Overview Philadelphia Marathon Weekend is the City of Philadelphia's November road-race weekend, and its marathon finishes at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art after a loop out through Fairmount Park and Manayunk. The weekend has four races: the marathon on Sunday, a half marathon and an 8K on Saturday, and a kids' run at Eakins Oval, plus four multi-race challenges (Patriot, Independence, Liberty Bell and Freedom) for runners who stack distances. Every course is USATF-certified and the marathon is a Boston qualifier. The first race, in 1994, had 1,500 participants, and the weekend has since passed 30,000 athletes. On site It opens with a Thursday VIP reception for officials and partners. The expo fills Hall F of the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Friday and Saturday with packet pickup, vendors sampling shoes, apparel and nutrition, a speaker series with elite marathoners, a shoe-recycling drive for Stand Up 2 Cancer and Students Run Philly Style, and a Saturday kids' zone. The marathon and half start on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The marathon runs through the historic district, Fairmount Park, along the Schuylkill River, through University City and out to Manayunk; the half takes in Old City, Center City, University City and Fairmount Park; the 8K runs Kelly Drive. Marathon and half finishers come back to the Art Museum and into a Finish Line Festival and post-race celebration area. Audience Demand runs ahead of race day: the marathon, the half and all four challenges sold out before the 2026 weekend. The field mixes runners chasing a Boston qualifying time, challenge runners racing both Saturday and Sunday, and charity runners who get their bibs by fundraising through registered charities. The kids' run at Eakins Oval brings the families. Track record The 2025 marathon went to Melikhaya Frans of Gqeberha, South Africa, in 2:13:57, and Anna Oeser of Brookfield, Connecticut, won the women's race in 2:34:55 in her first marathon. Miguel Vergara (1:44:22) and Hannah Babalola (2:15:21) won the wheelchair divisions. Brand presence Each race carries its own title partner; for 2026 that meant TIAA on the marathon and Rothman Orthopaedics on the 8K, with DryWater presenting the expo, and Triple Bottom Brewing brewed a finish-line pilsner and asked runners to name it. The entitlement partner's name locks up with the event logo and goes on bibs, finisher medals and runner shirts. Other partners take course signage from the start and finish to the mile markers, activation space at the expo and the Finish Line Festival, items in runner bags, a hospitality tent with its own entry, invitations to the Thursday reception and a speaking slot during weekend programming.