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Marathon · Philadelphia, PA · November

Philadelphia Marathon course guide

A loop from the Art Museum: flat miles through Center City, the course's hills in West Philadelphia and Fairmount Park, then out along the river to Manayunk and back.

Build my race planOfficial race site
Distance
26.2 mi
42.2 km
Net elevation
+23 ft
+7 m
Total climb
647 ft
624 ft of descent
Start → finish
32 → 55 ft
above sea level
Raced by Salitre
2021

Pace calculator

Your race plan, mile by mile

Set your goal and the calculator spreads it over the course: slower on the climbs, a little quicker on the descents, and the splits always add up to your goal.

Goal time
Splits

Your plan

Goal time
3:45:00
Flat-equivalent pace
8:32/mi
Slowest split
8:52/mi
Mile 10
Predicted finish
3:45:00

Ideal strategy, uphill penalty 13 s/mi per 1%.

Target splits for Philadelphia Marathon: elevation change, effort, pace against goal pace, target pace, pace bank and elapsed time for each split.
SplitElev ±Effortvs goal paceTarget pace /miPace bankElapsed
Mile 1+16 ftFlat+0:058:40−0:058:40
Mile 2−2 ftFlat+0:048:39−0:0917:19
Mile 3−32 ftFlat−0:038:32−0:0625:51
Mile 4+3 ftFlat+0:048:39−0:1034:30
Mile 5+3 ftFlat+0:038:38−0:1443:08
Mile 6+32 ftGentle climb+0:078:42−0:2151:50
Mile 7+3 ftFlat+0:028:37−0:231:00:27
Mile 8+46 ftGentle climb+0:128:47−0:351:09:14
Mile 9−51 ftFlat−0:068:29−0:291:17:43
Mile 10+70 ftGentle climb+0:178:52−0:461:26:35
Mile 11+3 ftFlat+0:028:37−0:481:35:12
Mile 12−41 ftFlat−0:078:28−0:411:43:40
Mile 13+29 ftGentle climb+0:098:44−0:501:52:24
Mile 14−7 ftFlat−0:018:34−0:492:00:58
Mile 15−1 ftFlat−0:018:34−0:492:09:32
Mile 16−82 ftGentle descent−0:148:21−0:352:17:53
Mile 17+9 ftFlat−0:038:32−0:322:26:25
Mile 18−3 ftFlat−0:048:31−0:282:34:56
Mile 19+26 ftGentle climb+0:048:39−0:322:43:35
Mile 20+10 ftFlat−0:018:34−0:312:52:09
Mile 21−30 ftFlat−0:088:27−0:233:00:36
Mile 22−2 ftFlat−0:038:32−0:203:09:08
Mile 23−1 ftFlat−0:068:29−0:143:17:37
Mile 24−1 ftFlat−0:078:28−0:073:26:05
Mile 25−2 ftFlat−0:068:29−0:023:34:34
Mile 26+28 ftGentle climb−0:018:34−0:013:43:08
Mile 26.2+1 ftFlat−0:038:320:003:45:00

Pace bank: seconds ahead (+) or behind (−) an even-pace schedule for the goal. vs goal pace: + is slower than the average goal pace. Plan from salitre.co/race-guides/philadelphia-marathon.

How the plan is worked out, and what the strategies mean: methodology.

The course

Course breakdown

Measured on Eduardo's own 2021 run of the course; elevation: Watch GPX (barometric altimeter); smoothed over 150 m, distance scaled to the official 26.2 mi.

Philadelphia Marathon elevation profileElevation in feet against distance in miles. start: 32 ft; mile 2: 46 ft; mile 4: 17 ft; mile 6: 52 ft; mile 8: 101 ft; mile 10: 119 ft; mile 12: 82 ft; mile 14: 104 ft; mile 16: 20 ft; mile 18: 26 ft; mile 20: 62 ft; mile 22: 30 ft; mile 24: 28 ft; mile 26: 55 ft; finish: 55 ft.
Elevation (ft) by mile. Orange shading: climbing (over +0.4%); blue: descending (under −1%).
Elevation at each mile marker

start: 32 ft · mile 2: 46 ft · mile 4: 17 ft · mile 6: 52 ft · mile 8: 101 ft · mile 10: 119 ft · mile 12: 82 ft · mile 14: 104 ft · mile 16: 20 ft · mile 18: 26 ft · mile 20: 62 ft · mile 22: 30 ft · mile 24: 28 ft · mile 26: 55 ft · finish: 55 ft

  1. Miles 0–7 · 7.0 mi

    Center City

    Center City elevationMiles 0 to 7: 113 ft of climb, 90 ft of descent, net +23 ft (average grade +0.1%; steepest 400 m +0.9% up, −2.2% down).
    Climb
    113 ft
    Descent
    90 ft
    Net
    +23 ft
    average grade +0.1%

    The flattest stretch of the first half, through the city's streets from the start on the Parkway.

    Coach notes coming soon.

  2. Miles 7–15.5 · 8.5 mi

    West Philadelphia and Fairmount Park

    West Philadelphia and Fairmount Park elevationMiles 7 to 15.5: 340 ft of climb, 329 ft of descent, net +11 ft (average grade +0.0%; steepest 400 m +5.0% up, −5.0% down).
    Climb
    340 ft
    Descent
    329 ft
    Net
    +11 ft
    average grade +0.0%

    Across the Schuylkill into the hilliest miles of the course, through halfway.

    Coach notes coming soon.

  3. Miles 15.5–20.5 · 5.0 mi

    Out along the river

    Out along the river elevationMiles 15.5 to 20.5: 107 ft of climb, 131 ft of descent, net −25 ft (average grade −0.1%; steepest 400 m +2.3% up, −3.5% down).
    Climb
    107 ft
    Descent
    131 ft
    Net
    −25 ft
    average grade −0.1%

    Down to the river and out along Kelly Drive toward Manayunk, mostly flat, with a short rise into the turnaround.

    Coach notes coming soon.

  4. Miles 20.5–26.2 · 5.7 mi

    Back to the Art Museum

    Back to the Art Museum elevationMiles 20.5 to 26.2: 88 ft of climb, 74 ft of descent, net +13 ft (average grade +0.0%; steepest 400 m +1.8% up, −1.0% down).
    Climb
    88 ft
    Descent
    74 ft
    Net
    +13 ft
    average grade +0.0%

    The same river road back, flat until the short rise to the finish by the Art Museum.

    Coach notes coming soon.

Race day

The coach's race-day strategy

Coach notes coming soon.

Logistics

Coach notes coming soon.

Boston qualifying

Can the Philadelphia Marathon qualify you for Boston?

The B.A.A. accepts qualifying times from certified courses and adjusts for courses that drop a lot: under 1,500 ft of net drop, no adjustment; 1,500–2,999 ft, 5:00 is added to the qualifying standard; 3,000–5,999 ft, 10:00; 6,000 ft or more, not accepted.

Measured on this course, the finish is 23 ft higher than the start, so there is no net drop. No adjustment.

Check the current qualifying standards and course rules at baa.org; the B.A.A.'s own figures for a course govern.

Questions

Philadelphia Marathon: common questions

How hilly is the Philadelphia Marathon?

Measured on the course, it climbs 647 ft and descends 624 ft, for a net change of +23 ft from start to finish. The most climbing per mile is between miles 7 and 15.5 (West Philadelphia and Fairmount Park), with 340 ft of climb.

Is Philadelphia a good Boston qualifier?

Coach notes coming soon.

How should I fuel during the Philadelphia Marathon?

Coach notes coming soon.

Where should my supporters stand at the Philadelphia Marathon?

Coach notes coming soon.

Methodology

How the plan is worked out

The grade model

The course is cut into 50 m steps. On each, a climb steeper than +0.4% costs the uphill penalty you chose (12–15 seconds a mile for each 1% of grade); a descent steeper than −1% gives back 8 seconds a mile per 1%, up to 40 seconds a mile at −5%, where steeper ground stops paying back. In between, the pace is the flat pace.

The coefficients follow Jack Daniels' rule of thumb (Daniels' Running Formula, 3rd ed., 2014). Downhill giving back less than uphill costs, and the saving levelling off on steep descents, match the energy-cost measurements of Minetti et al. (Journal of Applied Physiology 93, 2002).

The flat pace is solved so the steps add up to your goal; split times are rounded to whole seconds and always add up to it exactly.

The strategies

Ideal
Even effort with a gentle negative split: effort 1% easier than average at the start, easing to 1% harder at the finish.
Even effort
The same effort throughout; only the hills move the pace.
Conservative
The first half 1.5% easier, the second half 1.5% harder: a negative split of about 3% on a flat course.
Aggressive
Even to slightly positive: 1% harder at the start, easing to 1% easier at the finish.

The columns

Pace bank is the cumulative number of seconds you are ahead (+) or behind (−) an even-pace schedule for your goal at the end of each split; it is spent on the climbs. Flat-equivalent pace is the pace the plan asks for on flat ground. The effort badge comes from the split's grade: Climb (+1.5% or more), Gentle climb (+0.4%), Rolling, Flat, Gentle descent (−1%), Steep descent (−2.5%).

Watercolor of Eduardo raising both fists at a marathon finish line

Philadelphia Marathon

Want a plan for this race?

Book a free 20-minute consult. Tell us your goal for this course and where your training is, and we'll see where a plan would start.

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