The course takes you through one part of the battlefield for about 1 mile in and 1 mile out. The rest you will see farms and rural areas. There are rolling hills with only 1 hill that is brutal. I liked the course, but of course would have wanted to be in more of the battlefield. The shirt and the medal were awesome. Parking was super easy so was picking up the packet on race day. I would do this one again.

It is Philadelphia so I knew going into it that there were going to be some parking issues. I found a garage so that was easy. I have run in Philly before so the first part of this run was nice through Center City but just like all of the other runs, it takes you up through Fairmount Park and MLK Blvd which there isn't too much to look at other than the river. I would probably do the 8k in the future just because of the course. Everything was great though and I would suggest doing this race. Philly races are always a festival.

This race occurred the week of a snowstorm and then a massive rain storm right after. They had to change the course to a 4.33 up and back in which you had to run 3 times since the original course was under water. Even that part of the course there was mud everywhere. I was mentally prepared thinking this way but still the race was just a mental game knowing I had to hit those bad mud patches 6 times each. the two streams were long enough that you had to either just run through them or try to jump on rocks across. The medal and shirt were nice. I am not a fan of mudders but if you are, this is the race for you. I was told it was just as muddy in 2018 as well.

For the most part, this marathon is pretty festive along the course. The crowd is super supportive and there for pretty much most of the race. The only issue I had was parking. Luckily I was able to be dropped off before the race while my friends found a place to park which took about an extra hour or so. The course take you through all of the sites of Philadelphia and there are always runners near you so it is never lonely out there. The medal was amazing. This was also my first marathon finish so it was also something really special as well. If you are looking for a fun marathon, this would be one to do.

I had a carpool going since we were driving about 90 minutes to get to the race so race day packet pickup is always something that I appreciate. Small town feel at the University where you start. The course was probably the most difficult half that I have ever run. Luckily the weather cooperated so I can't imagine doing that course with some early October heat and humidity. The course goes through some trails before heading UP into Antietam National Park. My friend had her fitbit and it the elevation gain over the entire course was about 93 flights of stairs so be prepared to be rolling on these hills from mile 3 until the finish. Yes there are some inclines on the last mile right before you run through the football stadium on your finish. Overall, I would do this race again and I really liked it. Challenging is fun and the volunteers were really nice.