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.

I had run this course a few months earlier, but this time they changed it so that the last .6 is about 200 foot climb at the end which made it challenging. Picked up the packet on race day. Only swag was a headband but considering the entry fee was affordable this did not bother me. There may have only been 300 runners or so. Parking was on campus at the Oldfields school and I did not have an issue getting there or parking. I had my official time about 5 minutes after I finished as they were printing them out constantly. My only issue was that the aid stations were at 3.1, 5.5, 7.5, and mile 10. Considering this is all on the NCR trail it makes sense and I knew from running this before that the stations were this way. I actually had my PR at this race so I may be a little biased but for 40 dollars I would easily do,it again.

They had a new race added to this which was the Half Marathon. I actually did the Half portion of this race. You could park in two areas and had busing transportation to and from the race. The course was as advertised which was a trail, easy on the knees, and mostly flat. The aid stations were about 3 miles apart from each other which was the only downside. Not only did you get an UA jacket and a medal, but you also received a finisher blanket which was an awesome gift at the end to wrap yourself up in. The only negative of the race which did not bother me was the that there was no one cheering you on along the trail so if you are one that does not like to be in solitude that would be the only aspect of the race that you might want to think about. I would totally do this race again.

This was my first marathon. It also happened to be one of the hottest days in October. The course is rolling hills in the first 5k but after that, it is extremely flat. I thought the second half of the race was better running through the shore towns. They did advertise that the aid stations at certain marks would have had energy chews and they did not have it. My parents dropped me off at the start line but there is a voucher and coupon that was included in the packet. The new packet pick up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey saved me the trip since I am from out of state and my parents could easily get it for me days before the race. The shirt was a long sleeved tech shirt that was pretty nice.
While I am not running the Marathon next year, I am opting to run the half marathon next year. Unless you are fine running by yourself without a lot of cheering or you run faster than a 5 hour marathon you should maybe look somewhere else. It is a fast flat course though. There were not a lot of runners even though they combined the start times with the Half and the Full. The half course is pretty much the first 11 miles of the full and then they go back on the boardwalk.