My rating based on just the sites would be "Gold." However, the 1.3 mile 2 percent hill starting at mile 6 (repeated at mile 19) and the same downhill at miles 10.5 and 23.5 earn this half/full marathon at least a "moderate" rating on toughness. There was also a final hill for first half of the mile sprint across downtown (between rivers), but that was rewarded with a nice downhill for the finish! This is definitely a must-do event, either the half or the full. If you do the full, though, just mentally prepare yourself for the mile 15 point where you run by all the folks who are already celebrating their completion of the half. A final note for slow half marathoners: Because of the double loop for the marathoners, this would be a great race to do if you are worrying about finishing before the 3.5 hour cut-off that many half marathons have. If you take 4 hours for a half, you might see a lot of people pass you, but you'll still be on a monitored course and still be among other runners.

The route is awesome--passing through the best parts of Wilmington including along both rivers (Christiana and Brandywine), the revitalized Christiana waterfront area, the (well-shaded) park along the Brandywine River, Kentmere and Bancroft parkways (with elegant homes), a taste of one part of downtown (i.e. business) on Walnut St and King St--including passing by Rodney Square, a different flavor of Wilmington on Union street and back through Little Italy, and a start / finish in a nice city park on the river!

Hills! You have to guess which mile marker is yours. No timing clock. I like to know what mile I am on. Lots of turns. Felt bad for the half marathoners that had to weave through marathoners to keep their race pace.