You’ll tour Pittsburgh across three rivers and bridges, each with their own distinct architecture and incredible city views. You’ll run past PNC Park (home to the Pittsburgh Pirates) and Heinz Field (home to the legendary Pittsburgh Steelers) and through 14 unique neighborhoods featuring festivals, bands, and cheerathoners who will keep you motivated and smiling all the way to the finish line.
The Pittsburgh Marathon was the 23rd largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 21st largest in 2022.
This year 6.4% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 6% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Pittsburgh Marathon the 304th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 91st highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.15 ranks it as the 309th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 16th fastest course in Pennsylvania.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Pittsburgh Marathon a PR Score of 98.15. This PR Score ranks it as the 250th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 13th fastest in Pennsylvania.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Pittsburgh Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 985 feet (300m) Min Elevation: 724 feet (220m)
May in the midwest is a crapshoot for the weather you will get. We got warm air, high humidity, and some rain so the conditions were challenging, especially for folks who were not heat trained or hydrated properly.
The entire weekend is well run and has massive support from the community. On Saturday, my wife ran the 5k, my 18-month-old "ran" the toddler trot, and then I did the marathon on Sunday. A great full family weekend of running and eating. The swag is very cool and the medal is the heaviest hardware I've received at a race (it is steel country).
Race Tips
It was a lot of fun, but unless you are constantly training on hills, I would not pick this as a first-time marathon (this was my third). It is a challenging course and deceives you into thinking the hills are only on the back half, almost begging you to make the mistake of "banking time early."
This is a mentally draining course (at least it was for me). There are some elongated rollers around 6-9 that surprised me and kind of messed up my visualization of the race and confidence. Just when I was getting over that, the half marathoners split off the course and it gets pretty lonely. Then, right on cue, you hit the "monster" hill into Oakland at 12 (a lot smaller than I had built in my mind) and you're still not to the halfway point yet. Won't go through every hill, but the backhalf was somehow less difficult than the first and the crowd support was awesome through the various neighborhoods. Engaging with the crowds is helpful and reading the funny signs like "4 months ago this was a really good idea" & "I don't do marathons, I do marathoners" provided some much needed smiling and relief.
We stayed in an airbnb on the north side. I've been to pittsburgh enough to know that this is not a city you want to be driving in because parking is awful and GPS can't keep up with all of the road closures. So, we parked at the airbnb and walked the rest of the time. Didn't start the car again until we hauled out of there.
DF's review of 2024 Pittsburgh Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
This was my first marathon. The course is beautiful and challenging. There is an amazing level of support from spectators to the folks at the water and aid stations. It was such an amazing experience to get to take on the challenge with so many other runners who were friendly, happy, and saw me as a team mate vs a competitor. I absolutely want to run this course again one day.
Race Tips
The beginning 10-12 miles have very slight hills, but the big one comes between 12 and 13. Hang in there, you've got this. There are amazing hill runners who will motivate you the whole way up. After you make the big climb, there are quite a few rolling hills, but then around mile 22, you start your glorious descent. The last 2 miles or so are flat and you make your way back into the downtown to a thunderous crowd.
There are many hotels within <.75 miles of the start and finish lines. It was convenient and definitely nice to not have to walk terribly far once the race and after party are complete. Be advised if you are staying in the area that the downtown roads are blocked off until 3-4 pm at the earliest, so plan accordingly.
RQ's review of 2023 Pittsburgh Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
This was my first marathon. I enjoyed the route, very flat for the first 3 or 4 miles. No major hills after mile 19 or so.
Lots of live bands along the course, excellent fluid/nutrition stations at regular intervals, fantastic crowd support!
Race Tips
I'm a newbie so I don't know a whole lot. I would advise being comfortable with hills.
The main climb is during mile 13 so be prepared for your 1st half split to take a small dip compared to your overall time.
Huge downhill to the finish from mile 23.5-25. Save some energy for the final mile which is all flat
-Arrive by 6-6.15am
-There are lots of portaloos near the start areas -Road closure map will be available the week before
Food:
Apteka
Bar Marco
Pusadees Garden
all incredible restaurants, very different cuisines
Rebecca Nugent's review of 2023 Pittsburgh Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
This was my first half marathon, after running the DC Army 10 Miler back in October. I had had some injury setbacks in late winter/early spring, and I wasn't sure if I would be ready for May 7th, but I kept plugging away, feeling like I sort of made all my training by the skin of my teeth. I was super nervous and had read the reviews of this course being "very hilly." Being originally from the Pittsburgh area, I had seen the hills and were worried they would be many and steep. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the number of hills (and their steepness), was at most, moderate. If you are running on ANY hills at all in your training, you should be ready for this race. The hardest part was the Birmingham Bridge at the end, and then one more up on the Boulevard of the Allies. Also, the crowds were AMAZING. Everyone was so kind and encouraging and people lined the streets cheering the entire way. The stretch leading to the finish line was almost surreal, and the crowd was SO LOUD that I broke out into a sprint. I have a few small critiques, however: PLEASE have more port a potties. I've been to other races (although this is my first half) and I've never seen people have to constantly wait in line (even in mid race) to use them! The 10 Miler in DC probably had at least 3 times the amount of port a potties that Pittsburgh had, and they only had about 15,000 runners this past year. Also, exactly where the corrals were weren't very clear. There were signs pointing in the general directions, but when it came to actual distinction between the corrals at line up, it wasn't easy to figure out. I basically just looked for all the other people that had "D" on their bibs. Other than that, this experience was so awesome, and I will come back again!
This was one of my very favorite marathons I've run and I've done more than 50. The course is well thought out - it goes by nearly every top landmark in the city and a variety of distinct neighborhoods. This is a notoriously hilly city but none of the climbs were particularly steep. Very well organized -- lots of hydrations stations with well-coached volunteers. Great crowd support throughout including lots of live music. Can't say enough good things.
Race Tips
Pace yourself -- the early part is mostly flat until a long climb at mile 12 and several more up until mile 23. If you like spectator attention wear a Steelers shirt/hat with their logo.
This is a wave start so if you are in a slower runner's corral be aware you won't be starting until 20 or 30 minutes after the elites start -- no need to get there too early.
4.5 Stars from 14 Reviews
