cyclists use the Route 52 Bridge Trail, a 2.4-mile concrete path set apart from traffic. It stretches from Ninth Street and Haven Avenue in Ocean City to Shore Road in Somers Point. TrailLink lists parking at JFK Park, 24 Broadway, a few blocks from the Somers Point end, and at the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, 300 W. Ninth Street. Ocean City's public access plan also notes a scenic overlook at the causeway Visitors Center, fishing piers with parking that suits night fishing, and a 10-foot-wide walkway and bike path.

At Shore Road, the causeway path links up with the Pleasantville–Somers Point path, the same route Green Acres is helping rebuild. The Ocean City Sentinel describes it as an off-road trail built on the old Shore Fast Line rail bed, heading north through Linwood and Northfield up to Pleasantville. The funded stretch runs from Groveland Avenue to Ocean Heights Avenue. Shore Local reports the plans include benches, outdoor exercise stations, interpretive signs, landscaping and restored shelters, and the Sentinel mentions improvements to the replica trolley stations along the way.

Taken as a whole, the race finish, the causeway path, the bayside park and the inland rail trail make up a single connected route. On paper, the state program is funding it one section at a time.

Once the Awards Are Done

After the ceremony, Bay Avenue is only a short walk from the park. Northend Grill, at 718 Bay Avenue, serves breakfast and lunch and was featured by Shore Local in January 2026. A little farther down, The Anchorage Tavern at 823 Bay Avenue is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. It's too late a start for a post-race breakfast, but it's a good lunch stop once you've caught your breath.

On your way out, take a walk past the playground fence and look over at 90 Broadway. Changes along this part of the bayfront tend to appear in city resolutions before anywhere else. If you own a home near Kennedy Park or along the bike path and want to know how these projects could affect its value, Daniel Rallo and the team track Somers Point at that level. Request your free home valuation, and we'll take you through what it means for you.