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Philadelphia Marathon

4.4 (56 reviews)

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Julia S.

I traveled all this way to Philadelphia to cross Pennsylvania off my list of states to run a marathon in. I'd give it 4.5stars but I am unable to do that on this rating scale and it isn't a 5star race. The only thing that prevents it from being a 5star was on race morning there wasn't enough port-a-potties and I patiently waited over an hour in line to use the bathroom before start time. Honestly when I got in line I hadn't needed to use the restroom but I saw how extremely long the potty line was and figured I should try before the race started. I still was in line when the race and my corral started ( I was 4th corral after the initial corral). People had cut in line to use the bathroom which made it kind of disappointing as a first impression as an out-of-state marathoner who came to experience. Now that I've mentioned all the negative aspects let me rave on what made my race experience first class. They had several buses that allowed runners to be picked up and make our way towards the start line. The race course extremely easy that had allowed me to seeing all the parts of Philly. Spectators made me feel welcomed and continually kept me hyped especially towards the end when I kicked it into high gear to allow me to PR( personal record). I can't forget to mention that the weather was perfect for running even though it did start raining after I finished and got on the bus to head back to the hotel. I plan on running this race again once I complete my personal goal of running in each of the 50 states.

Before the race started. Rainy and windy, but everyone was in good spirits!
Michael B.

This was a pretty fun race. Mostly flat, except for the hill between miles 9 and 10, with decent crowd support. The rowdiest areas are Center City, the Art Museum, and Manayunk. Fairmount Park in West Philly, while having fewer crowds, is beautiful. The out-and-back between miles 14 and 26.2 was better than I expected, though it was a bit demoralizing to see trucks drive down the other side of the route (cuz there were no more runners left) as I looped back toward the Art Museum. Crowds can get a little thin along this stretch, but I got by just fine even without music. The stretch on Columbus Blvd. (between miles 2.5 and 3.5) was probably my least favorite part of the race, but it doesn't last very long and it's early on. I'd love to see them move that part to Front Street instead. Those are just some small gripes. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this race and would recommend it. Medal's great, too!

Ed L.

Just finished the 2013 Goretex Philadelphia marathon on Sunday, 11/17/2013. It was my 64th lifetime marathon finish and 42nd state in my attempt to complete a marathon in all US States from Hawaii. I have heard that the Philadelphia marathon was the largest marathon in all of Pennsylvania, so I decided on signing up for this one for a chance to run in historic Philadelphia. Over a hundred of my friends within the Marathon Maniac club community was going to run this one this year, so I just had to - plus, I needed Pennsylvania anyway for my states collection. What better way to run Pennsylvania than in Philadelphia! It was definitely a treat for sure. The ambiance was great and the experience was unforgettable. The 2013 Goretex Philadelphia marathon runner expo was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, located on Arch and 11th Streets. It was estimated that the participating count was bloating over 15,000 participants. A marathoner friend of mine who ran in 2012 likened the Philadelphia marathon to that of Chicago marathon, which I have ran 2x in 2008 and 2009 and loved every step of it. Clearly, I was excited on that. The runner expo had pretty much everything and mimicked the Chicago marathon expo to a tee, with the large convention center motif and many runner related vendors selling their wares and services. Many marathons were also there selling their race as well. It was pretty epic there. The race this year used the B tag timing system, where the timing chip is affixed to your race bib, so you shouldn't bend it or else it will not work and record your time. The Philadelphia marathon was 26.2 miles within downtown Philadelphia starting at Elkin's Circle near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rocky Statue. It winds around downtown for the first 8 miles. Then it continues along the Skyill River into Manayuk and then finally back into Elkin's Circle & Benjamin Parkway for the celebration and the finish line. There were timing points at 10K, 1/2 marathon, and 30K. The half marathoners ran with the full marathoners up until mile 12.5 then split off to the finish. It was a surreal feeling to have a large group of runners you were running with peel off to the half marathon finish and you were alone doing the full with 13.5 miles left to do. The course was very pretty along the S River and continuing into the neighboring town of Manayuk. The second half of the course was essentially and out and back section, so I got to see many of my faster friends out there along the course. Crossing the finish line no matter if it was your 1st, 2nd, 64th, or 100th, it was special since every race experience is different and unique. Philadelphia marathon was special and while it wasn't as special or amazing as Chicago, running Philadelphia is great and thankful for the opportunity to do so. The finish line was great and the announcer announced my arrival. After 26.2 miles on foot, it was so sweet. I got to also join in on the celebrations after the race since 2 of my friends celebrated their 100th marathon finish in Philadelphia. It was awesome and amazing at the same time. I'll probably need a few years to reach that elite plateau, but for now, I'm glad that I got to run Philadelphia. Great crowd support in the early miles, but not so much in the 2nd half. The aid stations were plentiful and they serves Gatorade along with cliff bar gels. Run Philadelphia if you can. It was pretty epic. Run more! A+

Finished! Check out that bling.

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Review Highlights - Philadelphia Marathon

13 miles later, I waved goodbye to those brave souls tackling the marathon, and curved into the finish line.

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Parx Racing - Horses being walked after race

Parx Racing

2.9(15 reviews)
16.1 mi

You don't like to beat down a business sometimes but this place needs a management overhaul. Friend…read morehas a horse racing today so we drove down from NY. By the time we walked In the 5th race was going off. We figured let's get a bite and by the time we have our food racing cancelled for the rest of the day. This happens way too much here. Last week all 3 days and today no reason really provided. It was a little windy but nothing crazy that racing needed to be cancelled. Seems 10 years after the casino comes in the track is really an afterthought. The track condition is terrible, the seating is old and worn, hell they have some much wasted space inside and 1 bar and a small snack stand. It's like a slow painful death it seems. The purses are terrible. They need to overhaul the management and breathe some new life for this place or it won't last 5 more years.

From the perspective of a spouse of a Parx employee attending their annual picnic/barbecue, Parx…read moreRacing is a very nice place for the event. It attracts hundreds of workers and their families, with plenty of food and drink to go around. Of course, the strongest attraction are the horses raced around the mile+ track during the festivities. We were able to see (and bet on, if so inclined) eight races, some of which had the starter gate right in front of us, so we had a good look at the majestic steeds. I don't know enough about racing to gamble, so we just sat back and enjoyed the beautiful sleek powerful horses walk, cantor and gallop before us. The food was fairly much traditional, with burgers, dogs, bbq chicken and Italian sweet sausage casserole, with corn on the cob and mixed salad as sides. Very easy to overeat, and then go after the vanilla soft serve cones for dessert. I was satisfied with one of those, but my seductive companion brought me three more before we were ready to leave. How to say. "No!"? This event was great for morale, with spouses and kids around to be comfortable with mom and dad's work place. These guys make a lot of money. Glad to see they share at least a little of it with the people who make it possible. See you all next year.

Photos
Parx Racing - Alongside the grandstand. Perfect for watching the races in the shade.

Alongside the grandstand. Perfect for watching the races in the shade.

Parx Racing - Starting gate relocated for length of race

Starting gate relocated for length of race

Parx Racing

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Philadelphia Marathon - races - Updated May 2026

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