Tighter Security and All, 2013 New Jersey Marathon a Success

The 2013 New Jersey went off without a hitch Sunday morning with over 11,000 participants in the half and full marathons.

Race Director Joe Gigas said there were just over 3,000 full marathon participants, a number that has grown over the last few years.

Oz Pearlman, 30, of New York, won the marathon for the third time with a time of 2:28:23. Finishing behind Pearlman was Eddie Valentine, 33, of Arlington, VA, with a time of 2:36:35.

The top finishing female, Elizabeth Drews, 43, of Warren, finished with a time of  3:00:11.

Red Banker Harley Lefkowitz, 42, finished the half marathon in 36th place, out of the thousands running, with a time of 1:26:34. Click here to see how other Red Bank and Shrewsbury participants fared.

"It was a great day, and we had great weather" Gigas said. "We had a small army of 1,400 volunteers putting it all together."

That number does not count the number of paid law enforcement officers in place for this year's race, which featured tighter security because of last month's tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

Spectators were not allowed to bring bags of any type to the starting line at Monmouth Park or the finish line at the Great Lawn in Long Branch.

"We turned a few people back, but for the most part, people listened and it was easy move to this type of security," Gigas said.

For full race results, click here.