The Trail of Two Cities Finishes at a Kennedy Park Still Being Rebuilt

At 8 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, runners line up at the Ocean City Transportation Center at Ninth Street and Haven Avenue. They head west on the Route 52 causeway in the lanes normally used by cars, then come off the bridge into Somers Point and finish at John F. Kennedy Park on the bay. This is the 31st running. Shore Local reported that 2025 was the 30th, and that the race was created by Mark Soifer, Ocean City's former public relations director.

The awards ceremony takes place at JFK Park once every participant has finished. Since last fall, that park has been a work site. Most of the money for the work comes from outside the city budget, and each source came with conditions. Those conditions are why the new fencing is where it is and why soil testing took place. They also explain why one waterfront property a few steps from the finish will never have a public path down to the bay.

Race Morning, Hour by Hour

All logistics come from the official Trail of Two Cities page run by Ocean City Recreation.

1. Through 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4: Online registration on Ocean City's RecDesk site is $30.
2. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5–6: In-person registration and early packet pickup cost $35 at the Ocean City Aquatic & Fitness Center, 1735 Simpson Avenue. Friday pickup hours are noon to 5 p.m.
3. 7 to 7:45 a.m. on race day: Day-of registration is $40 and packet pickup runs the same hours, both at the Transportation Center, 945 Haven Avenue.
4. 7:30 a.m.: The last bus leaves Kennedy Park for the Ocean City start line. If you live in Somers Point, you can park at the finish and ride over to the start.
5. 8 a.m.: The point-to-point 5K, 3.1 miles, gets underway. Buses take runners back to Ocean City after the race.

Entry fees can't be refunded or transferred. Proceeds go to Ocean City Recreation scholarships and programs and to the Somers Point Education Foundation.

If you're driving to Ocean City that morning rather than running, last year's schedule is a useful guide. For the 2025 race, Shore Local's traffic advisory said inbound causeway lanes into Ocean City at Ninth Street would close from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Outbound lanes off the island stayed open. This year's closure times may differ, so check for a 2026 advisory before you rely on last year's.

The Finish Line Sits Inside a Construction Contract

In late 2025, Shore Local reported that the old playground equipment at Kennedy Park had been removed for an inclusive rebuild. The plans included wheelchair swings, braille signage, adaptive seesaws, poured-in-place surfacing and an accessible path to the public restrooms. That report said work would finish by spring 2026.

On May 8, 2026, the city received bids. On May 14, City Council awarded the JFK Park Improvements contract to Capela Construction, Inc. of Medford Lakes for $133,450. According to the Ocean City Sentinel, that work covers fencing at the playground and a path linking the playground to the restroom.

On September 10, Council approved Change Order 1. In the resolution's words, Green Acres, the state program funding the playground, had "determined that additional fencing is required to separate the inclusive playground from the regular playground." That added $11,250, bringing the contract to $144,700, an increase of 8.4%. The city has not announced an opening date for the inclusive playground, and the spring 2026 target has passed. On November 7, runners will be crossing a park that is partway through its rebuild.

Three Sources of Money, Each With Conditions

The Kennedy Park work is one of three linked projects around the north end of Bay Avenue. Each draws on a different kind of money.

The two Green Acres awards are close in size, but the financing runs in opposite directions. About three-quarters of the playground money is a grant. About three-quarters of the bike path money is a loan, which the city has to repay.

The state's conditions show up beyond the fence line. Resolution 169 of 2026, in the city's May 28 council minutes, says the Green Acres grants require the city to check for historic fill at both sites, to look for "any potential contaminants that could be harmful to residents or visitors utilizing the City's recreational amenities." That analysis cost $44,500. The city received a preliminary award of $31,750 from the NJDEP Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund to cover part of it. So one state fund is helping to pay for the testing that another state fund requires.

The third source is the one you can see from the finish line. Exceler Building Solutions LLC is building 23 townhouses and two single-family homes at 90 Broadway, on Great Egg Harbor Bay next to Kennedy Park. The Sentinel reported that under the redevelopment agreement, which the state Department of Environmental Protection approved, the city receives $200,000 instead of public access to the water on that property. Councilman Sean McGuigan said $30,000 of it would go to Kennedy Park. The remaining $170,000 would go to nature trails proposed off DeFeo Lane.

That trail is inland, next to the old sewage treatment plant. City Engineer Greg Schneider estimated the cost at about $233,000. The plans include parking, signage, mulch, fencing, landscaping to screen the public works yard, trash and recycling bins, and a viewing platform over Patcong Creek. The platform needs a wetlands permit. In effect, the deal moves public access from one shoreline to another. The town gives up a path to the bay at 90 Broadway and gets money for a creek overlook on the other side of town.

The Path You Run Is Part of the Same Plan

Race day is the only time runners get the causeway's car lanes. The rest of the year, walkers and cyclists use the Route 52 Bridge Trail, a 2.4-mile concrete path separated from traffic. It runs 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 lists a scenic overlook at the causeway Visitors Center, fishing piers with parking that works for night fishing, and a 10-foot-wide walkway and bike path.

At Shore Road, the causeway path connects to the Pleasantville–Somers Point path. That's the route Green Acres is helping to rebuild. The Ocean City Sentinel describes it as an off-road trail on the former Shore Fast Line rail bed, running north through Linwood and Northfield to Pleasantville. The funded section runs from Groveland Avenue to Ocean Heights Avenue. According to Shore Local, the plans include benches, outdoor fitness stations, interpretive signs, landscaping and rehabilitated shelters. The Sentinel describes upgrades to the replica trolley stations along the route.

Put together, the 5K finish, the causeway path, the bay-side park and the inland rail trail form one connected route. On paper, the state program is paying for its pieces one at a time.

After the Awards

When the awards wrap up, Bay Avenue is a short walk away. Northend Grill, at 718 Bay Avenue, serves breakfast and lunch. Shore Local profiled it in January 2026. Farther along, The Anchorage Tavern at 823 Bay Avenue lists daily hours of 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. That's late for a post-race breakfast, but it works for lunch once you've cooled down.

Before you leave the park, walk past the playground fence and look across to 90 Broadway. The changes to this stretch of bayfront show up first in city resolutions. If you own near Kennedy Park or along the bike path and want to understand how these projects factor into what your home is worth, Daniel Rallo and the team follow Somers Point at that level of detail. Get your free home valuation, and we'll walk you through it.