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.

This is my second time doing this race. I had done the Marathon the year before and opted to do the Half this year. Much better experience this time around. There were aid stations every 1.5 miles and this time had the gels around mile marker 7. The after party was great with a lot of food to eat. The medal was one of the nicer ones that I have earned in the past. I had a much more positive experience this time around. Parking was easy as usual and the people were friendly. The only downside is that the course is quite lonely until you get close to the boardwalk.

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.

Let me start by saying that this was my second half marathon, but I traveled to get there mostly because of the historical aspect of the race. It's claim to fame is that it is the oldest half in the United States and named for a delegate in the Continental Congress. There were maybe about 800 runners combined in the 5k and the half marathon. The 5k group went first and the half marathon runners went 10 minutes later. The first 6 miles were relatively flat taking the runners though some interesting areas of Wilmington and along a river. The second half was all hills with a nasty steep incline the last .25 which was the steepest incline of them all that led to the finish. The aid stations were great as they were about every 2 miles. The race so super organized and they served pizza, fruit, and all sorts of food at the end of the race for free. I would run this one again even with the nasty hills at the end of the race. There were not a lot of crowds in the beginning but there were some bystanders towards the end.