Phila. Marathon, half marathon become a two-day event

The Philadelphia Marathon and half marathon will be run on different days, creating a race weekend in November, organizers announced Friday.

In the past, the half marathon and marathon were run together. This year, the half marathon will take place on Nov. 19 and the full marathon will be run the next day.

"This will give the opportunity to increase both races and give both their full justice," new race director Jim Marino said in a telephone interview. "Everybody could be part of the marathon experience without it being as crowded."

Philadelphia's Office of the City Representative and the Department of Parks and Recreation announced a formal partnership to produce the Philadelphia Marathon.

In the new collaboration, Marino, from Parks and Recreation, will take on the role of race director and City Representative Sheila Hess will be executive director.

Parks and Recreation, which has managed the Broad Street Run for 35 years, will oversee all race operations and logistics. The Broad Street Run takes place on Sunday.

The Office of the City Representative will continue to handle marketing and promotion.

Last year, an estimated 30,000 runners participated in the half marathon and marathon. "We feel we could get at least 2,000 more in the half marathon," Marino said. "The marathon will be a little harder to get that many more new runners because not as many will run the marathon distance."

Half and full marathon courses will be updated. The most significant change on the full marathon course is the elimination of the "out-and-back" section of the race on the Falls Bridge, which will allow faster times on more portions of the course.

The overall prize purse for the 2016 full marathon will more than double, awarding $10,000 to first-place finishers, $5,000 to second-place finishers, and $2,500 to third-place finishers in both the male and female divisions.

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard