Dear Competitor:
Please READ this email! It contains important race day instructions. A final weather related email will be sent to all participants Wednesday or Thursday.
All events take place at Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park, adjacent to the Wilmington AMTRAK Station. The closest intersection to the park is S. Market Street and Water Street in Wilmington, 19801. Please note: there is NO parking at the park. Directions to Tubman Park are available here.
The Race Day Parking Page on the website contains our complete race day parking plan. Our parking plan is divided into Lots A (City side of MLK BLVD) and Lots B (Riverfront side of MLK BLVD). Lots A are the lots available to us on the uptown side of MLK Boulevard. This totals more than 750 spaces in Lots A and 925 spaces in Lots B, plus 900 spaces in the train station garages at MLK & S King ($5). Lots B include the parking spaces available to us on the Riverfront side of MLK Boulevard. Look for yellow directional signage to the various lots.
PLEASE NOTE: The lots at Tubman Park, the Riverfront Market, at Barclay’s Bank, and all along Water Street are either closed or reserved by the race organizers. ALSO: please note that Water Street will be closed from 6:15 am until 7:25 am and from 6:50 until 7:30 on race day. S. Market Street at Water Street (off MLK Blvd) will be closed during the entire morning.
It is critically important that you arrive early on race day! These parking lots are scattered and can be up to ½ mile from our Start/Finish, so please come early and avoid the stress!
Packet Pickup opens officially on Saturday, May 11 at 11:00 am and runs until 6:00 pm under the big tent at Tubman Park. Please write down your BIB number before you come to collect your packet. Bib #’s are also available on the website under 2013 Participants. Look it up before you get in line.
We will hand out ALL 4 packets (bibs, shirts, swag) to the first member of your relay team who comes to packet pickup. We do NOT hand out individual relay packets. Packet pickup will reopen Sunday am at 5:30 for those teams who do not show up on Saturday.
Only the first runner on your relay team starts at 7:05 at the START line. This runner should be wearing the IPICO chip ankle strap. Runner 1 will finish in the Relay Transition area in the parking lot next to the park. While Runner 1 is on the course, only Runner 2 may wait in the Relay Transition area. Runner 1 should stop ON one of the four finishing mats in the Relay Transition area. Runner 2 should bend down, remove the ankle strap from Runner 1, place it own their own ankle, and proceed on the course. At that point, Runner 3 may enter the Relay Transition Area to await their turn. Please take the time to write your emergency contact person and medical information on the back of your race bib.
Note: if your relay team expects to take longer than 6 hours to complete the relay marathon event, two runners on your team may run one leg together. If you plan to do this, please let a member of the race management team or NOVA Timing know, so that we can correctly record your team running time. If you do run together, your teammates should stay and finish together, since only one person will be wearing the IPICO timing chip.
NOVA Timing will be setting up an Athlete Tracking system at the Delaware Marathon. They will provide marathon and half marathon runner data to SportsFlash – you do not need to do anything to register. When live, their system will show the Leader Board, and will have Search by Bib # and Search by Name functionality. Send this link to your family and friends.
Look for the NOVA tent at the race which will display scrolling results. NOVA Timing also has the ability to automatically send you results emails and texts, if we have your email address and/or cell number and cell carrier.
Relay Teams: we release all 4 or all 8 race packets to the first member of your team that arrives at Packet Pickup. We donot release individual relay packets. Packet Pickup will re-open on Sunday at 5:30 am.
The Marathon and Half Marathon runners will wear the Mylaps disposable bib timing system chips while the Relay runners will exchange a conventional ankle band IPICO timing chip device around your ankle You do not need to do anything as the chips have been tested. However, please take the time to write your emergency contact person and medical information on the back of your race bib.
Bag check will be in our Spallco Rental truck located behind the hospitality tent. Please note your bags will be checked by security personnel, in accordance with our post Boston security procedures. New: this year, no bags or packages may be left unattended on the event site. A uniformed officer and K9 will patrol the park and may conduct unannounced inspection of your bags.
POPs: 31 at the Start/Finish and there will be two POPs at or near every water station. Gatorade and Water at every water station. Mile Markers every mile. Clocks at the 1, 5 , 10, 13.1, 18, and 23 mile marks. The Hospitality tent officially opens at 8:30 am.
Hydration. It is important to properly hydrate for this event. Depending on the weather and your physical condition, this could mean many things. Please read the attached article on hydration, dehydration and hyponatremia. Hydration Plan
Course profile: First three miles flat; a small rise on Walnut Street at Mile 3 and a more significant, one mile, climb after you leave Brandywine Park at about Mile 6.5, as you head up S. Park Drive, Lovering Avenue, and Kentmere Parkway. The course flattens out as you run across Bancroft Parkway, Wawaset Park and Little Italy. You then get to come down these same hills on your way back to the Riverfront before another several block rise over Rodney Square on King Street about a mile from the finish. Marathoners: you have to do all of this twice – so don’t use it all up on the first lap.
Marathoners & Half Marathoners: Please ignore the 8 Person and 4 Person Relay Turn around flags and signs on the course.
Finish: As you approach the LAP 1 FINISH on King Street, all runners will turn right for one block onto Front Street, and then left onto S. Market Street under the AMTRAK railroad tracks. As this occurs, the marathoners should move towards their RIGHT while the half marathoners should move towards their LEFT. The Relay runners should stay in the middle. The half marathoners will turn hard left and proceed down the finish chutes on Rosa Parks Drive, while the marathoners will turn right onto Water Street intersection to begin Lap 2. The Relay runners proceed past the finish chutes before turning left onto Rosa Parks and entering the Relay Finish / Transition Area in the parking lot adjacent to the park.
Finally, we do not condone the use of personal headsets on the course. Competitors wearing ear buds must be able to hear volunteer instructions. Remember, this is not a closed course and you must be alert for traffic and other considerations.
Have a safe trip to Delaware. See you this weekend!
Wayne & Joel
Visit Delaware Marathon On