Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon Announces 2015 Race Date

The race has been pushed back to accommodate the pope's visit to Philadelphia.

Photo via Competitor

Photo via Competitor

UPDATE 2/25: We’ve had questions from a few readers about when, exactly, registration opens for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philly, and now we have answers. When we first reported on this yesterday, the race’s website stated that registration would open on Thursday, February 26th at 12 a.m. PST. Yes, PST — as in, Pacific Standard Time, which would make it 3 a.m. here on the East Coast.

I was confused, too — after all, we’re none too familiar with operating on that timezone in these parts — so I reached out to the race’s PR department for answers. Turns out, PST was a typo — “It was a mad scramble to get everything up and running so we could launch as soon as we received permission from the city for the special 2015 date,” explains Competitor Group’s Dan Cruz — and in the scramble, the wrong timezone was accidentally entered into the registration details. Cruz tells me registration will actually open tonight at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, so set your alarm accordingly.

As we reported before, the first 1,000 runners to sign up will get a discounted entry fee of $55. After that, it jumps to $65.

…………..

ORIGINAL: It’s official: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon is officially on the calendar for Saturday, October 31st, 2015 — that’s right, Halloween.

The usual late-September race date came into question last month as plans for the Philadelphia visit of Pope Francis overlapped with the planned date for the race. With an onslaught of people expected to descend on our region for the pope’s visit — including up to two million for an outdoor mass — the worry was that there wouldn’t be enough hotel rooms to accommodate those visitors plus out of town runners.

The good news is, despite the date change, Competitor Group, which runs the half marathon, writes on its website that most of the course will remain the same: “Though the start and finish lines will not change, there will be a small change to the downtown portion of the course. We are working hard to finalize the details and will provide an updated course map as soon as possible.”

This year, there will be no 5K distance. The race expects to resume its normal operations and late-September race date in 2016.

Registration for the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon will open this Thursday, February 26th, at 12:01 a.m. eastern time. The first 1,000 runners to sign up will get a discounted entry fee of $55. After those slots are filled, it’ll jump to $65.

You can sign up for a registration reminder here. Registration will happen here.

Like what you’re reading? Stay in touch with Be Well Philly—here’s how: