In April I took part in the Coastal Delaware Running Festival in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. My wife and I had run the half marathon during the same event back in 2024 and we really enjoyed the course and the post race party, and based upon this I decided to sign up for the full distance marathon this year. What a great choice. It was a really wonderful event and I would recommend this to anyone looking to run in Delaware at a nice location with great organization and a fun atmosphere.

Backing up a little, I had come off running two marathons at the end of 2025 (Harrisburg and Philadelphia) and was feeling good as my times were slowly getting better. Still not as fast as in the past but definitely moving in the right direction. It had been a really harsh winter so any chance to run outside in spring was something I was looking forward to. I had still done some of my training with the snow still on the ground but was fortunate to get out the house and off the treadmill for some of the long runs.

As I approached the race weekend I was constantly checking the weather forecast and initially seeing rain, but as we got closer to the race weekend the weather was beginning to look like it would be a wonderful sunny day. I had initially discussed planning a family weekend around this when I signed up back in 2025 but as the weekend approached my eldest was in college (he would actually be in Rehoboth Beach the week after with his friends) my youngest was on a school trip in Arizona and my wife was invited to a family event in New York City. I was given the blessing to skip the event so I headed down to Rehoboth Beach for the night on my own.

It was a couple of hours drive away, but I wasn’t leaving anyone home and I left early on the Saturday afternoon so I could get down early, grab my race packet and number and an early dinner reservation and get to bed early for a good nights sleep without putting any of my party out. Everyone was happy and so was I.

I got my bib and took my picture (for the blog of course) before heading back to the hotel to check in and get ready for dinner and an early night.

Back at the hotel I took a quick look at the race giveaways. The shirt was a nice soft tech fabric and I received a glass which looked remarkably like the one I received back in 2024. I did not buy any merchandise at the expo. I typically buy a hat from every race but I remember we received ‘Finisher’ hats on crossing the half marathon finish line back in 2024 so I was thinking maybe this might happen again…

Once I had checked all my gear was ready, I headed out to my reservation at ‘Touch of Italy’ a mile or so away from the hotel. There are so many restaurants in the area, you cannot really go wrong. Italian is my choice for a carb loading pre-marathon dinner. Interestingly, while this was a big restaurant with family size table seating, I found I was not alone at the early time of 5:30 with a few more solo diners that I feel I would see early the next morning. I followed up dinner with a stop at Starbucks for my traditional pre-marathon cookie before heading back to the hotel for the night.

It was an early start as the race began at 7am. My hotel was at most 20 minutes from the start line and from memory you could park pretty close to the start line. It helped that the full marathon started before the other race distances so there were more parking spaces when I arrived. It was still dark when I got there but I was able to park close, lock my stuff in my car and head to a nearby indoor restroom for a quick stop before going to the bandstand at the edge of the Boardwalk to stretch before the race. I parked near one of my favorite ice cream parlors…just so I would remember where I parked the car 😉

It was still before sunrise when I got to the start area and I kept warm by wearing my trusty large trash bag over me body which I could just tear off and throw away before crossing the start line. It was fun to bump into my friend Farrah at the start line. She would be running the 5K later in the morning but it was great to see her out cheering on the early runners. Incidentally, she works at a great vintage toy store (Yesterdays Fun) just a couple of streets away. Worth checking out.

It was not too long after that I hopped into the corral. It was set up with the faster runners at the front and slower at the back. I set myself up in the middle of the corral. My goal was to be around 4:30, not my fastest but I felt I could comfortably get there based upon my training.

The course starts on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk for a short time before running through some of the beach neighborhoods over the first couple of miles. The course then takes you into Cape Henlopen State Park (around mile 3.5), first around Gordons Pond upon first entering the park (for a couple of miles) and then takes you through a good route around the inside of the park along the paved trails (through mile 12). I remember that we ran a short distance in the State Park when we ran the half marathon back in 2024 but it was an out and back around mile 8 that time. We got to spend more time in the quiet of the park this time and it was very relaxing that early in the morning. I was hitting consistent laps of 9:20-9:30 minutes per mile for the first half of the race so I was pleased with that as this was not an all out effort and it felt comfortable. It is a fairly flat course with some small elevation in the park but nothing too great.

Once out of the park, near the half way mark, you pass the Cape May-Lewes ferry terminal and head into the City of Lewes for a while. Beautiful houses out there. Wow. The course took you through some of the main roads and through lovely landscaped neighborhoods before joining the Junction and Breakwater Trail for a few miles. There were a few turns on this part of the course and it felt like no matter which direction you ran, you were always running into a headwind.

There was plenty of support from the volunteers on the course and I made sure to thank them all as I passed. There was a stretch between mile 15-20 where there was plenty of space for supporting friends and family. I saw many of the same supporters faces along the course in this area as these were some of the out and back areas on the course as we went through Lewes.

At this point my pace had slowed and I was averaging in the mid 10’s for the back half of the course. While it was relaxing, it was the part of the course where most of the runners were at their most stretched apart so there were some areas where I did not see anyone for a while (hoping I was still on the actual race course was running through my head). We left the trail around mile 23.5 and started to make our way back in to the residential/beach areas. It was still a very nice morning and the temperatures were perfect for the race.

Once back in the residential areas I started to see more people running around me. Where had they been? Perhaps I was just catching up to the pack who were ahead of me. As the last few miles ticked over I was still feeling good with my pace even though it was slower, I was not struggling. I looked at my watch (not the best idea) but I could see that I would be heading under my 4:30 goal as long as I stayed steady. With that, I decided to relax and settle in for the last couple of miles. Around mile 24.5 we start heading back towards the beach and by mile 25.5 we are back at the Boardwalk for the last push to the finish line. There was a lot of support as I ran down the last section of the course and lots of noise and cheering at the finish.

I crossed the line at 4:22:22 which was my fastest marathon since before my accident in 2023 which had put much of my training on hold. In fact, my last three marathons had all started to move in the right direction, I ran 4:40 in Harrisburg, 4:34 in Philadelphia and now 4:22 in Rehoboth Beach. I was very happy.

Once across the line I was given my medal, a bottle of water….and a hat with ‘Finisher’ on the back. A good day.

As was the case when we ran the half marathon, the nearby Grotto Pizza sponsored an after race party which our bibs gave entry to. You could buy a ticket for family and friends to join you. Plenty of food (pizza, pasta and salad) and drink (beer and sodas) was available and there was a live band which sounded great. In addition, there was a section for race merchandise available for sale. I grabbed a couple of slices of fresh pizza and a cold soda and enjoyed listening to the band before I headed out for some ice cream (after a quick stop at the toy store) before driving home.

When I got home my family was still out of town so I came back, showered and headed out for a celebratory dinner. It was me, my new race shirt and the Masters golf tournament streaming on my iPad. Rory won his second Masters title. I would say it was a great day all around.

I know this recap is a little late (ahem…). It has been a busy summer. So what else is going on with me?

Following this race I had signed up for the Half Sauer/Half Kraut Marathon in Philadelphia in June and was straight into training following the race, only for the event to be reduced to a half distance that weekend due to dangerous heat conditions, so I missed out on that. My wife has to be in Chicago for a work event in October so we decided to sign up for the Chicago Marathon as it is the weekend before her event. It is a lottery and she got in while I didn’t. Oh well, I am still going with her to ‘race chase’ like I did in New York back in 2016 and I signed up for the 5K on the day before the marathon so at least I’ll be out running the city if just a little shorter. In fact, I am doing the training plan with her so she does not have to do her long runs alone. I have the Philadelphia Marathon in November so I will just add another 6 weeks of training after the Chicago Marathon weekend.

While I do not train for triathlons anymore, I still find time to swim laps at the pool for general fitness and I have found another reason to be in, or should I say ‘on’ the water… I joined up with a local Dragon Boat racing club (Bucks Dragon Boat) who were putting together a new team. We have been training through the summer and we have our first race at Mercer County Park, New Jersey in mid-September. Really looking forward to that (although my training plan for Chicago calls for a 20 mile run the next day!!!) Yes, training for four marathons this year but running only two!!

Thank you for reading.