The roots of the Philadelphia Marathon (aka the Philadelphia Independence Marathon and today known as the AACR Philadelphia Marathon) can be traced back to 1954, the race's unofficial inaugural year. The marathon then largely was a suburban event and went by many different names; the Greater Philadelphia Independence Marathon (1981–82) and the Fairmount Park Marathon (1988–89). The marathon today, was established under the name of the Philadelphia Marathon in 1994 under then Mayor Ed Rendell as an annual running event that took place entirely within the City of Philadelphia. The first race in 1994 had a little over 1,500 runners. This yearly event takes place on the 3rd Sunday in November or “the Sunday before Thanksgiving”. The Marathon is a top U.S. running event and top Boston qualifier with 30,000 runners participating in one or more of 7 featured events. Those events include, the AACR Philadelphia Marathon, Dietz & Watson Philadelphia Half Marathon, Rothman Orthopaedic 8K and four challenges where runners compete in completing multiple race combinations over two days. The Philadelphia Marathon Weekend has over 60,000 spectators and 3,000 volunteers who provide valuable race day support. Working along with volunteers from local schools, colleges and universities and the community actively participate to organize cheer zones, manage replenishment stations, monitor the course and provide support to help runners have their best possible runner experience while in the “City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection”. As a major City event, the Marathon is produced by the City of Philadelphia, Managing Director's Office. In 1995, a group of dedicated runners and Dr. Peter Sharkey of the Rothman Institute, a top Philadelphia orthopedic practice, sponsored a smaller running event as part of the Sunday Marathon event. Now, 23 years and 3,000 runners later, the Rothman 8K is an integral part of Marathon Weekend. In 2006, a half marathon was added to the Sunday line up by Janis Pierce, the City Representative at that time, and a runner, and in 2016 the race moved to a two-day event with the half marathon and 8K on Saturday and full marathon on Sunday. In 2011, two competitors died, which were the first deaths to occur in the Philadelphia Marathon in over a decade. The first was Jeffrey Lee, a 21-year-old Nursing and Wharton student attending the University of Pennsylvania. Having collapsed after crossing the finish line of an apparent heart attack, the cause of his death remains unknown. Although the cause of death was officially diagnosed as
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, after further examination of the autopsy, it was concluded that the diagnosis may not have been accurate since the size of his heart would have been normal for an athlete. Therefore, medical professionals believe his death may have been caused by an underlying heart condition, not a heart attack. The second death was of Chris Gleason, a 40-year-old experienced triathlete from Clifton Park, NY. Gleason collapsed a quarter-mile from the finish line from heart attack. In 2020, the Marathon was cancelled after mayor
Jim Kenney announced a moratorium on public gatherings of more than 50 people within the city of Philadelphia on July 14 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Registrants were given the option of either transferring their entry to 2021, 2022, or 2023, or obtaining a refund. In 2021, the marathon was held under a restrictions that only vaccinated runners may participate in all events and the Dunkin Kids Fun Run was cancelled. The race had over 21,000 runners between in-person events and virtually. In 2023, a combined 34,000 runners participated in the race weekend, including the full marathon, half marathon, 8K, and children's race. This broke the record for the total number of participants. In 2024, the marathon race had 12,381 finishers. This set a new record for the race, passing the previous peak of 11,641 set back in 2012. In 2025, the marathon sold out for the third year in a row. The race reached capacity much earlier than it had in the previous two years, with an announcement made on July 4. == Course ==