A little getaway within a getaway in Cape May

This weekend, my boyfriend and I ran in the Ocean Drive races, he the marathon, and me the 10 miler.

The key for both of us in picking a place to stay the night before was quiet. We lucked out.

In January, I took advantage of the Cape Resorts annual one-day sale where you have 24 hours to snag a deal at either Congress Hall or the Star Inn.  

I’d never stayed at the Star Inn, but I figured why not. Rates were cheaper than at Congress Hall, and it was half a block from the starting line of the race. For $139/night, it looked like a good deal (though they did require you to book at least two nights).

Turned out to be a great move. 

The Star Inn is small. It only has 21 rooms/suites, which meant the place was quiet. Our suite also came with a small kitchen and a living room with plenty of space for us to stretch pre- and post-race. I love Congress Hall, but it’s a busy place, and the wedding being held in their ballroom the night before the race appeared to be a rowdy one. If I’d been woken up at 2am by a drunk, shrieking bridesmaid the night before a race, I wouldn’t have been a happy camper. Not so at the Star Inn. I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, and stayed that way until the alarm went off the next morning.

Plus, if you’re staying there in season, you can also use the facilities at Congress Hall – the pool, the cabana service. Anything their guests get, you get too.

So keep this one on your list of places to check out if you’re booking a Cape May stay.

And two quick recommendations about the race – if you’re not a runner, you can click away now:

1. Start chip timing. It’s silly to not offer chip timing when you’re promoting a Boston Marathon qualifying race. Not only does this create a shoving match at the starting line since everyone wants to cross it as quickly as possible, but it also means recorded finish times are inaccurate. I should not have had 10 seconds added to my time because the finish line of the 10 miler and the spot where the official recorded my time are yards apart. It’s 2012. Even 5ks are chipped. Get going on this.

2. No more plastic cups. I ran into an out of town runner who was fuming about the use of plastic cups at the water stops. Runners pinch paper cups at the lip so that we can drink and run at the same time. Can’t do that with plastic.