Run50 State 30 | Delaware Marathon Festival: Half Hills, Half Woods

State 30 came with the usual Run50 logistics: clock out on Friday, point the car east, sleep wherever the highway allows, run a marathon, and turn around for work. The course itself felt like two different races—small hills in Wilmington's parks first, then a long, quiet forest out-and-back.

01 / The drive

Friday night: go

After work on Friday, Siqi and I left Kentucky and drove for more than four hours. Once it was dark, we grabbed a random hotel in West Virginia. Saturday morning was another six or seven hours on the road before we finally reached Wilmington, Delaware's largest city.

Highway entering West Virginia — Crossing West Virginia and heading east.

Sunset on the highway — The sky started to burn.

Mountain highway at sunset — Highway through the mountains.

First State Marathon banner in Wilmington — “First State Marathon” on the street banners: we made it.

02 / Small wonder

The First State, compact by design

Delaware calls itself the First State because it was the first to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It is also the nation's second-smallest state by area—one of those places where it feels as if a little extra pressure on the gas pedal might put you in another state. Compact does not mean featureless, though: Wilmington brings the riverfront, bridges, old neighborhoods, and surprisingly green parkland together in a small footprint.

Wilmington riverfront park — A quiet pre-race walk by the river.

Wilmington riverfront — Packet pickup, then a lap around the water.

For dinner we went with Korean army stew. Before a marathon, the mission is simple: load the carbs. The details are negotiable.

Korean army stew before the race — Pre-race carb loading, one bubbling pot at a time.

Wilmington skyline across the river — Wilmington across the river.

Wilmington homes and skyline — Old houses and new buildings, side by side.

03 / 7 a.m.

Cool air at the riverfront

At 7:00 on Sunday morning we started near Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park. The sky was gray and the temperature was around 10°C / 50°F—about as friendly as marathon weather gets. The route map made the split clear before the gun even went off: the first half was all turns and rollers; the second half was a straight line into the woods.

Delaware Marathon start and finish arch — Race morning at the riverfront.

Runner at the Delaware Marathon — Blue headband, JVC singlet, ready to go.

04 / First half

Pretty parks, serious little hills

The northern half wound through Brandywine Park and Rockford Park. It was beautiful under the trees, but the lines on the map that looked playful were all small climbs and drops. They were never huge, just constant enough to make the legs pay attention.

Runners on a wooded park trail — Once the course entered the trees, the field stretched out.

Runners climbing in the park — Gentle to look at; expensive to run.

Bridge on the Tower Hill School trail — From park to neighborhood, the course kept changing scenes.

Runners on a tree-lined boulevard — The trees were green; the hills were real.

Returning to downtown Wilmington — Back through town to close the first half.

05 / Second half

Flat, straight, and mentally long

After halfway, the course headed south into the wildlife refuge and onto the Jack Markell Trail toward New Castle. The hills disappeared completely. In their place: miles of straight forest, an out-and-back with almost no change of scenery. Flat terrain helps the legs, but a corridor of trees that does not seem to end can be its own kind of work.

Wilmington riverfront trail — Leaving downtown and following the river south.

Straight forest trail — At last the road was flat—and perfectly straight.

Wood bridge on the trail — Bridges, woods, wetlands, repeat.

Long boardwalk through the woods — You could see the end, but it still felt far away.

Long straight forest trail — One runner, one line, a lot of green.

Twenty-mile timing point — Mile 20: time to count down the last 6.2.

Wood bridge on the return — The turnaround meant running the bridges and woods one more time.

06 / State 30

One fast shower, then back west

There was no time to linger after the finish. I ran to a nearby Planet Fitness for a tactical shower, while Siqi picked up hot pork buns from Nan Xiang on the way. Tired and hungry in the car, those buns were perfect.

Crossing the Delaware Marathon finish — The woods finally ended at the finish line.

Delaware Marathon medal — A First State medal and another Run50 puzzle piece.

Delaware Marathon finish photo — Twenty-six point two miles, done.

Eating steamed buns in the car — Hot buns in the car: an elite recovery meal.

Resting outside the gym after the race — One shower later, the body came back online.

Sunset on the return highway — Then it was right back to the road.

Small town on the drive home at night — Darkness, a motel, then another early start.

Steamed buns in the car on the return — The road-trip recovery meal, part two.

Then it was back through Maryland and the mountains of West Virginia, an overnight stop in Charleston, and an early drive back to Kentucky for work. That was the extreme weekend: State 30, secured.

RUN50 FINISH LINE

State 30, secured.

Clean up, get back to work, and see you in the next state.

Next: Minnesota, State 31 →

Delaware:Half Hills,Half Woods