Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon & Half Marathon

Saturday, December 2, 2023 • Rehoboth Beach, DE • Course Map

Note: A virtual option is available for this event. Registration details are included below.

More than 2,000 runners cross the finish line each year in both races combined at Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon & Half Marathon, which marks the 11th time the event featured an individual half marathon after the previous years’ running.

The out-and-back course for the race starts and finishes along the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk, a real wooden boardwalk that spans multiple city blocks and features shop after eclectic shop along the beach.

The area’s charm helped the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk earn Reader’s Digest Magazine’s “Best of America” designation in 2006, as well as being named as one of the nation’s best places to retire by AARP in the same year.

From the starting line along the boardwalk, runners in both the half and the full marathon share the same route for the first nine miles of the race.

After about the mile 9 marker, those running the full, 26.2-mile marathon continue on into the nearby town of Lewes and into Cape Henlopen State Park, while those running the half marathon make the turnaround and head back along the route they’ve just run back to the finish line along the boardwalk.

In between these stretches, both the half and the full marathon runners get to see a combination of both residential neighborhoods along the seashore as well as more of a backcountry run, as the second half of the race takes runners onto the Junction & Breakwater Trail.

The trail is a former railroad corridor that once served as the Penn Central Rail Line ferrying passengers back and forth between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach as well as several other stops along the coast here in southern Delaware.

Runners spend about half of the overall time in the 13.1-mile half marathon route on the Junction & Breakwater Trail, running about three miles out onto the trail from the turnoff point off Hebron Road, and then back again on the return route back into town.

The race course finishes with a straightaway stretch along State Highway 1A back to the starting line area on the boardwalk.

As you might expect with a smaller size field of runners, this is a smaller race without the huge crowds and plentiful amenities that races in larger cities have, so bring along your own energy gel packets with you for the race.

However, runners who’ve taken part in the race report that it has a very friendly atmosphere, and also offers gorgeous scenery along the trail.

Runners at sunrise along the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Del. (Photo by Owen Byrne/flickr)

Race Weather & Climate

Nestled along the southern coast of Delaware, just over 44 miles southeast of Dover and just north of Dewey Beach and Delaware Seashore State Park, Rehoboth Beach typically experiences moderately cool to cold weather in the early winter season.

December temperatures average between 33°F and 50°F — on the day of the race (Dec. 2), the average low is 36°F and the average high is 51°F — while precipitation amounts average just over 3.6 inches for the month.

Past Results

Course Map

See the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Half Marathon course map here.

Starting Time

7:00 AM

Fees

$75 – $175 for the half marathon
$100 – $200 for the full marathon
$65 – $80 for the virtual half marathon
$75 – $100 for the virtual full marathon

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon or Half Marathon race, register online at RunSignUp.com here.

Official Race Website

www.rbmarathon.com

Comments

Ever run in the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments box below.

See more races in: December, Delaware

4 comments… add one

Dr. John Jennings October 19, 2020, 8:34 pm

will this race occur ? thank you drj

Reply
Queta Perry November 21, 2017, 7:46 am

I am registered for the full and need to drop down to the half. I don’t see how I can do this on your website. I will pay the cost to do this. Please provide me the information. I understand there are still slots for the half.

Reply
Janet Staats November 14, 2015, 8:00 pm

Before I register for the 2015 Rehoboth Seashore Marathon, I’d like to know why you are charging (penalizing actually) women $10 more for a tee shirt that fits them rather than forcing women to settle for a mens shirt which doesn’t fit. And you charge women the same entry fee???? Please don’t give me the quantity price story…… just charge women $10 less for the entry fee.
Not fair!!

Reply
Michele Lerner November 8, 2015, 3:30 pm

Hi- is there a medal for this race?

Thank you!
Michele

Reply