Delaware Running Festival Marathon, Half Marathon & Relay

Sunday, April 23, 2023 • Wilmington, DE • Course Map

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

Wilmington’s Christiana Care Delaware Marathon Running Festival is the state’s oldest road marathon event — the Trail Triple Crown Race is a few years older — and takes runners on an out-and-back loop course that starts and finishes along the city’s historic riverfront.

All races in the event begin at Wilmington’s Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park, located downtown near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, right next to the Wilmington Amtrak train station.

From there, those running the half marathon follow exactly the same course as the full marathon, along a loop that runs through the city’s Brandywine and Wawaset parks, along the Bancroft and Kentmere Parkway roads, and through Wilmington’s “Little Italy” district.

Those running the 13.1-mile half marathon make the course loop a single time, while those running the full, 26.2-mile marathon run the loop twice.

Flat early, hills later. Mostly flat and fast for the first three miles, which take runners southward away from the starting line to a stretch that winds along the pathways along the river, the course hits its first hill between mile markers 3 and 4, as runners are making their way past Christina Park through Wilimington’s downtown neighborhoods.

After passing through mile 4, runners cross the bridge over the river at King Street and along Glen Avenue and North Park Drive, for the stretch of the race that takes the field through Brandywine Park and past the Brandywine Zoo.

The course is mostly flat through this stretch, as runners cross the river again over the bridge just before Augustine Road, and make their way along the paved pathways through the park on the southern bank of the river.

Hills start in the second half. The course hits its first big hill as runners hit the half-way point of the half marathon route, continuing through the park until they meet up with South Park Drive and turn onto the Bancroft Parkway.

Here, runners turn left and head south along the parkway, running alongside the park median in between the two lanes of Bancroft Parkway.

There’s a downhill stretch where the elevation drops about 100 feet between the mile 10 and mile 12 markers along South Park Drive, and then the course turns south onto North King Street, which runners follow all the way back in to the finish at Tubman Garrett Park.

Race Weather & Climate

Set along the winding Christina River in the northernmost corner of the state, Wilmington typically experiences mild temperatures in April with some cool mornings, with temperatures typically ranging from the low 40s to the high 60s.

On race day (Apr. 23), the average low is 49ºF and the average high is 64ºF.

Past Results

Course Map

See the race route map for the Delaware Running Festival Half Marathon here.

Starting Time

7:00 AM

Fees

$95 – $125 for the half marathon
$110 – $140 for the full marathon
$65 – $95 for the 10K
$35 – $65 for the 5K

Registration

To reserve your spot in the 2023 running of Wilmington’s Delaware Running Festival Marathon, Half Marathon or Relay races, register online at RunSignUp.com here.

Official Race Website

www.delawaremarathon.org

Comments

Ever run in the Delaware Half Marathon? Share your impressions here, or post your review in the Comments below.

See more races in: April, Delaware

1 comment… add one

Tara March 26, 2019, 9:52 am

Hi, when does the DE Running festival 5k start? I noticed it is called a twilight 5k. It appears the marathon starts at 8:30am, but what about the 5k?

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