Expo, schedule and race morning

Packet pickup

• Friday, November 20, 2026: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Saturday, November 21, 2026: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• The 8:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday opening is flagged NEW for 2026 on the official expo page. In 2024 and 2025 the expo opened at noon Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, so old guides and blog posts are wrong.
• There is no bib or t-shirt pickup on event morning for any race, and no packet pickup at the start line. If you do not get to the expo, you do not run.
• Half marathon runners must pick up Friday. The half is Saturday at 7:00 a.m. and the expo does not open until 8:00 a.m. Saturday, so Friday is your only window. The official FAQ states this explicitly.
• 8K runners are strongly recommended to pick up Friday even though their race is Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
• Bring a government-issued photo ID. If the name you registered under differs from your ID, bring the ID plus the first page of your confirmation email (a phone screenshot is fine). For 2026 that confirmation email goes out November 17.
• Someone else can collect your packet. They need your confirmation email, a copy of your government-issued photo ID, and their own government-issued photo ID.
• The expo is free and open to the public.
• Leave the big bags at the hotel. The race asks that no backpacks, duffel bags or suitcases be brought into the expo, and all bags are subject to inspection.
• Pick up your clear plastic gear check bag at the expo. Clear bags with the event-issued tag are the only bags accepted at gear check on race morning.

August 2026

The published weekend schedule

Expo hours, both start lines, all four 2026 start times and the gear check windows are the race's own published 2026 information, checked August 2026. The Kid's Run is confirmed for Sunday, November 22, 2026 on the Race Roster listing, but the official Kid's Run page still shows 2025 content (November 23, 2025, 11:00 a.m. at The Oval), so treat the Kid's Run start time as last year's. The 2024 edition ran the children's race at 10:00 a.m., so it moves. Road closure and transit timings below are drawn from the City's 2025 announcement and are typical rather than confirmed for 2026; the city usually publishes the new closure list about two weeks out.

Getting there

Take rail. The race and the city both say so, and on marathon morning cars are effectively locked out of Center City. The Parkway between 22nd Street and Eakins Oval closes to traffic, no vehicles are permitted into Center City beginning at 4:00 a.m., and the Philadelphia Parking Authority starts relocating anything parked on the route at 1:00 a.m. Security checkpoints at the Parkway open at 5:00 a.m. and everyone is screened by magnetometer, so build in queue time.

• SEPTA names three stations as the easy walking access to the Parkway for runners and spectators: City Hall on the Broad Street Line, 15th Street on the Market-Frankford Line, and Suburban Station on Regional Rail. All three sit within a block of each other around 15th and Market/JFK.
• From any of those three, it is a straight walk up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the start at 22nd Street: about 0.8 of a mile, 15 to 20 minutes. There is no closer station, so this walk is unavoidable no matter how you arrive.
• Regional Rail from the suburbs runs into Suburban Station and 30th Street Station. Check the published race-weekend timetable before you commit, because a 7:00 a.m. start means you need an early inbound train and Sunday schedules are thin.
• Amtrak arrivals land at 30th Street Station, roughly 1.3 miles from the start, about a 25 minute walk across the Schuylkill or one stop on the Market-Frankford Line to 15th Street.
• Do not plan on buses. In 2025 roughly 30 SEPTA bus routes detoured starting as early as 4:00 a.m. on marathon Sunday and Trolley Route 15 ran substitute buses. SEPTA's own advice is to use trolleys, subways and Regional Rail instead of surface bus routes.
• In 2025 SEPTA added extra Broad Street Line trains on marathon Sunday, partly because of a 1:00 p.m. Eagles game. Check SEPTA's System Status page the week of the race for the 2026 plan.
• Art Museum garage access is maintained on race days, but only via Spring Garden Street (the bridge and tunnel) to Anne d'Harnoncourt Drive. Kelly Drive inbound closes at 25th Street with local traffic permitted to Anne d'Harnoncourt Drive.
• In 2024 the race ran a free bike valet at River Field, 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. both days. Worth checking whether it returns for 2026.
• Spectators cannot enter the secure race area before 8:00 a.m. on either Saturday or Sunday. Before 8:00 a.m., only people showing a race-day bib get through the checkpoints, so your family cannot walk you to the corral.
• Finish-line viewing is at Kelly Drive and 25th Street. a north viewing area entered from the north side of Kelly Drive, and a south viewing area reached by walking through Eakins Oval. The Athlete Reunion area is in Eakins Oval itself.
• Text RUNPHL to 888-777 for free City of Philadelphia race-weekend alerts. The official Philadelphia Marathon app carries live tracking and interactive course maps with water stations and bathrooms.

Parking near the course endpoints

These are mapped garages near the course, not a promise of race-day access. Check closures and pre-booking rules with the organizer.

• Cityview Condos Parking Garage5 minute modeled walk to start
• NorthXNorthwest8 minute modeled walk to start
• Philadelphia Museum of Art Parking Garage9 minute modeled walk to start
• Community College of Philadelphia Main Garage10 minute modeled walk to start
• Kennedy House Garage11 minute modeled walk to start
• Logan Square Garage11 minute modeled walk to start
• Sports Deck11 minute modeled walk to start
• Callowhill & 15th Parking Garage13 minute modeled walk to start
• Philadelphia Gateway13 minute modeled walk to start
• Sonesta Hotel Garage14 minute modeled walk to start

Published entry tiers

Checked August 2026; fees and tiers can change.