Delaware Marathon 2026 Race Recap

On April 19th I ran the 2026 Delaware Marathon as my 10th marathon. This race is part of the Delaware Running Festival. (Not to be confused with the Coastal Delaware Running Festival, which is held a week earlier).

The race takes place in Wilmington and offers a marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k. As I’m sure you can guess the weather in April can be very unpredictable. This year we had a very cold, snowy winter and the week before the race it was very hot, hitting 90 degrees mid-week. Luckily Sunday was not hot, but we had pretty much every other kind of spring weather which I will share in the recap.

In preparing for the race I couldn’t find many race reviews so I hope this is helpful to anyone considering this race. While it wasn’t my favorite, it could be a good option for a spring marathon if you know what to expect.

Delaware Marathon 2026 Race Recap

Race Expo

On Saturday we drove from Baltimore to Wilmington, which took about an hour and 20 minutes. We went right to the expo since our hotel wouldn’t be ready and the expo went until 4pm. It was held outside at the race finish area. Luckily it was a beautiful day. I’m not sure what they would have done if it rained.

Parking was a little challenging but we found a meter a few blocks away. There was also a garage for $5 mentioned in the runner’s handbook, but we couldn’t find it until we were already parked.

There wasn’t much at the “expo” besides packet pick up and one small tent with race merchandise. It was nice to be able to see what the race start and finish area looked like.

The Night Before the Race

We stayed at the Hyatt Place Wilmington Riverfront which was just under a mile from the start/finish. Once we checked into the hotel we relaxed a bit before dinner and got ourselves organized. We ate at Scalessa’s which was a 12 minute drive from the hotel and away from all the other restaurants. It was small and very good! I think there were only about 12 tables, so it’s definitely recommended to make a reservation!

After being fully loaded with carbs we headed back for a good night sleep before race morning. I checked the forecast for the millionth time, worrying about the rain and wind that was expected. Unfortunately I was woken up around midnight by people in the hallway (there was a wedding going on) but I fell back to sleep pretty quickly.

Race Outfit:
Lux Short Sleeves
Spark 8 inch short tights
Hyperion Elite 5
3 pocket bra (which is no longer available)

Race Morning

We started getting ready around 5:30 in order to leave the hotel around 6:15. The forecast had shifted a bit and the rain was holding off for a few hours. I was happy to not be walking to the race in the rain or starting in the rain, but it was in the high 50s and very humid.

I decided to wear arm sleeves so I could take them off. I ended up not really needing them, but also never took them off because it just felt like too much work when I was running.

We walked over to the start and I immediately got in line for the bathroom. Of course the lines were insane (that’s been a trend for my races lately). As the start time got closer the lines moved alot faster so I waited it out. Around 6:55 a police officer came by and said to move out of the way because the runners were about to come through. What? We were the runners. And there was no where else to go to wait in line.

Delaware Marathon Race Start

I was next up and ran in to use the bathroom and then headed over to the start just as the runners started coming through. It was a big mess of confusion as everyone was trying to squeeze through a small lot lined with porta potties. Then we turned onto the boardwalk and all had to cram together while also avoiding things like benches and bike racks. We were all basically slowing to a walk with how crowded it was.

Miles 1-6

The first 2 miles were pretty congested. I tried not to weave, but also had to go around people or I’d keep getting stuck. I could feel the humidity as soon as we started running.

The first couple of miles were pretty flat, and then we started going uphill around mile 3. I didn’t think the hills were terrible, but I did feel like my effort was hard due to the humidity and gradual climb.

At some point (honestly, it could have been anywhere between miles 2 and 8, I have no idea) we went over this very small, very shaky bridge. It was very unsettling and I slowed down alot. The one and only photographer out on the course was right after the bridge, but he completely missed me as there were multiple people right it front of me coming off the narrow exit of the bridge and back onto the path.

I passed Rob around mile 5 and he mentioned the humidity, so I was glad that I wasn’t the only one who noticed it. There was also some confusion around this time with which side of the road to run on. There were many out and backs throughout the course, and at one point we were told to stay on the left, and then runners started coming by on our left, and then someone else was yelling to stay on our right.

Miles 7-13

Around mile 7 the humidity broke a bit and it started to rain, which felt really good! I noticed that for the first 6 miles my watch was right on track with the mile markers, and then at mile 7 it jumped to 7.2. This was frustrating because now my overall pace was slower than what my watch was reading.

I started to feel better as we started going downhill, but this was also when the wind started to pick up. We headed back to the start area to drop off the half marathoners, and made a turn to continue running the full marathon along the boardwalk.

Miles 14-19

This part of the race was alot flatter, other than some bridges. After leaving the boardwalk we ran on a paved trail, some of it open, some lined with trees. I think it was around mile 15 when I saw the lead runner going back the other way.

There weren’t really any spectators since this was on a trail without much access to roads. Also, about half of the mile markers were missing during this half of the race. Given that my watch was already pretty far off, this was even more frustrating.

I was glad that there were plenty of runners around me, and soon enough lots of runners were going back the other way too. Otherwise this would have been a very lonely stretch of the race.

I knew I was still far off my goal pace, but couldn’t really tell by how much because of the extra mileage on my watch.

Miles 20-25

Right before mile 20 (or maybe it was closer to 19, I can’t remember) we hit the turnaround point. Rather than going straight back on the trail, we made a quick detour loop around a neighborhood, I guess to add on some mileage.

Once back on the trail I knew it was less than 6 miles straight back to the finish. On the one hand, that sounds like nothing, but on the other hand, it seemed like I had so far to go. I was starting to feel a little nauseous, and when I ran faster that got worse. After doing some math, I knew it would be really hard to beat my time for Richmond.

I tried to focus on one mile at a time. While I didn’t hit the wall, my paces did slow down slightly. I think there had been a slight decline from miles 17-19 and a slight incline the other way, but I’m not completely sure.

I did pass quite a few runners during this time, and one guy tried to give me a fist bump but I basically missed lol. Doing anything that requires coordination at mile 21 of a marathon is bascially impossible.

The final bridge back around mile 25 was really tough. The climb up felt like it lasted forever, and I felt a little dizzy running so high at that point. I was really glad to run down the other side. I heard someone say “there’s the Chase building” and I guess that is where the finish line was. I saw it in the distance and it still looked so far away.

Race Finish

Once over the bridge, I really tried to start picking up the pace. I focused on running 1/2 mile at a time. We were back on the boardwalk and there were some people cheering. Another runner and I kept passing each other (it seemed like she was also trying to push to the finish) which helped to keep me going.

Right before the 26 mile marker there is a random turn off of the boardwalk and onto a side street. I may have missed this if I hadn’t seen it on my walk to the start earlier. Running down the side street there was an intense headwind and I felt like was going backward. I turned the corner and the wind broke a bit and I could see the finish, so I was able to continue pushing until I crossed the finish line.

Official finish time: 3:58:49

Delaware Marathon Post Race

I got my medal and a water walked through the finisher area. I had no desire to eat anything so I passed the snacks and went to the boardwalk by the water where there was more space.

I suddenly had the urge to cry, possibly due to disappointment about not reaching my goal but also just the overwhelm of finishing a tough race. I let the tears flow for a minute before getting myself together and remembering that I just finished another marathon.

Rob had sent me his Garmin live tracking so I checked and he was just about at mile 26. I walked back up to watch him finish and take his picture. As I was doing that it started raining pretty steadily and was getting colder out. I was shivering and just wanted to get inside.

After we met up I said I was going to head back to the hotel to get warm, knowing it was a long walk back. He wasn’t ready to walk back yet and wanted to get a beer. The almost mile walk back to the hotel felt SO long!

Race Reflections

While I am still a little disappointed with the outcome of this race, I am also proud of how I managed some tough circumstances. This was not an ideal course and while the weather could have been worse, it definitely made it harder to run my goal pace.

I was a little surprised with some of the messy logistics of this race. I’ve done alot of Corrigan Sports events and they are usually so well managed. It kind of felt like there was no where to run in Wilmington and they had to just get very creative with the course. It just felt like we were running the same places over and over with random little bits added on.

Spring races are always very tough, coming off cold weather running. You could get anything on race day. We managed to get everything on race day!

Have you ever done a race in varying weather conditions?
Do you like out and backs?

You may also like:
NCR Marathon 2024 Race Recap
Potomac River Run Marathon Race Recap
Richmond Marathon 2025 Race Recap
Annapolis Running Festival Half Marathon 2026 Recap: Lessons and Highlights

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