Detroit, MI · Sun, October 18, 2026 · 07:00
Prime BQ course · forgiving course · some friction
Boston-qualifying course; see the BQ Finder for the effective application effect.
Flat, cool race morning.
Open registration · ~$755 all-in from South Florida.
Date verified at the official source; course and climate data on file.
Legacy Green Score 8.7/10 · method
At the start line and start hour · Open-Meteo historical archive
Projected at race day for M 18-34, from your 4:00:00 marathon + training runway.
Crosses into Canada. Flat. Open registration.
The Detroit Free Press Marathon is a marathon held in Detroit, MI on October 18, 2026. With a Green Score of 8.7/10, it's one of the easier, more beginner-friendly US races. The course is flat (~10 ft of gain per mile). Typical race-day weather is a cool 46°F, dew point ~39°F (10-year normal). It is a Boston-qualifying course. Entry is around $135. Marathon Compass rates every race across terrain, climate, logistics, travel, and field size so you can find the one that fits you — and build a training plan tuned to your fitness.
Typical start-line conditions (10-year history (Open-Meteo)): 46°F with a dew point of 39°F. On the temperature-plus-dew-point scale used by our pace engine, that's 85 — a 0% pace penalty. Heat should not be a factor at the Detroit Free Press Marathon in a typical year — race your fitness.
Method: temp°F + dew°F lookup from the heat-adjustment chart our training plans use daily. Sign in to see this adjustment applied to your own projected finish.
First marathons cost more than the entry fee — budget the whole weekend before you commit.
Net descent of ~0 ft is well under the BAA's 1,500 ft adjustment threshold. Your clock time is your application time.
Computed under the BAA's downhill rules for the 2027 qualifying window (announced Sept 2025; verified July 2026): net start-to-finish descent of 1,500–2,999 ft adds 5:00, 3,000–5,999 ft adds 10:00, and 6,000 ft or more is not accepted. Net descent here is derived from our course elevation data — the BAA's official course designation controls. Sign in to see your projected finish graded against your age-group standard and the realistic acceptance cutoff.
Entry is open — register before it sells out and the decision is made.
Stay within walking distance of the start corrals — a 6am rideshare on race morning is a gamble. Book a refundable rate now and forget about it; inventory tightens in the final month. The links below are pre-filled for race weekend (October 16, 2026 → October 19, 2026).
When to wake up, when the corral closes, and the exact clock time Detroit Free Press Marathon spectators should be at each split for your goal pace — plus a link you can send to whoever's coming to watch.
Build your race-day timeline →Race and date verified against the official race source on 2026-07-17. Race-morning climate from Open-Meteo — 10-year history at the start line and start hour. Race fees, dates, and rules change often — report incorrect information.