Experience a scenic race course that takes you throughout historic downtown Wilmington. “The course has a lot of variety, and gives visitors a tour of many of the most interesting and beautiful parts of the city,” said one past participant from Pennsylvania. The Delaware Marathon Running Festival races travel across …
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Experience a scenic race course that takes you throughout historic downtown Wilmington. “The course has a lot of variety, and gives visitors a tour of many of the most interesting and beautiful parts of the city,” said one past participant from Pennsylvania.
The Delaware Marathon Running Festival races travel across beautiful Brandywine Park on the Brandywine River, along prestigious parkways, through historic neighborhoods of Wilmington and past downtown’s Rodney Square. Choose from a full marathon, half-marathon, 10K or 5K. Non-runners can join us at start/finish line at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park for a great party with live music, vendors and activities for the whole family.
We believe this is your best chance to run a certified 26.2 mile road marathon in Delaware! We are a USATF certified Boston Marathon Qualifier and historically 10%-12% of our marathon runners have qualified for the Boston Marathon.
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Meh
Rather disappointed with this race. To begin, ran past the port-a-potties and then through decrepant side streets before getting to the main part of the course. The first half of … MORE
Rather disappointed with this race. To begin, ran past the port-a-potties and then through decrepant side streets before getting to the main part of the course. The first half of the course was mostly through beautiful neighborhoods. It was quite hilly. Marathoners break off from the half right around mile 13, so you hear the celebratory finish line as you are heading into the second half of your race, which can be demoralizing. Second half of the race is a flat out and back along a paved trail. Very little crowd support. Rather boring. Around mile 21 or so you veer off the trail into a random neighborhood for a half mile loop and then back on the trail. I finished in about 4.5 hours and the finish line was already breaking down. A friend finished at 6 hours and I had to open boxes to get her post-race snacks (no volunteers were around). Rather disappointing. Would not run again.
Great course & production; bad run by me
I came into this severally undertrained due to some illness and life. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this event. My first half in Delaware with a familiar race organizer, Corrigan Sports. … MORE
I came into this severally undertrained due to some illness and life. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this event. My first half in Delaware with a familiar race organizer, Corrigan Sports. I’m bias and love all their events! This was part of my Big Freakin Deal Challenge with the organizer. My favorite portion of the race was running along the river in the park. The start and finish location in the park next to the river was a really good vibe. A couple craft beers is always a must and they had those on deck for all the finishers.
Next year I’ll train better and run for a decent time.
Well run marathon for Delaware
This race in Delaware was well-organized, but the start was crowded with runners from the half-marathon and 10K sharing the same route. The first half of the marathon included a … MORE
This race in Delaware was well-organized, but the start was crowded with runners from the half-marathon and 10K sharing the same route. The first half of the marathon included a challenging climb into Tower Park around mile 6, but the downhill stretch from miles 10 to 13 made up for lost time. The second half of the race followed a popular trail for 6.5 miles out and back, with mostly flat terrain but a challenging bridge over the river. The course was slightly longer than expected according to GPS (+0.50 miles), though usually, I’m only around +0.25 to +0.35. Weather conditions in 2024 were favorable, but rain could make boardwalk sections slippery. Packet pick-up and the start were convenient, located within walking distance from hotels along the riverfront.
Enjoyable race in Delaware
Good communication/instructions emailed prior to race weekend. Packet pickup is very small and easy, literally you just get your shirt and bib in the park where the start/finish is. One … MORE
Good communication/instructions emailed prior to race weekend. Packet pickup is very small and easy, literally you just get your shirt and bib in the park where the start/finish is. One con of race day was that the runners for the 10 km, half marathon, and marathon all started at the same time so the first mile was SUPER congested with lots of walkers. The second half of the marathon was on a boardwalk/trail which was quite scenic, however it was a open course so there were walkers/joggers/bikers at times so I have to weave around folks a bit. Otherwise the course was fine, I enjoyed that there were some out and back stretches where I could cheer on the leaders and simply marvel at folks who are much faster than me. Plenty of aid stations, mostly with water and Gatorade, a few stops had snacks. There wasn’t much crowd support but the people who were cheering were enthusiastically loud and encouraging, and the other runners were also very quick to give compliments and spur one another on.
Overall, I’m glad I did this race and recommend it if you’re looking for a marathon in Delaware!
Eh....
I came out with my son who did the 10K. It ended up being fairly hot during the course. It started out mild temps. I just was not thrilled with … MORE
I came out with my son who did the 10K. It ended up being fairly hot during the course. It started out mild temps. I just was not thrilled with the scenery and the course. I felt like we were out in the hot sun way more than we needed to be without a lot of shaded areas for relief. I definitely got dehydrated and felt a little like death when I finished. It is a small race, so I did not have to walk too far to get back to hotel to rest. It was a nice area, and quaint. easy race logistics. Medals and shirts were middle of the road.
Unexpectedly beautiful course!
*Communication from the race directors pre-race was very thorough and appreciated. *Expo on Saturday at the park was non-existent...just packet pick-up and race merch. I much prefer this, however. I … MORE
*Communication from the race directors pre-race was very thorough and appreciated.
*Expo on Saturday at the park was non-existent…just packet pick-up and race merch. I much prefer this, however. I don’t go to races to shop…just in and out with my bib. Shirts were nice…long sleeve Under Armour
*Parking was available in garages, but the lines to enter were long (I found free on-street parking)
*Race started promptly at 7AM
*Start area was very crowded and the first few miles of the race were very congested (if you are looking to BQ/PR, line up in the front). Maybe they should consider starting the 10K runners at a different time than the half/full?
*Aid stations are minimal (water/gatorade), but sufficient.
*Course is rather scenic with lots of shade. The first half goes along the river/stream and the 2nd half goes out of town along the riverwalk, then through a nature preserve area and on a flat bike trail.
*Course is not difficult and mostly flat. There are a few inclines in the first half, but nothing too terrible.
*Post-race food/drink was typical (water/gatorade, bananas), but the 2 Dogfish beers were much appreciated!
*Overall, this was a well-organized race that was unexpectedly beautiful in places. My expectations going in were rather low, but this race surprised me. I’m glad I chose this one for my Delaware race!
Beautiful Course, No Frills
This was my second half marathon. The course was beautiful. Challenging (had it's share of inclines) but not what I would consider overly difficult. The scenery was great. A lot … MORE
This was my second half marathon. The course was beautiful. Challenging (had it’s share of inclines) but not what I would consider overly difficult. The scenery was great. A lot of winding paths through trees and forest, local neighborhoods with beautiful houses, there was even a waterfall!
The aid stations were bare bones (water and gatorade), but were spread out evenly on the course. Only two stops had snacks and they were just ok (bags of chips/pretzels or bananas).
The packet pick-up was super basic. Maybe I set myself up with high expectations … the first half marathon I ran in had a runner expo with vendors selling running gear, snacks, etc. This was just packet pickup and some shirts available for purchase (which were mostly leftovers from previous years).
The “after party” was also just ok. We got a granola bar, cowtails, and more chips. There was also Truly/Dogfish drinks available for runners. I wish there were more vendors or something, I would have hung out longer.
Overall, I would totally do this race again, just go in with the expectation that it’s very basic in terms of “swag”. 🙂
Great Race
Corrigan puts on great races, if you see them associated with a race, it will be well put together. Can be cold, but typically warms up during the race. The … MORE
Corrigan puts on great races, if you see them associated with a race, it will be well put together. Can be cold, but typically warms up during the race. The route is through Wilmington DE, mostly in the nicer areas. Course is not difficult going through parks and neighborhoods. Nice long sleeve UA shirts, great snacks, cold beer, and nice medal. Worth doing at least once, and many times if you live locally.
Organization a little rough
The expo was very small with only a couple vendors. It was not worth looking around at all because it was so small. Only one of the vendors actually had … MORE
The expo was very small with only a couple vendors. It was not worth looking around at all because it was so small. Only one of the vendors actually had running stuff for sale, the other was chic-fil-a. The course did not seem very difficult although it was basically a slight uphill the first half the race then downhill the second half. Being close to the front of the pack the entire race, I saw that there were not enough volunteers at some points to direct people. There was a couple times where the people a little ahead of me did not know which direction to go because there was a gap between them and the next small pack. There was a water stop about every 2 miles which was very nice. The swag consisted of a black long-sleeve shirt which is a nice material, maybe a little bit thin though. It also seemed a little plain because it just had the name of the race essentially in bold letters. The medal was nice and the inspiration coin is unique, however the coin is super difficult to remove from the medal.
Good Race around scenic river trails
Enjoyed the race with good course of flat and hilly in first half. pros Expo is simple and only for Bib collection lots of parking near expo and race start. … MORE
Enjoyed the race with good course of flat and hilly in first half.
pros
Expo is simple and only for Bib collection
lots of parking near expo and race start.
closest parking to race start/finish
Scenic first half with river, hills and good neibourhood parks.
the second half is straight river trail with wooden bridges and some folks felt difficult to go straight for 6.5 miles and come back
Good medal and reasonable crowd
good Aid stations all over
cons
expo is very minimal
course is off at least quarter mile
Great scenery, great after party!
a lot of crossovers and a few out and backs made the course kinda weird, but the scenery was fabulous! loved that the start/finish line was in walking distance of … MORE
a lot of crossovers and a few out and backs made the course kinda weird, but the scenery was fabulous! loved that the start/finish line was in walking distance of the host hotel.
Fun Race, tale of 2 different halfs
Terrible Expo - only 2 vendors First 13 were hilly but really fun. Not the biggest fan running past the finish line for half marathon. The final 13 we're very … MORE
Terrible Expo – only 2 vendors
First 13 were hilly but really fun.
Not the biggest fan running past the finish line for half marathon.
The final 13 we’re very boring and long, no fan support and just an out and back. Love running on the water which was great, but just a “meh” race.
The medal was pretty cool though.
My race experience
The medal is super cool, and it even has a special token that you can give to someone who has inspired you to run. The course is very well marked. … MORE
The medal is super cool, and it even has a special token that you can give to someone who has inspired you to run. The course is very well marked. The scenary is so beautiful. I would definitely recommend this race to everyone. I will definitely be returning for the full marathon
Rough year for this race
It is really hard to rate this rate. I'm incredibly grateful to all the race directors and organizations trying to put on races during this challenging time. I know that … MORE
It is really hard to rate this rate. I’m incredibly grateful to all the race directors and organizations trying to put on races during this challenging time. I know that no race director or organization wants chaos, but this race, this year, experienced more than its fair share of chaos!
The race moved from original April date to June (without a lot of notice). The start time change several times. The course changed several times (including just a few days before race day). The biggest deal, of course, was the changing of events. I originally signed up to run the 5k Saturday night and the half marathon on Sunday. They moved the 5k to the same time as the half marathon and didn’t offer refunds to runners who were now signed up for two races at the same time. So it became a $60 virtual race (ouch). Luckily, I was always signed up for the half this year as the full got cancelled a few days before race day. I felt bad for those runners.
Course was out and back mostly flat course. Only a couple of points where we had to cross an active road, but there were police and volunteers there to keep the runners safe.
Expo was outside and small. Easy bib up. Race shirt was a long sleeve technical tee. Nice race medal.
I stayed at the race host hotel, which was close to the start/finish. Everything is close to the Amtrak station so this is a very convenient race for travelers.
Loved the Race! Not the Drama!
This is a really hard race for me to rate. This was an excellent half marathon, easily in the top 25% of races I have done but there was so … MORE
This is a really hard race for me to rate. This was an excellent half marathon, easily in the top 25% of races I have done but there was so much drama between Corrigan Sports (the race company) and the city of Wilimington preceding the race that is really left a sour taste in my mouth and made it hard to fully recommend this race. This race was initially scheduled for the end of April. Early to mid-March we received an email that the race didn’t have the permits. They said they were still working with the city and would have a decision by April 1 but would likely delay the race to late May/early June. They are a reasonable race company and offered everyone the option to defer or go virtual at this point given the uncertainty. One thing I didn’t like is they still kept registration open and the website said the race date was in April. This information about not receiving the permits was on the race page but if you quickly signed up for the race you may not have seen it. They should have paused registration at this point. I assumed the race would be postponed and my schedule was full except the weekend of June 12 to 13 so my fingers were crossed that that would be the date they would choose. On March 31, we received notification the race was indeed going to be postponed to the date I wanted June 13! Along with being my only open weekend, one of the races I was considering that weekend 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut was the day before and only 45 mins away so it would be a perfect double and my favorite baseball team the Yankees happened to be in Philadelphia this weekend. The universe was really on my side here. At some point in April or May they announced a few changes including switching the 5K to a twilight 5K saturday evening and an earlier race start at the request of the city of Wilmington. Awesome! Since I am a crazy human being I realized I could do 3 races in a weekend 3 weekends in a row if I did the Saturday 5K. The earlier start would also give me more time to get to the Phillies game after the race. A little under a month before the new date, they announced they got the permits. Yes! At that point I pulled the trigger and signed up for the twilight 5K on Saturday. However about 2 weeks before the race they tell us the city of Wilmington decided the 5K should actually be on Sunday and that they should go back to the later 7am start. Ugh so I wasted money on a expensive 5K I then had to run virtually (the swag is excellent for the 5K though would be worth the expensive price tag for a live race). This already seemed a mess with Wilmington flip flopping their decisions about the 5K and start time and should have been a sign things would get worse. Then 4 days before the race, they announced that they had to cancel the marathon because they city of Wilmington couldn’t provide enough police support and the half course was changing from the usual course throughout Wilmington to an out and back on the Markel trail. What?! 4 days notice. Not cool! Especially since this is a race 50 staters travel all over the country for. They also forgot to close registration for the marathon for 24 hours. Thankfully I was signed up for the half marathon. I absolutely cannot see this kind of drama happening with some of the more organized race companies I have run with such as Millennium and Yellow Jacket Racing. To be fair to this race company, they realized what a terrible thing this was and did offer full refunds to marathoners even though their initial policy was no refunds. There were also a ton of very negative comments on facebook and the race company didn’t delete them and instead gave very professional responses. Still I was very not impressed. I can’t imagine this actually came out of nowhere. They had to have some clue the city might do this. Even if you want to give the race organizers the benefit of the doubt (which as I said before I usually do), this race company clearly doesn’t have the most foresight and is definitely not as organized as others. For instance, the city of Rochester is absolutely capable of pulling this kind of thing, so Yellow Jacket Racing pre-emptively moved their April race to June in a park to a course that didn’t require police or street closures and canceled their full marathon in the fall to ensure the half can happen. This race should have just canceled the marathon in April and switched the half to the Markel trail then. It would have been disappointing but better than announcing it 4 days before. Anyways I did not have high expectations leading into this race but was just keeping my fingers crossed the race would actually happen so I could get a new state and finish the mid-Atlantic region. I stayed at the host hotel the Double Tree in Downtown Wilmington the entire weekend. Good choice especially for half marathoners as it is about 1/2 mile away so you can walk and has noon checkout so plenty of time to shower after the race. Packet pick-up is the day before or you can have it mailed. I thought about having it mailed so I could spend the day in Philadelphia Saturday but after having to switch the 5K virtual I did not want to give this company more money. Packet pick-up was easy. It was not really an expo but the bib pickup was efficient and you could buy race gear. The people at packet pickup were very friendly and helpful which put me in a better mood for the race. The shirt is also a nice quality long sleeved under armour shirt in a nice dark red color. The design is a little simple but it says Delaware pretty big so good for a 50 stater. Since this is one of the biggest races in Delaware there was a lot of members from my 50 state half marathon club which made it extra fun. I walked to the race start with some of them who were also staying in my hotel. Race start was excellent and smooth and made me completely change my negative attitude. The race area had plenty of porta potties and was easy to navigate. The start had runners assigned a different color corral by pace and then had a pretty normal start. Start was smooth, quick and also well spaced. The course along the Markel trail was actually quite nice especially the first 2 to 3 miles along the riverfront and through some wetlands. It is all paved or a boardwalk. It is quite flat and easy except a bridge. The original half marathon course seems a little more interesting but hillier. I believe the second half of the marathon goes along this trail. This would be a nice way to end a marathon. There were self-fill aid stations throughout with jugs of water as you had to carry water but there were volunteers at the stations if anyone needed help. It was a simple course but there were mile markers and the relay portion which was the most complicated part seemed well organized. It was a little tight on portions of the trail which is why they said they couldn’t just have marathoners do it twice and I can see why that would be the case after running the course. It wasn’t the most exciting course but I really did enjoy it. Finish line was quite exciting and they call out your name as you pass the finish arch. I had a very good finishing time for this being my second half marathon in 2 days and reached my goal of beating yesterday and having a “negative split” for the weekend. Although this was a much easier race than yesterday, the only difficulty was it was very humid although temps again not bad for June. You are handed your medal and there is also water bottles and gatorade. The medal is very large and the ribbon is distance specific. I like that they have a magnetic challenge coin you can give to someone who helped you train as part of the medal. There was a large selection of post-race snacks including chips, bananas, cow tail candy, crackers, applesauce and multiple choices of different types of snack bars – fruit and grain, granola or protein (I chose the traditional granola bar)! I had to eat lunch at the baseball game since there wasn’t enough time in between and there was plenty of food to hold me over until then. There were also a choice of a local beer or a non-local hard seltzer if you drink alcohol. The start and finish in a park is nice to hang out at before or after race. This was an excellent race and I don’t think a race that is an out and back along a public trail could be done much better than this. After all the drama, I thought I would not want to do another race with Corrigan Sports but I have decided I am willing to give them another chance given how well this race was done. After I participated in the race, I genuinely think the Race Company was pretty blind sided by the city. This was clearly a very runner friendly race and the race company clearly cared about the runners from what I saw race day. I still have a hard time strongly recommending this race as the city of Wilmington does not seem to support the race very much and I would still be cautious about signing up for races by Corrigan Sports (they do several mostly in Maryland including Baltimore Running Festival) especially this year and especially a full marathon but I will give them a chance and do another one of their races in the future. Overall this was an excellent weekend in the Philadelphia area. I just wish the Yankees played better.
Thoroughly enjoyed, hilly though
I ran this half being not trained up due to work and knee issues. I am glad that I did not skip it though because it was a beautiful race. … MORE
I ran this half being not trained up due to work and knee issues. I am glad that I did not skip it though because it was a beautiful race. I loved the scenery from starting in the Tubman Garrett waterfront park, to running along a river with a few waterfalls/spillovers, and seeing ducks out swimming, to the neighborhoods and the lovely homes with pristine yards. If you like a race with spectators, this would not be for you. It is a beautiful, serene event. This could be because it starts at 7 am on Sunday. There are a few spectators and some people out in front of their homes cheering you, one couple was out with small boxes of raisins, many were out walking their dog. This did not bother me. I am not a fast runner and so that is why you do not see “race” here. I am mindful of my pace, but I am not anywhere near fast, so I enjoy my surroundings and take a few pictures. This race had free pictures, nice snacks at the finish, and was well organized. Corrigan does very well with this and are very responsive when you have questions. I opted for bib pickup same day, so I can not speak about the expo, which I would have loved to have gone to, but I live in Md and there was no way I could drive 2 days in a row, and I did not want to spend for a hotel. I suffered a little because I had to get on the road by 4 am, but parking was super easy and they did not charge a fee to pick up race morning. You just have to sign up for it and get there between 5:30 and 6:15. I parked at the host hotel and walked to the start, straight shot down the street no more than 10 minutes. No one was out! I thought I was in the wrong place or something because I am so used to having people to follow to the start…lol. There was also parking pretty much right at the start in the train station garage and another garage. I am glad I opted for the hotel because there was no line or anything to get out and with your race bib, it was only $5 the whole day. There are corrals for the start based on your pace, there were no pacers, and there was a full marathon and 5k and a kids 1 mile. The only thing I did not like was that the course doubles back past the start/finish at around mile 2 or so. I would have really hated this if I had been running the full because both courses share the 13.1 miles, which means you have to pass the finish TWICE if you run the full. Some parts of the course, especially turns, could have been marked better, one time I almost screwed up and probably would have been disqualified or would have had to double back to pick up the correct part of the course. And let’s not leave out hills! Not sure if I felt them more because of lack of training, but there were multiples! The bling was ok, nothing out of the ordinary special…it has a bottle opener…but nice. The shirt is nice and I thought their other gear for sale was nice with good logos. I wore one I purchased to the gym the next day. All in all, a nice time, I met a couple of really nice people, one lady was running her first 5k and just came up and started talking. I am glad I did this event even though it was a struggle.
Small marathon with mostly flat course
The folks associated with the race are quite nice. Production is fairly decent considering the size of the marathon field (less than 500 marathon runners). COURSE: Mostly flat. Two half … MORE
The folks associated with the race are quite nice. Production is fairly decent considering the size of the marathon field (less than 500 marathon runners).
COURSE: Mostly flat. Two half marathon loops. LOTS of turns on the course. I didn’t find them to be adequately signed. And, running at 5:45, some of the volunteers were gone by the time I hit miles 20+. And the run was opened earlier than I believe that they had stated. That, for me, was the deal breaker. I actually had to wait at multiple lights during the last mile.
No real expo. Same t-shirt for all – Marathon, Half-Marathon, and the Marathon Relay teams. Beer glass and hat were added swag.
Finisher medal is nice. The finish line festivities included adequate – and decent – food and beverages (champagne plus beer).
Two-looped, varied course
I ran this race the day after a half marathon, so the rolling terrain tired me out more than usual. I'm not a big fan of two-looped courses because they … MORE
I ran this race the day after a half marathon, so the rolling terrain tired me out more than usual. I’m not a big fan of two-looped courses because they generally mess with my head — at the start of the second loop, I felt far more tired than I should have been. However, it was a very nice course, which went from riverwalks to neighborhoods, zoos and downtown Wilmington. The medal was so-so, but the t-shirt and pint glass made up handily. There are only two big marathons in Delaware that I know of, though I would probably recommend that 50-staters try the HALF marathon in Wilmington. Double loops are the worst.
Two loops in Wilmington
I was looking to squeeze in another marathon. In retrospect, I should have chosen Rehoboth, but this was convenient and fit my schedule at the time. Two loops, humid, long … MORE
I was looking to squeeze in another marathon. In retrospect, I should have chosen Rehoboth, but this was convenient and fit my schedule at the time. Two loops, humid, long hill, ran smart, and enjoyed a good sampling of beer at Iron Hill, which was right along the walkway by the water on the race course.
Good with some hills
Hills, Back of the pack friendly. There is a marathon at the same time. Small race, small expo. Loved the pint glass swag. The marathon was two loops of the … MORE
Hills, Back of the pack friendly. There is a marathon at the same time. Small race, small expo. Loved the pint glass swag. The marathon was two loops of the half marathon.