Delaware Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Wilmington, DEApril 18, 2027
The Delaware Marathon gives you its only real climb between miles 6 and 7, roughly 180 feet in a single mile, and then hands you flat ground for the rest of the day. The first thirteen miles tour Wilmington's streets and parks. The second thirteen run out on the Jack Markell Trail toward New Castle and back, flat enough that terrain stops being a factor at all.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
That split is the whole strategic problem. The course gives you a reason to work early and then removes every excuse for the rest of the day. About 643 people finished in 2026, from a marathon field capped at 1,000, so you will have room on the road and stretches of trail where you are running your own race with nobody nearby.
206 days to race day
Delaware Marathon · April 18, 2027 · about 29 weeks out
Your plan starts with your race and works backward. Every week lands on a real calendar, with race day at the end.
When to start training for the Delaware Marathon 2027
Race day is April 18, 2027, which is 206 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildWindow has passed
- 24-week buildStart November 1, 2026
- 18-week buildStart December 13, 2026
- 16-week buildStart December 27, 2026
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart January 24, 2027
You have about 29 weeks until race day, so there is still room for a full build. Stride reads the runway you actually have and maps every week from today to April 18, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Delaware Marathon course facts
- Course
- Mostly Loop · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 1,025 ft gain, 1,025 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 290 ft / 2 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 643 in 2026 (small field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 5.3% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 54°F at the start, 75% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 68°F / 47°F on average
Let’s find the plan for you.
Your race, current mileage, longest run, marathon experience, and available days decide the best fit. Stride maps the plan you choose to race day at the Delaware Marathon.
- Stride Run-Walk FinisherThree sessions a week with planned walk breaks, cover the full distance before race day.
- Stride First MarathonThe classic four-day first-marathon build: easy running and one weekly long run, no speedwork.
- Stride First Marathon PlusA first-marathon build with a little more volume and weekly race-pace miles.
- Stride 6-Day FinisherFinish your first marathon on frequency: six easy-leaning runs a week, no monster long runs.
- Stride 5-Day Pace BuilderFive days a week with race-pace runs before your long runs, built for a mid-pack time goal.
- Stride 6-Day RhythmSix days a week with three quality sessions, steady fatigue that teaches you to finish strong.
- Stride Time-Based FoundationFive time-based runs a week, mostly easy, the injury-averse way to a strong finish.
- Stride Time-Based BuilderSix time-based runs a week at a strict 80% easy / 20% hard split, chase a time goal without breaking.
- Stride 3-Day Cross-TrainThree runs plus two cross-training days over 24 weeks, marathon fitness on a busy schedule.
- Stride 3-Day QualityExactly three hard runs plus two mandatory cross-training sessions, every workout counts.
- Stride 6-Day CumulativeThe six-day cumulative-fatigue build with quality from week two, for PR chasers with a base.
- Stride Threshold 55The serious BQ/PR build to 55 miles a week: threshold work, medium-long runs, and 20-milers.
- Stride Threshold 70The high-mileage BQ/PR build to 70 miles a week for veterans with a deep base.
- Stride 2-Quality FlexTwo fixed quality sessions a week, everything else flexible easy running, fits any schedule.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Choose your Delaware Marathon training window.
Compare 12, 16, 18, and 20 weeks counted back from race day. The 18-week option includes the complete four-day schedule.
The course: a hilly city half, then a flat trail half
The Delaware Marathon starts and finishes at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park in Wilmington at 7 a.m. The first half tours the city: Brandywine Park along the Brandywine River, Rodney Square, Rockford Park with its hundred-year-old stone tower, and the Kentmere Parkway and Bancroft Parkway sections off Pennsylvania Avenue. The course passes through Brandywine Park twice.
The one real climb comes between miles 6 and 7, roughly 180 feet in a single mile. After that the race changes character completely. The second half runs out on the Jack Markell Trail almost to New Castle, turning at New Castle Elementary School, and the organizer describes what climbing remains as short bridges and overpasses rather than hills. Water sits roughly every mile and a half throughout.
How to train for the Delaware Marathon
Train for the Delaware Marathon by front-loading hills into your long runs and then holding goal pace on flat ground when your legs are already tired. The course hands you its climb between miles 6 and 7, about 180 feet, and then gives you thirteen flat trail miles in which every second you overspent early comes back out of your account.
Build long runs that climb in the first third and finish flat and fast over the last ten miles, and practice deliberate restraint on the climb itself, since running it hard buys nothing. The other half of the work is surface-specific: put real tempo mileage on a greenway or bike path, because holding pace on straight, quiet, unvarying ground with the same footfall for an hour is a skill you either have on race day or do not.
Getting in
Registration runs through RunSignup. The marathon field is capped at 1,000 runners with about 3,000 across all the festival's events, and 643 people finished the marathon in 2026, so the cap has not been the thing standing between runners and a bib recently. The start is at 7 a.m. from Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park on the Wilmington Riverfront, where the festival's other distances are also based, which keeps race morning contained to one area.
Where does the Delaware Marathon get hard?
Miles 18 to 24 on the flat, straight Jack Markell Trail, where there is no terrain change and no crowd to carry you.
What is the weather like at the Delaware Marathon?
Mid-April mornings here start near 54F with about 75% humidity, clear skies and a light northwest breeze, warming toward a high near 68F. That is good running weather at 7 a.m. and warm enough by the back half that an open trail in the sun is a real possibility. Schedule a few late long runs into the warmest part of the day so the second half does not catch you out.
Is the Delaware Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
It is a Boston-eligible, USATF-certified course, and the qualifying rate moves around a lot: 5.3% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026, 7.3% in 2025 and 13% in 2024. The flat second half is genuinely friendly to a fast time if you reach it with something left. Treat the older, higher rates as a ceiling rather than an expectation.
Is the Delaware Marathon a good first marathon?
Yes, with one caveat. Seven hours and a 16 minute per mile limit is generous, the field is small enough to feel manageable, and water sits roughly every mile and a half. The caveat is that the flat trail second half offers almost no distraction, so a first-timer should practice running long stretches alone before race day.
Delaware Marathon questions, answered.
Is the Delaware Marathon hilly?
Only in the first half. The city loop through Wilmington carries the day's real climb, about 180 feet between miles 6 and 7, plus smaller rises through Brandywine Park and the parkways. From roughly halfway the Jack Markell Trail toward New Castle is flat, with only short bridges and overpasses to break it up.
What is the time limit for the Delaware Marathon?
Seven hours from the 7 a.m. start, which works out to a 16 minute per mile pace. Water stations sit roughly every mile and a half along the route. Dogs are not allowed on the course, and headphones are permitted although the organizer discourages them for safety reasons.
Is the Delaware Marathon a good course for a personal best?
It can be, because the flat trail second half is exactly where you would want to run your fast miles. The risk is arriving at the trail with nothing left after the mile 6 to 7 climb. Runners who close well here almost always do it by running the city hills conservatively.
How big is the Delaware Marathon?
Small. The marathon field is capped at 1,000 runners with roughly 3,000 across all the festival's distances, and 643 people finished the marathon in 2026. Expect an uncrowded start, plenty of room on the trail, and stretches in the second half where you may have nobody to run with.
Where does the Delaware Marathon get hard?
Miles 18 to 24 on the flat, straight Jack Markell Trail, where there is no terrain change and no crowd to carry you.
What is the weather like at the Delaware Marathon?
Mid-April mornings here start near 54F with about 75% humidity, clear skies and a light northwest breeze, warming toward a high near 68F. That is good running weather at 7 a.m. and warm enough by the back half that an open trail in the sun is a real possibility. Schedule a few late long runs into the warmest part of the day so the second half does not catch you out.
Is the Delaware Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
It is a Boston-eligible, USATF-certified course, and the qualifying rate moves around a lot: 5.3% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026, 7.3% in 2025 and 13% in 2024. The flat second half is genuinely friendly to a fast time if you reach it with something left. Treat the older, higher rates as a ceiling rather than an expectation.
Is the Delaware Marathon a good first marathon?
Yes, with one caveat. Seven hours and a 16 minute per mile limit is generous, the field is small enough to feel manageable, and water sits roughly every mile and a half. The caveat is that the flat trail second half offers almost no distraction, so a first-timer should practice running long stretches alone before race day.
When should I start training for the Delaware Marathon 2027?
Race day is April 18, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around November 29, 2026, a 16-week build around December 27, 2026, and a 12-week build around January 24, 2027. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Delaware Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Delaware Marathon as your race, and answer a few questions about your recent running and your weekly schedule. Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans, maps every week from today to April 18, 2027, adjusts when life gets in the way, and puts you in a feed of runners training for the same race.
Choosing a training app?
A Delaware Marathon buildup is months of your life. See how Stride compares before you commit it to an app.
Find your plan.
Your race, current mileage, recent longest run, goal, and run days determine which plans rank first. Choose one and subscribe, then open every workout in Stride.