I wasn't sure what to expect when I trudged into Delaware and went to the "expo" in a tent on the far edge of a parking lot. I'll tell you what: This race was awesome! I just wanted DE crossed off on my 50 states list, but now I think this race would be worth revisiting someday! The people were extremely friendly, everywhere! The cops were nice, the water station volunteers were great and the spectators were a lot of fun! The guy playing the harmonica at the turnaround on the 5.4-mile loop sang a little song about me as I ran by! Something about having "the underwear blues" - I guess that's what I get for wearing a silver speedo!

Great race. Good time. If you're thinking about it, just sign up. It'll be worth the money and your time.

I chose this race because it was a drivable distance from NYC and after reading the comments on this site, I was convinced it was my type of race. It's pretty small - a run through a small town/city, generally no-frills, but well organized, well marked, hugely supported and logistically simple. We stayed at the Doubletree, which the race went right by during the 10-mile loop. It was like a two-minute drive to the start (which is where the expo was also). I'm glad we signed up for the pasta party because although we arrived in town on Saturday afternoon, everything was closed. I couldn't even find a bagel for race morning. My advice: go to the pasta party or be prepared to hop on I95 to a neighboring town.

One suggestion for the director about the pasta party: have you considered holding it in the tent where the start/finish is instead of that eatery we were in? I would think the tent would be roomier and maybe you wouldn't have to do shifts. But either way, we enjoyed ourselves. The spectators were so enthusiastic.... The cops (particularly the two right before Swedes Hill, at the intersection) were hilarious. I enjoyed passing them every time. The loops weren't annoying as you might think, and were quite bearable. At least you knew where you were and what was coming. Loved that I got splits on the results page for every loop! Post-race food was wonderful. Ice cream sandwich hit the spot. You guys put on a good race.

This was a great running experience. The course was a bit tight in some places given the number of runners on the course. The Brandywine portion of the course was very nice. Could we have run two loops on the Brandywine section and finished the remainder on the river? That may open some room for the more crowded portions of the loop that we ran three times. I ran Charlottesville a month ago. Although a bit more scenic, I liked this race better. All in all a great running experience.

This was a great running experience. The course was a bit tight in some places given the number of runners on the course. The Brandywine portion of the course was very nice. Could we have run two loops on the Brandywine section and finished the remainder on the river? That may open some room for the more crowded portions of the loop that we ran three times. I ran Charlottesville a month ago. Although a bit more scenic, I liked this race better. All in all a great running experience.

It's not a difficult course on paper, but the three repeated 5.5-mile loops can be frustrating. We ran one stretch of the course five times!

Otherwise, it's a fairly flat course, and the first 10 miles took us through a nice park. The organizers took good care of everything, from registration to post-race food. The police and volunteers did a great job of directing the flow of the runners.

After struggling to finish (5+), it was a pleasant surprise to see such a variety of food left for the late finishers. Pizza, beer, energy drinks, ice cream, and a variety of sandwiches and other snacks.

I have run over 40 marathons in 24 states. The organization of this race is first class, the enthusiasim of the volunters is awesome, the ease of use is great, unfortunatly the course leaves much to be desired. The race is deserving of more cooperation from the city of Wilmington to have the course go over a larger part of the city.I am sure Wilmington can find enouph nice parts to show off the city in a good light.
The sign up is easy. The expo although bare bones is fast and simple. I did not go to the pasta party so I can't comment on that.
The race itself was well organized.
It is a shame that the course is confined to such a small area that you constantly risk running into other runners coming in your direction.
Hopefully the city of Wilmington will realize that they have a winner and a money maker for the city in this race. If the course covered a larger part of the city you could allow more runners and showcase more of Wilmington.
If Wilmington will not cooperate maybe the organizers should consider taking the race outside Wilmington into the Brandyvine Valley since it is so much nicer then the city itself. I am sure that if Hartford could figure out a way to show the nice parts of that city and the surounding area without having a 4 loop course so to can Wilmington.
All in all it was a very nice race to run and if the weather cooperates a fun experience.

I signed up for this marathon purely to check off DE from my 50-state marathon list and because I have relatives who live in the Wilmington area. I didn't expect much, but ended up being very pleasantly surprised.

My experience started with a funny personal e-mail from the race director himself, and ended with the coolest running trophy ever - a pewter bobble-head doll (of a girl running) that I won for placing in my age group. SO COOL!!

I was dreading the 4-loop course, but I ended up loving it!! Yeah, the scenery isn't the best in some parts (with some interesting smells to boot), but the portion along the river was beautiful and where you run through the start/finish line was lined with enthusiastic fans - incredible!! I ended up enjoying knowing what to expect ahead of me and where all the mile markers were located before I got there. The course was so compact that my husband was able to pop out several times on each lap to give me encouragement, GU and fluids. There was only 1 small hill to speak of (of course you run it 4 times!). It was so cool to see both the front and back of the pack and all the volunteers were so friendly and great. One stopped me on the last lap with 4 miles to go and said, "You have done so well today, young lady!!" That carried me all the way to the finish line.

The packet pick-up was fast and easy, in and out in 5 minutes. The "expo" was 3 booths set up in a tent. Parking was great. The T-shirt would have been cool in better fabric. The after-race festivities were fun with a band and they had so much food!! Way better food than Boston or many of the other big marathons. And I got my picture taken with the mayor of Wilmington!!

My only complaints were that the finish line was kind of confusing - my husband had to yell and point which way to go (after you had ran the same way 4 times, why make us go a completely different way?), there was no GU on the course (apparently you were supposed to bring the GU you got in your packet), and the course was confusing in parts (they kept making you change which side of the road to run on). Some people may not like that there was a relay race going on simutaneously so you were constantly being run down by people with fresh legs. But the relay runners were clearly marked with signs on their backs so they didn't make you feel too bad.

Otherwise, perfect weather, great race, PR by a tenth of a second, Boston qualified. Couldn't ask for more!! I recommend this race if you get the chance!

All in all Delaware was certainly a pleasant experience, but it was a bit lacking. I don't mind the loop course, it's just that the area we looped through was pretty uninteresting. It must have been to minimize traffic disruption, but a lot of the course was through some pretty dull, middle-of-nowhere streets. Still, it was flat and there was plenty of support from the volunteers. One more complaint: weren't there supposed to be GU pass-outs?

The positives were the generally good organization and the friendliness of the atmosphere. It was an extremely comfortable race to run. Very upbeat, smiling runners. If you're in the general region, I would absolutely recommend the race. They even posted a sign for me congratulating my wife on her graduation from med school the next day!

This was my 10th marathon and my favorite to date. I wasn't psyched about the four-loop course but ended up loving it because after passing everyone four times you felt like old friends. The stretch along the river was beautiful and serene. The volunteers were fabulous and super friendly and there was a great variety of food/snacks offered along the course and at the finish. It was my worst finishing time, but I had the most fun. Go figure! I'll be back next year.