Philadelphia Marathon – Course Map and Elevation Profile
| Distance | 42.195 km |
|---|---|
| Route elevation | 128 m up · 120 m down |
| Highest point | 42 m · 17.4 km |
| Lowest point | 2 m · 3.9 km |
| Steepest climb | +4.4 % · 15.2 km |
| Steepest descent | −6.5 % · 25.6 km |
| Net elevation change | +8 m |
| Course type | Loop |
| Course record men | 2:13:28 · Mike Chesire · 2021 |
| Course record women | no verified figure |
128 metres up and 120 down across 3 climbs worth the name. No single one decides the race; the sum of them does.
Course
Philadelphia in numbers
- Distance
- 42.195km
- Ascent
- 128m
- Descent
- 120m
- Low / high
- 2 / 42m
- Flat-equivalent
- +0.75 %
- Steepest 50 m
- +4.4 %
Pace Planner
bergauf flach bergabWaagerecht: Distanz. Streifen unter dem Profil: mittlere Steigung je 500 m. Gestrichelte Linien sind Orientierungspunkte.
- Position
- 0.00 km
- Elevation
- 9 m
- Gradient
- 0.0 %
- Pace here
- 4:57 /km
- Elapsed
- 0:00
- Remaining
- 3:30:00
- Landmark
- —
Pacing table
| km | Point | Elevation | Gradient | up / down | Target pace | total | adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 m → 10 m | +0.06 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 4:57 | 4:55 | |
| 2 | 10 m → 11 m | +0.09 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:57 | 9:54 | 4:55 | |
| 3 | 11 m → 11 m | +0.01 % | +0 m / −0 m | 4:55 | 14:49 | 4:55 | |
| 4 | 11 m → 2 m | −0.84 % | +0 m / −8 m | 4:51 | 19:40 | 4:55 | |
| 5 | 2 m → 3 m | +0.04 % | +0 m / −0 m | 4:56 | 24:36 | 4:55 | |
| 6 | 3 m → 5 m | +0.23 % | +3 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 29:35 | 4:55 | |
| 7 | 5 m → 10 m | +0.47 % | +5 m / −0 m | 5:03 | 34:38 | 4:55 | |
| 8 | 10 m → 11 m | +0.17 % | +2 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 39:36 | 4:55 | |
| 9 | 11 m → 14 m | +0.23 % | +2 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 44:35 | 4:55 | |
| 10 | 14 m → 14 m | +0.04 % | +2 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 49:32 | 4:55 | |
| 11 | 14 m → 11 m | −0.36 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:53 | 54:25 | 4:55 | |
| 12 | 11 m → 19 m | +0.80 % | +9 m / −1 m | 5:10 | 59:35 | 4:55 | |
| 13 | 19 m → 21 m | +0.25 % | +3 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 1:04:35 | 4:55 | |
| 14 | 21 m → 21 m | −0.01 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:56 | 1:09:30 | 4:55 | |
| 15 | 21 m → 17 m | −0.37 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:54 | 1:14:24 | 4:55 | |
| 16 | 17 m → 35 m | +1.82 % | +18 m / −0 m | 5:27 | 1:19:51 | 4:55 | |
| 17 | 35 m → 39 m | +0.32 % | +3 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 1:24:51 | 4:55 | |
| 18 | 39 m → 34 m | −0.44 % | +3 m / −8 m | 4:56 | 1:29:47 | 4:55 | |
| 19 | 34 m → 34 m | +0.01 % | +4 m / −4 m | 4:59 | 1:34:46 | 4:55 | |
| 20 | 34 m → 17 m | −1.70 % | +1 m / −18 m | 4:46 | 1:39:33 | 4:55 | |
| 21 | 17 m → 26 m | +0.90 % | +12 m / −3 m | 5:14 | 1:44:46 | 4:55 | |
| 22 | 26 m → 35 m | +0.83 % | +9 m / −1 m | 5:10 | 1:49:56 | 4:55 | |
| 23 | 35 m → 34 m | −0.10 % | +2 m / −3 m | 4:57 | 1:54:53 | 4:55 | |
| 24 | 34 m → 34 m | +0.05 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 1:59:50 | 4:55 | |
| 25 | 34 m → 33 m | −0.15 % | +3 m / −5 m | 4:58 | 2:04:48 | 4:55 | |
| 26 | 33 m → 6 m | −2.69 % | +0 m / −27 m | 4:40 | 2:09:28 | 4:55 | |
| 27 | 6 m → 9 m | +0.29 % | +3 m / −1 m | 5:00 | 2:14:28 | 4:55 | |
| 28 | 9 m → 13 m | +0.41 % | +5 m / −0 m | 5:02 | 2:19:31 | 4:55 | |
| 29 | 13 m → 8 m | −0.43 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:53 | 2:24:24 | 4:55 | |
| 30 | 8 m → 10 m | +0.11 % | +2 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 2:29:21 | 4:55 | |
| 31 | 10 m → 14 m | +0.41 % | +5 m / −1 m | 5:02 | 2:34:24 | 4:55 | |
| 32 | 14 m → 12 m | −0.17 % | +2 m / −4 m | 4:57 | 2:39:21 | 4:55 | |
| 33 | 12 m → 14 m | +0.22 % | +4 m / −2 m | 5:00 | 2:44:21 | 4:55 | |
| 34 | 14 m → 10 m | −0.41 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:53 | 2:49:14 | 4:55 | |
| 35 | 10 m → 11 m | +0.09 % | +3 m / −2 m | 4:59 | 2:54:13 | 4:55 | |
| 36 | 11 m → 9 m | −0.20 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:54 | 2:59:08 | 4:55 | |
| 37 | 9 m → 11 m | +0.16 % | +2 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 3:04:06 | 4:55 | |
| 38 | 11 m → 11 m | +0.07 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:57 | 3:09:02 | 4:55 | |
| 39 | 11 m → 11 m | −0.04 % | +1 m / −2 m | 4:56 | 3:13:59 | 4:55 | |
| 40 | 11 m → 8 m | −0.31 % | +1 m / −4 m | 4:54 | 3:18:53 | 4:55 | |
| 41 | 8 m → 8 m | +0.01 % | +2 m / −2 m | 4:58 | 3:23:51 | 4:55 | |
| 42 | 8 m → 13 m | +0.55 % | +7 m / −1 m | 5:06 | 3:28:56 | 4:55 | |
| 42.20 | 13 m → 17 m | +1.95 % | +4 m / −0 m | 5:27 | 3:30:00 | 4:55 |
The course, kilometre by kilometre
Start and finish are 531 metres apart: the Philadelphia Marathon is a loop.
Highest and lowest point are 40 metres apart, and start and finish are at practically the same height.
The race is held in Philadelphia, United States, in November, on tarmac throughout.
Elevation gain and climbs
128 metres up and 120 down across 3 climbs worth the name. No single one decides the race; the sum of them does.
The hardest stretch runs from km 15.0 to 15.7: 18 metres at 2.8 % on average.
Against a 3:30 target the terrain costs about 2 minutes compared with a flat loop. Adjust for gradient and what remains is what the legs actually paid.
The route on the map
The course runs as a loop through Philadelphia and finishes 531 metres from where it started.
The GPX data of this course
The smoothed profile is stored every 50 metres: 845 points with latitude, longitude, elevation and gradient. The elevations here do not come from the course file but from a terrain model: the ones in the original were unusable.
We do not hand this course out as a file: the line comes from a third-party source and is not ours to pass on. Once a course is built from runners’ own recordings, the file appears here.
Common questions
- How hilly is the Philadelphia Marathon?
- 128 metres of ascent and 120 of descent over 42.195 km. 84 % of the course sits between −1 and +1 per cent, and 3 % steeper than three. That makes it a rolling course.
- Where is the hardest section?
- Between km 15.0 and 15.7, gaining 18 metres at 2.8 % on average. The steepest single ramp is at km 15.2 at 4.4 %, the steepest descent at km 25.6 at −6.5 %.
- Is this a good course for a personal best?
- Minetti's cost model puts this course at 0.75 % against a flat one. On a three-and-a-half-hour target that is roughly 2 minutes.
- Is the course a loop?
- Yes. Start and finish are 531 metres apart.
- Where does this elevation data come from?
- Streckendatei „Philadelphia Marathon – 42.195 km“ von goandrace.com (Garmin-Connect-Export), übergeben am 18.08.2026, 850 Punkte. Elevation: Höhenwerte derselben Datei — Korrelation mit dem Geländemodell 0,96.
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